I thought this would be appropriate after the movie :) Courtesy of vgcats.com
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Reflections on Class Discussion 3/18
I feel that the quote from Mazer on 270 is really important. It has application to modern day, look at Pearl Harbor and 9/11. The US was attacked, people died, and the US declared war to seek vengeance. We didn't kill all the Japanese, but we took it to the next level with atomic weapons. This can all go back to the gold rule, "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth." Even when we try the diplomatic route on earth between people, that hardly ever works. I doubt if the buggers and humans had the ability to communicate at all that it would change everything. After all, we are very egocentric and I just don't think the governments of the earth would agree to allow a race to exist with better technology than us for long. The buggers did in fact fire the first shot from the information the bugger queen gives to Ender. Just like Pearl Harbor and 9/11 we attacked the group that made the first shot.
Maybe the buggers never deliberately attacked a civilian area, but humans have in the past to their own. Does that make us a lesser species?
Maybe the buggers never deliberately attacked a civilian area, but humans have in the past to their own. Does that make us a lesser species?
Monday, March 17, 2008
Ender's Game Reflection
I had forgotten exactly how much I enjoy this book, and it was really interesting to read it now that I'm a bit older. Also I thought that some of the letters included in the introduction were wonderful to read, it seems like there's something in this book that many people can relate to. In terms of the class though, when I read this I couldn't help but compare Ender to Yod. Yod said at one point that a weapon shouldn't be self aware, and largely because of that he decided to destroy himself. It struck me that the teachers and commanders were trying to turn Ender into a self-aware weapon just like Yod. They knew that they might destroy his life, but as long he fulfilled the purpose he was bred for it didn't really matter. Granted , Graff felt some sympathy for Ender, but that didn't stop his treatment of him. Once Ender had fulfilled his purpose he had apparently outlived his usefulness on Earth, his return would have certainly given one of the warring countries an advantage and that would not have been acceptable to anyone. He was still young, but I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened had he not been able to escape all of the pressures from earth by leaving for the new colonies. I can't imagine he could have held up indefinitely trapped in the outpost, and I don't think he would have willingly submitted to Peter's plans for the world.
I also read this at the same time as I was reading Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus, also by Card. When looked at together it really struck me how much easier it is to deal with an other who is an alien rather than an other who is human. The people of Earth have absolutely no doubt that the Buggers are evil and should be eradicated. Ender points out during the trial of Graff that people called him a cold blooded killer for the murders of Stilson and Bonzo, but that no one saw killing billions of Buggers as a crime. It wasn't until Ender became Speaker for the Dead that there was any indication that people saw the Buggers as anything but a deadly pest to be eradicated. It was much harder for Card to deal with human others however; he couldn't have easily looked at the native peoples from Columbus's perspective, it would make most modern readers incredibly uncomfortable to be expected to sympathize with a main character who saw other people as subhuman pests to be eradicated or exploited. Instead, that book had to be set from the perspective of enlightened historians from the future who could see the errors of Columbus's ways. Had Columbus encounter aliens rather than people however, the book could have been written from his perspective, rather than by people observing him. Condoning genocide of something that looks completely different from us is much easier for most readers to swallow. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that Card had other reasons for writing Pastwatch as he did, but even if this wasn't in his mind, I think it's relevant to themes we've been discussing.
I also read this at the same time as I was reading Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus, also by Card. When looked at together it really struck me how much easier it is to deal with an other who is an alien rather than an other who is human. The people of Earth have absolutely no doubt that the Buggers are evil and should be eradicated. Ender points out during the trial of Graff that people called him a cold blooded killer for the murders of Stilson and Bonzo, but that no one saw killing billions of Buggers as a crime. It wasn't until Ender became Speaker for the Dead that there was any indication that people saw the Buggers as anything but a deadly pest to be eradicated. It was much harder for Card to deal with human others however; he couldn't have easily looked at the native peoples from Columbus's perspective, it would make most modern readers incredibly uncomfortable to be expected to sympathize with a main character who saw other people as subhuman pests to be eradicated or exploited. Instead, that book had to be set from the perspective of enlightened historians from the future who could see the errors of Columbus's ways. Had Columbus encounter aliens rather than people however, the book could have been written from his perspective, rather than by people observing him. Condoning genocide of something that looks completely different from us is much easier for most readers to swallow. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that Card had other reasons for writing Pastwatch as he did, but even if this wasn't in his mind, I think it's relevant to themes we've been discussing.
Ender's Game and Shadow of the Hegemon
Since I read one of the sequels to Ender's Game I can't help but draw some things from both. First off, I wasn't surprised when I found out Mrs. Wiggins "was" Mormon. From the conversation she has with Bean in Shadow of the Hegemon, it made sense as to why having more than two children was important. After all, it takes 4 kids to get an ancestor out of hell.
I also wasn't that surprised that the "games" were real. I actually expected it before I even picked up the book when Professor Jackson mentioned that there would be a big shocker in the story. Maybe I'm just jaded from my military upbringing, that in war everything is possible. I haven't seen the tactics used in the novel in real life, but we do have simulations like Red Flag in Nevada that are pretty darn real. As my Dad has told me combat is the best training possible. Both really interested me. I loved the tactics and strategy I could easily see in Shadow, as it was countries fighting each other not humans vs buggers.
