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sethness — The Truth about Alien Invasion
Published: 2007-03-20 13:50:28 +0000 UTC; Views: 2140; Favourites: 5; Downloads: 8
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Did this one a couple of years ago. Colored pencil on paper, watercolor, and a little photoshopping.This is a small protest on my part, based on the arbitrarily narrow definition we use to describe possible alien life. Why should it move at human speeds? Why not as fast as a blur, or as slow as a glacier? Why should it be made from carbon, make babies, eat, use sunlight, pee, and poop? None of these seem terribly necessary, in my view. Heck, any stone could simply be an alien amongst us, and we wouldn't notice.
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Comments: 21
That's kinda more like a prank.
Oh yeah, there are more aliens out there in fiction, as some people believe... (example, Stitch, exp. 626 - I remember that guy.)
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The problem with coming up with something truly alien is kinda like coming up with a total random number by a formula. Not sure it can be done, some folks come close but you always see something familiar.
Since when is Hollywood a great source of creativity anyway? They water down stuff because they think people won't get it and you know what, most folks won't.
I went and saw the Blair witch project and most of the folks there thought the movie was a fraud because they were expecting something to jump out. I was ok with not seeing the Blair witch.
Fox is like the idea of Chaos, lots of crap but then once in a while you get great stuff thats treated like crap. Futurama was a great show, took a lot of guts to stay away from the star trek stuff because there is a lot of stuff to make fun of there. Used to watch it on fox but they kept moving it around/canceling for the stupid sports events. They should have kept it and dumped American Dad.
You might be able to get Futurama dvds.
Interesting picture.
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I think you see "something familiar" in every alien because a REAL alien would be boring or confusing--
For one thing, if the alien were ultra-fast or slow or big or small or smart or stupid, its interaction with people would be simple: Squash! or "What was that?"
For another thing, alien emotions and facial expressions would be singularly difficult to understand or get excited about-- for example, if Little Green Men say that they want to commit suicide with a spoon because it's a form of "delicious love-revenge-hatred", the audience simply wouldn't know how to react, and would get headaches or feel bored.
And if the alien is a big vat of goo, clearly there's no body-language available for the audience to feel empathy with.
Likewise, an extremely different society--say, one like bees or cells-in-a-body-- would be difficult to get excited about, except as monster-of-the-week on a mostly-human space opera like FarScape or StarTrek or Red Dwarf.
You're right, Hollywood is aiming for an idiot audience. Heck, if I see one more fire in space, or gravity in a spaceship, or sounds-in-space, I think I'll go MAD!
It's too bad, since the really realistic films like "2001: a Space Odyssey" are the ones that we remember and love the best.
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George Lucas probably had WW1/2 dogfights in mind when thinking about star wars.
I almost forgot about the statistic that 50% of all hookers are space aliens.
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The problem with reality it can be no fun.
Seeing something blow up without a big boom, sorta takes the fun away.
Yeah its realistic but not so dramatic. How come in the British sci fi shows, the aliens have English accents? Did they go to school at Cambridge on Alpha Centauri?
Gravity on a spaceship, well some shows have gravity generators and other ones rotate, so that might not be so far fetched as sound in space.
Soon as someone finds a way to harness gravitons, we will be in business. What we know now in Physics is not everything, not even 50%, maybe not even 25%.
I bet 10, 50, 100 years ago, if you told esteemed scientists about some of the stuff we take for granted now, they would laugh in your face. So to say some things are impossible well maybe now but who knows 10 or more years from now. Imagine talking to some guy during the Victorian age about an iPod, thousands of songs on a small pocket sized player with earphones?
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Lucas most definitely DID have WWI/WWII dogfights in mind when the first star wars movie came out. (For the latest star wars movies, I think he just overdosed on greenscreen and bad acting. 
You said "seeing something blow up without a big boom, sorta takes the fun away." I don't think I agree-- Take a look at the most riveting, unforgettable parts of 2001: A Space Odyssey. When David Bowman blows a door off his pod (in complete silence) and then rockets into the airlock, I'm absolutely at the edge of my seat-- and the strangeness of the silence is what rivets me.
