I find this thing annoying, you may not.
I find it increasingly annoying that commentary and analysis of science fiction on the web is increasingly focused on visual media rather than the literature. (Has been for some time.)
Film and television presentations of the genre are, at best, third-hand interpretations and, quite frankly, can not come anywhere close to the experience of reading these stories in terms of depth, impact or influence.
I find it difficult to swallow the idea that our pundit-and-podcaster class are unaware that the vast majority of works that they praise or denigrate in their coverage were originally sourced from the literature – whether directly (Frankenstein) or “indirectly” (Idiocracy – The Marching Morons), but most of them seem to be, if their routine lack of acknowledgement is anything to go by.
I am also annoyed (have been for quite a number of decades) that authors of science fiction are given very low billing in the films and TV shows based on their original (ORIGINAL) works. Even when they have to sue, what they get is a pale shadow of what they should be getting.
Screw Hollywood tradition: if a Director is inspired enough by a story to actively seek out the punishing experience of attempting to adapt it to film or TV, the AUTHOR’S name should come first in the credits (and those credits should include the full name of the work’s title, not some vague “works of” reference) – if only to fix the blame for the result where it belongs.
But that doesn’t jive with Hollywood’s behind-the-scenes on-going plan to never allow authors to know – either through compensation, control or credit – just how important and vital to the process they are.
If there was any real justice in the arts, whenever a film is based on a literary work, they ought to be giving out copies of the original during the premiere – or at worst have a kiosk IN the movie theater where those audience members awake enough to realize that they can make movies inside their own heads could purchase a selection of the author’s works.
This is, of course, yet another Sisyphean task. Yes, the rock will eventually roll over the pusher, but some wise AUTHOR once said something along the lines of the story being in the journey, not the destination.
Steve Davidson is the publisher of Amazing Stories.
Steve has been a passionate fan of science fiction since the mid-60s, before he even knew what it was called.
