Space Opera

This week I read the novel The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester and focused on what elements in the story were drawn from or influenced by other genres. The story centered around a man, Gulliver Foyle, who is hellbent on revenge in a world where jaunting (or teleporting) has triggered a good deal of tension and even wars between clans and social classes.



This story reminded me a lot of old westerns and their motifs of exploring the unknown and finding new and dangerous threats at every turn. The story of revenge reminds me a lot of The Revenant, a neowestern film from this year. The story was, in fact, based on real events of a character seeking revenge for the people responsible for his demise. Both characters experience a disfigurement as well as travel being a major role in each story.

I think that the correlations between space operas and westerns are some of the most fascinating parts of this genre. It is fun to see the old ideologies stand the test of time, and really the only thing that's changed is the environment. Characters and institutions remain unchanged through time and the hard pressed theme of adventure and exploration stands true in both genres.

Space operas are some of the most creative stories I've read, and offer a lot in terms of world building and ingenuity. Not only do they speak to the heart of entertainment, but they warn us about the dangers of advancing technology taken the wrong way.