Likewise, in the many spacesuited high-tension scenes, it's the breathing sound that grabs my attention-- and when HAL attacks Frank Poole, it's the silence of the attack and his strangulation-struggle that are compelling.
In short, space CAN be fun when it uses real physics. It's just a matter of moving from one kind of eye-candy to another.
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You might be right about that, its been a while since I have seen the first 2001.
For me the issue of realism in sci fi is almost like the issue of realism in artwork.
Unlike 3d, traditional artwork can move along a continuum of abstract to realism and thats great. Somebody at the Artist's magazine said that the best realist work has a good abstract foundation, feels true to me but don't ask me to explain it because I don't know.
Maybe they should add more realism to sci fi but maybe not, if they don't tell a good story, then realism or not, it won't matter. 2001 was a great story and they lucked out with a director who knew how to bring it out.
Most of the stuff I watch on the sci fi channel is like a Taco bell meal, minus the rats, not really close to a classic movie.
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(For the latest star wars movies, I think he just overdosed on greenscreen and bad acting.
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He should have stayed away from the dialogue too. Had some pretty decent actors/actresses and they said such stuff. Natalie Portman has more skills that what they gave her to do. Basically Cry and Die, could have save the money hiring her and gotten a B level actress instead. Take the difference and put it towards better dialogue. At least it was not a Final Fantasy sized disaster, I did have some sympathy for the characters, Uncanny Valley be darned.
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Good points, all.
As for Natalie Portman, yep-- Liam Neeson, Sam Jackson, and Ewan MacGregor, too-- they all CAN really ACT, but either didn't get the chance or were held back by having to imagine all the green-screen characters.
The reliance on greenscreen is good for FX, of course, but can't be good for actors-- take FarScape from SciFi channel, for example-- one of the things the actors liked best was that they had the puppets right there, where the actors coudl see and touch the puppets-- and it made all the difference in the world (they said, in the DVD commentary track).
As for space fantasy and unrealism-- sure, it has its place as a storytelling genre. It's just that there are so few entries in the "real science" fiction stories that I feel like I've got 24 dozen LEFT socks and want to buy some more RIGHT-FOOT socks.
At the risk of repeating myself, the silence (or real sounds) in space, for example, can be truly chilling, just as when MacGuyver's cleverness was based on REAL engineering, it was refreshing and fun in a seldom-explored way.
BTW, maybe it's pouring gasoline on a flame, but have you visited that great [link] "movie physics" site on the net? It makes really entertaining reading-- they dissect new films and explore the realism of the physics involved (sparking bullets, impossible gliders, etc.)-- it's a great wayto enjoy a film the SECOND time, after watching it the first time for the story.
LOL about the "Taco Bell minus the rats" line. Insta-classic.
BTW, I'm far from any English-speaking country,so I don't know what's on TV, but I'd love to know if there's anyshow trying to fill in that great genre that JoeBob Briggs and MST3K created-- the humorous film heckle?
The closest thing I've seen was a Steve Oedekirk film, "Kung Pow" I think, where they recut and redubbed a film for humor's sake.
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BTW, maybe it's pouring gasoline on a flame, but have you visited that great [link] "movie physics" site on the net? It makes really entertaining reading-- they dissect new films and explore the realism of the physics involved (sparking bullets, impossible gliders, etc.)-- it's a great way to enjoy a film the SECOND time, after watching it the first time for the story.
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Gonna put that on my favs.
Pouring gas on a flame probably will put it out unless its very hot.
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LOL about the "Taco Bell minus the rats" line. Insta-classic.
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There was a Taco Bell/KFC in NYC that was closed for health reasons. Rats moved in and were put on TV. Even MSN had footage of rats running back and forward in the store. I know that place, have walked by it for years, went by it last Thursday but no rats were seen. The people who owned it put brown paper on the inside of the windows depriving passersby of a free show.
When I finally got access to Cable tv, Farscape went off the air.
I figure that they have people jumping through windows made of sugar instead of glass. Heard something about that, not sure its true.
