Ok, so I've read "The Bug Wars" (Robert Asprin) and the bugs are the enemy... (and btw they act too much like bugs even when they are intelligent - it is like we had advanced technology but still lived in caves).
Then I read another book "Starship Troopers" (R.A.Heinlein). OMG bugs again! Hive mind, workers, you pick it.
Now, I don't have to say who's the enemy in "Ender's Game". Ok, buggers (not exactly the same) but you get the idea.
Can't you see a trend here? I'm not a fan of bugs (specially spiders) but c'mon!
Posted by Gryphonesse (Member # 6651) on :
bugs are innately alien. They're nothing like us, so they are an excellent foil for telling a story
my 0.02
Posted by 0range7Penguin (Member # 7337) on :
Its because the mice hired lawyers... Posted by DarkKnight (Member # 7536) on :
I don't know if we can exactly say there is a trend here against bugs. Sharks don't exactly have a great reputation either. It might make for an interesting poll, what od you hate (or fear) more, sharks or bugs?
Posted by Clumpy (Member # 8122) on :
Yeah, but the point of Ender's Game isn't the "bugs". I don't think that OSC makes any claim that his science fiction ideas are COMPLETELY original - it's the execution that makes his books fun to read.
I think the point of the bug-like attributes of the Buggers are there to showcase their alien inscrutability. They don't focus on comfortable aspects of life because that's simply not where they place their priorities.
To tell the truth, I'm not quite sure WHERE the Buggers put their priorities, outside of survival.
Posted by Gryphonesse (Member # 6651) on :
quote:Originally posted by 0range7Penguin: Its because the mice hired lawyers...
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
Plus the bug model lend themselves very nicely to the hive mind concept, which is one of the major ways that humans could overcome a technologically superior race.
Posted by chracatoa (Member # 7575) on :
I know, I know. I think it was curious since I've read two books in a row with different authors and bugs as the enemy (Heinlein's and Asprin's). I found it interesting.
But I think that at least they could have clothing, silverware, arts, entertainment, public transport, letters to the editor, etc...
By the way, I just remebered another one: Vernor Vinge's "Deepness in the Sky" spiders. They DO have clothing.
Posted by Exploding Monkey (Member # 7612) on :
"Is this gonna be a stand-up fight sir, or another bug hunt?" "All we know is that there's still no contact with the colony, and that a xenomorph may be involved." "Excuse me sir, uh...uh WHAT?!" "A xenomorph." "It's a bug hunt."
Of course I liked Ender's Game. I liked Troopers. I HATED the film even though Richards is one hot little mama! Never picked up The Bug Wars.
Posted by Exploding Monkey (Member # 7612) on :
The whole hive thing has been way over used in sci-fi. Trek used it with the Borg and messed that up. I liked it better when the Borg were more of a 'one consciousness, one mind' kind of thing before they spoiled it with the Queen and the whole hive bit. But then of course we're talking about Trek. They managed to mess up almost every decent sci-fi concept they brought to the show.
I fear many of the non-read viewers of the Ender film will see Scott's work as a tired rip off of other film and television sci-fi even though Ender beat a lot of them to the punch in that respect.
Posted by alluvion (Member # 7462) on :
It's a shame that building a nice aquarium/terrorium has so fallen out of favor amongst the newly gentrified crowd.
*brandishes butterfly net and leans ominously in the direction of the nearest...*
Posted by Antony (Member # 7947) on :
the fact is bugs... or rather insects are the most adaptable creatures on earth, more so then humans. Cockroaches would be the dominant species on earth if they had lungs rather then pores.
That makes hypothesising about more capable variations on the same basic genetic structure pretty fearful. Also, hime-mind is synonimous with insects.
Reptiloids have also been largely used in SF as well.
Posted by Antony (Member # 7947) on :
quote:Originally posted by Exploding Monkey: I liked it better when the Borg were more of a 'one consciousness, one mind' kind of thing before they spoiled it with the Queen and the whole hive bit.
WOOOOO!!!! I am SO F**KING GLAD someone else that I've never met before expressed this opinion!! Thankyou!
Posted by Silifi (Member # 7901) on :
It's because bug are evil to the human mind. Humans are very individualistic. We're mammals, and we fight for our own survival, not the survival of a hive. Bugs are the exact opposite of that. Same reason why so many people hated Communism.
Also, bugs just look evil. They're similar enough to humans that we can see ourselves in them, but also very different. We see them as a perversion of the human form.
Posted by Exploding Monkey (Member # 7612) on :
People have a fear of insects also because of the alien design of their body. The skeleton is on the OUTSIDE.
This is one of the reason's H.R. Geiger's design was so effective in Alien. He tapped into a basic human fear and Ridley Scott used the design very well in the film.
LOL Antony!
Posted by FoolishTook (Member # 5358) on :
This might be totally random, but I think we should start eating bugs. That way if a large alien bug race invaded, it wouldn't be half as terrifying as it seems now. Sort of like a large alien race of Hershey's Kisses dropping "menacingly" from the heavens.
Posted by Jenny Gardener (Member # 903) on :
And I'm just sad, because I'm fond of insects. I wish people would quit demonizing them. I've just started keeping honeybees, and I'm finding that dealing with a hive mind is not that scary at all. It's rather nice.
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