tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8417850843973944836.post6596068089349712421..comments2024-02-27T00:19:14.984-08:00Comments on Burning Zeppelin Experience: The Power of FantasyMarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16741134687274260833noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8417850843973944836.post-24384012635355479462009-04-14T11:20:00.000-07:002009-04-14T11:20:00.000-07:00@jeepersteepersWelcome to the Burning Zeppelin! I ...<B>@jeepersteepers</B>Welcome to the Burning Zeppelin! I also loved the Samaria series. I thought they were brilliant.<br /><br /><B>@ Becca</B>If that's the case, then why were so many of the monologues about pain? Why were so many of them about how lousy men are? Why did most of those that mentioned sexual abuse treat it as something irrevocable (of the three, one was an uplifting story of someone discovering her own body after sexual abuse, the others were depressing as all hell)?<br /><br />That's what I mean by conversation: the fact that you see all <I>that</I> negative, painful stuff as "having a voice period" says a lot about what conversation you're having. It's not that you can't talk about bad stuff, it's how. I saw very little that was uplifting or beautifying in the Vagina Monologues. Some, certainly (such as the one about a woman in the misnamed "Vagina Workshop" discovering her clitoris), but even it was tainted by repetition of the "the bad male world is bad for women, who can't be expected to protect themselves from it" meme.<br /><br />Um... that came out a lot more critical than I intended it to. Really, it's nothing personal and you're not a bad person. It's just interesting.<br /><br />For whatever it's worth, the Abigail agrees with me.<br /><br />Anyway, on to Sharon Shinn. Frankly, I wouldn't go too far with comparing Samaria's groups to real world groups. Sure, there's similarity, but this is kind of the point - the Edori <I>aren't</I> Jews and the Jansai <I>aren't</I> Arabs. They just play them in your imagination.<br /><br />While flat characterization is annoying (DISCLAIMER: I haven't read <I>Angel Seeker</I>, but I have read other Shinn books and discussed <I>Angel Seeker</I> with Becca in person before!) - and that's what you seemed to be describing - it's important to remember that the beauty of fantasy is that that connection, the one that tells you that the Jansai <I>are</I> Arabs, is all in your head.<br /><br />Not that it's meaningless. It just isn't real.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8417850843973944836.post-80200657107459722792009-04-13T18:13:00.000-07:002009-04-13T18:13:00.000-07:00Hmm...I respectfully disagree with your theory tha...Hmm...I respectfully disagree with your theory that the show's conversation was "how can we protect vulnerable women from bad men." For me (and it's perhaps going to be different for me because I'm female), it was about celebrating something that women don't get to talk about. For me, the conversation was about <I>having</I> a voice period.<br /><br />Anyway, I always find it interesting to see what guys think of The Vagina Monologues, either if they like it or if they don't (and now I want to know what Abby thinks of it).<br /><br />As for Sharon Shinn, I really enjoyed the first three Samaria books. Then I got to Angel Seeker (one of the side books) and I was so offended (as a Jew) by its portrayal of Arabic culture that it's going to take me a while to be able to read a Sharon Shinn book again. Which is a shame, because I had really enjoyed her books up to that point.Beccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11095275967947187449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8417850843973944836.post-64188525903453249372009-04-13T14:38:00.000-07:002009-04-13T14:38:00.000-07:00Hi, I've been lurking and reading your entries sin...Hi, I've been lurking and reading your entries since spotting your comment in Martin Millar's blog. <BR/><BR/>I love Sharon Shinn. I find the Samaria series fascinating and I'd love to sit down and chat with her about it--particularly about the Edori and their relation to Jews.<BR/><BR/>That is all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com