Remember hearing about the early cars had windshields made of regular glass and if you had an accident and went through the windshield, it was not pretty.
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I think the sugar-glass thing is true. Certainly, even a minor encounter with broken glass can be totally tragic-- it's unfortunate that it looks so safe in the movies. Aside from the ending of "ghost", I can't think of any film offhand where broken glass is portrayed as the flying-ginsu-knifeset monster that it really is.
Sorry to hear about Cable, Farscape, and you. I really enjoyed the first season on DVD, then realized it was a Fox network production (which totally killed my interest)... I only recently realized that the remainder of the show was paid for by the SciFi channel, which is rekindling my interest big-time.
BTW, regarding MST3K... you can download epsodes from the Digital Archive Project for free. Requires eMule or something like that, which is free software. Check it out-- oodles of fun.
re: taco rats: Oh, NYC. Well, that explains a lot. Any big city is bound to have rat problems. Even ultra-clean Japanese cities have'em. (I see'em all the time in subways.) I'm surprised that particular branch of TB didn't have better success trying to keep the rats out, though-- what, did the rats have multiple points of entry?
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re: taco rats: Oh, NYC. Well, that explains a lot. Any big city is bound to have rat problems. Even ultra-clean Japanese cities have'em. (I see'em all the time in subways.) I'm surprised that particular branch of TB didn't have better success trying to keep the rats out, though-- what, did the rats have multiple points of entry?
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Not sure where they came in at, probably not the front door.
When they showed the videos, the rats just ran back and forth, they did not eat anything. That neighborhood is kinda old so who knows what sort of holes/gaps/cracks were in the basement. Being NYC rats, they could have picked the lock on the employee entrance and gotten in that way.
I have seen rats on the tracks but the scary ones are the ones on the train platform. No big deal even if they have iPods and dress better than me. They tend to read their newspapers or listen to their music and not bother anyone.
Cool idea for a picture, draw up some rats dressed like urbanites with iPods and rolling suitcases, backpacks, waiting for the train. Gotta have one rat with a "J and R" bag and a Macy's bag.
Have not seen one on a train but a friend said his wife felt one run over her feet. Those rolling suitcases are a pain.
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LOL, "rolling suitcases" and "picking the lock".
What's "J&R"? There's a JR in Japan, but it's a railroad, and I think you're talking about a department store.
The idea for yuppie/republican upscale rats is fun-- needs a kicker punchline, I think-- or just deadpan?
deadpan: "Victor and Bunky waited patiently for the train that would carry them uptown. Vic glanced briefly and longingly at some tasty-looking trash nearby, but pulled back when he remembered the last time he'd eaten downtown."
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J &R is an electronics store in lower Manhattan. Actually its a bunch of related stores on Park row, so they have these different store fronts. Its not one building like Macy's.
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The idea for yuppie/republican upscale rats is fun-- needs a kicker punchline, I think-- or just deadpan?
deadpan: "Victor and Bunky waited patiently for the train that would carry them uptown. Vic glanced briefly and longingly at some tasty-looking trash nearby, but pulled back when he remembered the last time he'd eaten downtown."
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Show a trashy looking female rat and a overflowing garbage can next to Bunky, this way you can confuse the viewers. Maybe not confuse them but some will get the wordplay but most will just see the garbage and wonder why the skanky rat is there.
deadpan: "Victor and Bunky waited patiently for the train that would carry them uptown. Vic glanced briefly and longingly at some tasty-looking trash nearby, but pulled back when he remembered the last time he had some downtown."
This caption would be great for this, had to tweak it a bit to make it more vague. This adjustment will make it easier to pick either the garbage or the trashy female rat. Wordplay is on the term "Trash/Trashy".
Have you thought about submitting your stuff to the New Yorker magazine or other magazines? The New Yorker has a comedy issue but I don't remember when it comes out.
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Oooh...nice work on the wording. Definitely do-able, with that wording.
re: getting published:
Yep, thought about it a lot. Hence the focus on doing lickety-split single-frame art in B&W-- I'm trying to train for newspaper/magazine cartoon work.
