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clodia_risaMatt and I have an arrangement in which he watches one episode of Princess Tutu for every ninety pages of Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlen. Which is one of those seminal scifi books of the early sixties that even my mother has heard of.
Now I like SciFi pretty well, but I prefer Fantasy. Actually, I prefer to read books that I pick out myself, as I tend to do pretty well, and can find better motivation for reading them. But Since I've been trying to get him to watch Princess Tutu for a few months now, and I should probably read it anyway, it sounds like a deal to me.
I'm only ninety pages into it, and I can give you a short summary for why you should read this book: Earth sends an expedition to Mars. It never returns. Some 15-30 years later, another expedition is sent, and the kid of two of the astronauts is found, having been raised by Martians. They take him back to Earth for a fun cultural exchange. There are understandings and revelations.
It's interesting in the relationship of Smith (the Martian) to everyone else, because his physiology, his thoughts, his words, his actions, are all Martian. You believe that he is alien. Heinlen does this well.
What is bothering me is this:
"Use your pretty curly head."
"Jill did not offer logical rebuttal; she simply stuck out over lower lip and insisted..."
"Gillian Boardman was considered professionally competent as a nurse; she was judged competent in wider fields by the bachelor internes and she was judged harshly by some of the women. There was no harm in her and her hobby was men."
Formula: Exclamation by girl. Two paragraph explanation by boy.
Now this isn't as bad as some I've read. Some have been...nearly blatant. But it was the times, eh? It feels like a boys club. And while Jill looks to be the main character (besides the Martian) and capable, and rational, and intelligent, its still there. She's all of those things so long as she is not with a man. As soon as she is she is nearly hit, she turns sexy or silly or...one of those other girly sexist things. And since Smith was raised without women, I'm afraid of her turning into the perfect woman. Metaphorically or whatever.
So thank you, women's college education, and intelligent friends that I have had many conversations with. Without you, I don't know if I would have picked up on this. I might be enjoying this book a lot more than I am now.
Of course, I wouldn't've been able to protect myself from it either.
Now I like SciFi pretty well, but I prefer Fantasy. Actually, I prefer to read books that I pick out myself, as I tend to do pretty well, and can find better motivation for reading them. But Since I've been trying to get him to watch Princess Tutu for a few months now, and I should probably read it anyway, it sounds like a deal to me.
I'm only ninety pages into it, and I can give you a short summary for why you should read this book: Earth sends an expedition to Mars. It never returns. Some 15-30 years later, another expedition is sent, and the kid of two of the astronauts is found, having been raised by Martians. They take him back to Earth for a fun cultural exchange. There are understandings and revelations.
It's interesting in the relationship of Smith (the Martian) to everyone else, because his physiology, his thoughts, his words, his actions, are all Martian. You believe that he is alien. Heinlen does this well.
What is bothering me is this:
"Use your pretty curly head."
"Jill did not offer logical rebuttal; she simply stuck out over lower lip and insisted..."
"Gillian Boardman was considered professionally competent as a nurse; she was judged competent in wider fields by the bachelor internes and she was judged harshly by some of the women. There was no harm in her and her hobby was men."
Formula: Exclamation by girl. Two paragraph explanation by boy.
Now this isn't as bad as some I've read. Some have been...nearly blatant. But it was the times, eh? It feels like a boys club. And while Jill looks to be the main character (besides the Martian) and capable, and rational, and intelligent, its still there. She's all of those things so long as she is not with a man. As soon as she is she is nearly hit, she turns sexy or silly or...one of those other girly sexist things. And since Smith was raised without women, I'm afraid of her turning into the perfect woman. Metaphorically or whatever.
So thank you, women's college education, and intelligent friends that I have had many conversations with. Without you, I don't know if I would have picked up on this. I might be enjoying this book a lot more than I am now.
Of course, I wouldn't've been able to protect myself from it either.
no subject
on 2006-10-13 10:43 pm (UTC)As I recall, though (and I have read it about five or six times), Mike is described in very feminine terms, which is also interesting. Oh, for time to do actual reading again. December is entirely too far away.
(no subject)
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