Write Your own Space Opera-In Class Assignment-

It’s the year 2462 and the Earth has gone through World War V. The leftover nations of mankind are battered and desperate for valuable resources needed to survive and develop a way to move off-world. Conflicts have erupted all over amongst the survivors and numerous battles begin for control of Earth’s final resources that still remain. Control over the dwindling population has come into play as well.

            Samuel Jayce, a war torn WWV veteran with severe PTSD, is hired by a shady organization to travel to the planet Ma’Hyl to collect supplies and a “secret package” which may make a difference in the conflict on Earth. Having nothing left and a hatred for his fellow man Samuel agrees to go. He is placed on a delivery vessel named the Guildram with its unruly crew of ex-soldiers and guns for hire. oOne of the crew happens to be Samuel’s old marine friend, Sarah Blake, whom he is surprised to see since she had went AWOL during the war. After a tense, six month trip the crew make it to Ma’Hyl but upon arrival they are ambushed by a small fleet of unknown ships as they descend to the planet’s surface.

            After the ambush only Samuel, Sarah and a handful of the crew have survived and thanks to the assistance of the planet’s race, the Mahlinians. A group of Mahlinian scouts on patrol came across the ambush and fought off the unkown vessels just in time to save Samuel and a portion of the crew of the Guildram. Ny’x, captain of the Mahlinian scouts, is reluctant and regrets saving Samuel and his crewmates after finding out they were human. The Mahlinians and Earthlings have had a really rocky relationship due to a conflict thirty years previously that ended in unneeded bloodshed among both sides. Ny’x takes the humans to the Mahlinian capitol Mah’yan to be questioned by the council  in charge.

              After stating their intentions for coming to the planet were to pick up a “package” the council decides to investigate Samuel and the Guildram crew on suspicions that they may have been involved with the ships that ambushed the Guildram. Samuel, angered and agitated by the state of events, strikes a deal with the council in that he can prove that him and the Guildram crew had no involvement with the mysterious vessels that ambushed them. The council, struck by his straightforwardness, agree to his deal. The council enlists captain Ny’x to accompany Samuel on the investigation. Affended by the order but none the less willing to follow it My’x agrees reluctantly. From there on the story progresses into larger events as the investigation reveals a huge conspiracy that threatens a vast majority of the planets within the galaxy, including Earth and Ma’hyl.

Final Statement/Revision-Kwaidan

All over Earth each and every human culture has its own unique form of ghostly tales and supernatural mythology. In the States you get the typical urban tale of the monster in the backwoods or a haunted house, South America has giant river monsters, the Alps have Abominable Snowmen, and so on. And of course it should come to no surprise that Japan has its fair share of strangely unique supernatural tales.

            I’ve read many tales in the horror genre but Kwaidan came as a breath of fresh air. Most horror tales I’ve read were the typical generic ones that followed the same pattern as most others. It became pretty boring almost seeing the same formula used over and over again and I’ve come to feel that the horror genre is constantly trapped in some sort of repetitious circle of clichés. But with Kwaidan I’ve gained a newfound interest in horror and I might just pick up my old habit of horror reading.

            There’s just something so bizarre and interesting about Japanese ghost stories compared to any elsewhere. Some tales focus on nature spirits which cause some form of mischief or long dead samurai back from the grave seeking our revenge. The tales from Kwaidan offer a vast array of great ghost stories like these and I found them to be entertaining to read through.

            A tale from Kwaidan I found fun to read was Mimi-Mashi-Hoichi, or also known as Hoichi the Earless. Its basically a tale focusing on a blin biwa master who’s songs cause those around him to succumb to his music and react very emotionally. The tale is interesting in that its told in a manner which doesn’t follow the typical ghost story formula like the “random haunted house” or “ghost in the attic”. Hoichi is asked by a guard to come play for a lord and his attendants and does so. After many nights of doing this the monks who look after him discover that a ghost has been leading him to a graveyard to play for the long deceased lord and attendants. The next time the guard comes they cover poor Hoichi in protective seals but in the end the ghost guard takes his ears because they were the only part not covered. Talk about ironic.

Don't Forget To Bring Your Towel!-The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

            Weird doesn’t even begin to describe the literary beauty that is Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. What can best be described as a strange mix of bizarre humor and science-fiction, The Hitchhiker’s Guide is a fantastic story riddled with amazing wit and oddities out the wazoo. I’d expect nothing less from Douglas Adams to be honest.

            I remember being first introduced to this odd series by my friend some years ago. It was what she had called “Towel Day”. I had no idea how to respond to her until she told me that it was a holiday that celebrated Douglas Adams and his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. Apparently towels are very important to have on oneself thanks to the series. Anyhow I had recently come to acquire the first book in the series and read it with immense interest. I was not at all disappointed.

            The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a brilliant novel and I’ll probably put it in the top of my list of favorite novels. I can’t express how much I love the clever humor in the story and the way it treats the sci-fi genre by turning it into something so otherworldly and weird. From babelfish to how horrible Vogon poetry is, the novel is chock full of so many strange and hilarious instances that constantly left me in chuckles. Adams is a wizard when it comes to humor so I enjoyed every single joke I read.

