Now, I have admitted to being part of the Rabid Puppies crowd. That said, that's not a movement, or a tight circle of friends. I'm not Vile and Faceless, and I'm not sure if I would qualify as Ilk or Dread Ilk. I also don't care, to borrow the motto.
Now, there are several movements against establishment sff right now, and I find a lot to like out there. The SciPhi group, which I have slacked off on, has a lot of ideas, and love hard thinking. The Pulp Revolution group loves proper action and stuff. The Superversive movement likes uplifting stories, and apparently is wanting to define itself well from all reports. I missed the podcast, and don't have that much time to listen; as it is, they come after GeekGab, jimfear138, and Catholic Geeks(this is no insult).
I only caught this because jimfear138 did a written post(I wish he'd do that a bit more) on a conflict that he thinks Anthony M. was referring to him on. And, being inclined to drunken, spergy rants(a paraphrase of his words), he wrote somethng close to 3k words responding to less than 500. It's a great rant, and jim makes it clear he likes the Superversive folks and sees them having different focus and goals than the pulp revolution.
Now, part of this is because Jeffro and Daddy Warpig like writing great inflammatory posts full of hyperbole. They're making a point, and part of that is blowing some things out of proportion. This is the same school of rhetoric as POTUS, so study that a bit first if you have trouble with it in sff.
I also know that parts of the pulp revolution group want to focus on old pulps only, and some want to split between that and some new pulp style works. The Superversive movement has an ideal I like, but favoring defining your group over talking books? That's not for me. I also like a broader range of fiction than what I review here, and the fact is, I don't like boxes.
Not quite fitting in is normal for me. I'm a musician. I'm a Christian. I'm a comic book geek. I'm a gamer(mostly boardgames). I'm a bibliovore. My interests are diverse, and I try to gain some measure of depth in many of these. This makes fitting in sometimes easier, sometimes harder. It depends a bit on the circle.
Why did I write all this? After reading jim's post, I mentioned I didn't know where I fit. That was not quite right, as I do have a clue, I just sometimes forget: I'm an Independent Contractor in the Evil Legion of Evil.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
>>I'm an Independent Contractor in the Evil Legion of Evil.
ReplyDeleteI prefer "an Unaffiliated Minion" myself, but close enough :)
That said, there's nothing wrong with new movements, literary and otherwise, sorting themselves out and defining what they are and aren't, as long as it all remains in good spirit.
You're good people, IG. Don't lose any sleep over this.
ReplyDeleteA varied diet is as important for your mental health as it is your physical health. I can't speak for any of those movements, but only for myself, and honestly? You'd be a fool to hitch your wagon to any one of those groups to the exclusion of all others. Can't think of a one of them that demands a purity test, so slide around and among them as you see fit. That sort of cross-fertilization will generate some amazing writing and discussion.
I've pitched my tent square in the Pulp Revolution camp. Having a few stalwarts holding their ground and taking things maybe a little too far is important. It creates the friction needed for growth. But there ain't a one of us stalwarts that isn't constantly craning his neck to check out the Superversives and SciPhi and even the New Pulp camps. Might not seem like it, but even hashing out our differences help us all to grow and improve.
Sometimes, we just are where we are...and we can let others come to us. ;-)
ReplyDelete