Canonizing Myth And Lore

drieux H. (drieux@wetware.com)
Thu, 19 Sep 1996 15:39:26 -0400

] On Tue, 17 Sep 1996, Ben Friedlander wrote:
]
] > Another '60s Science Fiction curiosity is Robert Heinlein's _Glory Road_,
] > serialized in _Fantasy & Science Fiction_ in 1963, I think. The book
] > features a protagonist who does a stint with the army in Southeast Asia.
] > (If memory serves right, Laos is mentioned and not Vietnam--but still.)
]
] Yes, _Glory Road_ *is* an interesting book, particularly in light of
] Heinlein's _Starship Troopers_, which clearly glorifies war and portrays
] it as a rite of passage for young men. The _Glory Road_ protagonist, as
] I recall (I haven't read the book in 15 years), combines hard-core combat
] vet status with a hard-boiled detective (almost noir) style, a precursor
] in many ways to Gus Hasford's and Charles Durden's combination of the same
] traits in, respectively, _A Gypsy Good Time_, and _The Fifth Law of
] Hawkins_.
]
] Kali Tal
] Sixties Project & Viet Nam Generaiton, Inc.

I think folks should be a bit careful about how they
brandish their antipathy towards 'the warrior' as kultural Icon,
as it was with no small amount of amusement as I watched some film
about Huey and the Panthers last night.

I shall presume that most folks here have at least a passing
awareness of the classic photography of Huey P. Newton with
both Rifle and Spear.

In this same genre, I presume that at least one other person here,
besides myself, will have purchased if NOT at least one copy of
the Panther Press, at least one copy of the 'little red book' and
in so doing, crossed the line into complicity with the Panther's
Minimalist Military Industrial Complex.

We could of course take the same sort of stroll down memory lane
and the question of the PLO and the IRA and a veritable plethora
of trendy armed organizations, including of course Che, Mao, Ho....

{ I would find it hard to believe I was the Only Person on this
list who had a Genuine Black Market Copy of the Poster of Che
hanging on his wall. It could happen... }

My Complements to Ben Friedlander for noting that SciFi as it came
of age in the sixties, and moved beyond mere SpaceWesterns, did become
a fashionable medium for dealing with socio-political issues, and has
offered us a short hand for giggling at things. When I was informed that
my son had an infaturation with 'Spock' from the Original Star Trek Series
my freinds consoled me with:

"It could have been worse,
he might have wanted to grow up and become
James T. Kirk
Icon of a Failed Machismo, and BadSchoolOfActing."

I'm sure that there must exist some Hard Korp Trekkie Head out there who
has already done the Requisite Analysis of the transition of Iconography
from the Original Star Trek Series, to the Contemporary Ones, and the
move from Mere Machismo to the more Paternalistic Visions of Capt. Picard
and even Capt. Janeway.

>From the Classic:

"All Senior Officers, and Four Phaser-Fodder to the Transporter."

to the modern case where the XO argues with the Captain about
not risking the ship's mission by putting the Captain at Risk.

>From the Simplistic Images of Warriors
to the Modern Debates about Worf as Father IN a Family Tradition.

{ yes, Kampfr's I worry that my son may notice that some advantage
can be gained over his father by arguing as the Son of Worf... }

Is it so much that the Icon's Per se Changed Magically,
or that the BabyBoomers Grew Old And Stale?

ciao
drieux