Week Nine: The Final Frontier/Space Opera

I remember watching Ridley Scott’s film, The Martian, in 2015, but I don't remember much of its contents. I decided to read The Martian (2011) written by Andy Weir for this week's reading anyway. I’m only on Log Entry Sol. 82 at the moment.

It’s a nice read. A bit long for my taste. Well, not long, per say, but really ramble-y. But, given the situation, how can you not be ramble-y when you're alone... in space. I really liked how the book felt personal, much more intimate than the film in my opinion. A comparison I made between the novel and the film was the contrast between science and action. The film cares more about thrill and drama; keeping the audience on edge. However, within the novel, Weir notably cares more about the scientific factors and goes into depth about how the character is able to survive on a desolate planet. Andy Weir’s, The Martian, plays with themes relating to science and technology. We, the readers, are given the lesson that technology can not be trusted at times. Within the first few chapters of the novel, Mark Watney explains all of the complications that may occur during his 1000+ day survival on the red planet. For example, chapter 2 (LOG ENTRY: SOL 7), “The Water Reclaimer is working fine, too. The bad news is there’s no backup. If it stops working, I’ll be drinking reserve water while I rig up a primitive distillery to boil piss.” This just goes to show you that you shouldn’t rely too much on technology. Surprisingly, I also found this theme within A New Hope. For this week’s movie I watched Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) for the FIRST time. I found it to be really enjoyable. (Unrelated Note: There was a moment during A New Hope where I screamed and scared my dad because I saw some person wearing a green screen suit in the background. XD) Within Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, this lesson comes into play. Luke learns that it's best to trust his instincts. He switches off his targeting computer, displaying his distrust of technology given that particular situation, and instead he taps into his Force, assisting in the destruction of the space station.

Does the Star Wars universe resemble western classics? Yes. Star Wars uses plenty of western tropes, for instance… There’s a hero, and a damsel in distress. The characters are after a bounty(reward). During shootouts in Star Wars the lasers seem to blast infinitely, just as guns do within westerns. The guns always seem to be loaded, no matter how many uses. The list goes on but these are just the tropes that immediately came to mind.

ALSO, unrelated to the topic, but a recurring theme I also see within space operas, such as Star Wars and Star Trek, is the subtle racism towards aliens and robots. Aliens and robots are so often evil-ized, sexualized, or enslaved. They are seen as second degree characters, while humans are seen as inferior. For instance, when I was watching Star Wars: Episode IV for the first time, it hurt me when Luke and his uncle were so careless with the R2D2s. They were so quick to exchange a ‘broken’ one for a newer model. It then occurred to me that storm trooper uniforms are meant to resemble robotic armor, because robots are second to humans. Their outfits are meant to communicate that storm troopers are replaceable. Their thought process is, ‘Oh. They die all the time, so why should anyone care about them or show remorse?’. For a girl that LOVES aliens and robots, it's kind of upsetting to see how they are treated so insignificantly within television. #EqualRightsForRobots #EqualRightsForAliens 🤖 👽 ❤️ 

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Here are some old, modern or reimagined ‘The Final Frontier’/‘Space Opera’ readings/shows/movies/etc. that I like: Literally Anything Star Wars, Literally Anything Star Trek, Final Space (2018), Atomic Betty (2004), Miles from Tomorrowland (2015), Bravest Warriors (2012), Space Dandy (2014), Deep Space 69 (2012), Voltron: Legendary Defender (2016), Scavengers (2016), Vandread (2000), Macross (1982), AND Space Boy on Webtoon.