New Yorker magazine sure has lots of cartoons-- in every issue-- and occasional toon-specialty issues, as you noticed. I never thought the NYer toons were terribly funny, though... do you like'em? (Maybe they've improved since the last time I looked, years ago?)
I've got my sites set lower-- maybe [link] the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, which always has 3 or 4 fantasy/SF-themed single-frame toons per issue.
Dunno how to get started, though-- I imagine getting an agent is a first step, but I wouldn't know where to start. I'm thinking about selling through [link] CartoonStock.com too-- have you ever seen their site? (Searchable database of printable/webbable toons)
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New Yorker has a book on some of the rejected cartoons. Saw this on the cover, a ventriloquist drinking out of a bottle of wine and his barfing dummy. That was great.
Will probably have to take this with many grains of salt since I am not a cartoonist. I would try getting in contact with magazines that are interested in content that you are making. Sci fi magazines would be good, how about Asimov (if its still around). Go to a big newsstand or magazine store and check out the magazines for possible targets. Maybe you can write off buying the magazines as business expenses. The more targets you can get to make contact, the better off you are.
Don't know anything about agents.
I did see a magazine that has a survival kit for freelancers, not sure that will help you, can give the name if you want.
There is a magazine called the Voice, in NYC and they have some cartoons. So you might want to check out small newspapers too.
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The Village Voice? Man, that's world-famous. Or maybe I just know it because I'm an ex-New Yawkuh.
I think Mark Fiore (markfiore.com) got his start with the Voice. (He makes political Shockwave Web cartoons. Not sure if he also does pen-and-ink cartoons for the Voice, or only does his stuff online?)
re: Asimov's-- good idea. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, too (mfsf.com, I think). I know Asimov's is the oldest pulp short-story SF mag around-- do they definitely have B&W cartoons in their magazine? (I haven't seen an Asimov's yet.)
Thanks for the hints-- and yes, if you can remember the name of the magazine that has a "survival kit for freelancers", I'd love to know the details.
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Its called Computer Arts Projects.
If you are from the UK, it will be cheaper unless the magazine is from Australia like Design graphics.
Not sure Asimov's is still around.
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The Village Voice? Man, that's world-famous. Or maybe I just know it because I'm an ex-New Yawkuh.
I think Mark Fiore (markfiore.com) got his start with the Voice. (He makes political Shockwave Web cartoons. Not sure if he also does pen-and-ink cartoons for the Voice, or only does his stuff online?)
re: Asimov's-- good idea. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, too (mfsf.com, I think). I know Asimov's is the oldest pulp short-story SF mag around-- do they definitely have B&W cartoons in their magazine? (I haven't seen an Asimov's yet.)
Thanks for the hints-- and yes, if you can remember the name of the magazine that has a "survival kit for freelancers", I'd love to know the details.
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It is a bit stupid isn't it? i guess because the budget wont allow cameras that capture stuff that fast >.< lol. I remember an episode of star trek where they jumped dimension and everything was reeeeeeaaaally slow, and there are a few 'concept' aliens out there. I think Futurama does them best, what with benders ass holding a planet, a purple cloud controlling the star trek crew, and 'god' the galaxy-sized mass of light. but mostly they seem to stick to googly eyes, antennae, or something remarkably human-based. all these scientists theorise about how many other elements there could be out there... i wish that when you saw a periodic table in a TV show it had a few extra, or that it said "earth version" in the corner or something...
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Yes, TV aliens (and periodic tables) are remarkably earth-centric. The whole language problem is ALWAYs neatly avoided (except in "Contact", the film bastardization of the Carl Sagan novel), for example.
Emotions, too-- why on Earth (so to speak) would an alien have the same basic emotions as we do?
Bender's ass-planet and the galaxy-sized being sound like nice departures from the hollywoodization of aliens. THanks for mentioning that-- I haven't even SEEN Futurama yet (living outside the US), so I didn't even suspect that at least one show is trying to broaden our vision.
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oh its fantastic. you should definately download some. Although the aliens do all speak english, i think there was one show where they came up with a suitably matt groening-esque reason for it.
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