Thanks! I will ask Matt back on for sure since he's such a fascinating guy. Fingers crossed!
1- yes, you're right. I think as things become more unstable we cling more to our myths. But that seems to be changing
2- correct. The prequels have been mocked but Lucas has been constantly vindicated on their politics.
3- Trump is the most consequential and transformative president since FDR within his first 100 days alone. If that's for good or bad remains to be seen
4- it's a silver lining for sure
5- get back to me
And let me know! Always love feedback and suggestions for topics/guests. Thanks for listening!
I remember what number 5 is now. We keep trying to fit early Twentieth Century political definitions onto modern politics. Making matters worse is how those definitions keep changing over time. A good example of this is how during the 60's when America had a unmatched capitalist economy and was fighting Communism, it also had robust antitrust laws. Fast forward to the 90's and somehow antitrust laws are "Commie". We have almost nothing to work with when trying to address our current world. Look at "liberal democracy". It has been shown to be an oxymoron as currently practiced and is more an ideological project than a system of government but we still lack other terms to define it.
As far as suggestions to our feral hiker here:
2. The Battletech franchise. I swear it is the most underrated sci-fi setting there is. From the vast in universe history to the attention to detain paid to politics and technology, it blows many other intellectual properties away. There is way more to unpack here than what you see on the surface. Plus, the mechs are awesome and the game itself is amazingly fun to play.
3. Neuromancer by William Gibson. The book not only changed fiction but changed the world we live in. Being a seminal work on creating the cyberpunk genre is one thing, influencing the design decisions of software engineers with its idea of cyberspace is something else entirely.
4. Ghost in the Shell. Both the first movie by Mamoru Oshii and the later televised Stand Alone Complex anime are a fascinating collection of mature science fiction ideas from Japan. Stay away from some of the later cash in entries.
5. The videogames Homeworld and Homeworld 2. I still to this day cannot decide how such a simple minimalistic story is so powerful but it is something special.
All these recommendations are superb. I also recommend Reign: The Conqueror. Available on YouTube for free. Alexander the Great animation. Aeon Flux animators. They also did Ninja Scroll and Metropolis.
Very disappointed in the podcast. It was way too short. Kidding, I had a blast.
1. World War Two has turned into an annoying origin myth for the modern western world. I remember how even ten years ago it was still kind of treated as a complicated historical event.
2. If you think about it the Prequels kind of mirror the modern world well. I don’t think it was intentional but the Republic was decaying, the Senate was useless, and internal problems and unrest in the Outer Rim were being ignored.
3. In some ways I think Trump will be a transformative historical figure because he is crazy enough to try things. Most politicians back down when they are warned they are playing with fire. Trump will ask for the damn matches already. What comes after the guy will be really interesting.
4. It feels like as the world becomes more dangerous and more dynamic it is shaking people out of a malaise. I am starting to see creativity and new ideas again. I guess that says something about the human condition.
5. There was one more thing but I forgot it!
I might have a few suggestions for stuff you might want to cover.
1. The big one would be Roadside Picnic, the Stalker movie, and the S.T.A.L.K.E.R video games. They have had a massive impact on Eastern European culture and science fiction. Plus they have some fascinating ideas.
Thanks! I will ask Matt back on for sure since he's such a fascinating guy. Fingers crossed!
1- yes, you're right. I think as things become more unstable we cling more to our myths. But that seems to be changing
2- correct. The prequels have been mocked but Lucas has been constantly vindicated on their politics.
3- Trump is the most consequential and transformative president since FDR within his first 100 days alone. If that's for good or bad remains to be seen
4- it's a silver lining for sure
5- get back to me
And let me know! Always love feedback and suggestions for topics/guests. Thanks for listening!
I remember what number 5 is now. We keep trying to fit early Twentieth Century political definitions onto modern politics. Making matters worse is how those definitions keep changing over time. A good example of this is how during the 60's when America had a unmatched capitalist economy and was fighting Communism, it also had robust antitrust laws. Fast forward to the 90's and somehow antitrust laws are "Commie". We have almost nothing to work with when trying to address our current world. Look at "liberal democracy". It has been shown to be an oxymoron as currently practiced and is more an ideological project than a system of government but we still lack other terms to define it.
As far as suggestions to our feral hiker here:
2. The Battletech franchise. I swear it is the most underrated sci-fi setting there is. From the vast in universe history to the attention to detain paid to politics and technology, it blows many other intellectual properties away. There is way more to unpack here than what you see on the surface. Plus, the mechs are awesome and the game itself is amazingly fun to play.
3. Neuromancer by William Gibson. The book not only changed fiction but changed the world we live in. Being a seminal work on creating the cyberpunk genre is one thing, influencing the design decisions of software engineers with its idea of cyberspace is something else entirely.
4. Ghost in the Shell. Both the first movie by Mamoru Oshii and the later televised Stand Alone Complex anime are a fascinating collection of mature science fiction ideas from Japan. Stay away from some of the later cash in entries.
5. The videogames Homeworld and Homeworld 2. I still to this day cannot decide how such a simple minimalistic story is so powerful but it is something special.
All these recommendations are superb. I also recommend Reign: The Conqueror. Available on YouTube for free. Alexander the Great animation. Aeon Flux animators. They also did Ninja Scroll and Metropolis.
Holy shit. At around 1:00:00 left, talking about American idea of a frontier—same/same as German concept of Lebensraum?
Iirc the Germans actually explicitly lifted the concept of the American frontier for lebensraum.
Great podcast. Excellent flow. I like the one-on-one format.
Danke 🙏
I had a feeling you would like this one.
Very disappointed in the podcast. It was way too short. Kidding, I had a blast.
1. World War Two has turned into an annoying origin myth for the modern western world. I remember how even ten years ago it was still kind of treated as a complicated historical event.
2. If you think about it the Prequels kind of mirror the modern world well. I don’t think it was intentional but the Republic was decaying, the Senate was useless, and internal problems and unrest in the Outer Rim were being ignored.
3. In some ways I think Trump will be a transformative historical figure because he is crazy enough to try things. Most politicians back down when they are warned they are playing with fire. Trump will ask for the damn matches already. What comes after the guy will be really interesting.
4. It feels like as the world becomes more dangerous and more dynamic it is shaking people out of a malaise. I am starting to see creativity and new ideas again. I guess that says something about the human condition.
5. There was one more thing but I forgot it!
I might have a few suggestions for stuff you might want to cover.
1. The big one would be Roadside Picnic, the Stalker movie, and the S.T.A.L.K.E.R video games. They have had a massive impact on Eastern European culture and science fiction. Plus they have some fascinating ideas.