Respect for sci fi

[CmdrShep2154]

I try to explain space opera and couldn't get people to stop making jokes.

Is the reason some people can't take this genre seriously is because they been exposed to light hearted fare like Star Wars and can't imagine the genre being anything more?

Would a solution to this is to give American viewers a high quality dark and gritty space epic without any humanoid aliens that would cover adult themes like war and politics?

Should we find a more PC name for space opera like the term graphic novels for comic books?

[ravenmoon]

I try to explain space opera and couldn't get people to stop making jokes.

Is the reason some people can't take this genre seriously is because they been exposed to light hearted fare like Star Wars and can't imagine the genre being anything more?

Would a solution to this is to give American viewers a high quality dark and gritty space epic without any humanoid aliens that would cover adult themes like war and politics?

Should we find a more PC name for space opera like the term graphic novels for comic books?

not for everything - usually sci-fi is dark and gritty in the vast majority, bordering on horror too, it's why shows like STAR TREK are so popular, star wars isn't that light hearted at all, but you have to dial down a bit for the kids, so don't expect much from disney channel episodes in terms of darkness.

also note that most people like lighter themes, it contrasts their often heavy lives, it's usually the bored and entitled rich or middle class suburbians that need scaring on their entertainment to living up their mundane existence, those who actually go out to make a difference in the world would find themselves sufficiently challenged and confronted with enough darkness not to want to see it on tv when they wanna relax, as will those who live a nightmare life in broken homes, violent neighbourhoods, poverty and lack.

Shows like DArk Matter one finds refreshingly entertaining because of it's not quite so heavy theme. compare that to the likes of say BAttlestar Galactica a very good show, but very dark, or Helix , Fallen Sky , Resurrection, --that list of dark is much larger and is largely why lighter shows with some good reality grounding drama amidst the wonder and make belief science fiction end up being quite popular they appear to eclipse.

Some reasons other than quality of script, plot and theme may make some shows more popular than others, like Battlestar Galactica, if it mirrors in a very believable and real way, some of the complex issues that riddle our society today, it basically takes serious look at very real issues in a fictional very unreal setting, basically you like the wonder and imagination of sci-fi, but you're a realist, and you'd like more shows that are much better at reflecting more real and interesting issues - ala battlestar galactica or more real and interesting human interactions like Sense8.

It's a new calibre, just because sci-fi or fantasy is ficticious in setting doesn't mean it has to be rubbish and light hearted too, in fact it's better if it tells a very real story highlighting real issues. Lord of the Rings for all it's fantasy is in many ways a lot more realistic than a ton of ficitonal works set in real current or historical areas. But just because it has orcs and elves, it is often written off as just children's tales by some, and possibly lumped into the category of very bad works that categorize the vast majority of the genre is spawned.

[Fencers]

Well, not all comic books are graphic novels. So I don't think it quite works for the loose term of 'space opera' in Science Fiction.

I think Science Fiction lost a lot of it's popular appeal due to science realities of the 80s and onward. 'Hard Sci-Fi' came along thereafter but it's pretty niche and not at all easily fantastical as Buck Rogers or the like.

I don't think theme has anything to do with actually. There is a lot of science-fiction around; superhero films, The Martian, various popular books (Hunger Games, Divergence, Maze Runner), Star Wars, Walking Dead, etc, etc.

[Deleted]

Would a solution to this is to give American viewers a high quality dark and gritty space epic without any humanoid aliens that would cover adult themes like war and politics?

The Battlestar Galactica reboot did that, didn't it? It was fantastic and critically acclaimed, although I gather the ratings were not that great.

[Skizzit]

I try to explain space opera and couldn't get people to stop making jokes.

Is the reason some people can't take this genre seriously is because they been exposed to light hearted fare like Star Wars and can't imagine the genre being anything more?

Would a solution to this is to give American viewers a high quality dark and gritty space epic without any humanoid aliens that would cover adult themes like war and politics?

Should we find a more PC name for space opera like the term graphic novels for comic books?

You mean Battlestar Galactica?

I have a feeling time will eventually change things. Fantasy used to be viewed pretty much the same until things like LotR and Game of Thrones came along. Same will superheroes until the whole superhero movie explosion happened with movies Batman Begins and The Avengers. As time goes on and "geek" culture becomes more popular and accepted these kinds of things will be less and less of niche. I think part of the problem is there is still a small portion of sci-fi fans who don't want it to become more mainstream and are resistant to wider audiences getting into what they see and their own private world and will actually get hostile. You see it online sometimes with people attacking what they see as "fake" sci-fi fans. Hopefully that kind of crap will stop eventually.

[Deleted]

I try to explain space opera and couldn't get people to stop making jokes.

Is the reason some people can't take this genre seriously is because they been exposed to light hearted fare like Star Wars and can't imagine the genre being anything more?

Would a solution to this is to give American viewers a high quality dark and gritty space epic without any humanoid aliens that would cover adult themes like war and politics?

Should we find a more PC name for space opera like the term graphic novels for comic books?

Star wars is not space opera. Its fantasy.

Decent modern space opera are things like Peter Hamilton write.

Space opera is fine, you cant force people to like it or choose what they think about it. Personally I think period dramas are a pile of generic derivative shite, but I'm not going to tell people not to read or watch them.