In 2010, a space opera

Physics Today ◽  
2010 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Space Opera

scholarly journals The Force Is Strong with This One (but Not That One): What Makes a Successful Star Wars Video Game Adaptation?

Arts ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 131
Author(s):  
Matthew Barr
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Star Wars ◽  
George Lucas ◽  
John Williams ◽  
Potential Factors ◽  
Old Republic ◽  
Space Opera ◽  
High Degree

The Star Wars films have probably spawned more video game adaptations than any other franchise. From the 1982 release of The Empire Strikes Back on the Atari 2600 to 2019’s Jedi: Fallen Order, around one hundred officially licensed Star Wars games have been published to date. Inevitably, the quality of these adaptations has varied, ranging from timeless classics such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, to such lamentable cash grabs as the Attack of the Clones movie tie-in. But what makes certain ludic adaptations of George Lucas’ space opera more successful than others? To answer this question, the critical response to some of the best-reviewed Star Wars games is analysed here, revealing a number of potential factors to consider, including the audio-visual quality of the games, the attendant story, and aspects of the gameplay. The tension between what constitutes a good game and what makes for a good Star Wars adaptation is also discussed. It is concluded that, while many well-received adaptations share certain characteristics—such as John Williams’ iconic score, a high degree of visual fidelity, and certain mythic story elements—the very best Star Wars games are those which advance the state of the art in video games, while simultaneously evoking something of Lucas’ cinematic saga.

War, Leadership, and Honor

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward James
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Space Opera ◽  
Armed Services ◽  
The Military ◽  
Good Leader

This chapter examines the themes of war, leadership, and honor explored in Bujold's fictional work. While there is no evidence in her books that Bujold is a pacifist, in the sense of opposing all war on principle, what seems to interest her most is not the fighting, or even the peacemaking, but the whole question of what makes a good leader, which is perhaps at its most focused and immediate among the military. Bujold's work presents us with models of good leadership, both within the armed services and in civil society, and models, too, of its opposite: mismanagement or, at the extreme, tyranny. Sometimes these models seem a little like caricatures; yet this is offset by an ability to dissect political contests with more subtlety than one finds in any other writer of space opera.

Astounding history: L. Ron Hubbard's Scientology space opera

Religion ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-88
Author(s):  
Susan Raine
Keyword(s):  
Space Opera

scholarly journals Pregnancy, Childbirth and Nursing in Feminist Dystopia: Marianne de Pierres’s Transformation Space (2010)

Humanities ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Jessica Aliaga-Lavrijsen
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Feminist Theories ◽  
Male Dominated ◽  
Space Opera ◽  
Transformation Space

Marianne de Pierres’s Transformation Space (2010) is a rare example of an Australian novel set in an apocalyptic and dystopic interstellar future where pregnancy, childbearing and nursing have a presence that is quite uncommon in Science Fiction (SF). Despite the fact that the genre of SF and that of space opera in particular have been traditionally quite male-oriented, in the last years feminist theories of several kinds have been an undeniable transformative influence. This article intends to analyse not only how these specifically female issues related to motherhood/mothering are presented in the novel, but also to explore their function and role. A close reading of these topics will show whether they endorse a solid feminist stance or are just colourful feminist details in a male-dominated space opera and, in turn, if they have a specifically narrative purpose in the context of the dystopic subgenre.

Women, Uterine Replicators, and Sexuality

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward James
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Child Characters ◽  
Contemporary Science ◽  
The World ◽  
Space Opera

This chapter examines the feminist themes explored in Bujold's fictional work. For Bujold, feminism involves far more than writing about women. Bujold herself wondered if, in her writing, disability works as “a personal metaphor for being born female.” But what makes her works stand out in the context of contemporary science fiction and fantasy is not the number of women or their strength of personality; it is the importance of pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood in her narratives. Bujold is unusual, too, within the world of space opera and indeed in the wider world of science fiction, in creating a number of very plausible and engaging child characters.

Iain M. Banks

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Kincaid
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Scottish Literature ◽  
Counter Narrative ◽  
Realist Novels ◽  
Space Opera ◽  
Political Norms

This is the first book-length study of the entire oeuvre of Scottish novelist Iain Banks. While it concentrates on the science fiction as by Iain M. Banks, in particular his novels of the Culture, it demonstrates stylistic, structural, thematic and political links between these and the supposedly realist novels. It places his work in the context of contemporary Scottish literature, the Scottish fantastic, looks at his deliberate overturning of the usual cultural and political norms associated with space opera, and proposes that the Culture novels contain a counter-narrative to the usual utopian readings.

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