More like DisContinuity, I would say. Which isn’t surprising, given that EY’s favorite TV shows are “All four seasons of Babylon 5 and all three seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
(Both of those shows have more seasons than that, but are generally agreed to be of declining quality.)
Although, I wouldn’t have guessed someone capable of writing Three Worlds Collide would be so much in favor of hopeful!SF versus stylishly!cynical!SF. But maybe I’m reading it wrong?
Edit: To clarify, I’m not accusing TWC of being stylishly cynical, precisely, but… while it is one of the best-written iterations of “humanity makes First Contact, overcomes communication barrier in record time only to immediately discover irreconcilable differences that inevitably result in the deaths or brainwashing of billions” I’ve ever read, one must recognize that is what it is, and that’s not exactly what I would describe as “feeding people hope”.
If you consider the contemporary struggle between Enlightenment values and Postmodern cynicism, Three Worlds Collide is definitely in the former camp. Its message is that no matter what happens, there is still a difference between right and wrong. I don’t know what a postmodern answer to Three Worlds Collide would look like (someone should write one, please) but I imagine it would use moral error theory in place of moral realism.
More like DisContinuity, I would say. Which isn’t surprising, given that EY’s favorite TV shows are “All four seasons of Babylon 5 and all three seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
(Both of those shows have more seasons than that, but are generally agreed to be of declining quality.)
Although, I wouldn’t have guessed someone capable of writing Three Worlds Collide would be so much in favor of hopeful!SF versus stylishly!cynical!SF. But maybe I’m reading it wrong?
Edit: To clarify, I’m not accusing TWC of being stylishly cynical, precisely, but… while it is one of the best-written iterations of “humanity makes First Contact, overcomes communication barrier in record time only to immediately discover irreconcilable differences that inevitably result in the deaths or brainwashing of billions” I’ve ever read, one must recognize that is what it is, and that’s not exactly what I would describe as “feeding people hope”.
If you consider the contemporary struggle between Enlightenment values and Postmodern cynicism, Three Worlds Collide is definitely in the former camp. Its message is that no matter what happens, there is still a difference between right and wrong. I don’t know what a postmodern answer to Three Worlds Collide would look like (someone should write one, please) but I imagine it would use moral error theory in place of moral realism.