She understands about reading. Sometimes books are life-impacting, and sometimes they're just really fun stories.
The thing is? I think she really DOES like fantasy/science fiction - at least certain kinds. She's a big fan of the LotR series, Narnia, etc. (preferring the books over the movies) But she still expresses distaste over westerns, detective stories, and science fiction - written or filmed.
I think she just has a major prexisting stereotype that sci-fi by its very nature must involve spaceships and time travel and multi-colored skin and tentacles ala Star Wars/Star Trek/Farscape/etc.
She's got a very low tolerance for cheese like that, but she really likes the cerebral aspect of the better quality sci-fi. The ones that pose questions about mankind and ethics and Good vs. Evil and discovering who you are and fighting the good fight and all that. (For instance, she really really LOVES the whole message portion of the first Matrix movie.)
I've tried to explain to her that sort of thing IS science fiction. Things like Ferrenheit 451 and other books - commentaries on OUR world and who we are. Space travel and other hijinks not required.
And, some people - myself included - enjoy a good dose of both the "analyzing our place in the universe" message side AND the facial prosthetics and deus ex machina cheese.
Make her read Ender's Game. I dare her to find that book cheesy.
Or Babylon 5, seasons 2 1/2-4.
It's true that there's an awful lot of bad sci-fi out there, but really that's true for any genre. My mother is also adverse to anything fantasy or sci-fi related that is not LotR. One of these days, I'm going to have to make her watch Buffy. She keeps catching bits of it and thinks it's ridiculous. Buffy is a tough one, because it does have cheesy, campy moments, but once you watch a few episodes, you realize there's a lot more to it.
It's funny; my husband and I were just having a conversation the other day about how cerebral sci-fi can be. Often, characters and plots are neglected in favor of some abstract concept that the author wishes to explore.
The thing is? I think she really DOES like fantasy/science fiction - at least certain kinds. She's a big fan of the LotR series, Narnia, etc. (preferring the books over the movies) But she still expresses distaste over westerns, detective stories, and science fiction - written or filmed.
I think she just has a major prexisting stereotype that sci-fi by its very nature must involve spaceships and time travel and multi-colored skin and tentacles ala Star Wars/Star Trek/Farscape/etc.
She's got a very low tolerance for cheese like that, but she really likes the cerebral aspect of the better quality sci-fi. The ones that pose questions about mankind and ethics and Good vs. Evil and discovering who you are and fighting the good fight and all that. (For instance, she really really LOVES the whole message portion of the first Matrix movie.)
I've tried to explain to her that sort of thing IS science fiction. Things like Ferrenheit 451 and other books - commentaries on OUR world and who we are. Space travel and other hijinks not required.
And, some people - myself included - enjoy a good dose of both the "analyzing our place in the universe" message side AND the facial prosthetics and deus ex machina cheese.
Witness the renewed success of Doctor Who.
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Or Babylon 5, seasons 2 1/2-4.
It's true that there's an awful lot of bad sci-fi out there, but really that's true for any genre. My mother is also adverse to anything fantasy or sci-fi related that is not LotR. One of these days, I'm going to have to make her watch Buffy. She keeps catching bits of it and thinks it's ridiculous. Buffy is a tough one, because it does have cheesy, campy moments, but once you watch a few episodes, you realize there's a lot more to it.
It's funny; my husband and I were just having a conversation the other day about how cerebral sci-fi can be. Often, characters and plots are neglected in favor of some abstract concept that the author wishes to explore.
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