            Besides the humor of the novel I absolutely loved the characters. Arthur Dent, the main character of this odd tale, seemed like just another normal character until I read more into the story. He’s an average guy but it’s his averageness that makes him interesting when he deals with the odd events he’s thrown into. The rest of the cast are all hilarious and interesting in their own aspects but I have to say I love Marvin the Paranoid robot. He’s always so pessimistic but I came to love the silly robot and his stoic ways. The Heart of Gold, despite being a ship, is one of the best parts of the series. The ship, which gave me TARDIS vibes(actually I’d love to see a Doctor Who/HGTTG crossover now that I think about it), is probably one of the biggest “weird” aspects of the story. The ship has what’s called an Infinite Improbability Drive which basically makes it achieve the impossible. I specifically remember that the film version showed the Heart of Gold creating a whale and a sentient pot of flowers. Strange I know.

            You would think that since it follows the science-fiction genre the story would seem very logical. Well yes and no. What’s so great about THGTTG is that it uses science-fiction in a manner that’s downright humorous and not at all too serious. The beginning of the book has a fleet of Vogon dozers arriving to demolish the Earth for a galactic bypass. Yes, you read right, the Earth is destroyed in the first couple chapters to a bypass can be made. Of course in the HGTTG verse this event makes sense but to the casual reader it would most likely seem pretty absurd and funny. 

Serenity by Joss Whedon

If there’s one thing Joss Whedon is a master with it’s creating riveting films or TV series which redefine popular genres. He’s created successes like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. Each based off a popular genre but all of them go off and manage to create a new vision for what their genre can become. It should be no surprise that Serenity would be a success as well despite the attention it didn’t rightly receive. Based off of the unfortunately short-lived Scifi-western Firefly(damn you FOX), Serenity takes place in the same world and follows the same cast as the series. Like many space operas Serenity follows the basics. Spaceships, lasers, a galactic empire bent on fighting for control, a space fairing adventure, blaster gun fights, etc. It follows the basis of the genre but becomes its own thing. This is an ability I’ve always admired with Whedon and his work. He makes a series which seems to follow a basic genre but manages to completely change it or model it into something better.

            Serenity follows Captain Malcom Reynold and his “colorful” crew of space fairing thieves. Of course though the viewer comes to learn that these “thieves” were veterans of a war for independence from the big bad galactic empire, This is an aspect I really love about the crew.The basic premise of the film is what you would see in most space operas. A giant galactic empire has branched out through space and is at odds with a group of freedom fighters/ other empire/ etc. whom they’re trying to control to get rid of. In Serenity this takes the form of the Alliance whom are at odds with the Independents. The Alliance are trying to take control of the other worlds in the galaxy while the Independents continue to defy and fight them. Mal and his crew are thrown between the middle when they become involved in a huge cover-up that the Alliance is trying to stop from being known. The whole film basically follows this with the addition of space battles, a scifi-western culture which can be seen throughout the film, and a bunch of other scifi tropes.

            I feel that what makes Serenity such a good science-fiction film and a prime example of the space opera genre is not just how the scifi tropes it displays are handled but how it blends multiple genres together. The whole film is basically a Science-fiction-western-space opera and in my opinion very successful. It doesn’t overdue the tropes it presents and if anything I think it’s a good revival of the space opera genre.

            The characters in Serenity are also something I really enjoyed. Whedon is awesome when it comes to writing characters and you can see it very well in this film. Mal, River, Jayne and the whole crew of the Serenity are wonderful scifi characters. Not only that but they don’t always follow their character tropes and they end up feeling more authentic. I’d highly suggest watching this film if you’re a science-fiction lover like myself. Whedon doesn’t disappoint!

           

            

Jim Henson's Labyrinth

        Jim Henson has always been an idol of mine since I was young girl . He brought the Muppets into creation and worked on some of my favorite films, The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. His puppets always fascinated me and in my eyes the man was a true artist when it came to design and characters. He had a way with bringing characters to life and creating amazing fantasy stories. Such as with Henson’s film Labyrinth. I absolutely adore the film and it’s one of my favorite movies. I’ve seen it plenty of times since I was a child but it always feels so magical seeing it again.

            What I really enjoyed about the overall film and story was how it blended reality with fantasy. Just beyond our little humdrum world lies a fantastical land filled with amazing characters and creatures. Of course one has to somehow fall into said world or be lead into it. I remember feeling jealous of the main character Sarah when I was a little girl. I, and lots of other children, always dream of somehow ending up in some far off fantasy land. Of course the way Sarah was pulled into the Labyrinth world wasn’t too ideal as she had to race against time to find her baby brother who was taken by the Goblin King. I’d rather just walk into some fantasy world without having to do some grating  cliché fantasy task that requires me to do something I’m not all gunghoe for.

            The characters in the film are something I enjoyed massively whenever I had had sat down and watched Labyrinth. Whether it was the awesome Goblin King Jareth or the adorkable Hoggle, all the characters in the film were really enjoyable to watch and I loved seeing Henson’s puppet characters in the film. The labyrinth itself was quite visually stunning too and heck, the whole movie looked great for the time it was produced. Jim Henson’s Labyrinth world was also really a visual masterpiece in my opinion and I feel that it’s a great example of fantasy done right in a film.