The whole Battle School concept isn't that far off to me. We have military academies at West Point, Annapolis, and the Air Force Academy in Colorado. There are War Colleges in Kansas and Virginia, for example, where military officers from the US and abroad come to study tactics and battle strategies. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen my Dad writing papers on past conflicts, some as currently as the Kosovo Campaign of 1998. We even have auxiliaries of all the branches for young kids to get involved with. Taking kids at 6 is extreme, but you can join one of the auxiliaries when you're 10.
I also wasn't that surprised that the "games" were real. I actually expected it before I even picked up the book when Professor Jackson mentioned that there would be a big shocker in the story. Maybe I'm just jaded from my military upbringing, that in war everything is possible. I haven't seen the tactics used in the novel in real life, but we do have simulations like Red Flag in Nevada that are pretty darn real. As my Dad has told me combat is the best training possible. Both really interested me. I loved the tactics and strategy I could easily see in Shadow, as it was countries fighting each other not humans vs buggers.
The whole Battle School concept isn't that far off to me. We have military academies at West Point, Annapolis, and the Air Force Academy in Colorado. There are War Colleges in Kansas and Virginia, for example, where military officers from the US and abroad come to study tactics and battle strategies. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen my Dad writing papers on past conflicts, some as currently as the Kosovo Campaign of 1998. We even have auxiliaries of all the branches for young kids to get involved with. Taking kids at 6 is extreme, but you can join one of the auxiliaries when you're 10.
Substinative, Ender's Game
This was a fun reread. I especially enjoy the (albeit brief) discussions about the internet based government Ender's siblings decide to take over. The internet seems to have the ability to allow for a far more direct democracy than we currently enjoy--the entire country, or even the entire world could debate, discuss, and decide upon issues both large and small. I'm not sure how practical the whole idea would be (not to mention, without representatives to elect I would be out of a job), but it sure would be fund.
Another major theme within the novel is the idea of a balance of empathy and ruthlessness. Peter is seen as too violent and closed to have the empathy necessary to understand the bugs in order to defeat them. Valentine is too understanding, she is unwilling to kill, and Ender, of course, is the perfect balance between the twain--Violent when necessary, but capable of understanding his opponent. Interestingly, the book also seems to suggest that humanity fall more in line with Peter--more interested in destroying the bugs outright than understanding them in the slightest. I find this especially interesting since one must assume that humanity contains a mixed cast of characters, some like peter, some like ender, and some like valentine. Yet the result Card portrays is not a balanced society like ender, but an extraordinarily violent one more like peter.
Another major theme within the novel is the idea of a balance of empathy and ruthlessness. Peter is seen as too violent and closed to have the empathy necessary to understand the bugs in order to defeat them. Valentine is too understanding, she is unwilling to kill, and Ender, of course, is the perfect balance between the twain--Violent when necessary, but capable of understanding his opponent. Interestingly, the book also seems to suggest that humanity fall more in line with Peter--more interested in destroying the bugs outright than understanding them in the slightest. I find this especially interesting since one must assume that humanity contains a mixed cast of characters, some like peter, some like ender, and some like valentine. Yet the result Card portrays is not a balanced society like ender, but an extraordinarily violent one more like peter.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Ender's Game
At first, I wanted to be like one of the Wiggin children with their superior intelligence at such a young age. They are the poster children for "Knowledge is power". We see Ender as a commander and Peter and Valentine stirring up trouble as Locke and Demosthenes. But thinking over it, it's not like they have superior intelligence and are throwing mud at each other. Peter and Valentine look for challenges (aka world domination through Locke and Demosthenes). Not only have the Wiggin children lost any chance at a normal childhood (especially in Ender's case), the fate of the humanity rests on their shoulders. Intense. Then on top of that Ender has to cope with killing another race. Poor Ender.
Which brings up genocide. It became clear that wiping out the entire race of buggers was genocide, but no human ever said "this might not be right" until Ender had already killed them and was acting as Speaker for the Dead. Humanity's excuse for genocide was self-defense, us or them, the best defense is a good offense attitude. Why rush into exterminating an entire race? Aside from the timing of the ships arriving near the bugger homeworld, could it be related to Ender's age? Would it have been harder to lie to Ender about the simulators if he had been a year or two older? If he had killed the buggers sooner, would it have not affected him as much?
Which brings up genocide. It became clear that wiping out the entire race of buggers was genocide, but no human ever said "this might not be right" until Ender had already killed them and was acting as Speaker for the Dead. Humanity's excuse for genocide was self-defense, us or them, the best defense is a good offense attitude. Why rush into exterminating an entire race? Aside from the timing of the ships arriving near the bugger homeworld, could it be related to Ender's age? Would it have been harder to lie to Ender about the simulators if he had been a year or two older? If he had killed the buggers sooner, would it have not affected him as much?
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