Our Opinions Are Correct

Binge watching. Peak TV. Water-cooler shows. We have many names for it, but they all mean that we've got way too much television. There were 487 scripted shows on the air in 2017, and 2018 is just as packed. In this episode, we talk about the history of peak TV, and what it's done to the way we tell stories. Some TV shows have been Wiki-ized, getting so complex that you need multiple fan wikis to keep up. Others have gotten ultra-bland or egregiously weird just to stand out. Is everything terrible, or is there a silver lining? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

In this episode, we look at Sense8, the globe-spanning show about mentally linked psychics from Lana and Lily Wachowski, and we celebrate its uplifting vision of people coming together and letting go of ego. But one of the most fascinating things about Sense8 is that its vision is fundamentally utopian. Why are utopias so rare in speculative fiction—and what makes them so hard to do well? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

We've all been feeling like something is wrong with the timeline. In this episode, we ask what alternate history, fake history, and secondary world history can teach us about the present. Does exploring the past in fiction help us learn from history or are we doomed to repeat it? History-obsessed authors Connie Willis (Blackout, Doomsday Book) and R.F. Kuang (The Poppy War) offer their thoughts too.  Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

We've all witnessed the awesome power of fandom: saving beloved TV shows from cancellation, creating beautiful fan art and fan-fiction, and creating brilliant communities. But the dark side of fandom is also powerful, and can lead to actors and creators being harassed and driven off the internet. How is fandom changing as science fiction and fantasy go mainstream, and how can we keep interactions between creators and fans constructive? We talked to authors Delilah Dawson and Naomi Novik about their experiences with fandom, and what it's like to go from geeking out about stories to creating their own canon. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Rich people want to eat you. That's the literal plot in a lot of horror movies, and the subtext of many more. Inspired by The Purge saga, we're talking about movies and TV where class warfare becomes a blood-soaked battleground. From recent standouts Get Out and Crimson Peak, to cult classics Human Centipede and Society, these stories evoke a very real fear, which is that the ultra-rich are predators and everyone else is prey. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

It's queer pride month, and we're talking about how LGBTQIA+ got into our SFF. We time warp back to the lesbian vampires of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla and the utopian world of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland, and catch you up on modern classics. Plus, we explore Torchwood, Sense8, Battlestar Galactica, and more! Along the way we ask why vampires and time travelers are so gay, and how queerness crept into fandom. Do fantastical stories help queer people cope with dark times? Yes! So much yes! Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Immigration is a major theme in science fiction, both in subtext and straightforward plot arcs. Creators often tell stories about new arrivals on Earth from other worlds, other dimensions, and other timelines. Poet and performer Baruch Porras-Hernandez joins us to discuss what these stories say about the fears and aspirations of real-life immigrants. Can scifi help people accept neighbors from far away, or are we doomed to live in a world where mutants are exiled to distant islands? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Special guest Maggie Tokuda-Hall, author of the children's book Also An Octopus, joins us to talk about what happens when animals become characters in science fiction and fantasy. Animals get to speak in fairy tales, Disney movies, and stories of "uplift." But are we really listening? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Fear of robots is on the rise -- in science fiction and the tech industry. What causes this anxiety in real life, and how does science fiction imagine the future of human/robot relationships? Are we going to be raw materials for a future AI civilization, or become robots ourselves? It's possible that our fantasies of robots are getting in the way of understanding the true risks and rewards of new technology. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

With Avengers: Infinity War about to hit theaters, we needed to talk about superheroes. What is it about these larger-than-life characters that fascinates us so much? Why can't we eliminate campiness and silliness from superhero epics? And have the ginormous superhero crossovers and shared universes finally gone too far? Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes