Great Maker!
Written: Jul 20 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent epic storytelling
Cons: None
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| ErgoPropterHoc's Full Review: Straczynski, J Michael |
Who is your favourite author? Which author has had the greatest impact on your life? When I was asked these questions a few weeks ago, and invited to pen an answer, along with dozens of other people here at Epinions, I was perplexed. How could I single out just one name, from the plethora of choices. It seemed like such a daunting task, that I almost declined to answer. That, however, seemed like too easy a way out.
This essay is an [incredibly late] part of the Favourite Authors Write Off, hosted by mshawpyle as a celebration of writing talent. Also participating in this write off are: andy, Arazim, buffoonery, caconti, caravan70, conradd, cornelia, CurtisEdmonds, emlin, endora60, ErgoPropterHoc, erik_kosberg, expono, forkids, Grouch, happy2000usa, halfsweet, jasonkirk, jrk, JMB623, kcfoxy, kchowell, kimmiko, Lambira, Leah, kurt_messick, mgreber, stonehousellc, stract, sweeper, sweetpaulie, and TomGray.
Instead of bowing out of the write-off, I allowed myself some time to ponder the question. Several names sprang forth into my mind: Norton Juster (author of The Phantom Tollbooth, which I reviewed as a part of the Children’s Book Write Off), Shel Silverstein, even Dr. Seuss. I wanted to choose someone who really had an impact on my life, and wouldn't make me look like an uncultured buffoon--even though I actually am.
I decided to address the situation more logically. I looked to see if I could identify an author of a literary work that really plays a continuing role in my life. What works do I refer to when looking for guidance in a difficult decision, or to help establish perspective on some problem? What have I read over and over again, to pick up new nuances, or just because I liked it? I could think of none.
Further consideration only served to befuddle the matter even more: what if I look not only at great literary names, but other authors who I really enjoy, and who certainly have had a major impact on my life. What of Ben Franklin: although he alone did not author the U.S. Constitution, he was a major player, and that and other works in which he was involved have certainly had a major impact on my life. From there, I then leaped to Bob Woodward - certainly a great investigative reporter. I don't think that any American could deny that his work had an impact on his own life.
All these streams of thought led me back to reconsider the question in more detail: who is my favourite author, or which author has had the greatest impact on my life? Would Ben Franklin or Bob Woodward qualify as "authors"? What does an author have to pen to qualify as an author? If I were to name someone like George Orwell, the author of many influential novels, that would clearly be an acceptable choice. Bob Woodward, while an investigative reporter, is also author of several books, including the recently released Shadow. He might be a controversial choice, but certainly an acceptable one. If I were to name Bill Shakespeare, the playwright, he would certainly also be an acceptable choice. Yet Shakespeare's works are not novels or poems, they are plays, intended to be performed and watched rather than read. This realization opened up a whole new realm of authors to choose from—authors not of texts to be read, but texts to be performed.
As one of the youngest participants in this write off, I have a relatively unique view of the world; I grew up in the cable television era. So when I seriously consider the question at hand, the answer that I reach is not the writer of novels, or plays, or biographies, but of a television programme. I can name one program, primarily attributable to a single author, which has to some extent built up my unique perspective on the world. The characters seem almost real, and still float around in my mind on a regular basis. I go back and watch it over and over again, to pick up new nuances, and just because I enjoy it so much. The programme is Babylon 5, and its author is J. Michael Straczynski.
I was there at the dawn of the third age of mankind. It began in the Earth year 2257, with the founding of the last of the Babylon stations, located deep in neutral space. It was a port of call for refugees, smugglers, businessmen, diplomats and travelers from a hundred worlds. Could be a dangerous place – but we accepted the risk, because Babylon 5 was our last, best hope for peace. Under the leadership of its final commander, Babylon 5 was a dream given form: a dream of a galaxy without war, when species from different worlds could live side by side in mutual respect. A dream that was in danger as never before, by the arrival of one man on a mission of destruction. Babylon 5 was the last of the Babylon stations. This is its story.
Straczynski, or the "Great Maker" (as he is known in the on-line community) set about to create a epic story of a magnitude rarely seen on the television screen. It was to be more like a mini-series than a regular television programme: a single cohesive story, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Unlike many television series', which develop individual episodes that are self-contained short stories, Babylon 5 was constructed from a five year long story arc, which allowed character and story development unlike any other program. Characters would grow and change over time, taking on new roles and forming new relationships as time progressed.
Nothing’s the same anymore.
Straczynski addresses social issues in a thoughtful, complex manner, similar to other great writers like George Orwell or Ray Bradbury. The future is not portrayed as some sort of quasi-utopia as in much of science fiction, but instead as a flawed, dangerous place. As he weaves an epic struggle between forces of light and dark, Straczynski calls into question the purpose of the struggle, and even the very nature of good and evil. Everything you think you know is turned on its ear, and you are left wondering not only about what you might have missed on the screen, but also what you might be missing in real life.
There is a greater darkness than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. The war we fight is not against powers and principalities – it is against chaos and despair. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this peril we can never surrender.
For myself, I have seen or read more stories of the future than I care to count, including two by authors I’ve mentioned before: Orwell’s 1984, and Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Yet none has pervasively stuck in my mind like Straczynski’s, probably because none are as completely believable. The horrors of 1984 and 451 are truly terrible, and both books make strong statements about where things might go if we let things get horribly out of hand. Yet Babylon 5 portrays a society that is very similar to what we have now; things do not seem out-of-control, and yet conspiracy and manipulation are rampant. While his settings might be in the future, Straczynski’s work is not as much a parable of what we might become as it is a metaphor for where we already are. It is because of him that I question virtually everything.
Who are you?
What do you want?
Why are you here?
Where are you going?
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
ErgoPropterHoc
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Location: Evanston, IL
Reviews written: 71
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