12 KiB
Do you know any good movie or show that would fit the parameters of rational fiction?
-
Author: u/None *
-
URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/2mrn7x/do_you_know_any_good_movie_or_show_that_would_fit/
-
Score: 4
-
Created: 2014-11-19T13:14:11
Post:
For example, I suppose V for Vendetta seems rationalist enough, even if not strictly so. Do you have any better fitting suggestions? The real reason may or may not be that I'm out of good shows to watch.
Comments:
u/andor3333 [+13] (an hour later)
I am personally waiting for the animated series of Worm. (No, sadly this isn't actually a thing.)
u/Solonarv [+1] Chaos Legion (a day later)
/u/Leoano over at /r/parahumans has been making animations for some capes.
Also, depending on how much money Wildbow has and how mch we pester him, it could still happen. One can dream.
Edit: I typo'd the username.
u/Bowbreaker [+1] Solitary Locust (a day later)
/u/Leano seems to be a guy with no posts at all. Typo?
u/Drexer [+4] (5 hours later)
Elementary.
Now, this isn't a rational detective show, those are from my prespective pretty much impossible to do with presenting, investigating and solving a murder in an one hour runtime, and much of the criticisms that might apply to the classic Sherlock Homes and its derivatives apply here too. Yes, even to the spectacular "Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century" which gaves us the Hound of the Baskervilles on the Moon.
And although I do enjoy how the writers do try to use real concepts in plausible cenarios, even I will admit that they do take quite a bit of shortcuts and usual tricks which do not reflect reality in service of drama. And that's fine really.
Because the truth, is that Elementary is a rational sociological show.
Its interest comes from how the people work and live in belieavable ways, how they give themselves goals and work towards them, how they react in realistic ways and how they change and adapt their goals based on what happens. Contrary to the inferior example of BBC Sherlock in my opinion, here a grumpy or insulting Holmes is called out on his actions and words repeatedly, both when he's only trying to disguise his social bias with pseudo-science words and when his actions are in fact counter-productive to his objectives because he's human and his errors are human as well.
It also has one of the best portrayals of addiction and its dificulties I've ever seen on a show.
And now here's a series of spoilerrific examples from the first two seasons and the beginning of this new third one:
It's really a wonderful show, which might not use the common 'rational' elements that fit all the checkboxes, but on the aspects that it wants to improve and stand out as such, it does so beautifully.
Also, it has this trailer.
u/None [+2] (9 hours later)
Notable indeed. Note taken.
u/None [+2] (an hour later)
I haven't seen it in years, but I think Sunshine (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448134/) at least attempts to be a rational story. There are lots and lots of movies where characters have some sort of a mission that will decide the fate of humanity, but this is the only one I know where the characters actually seem to understand what it means, the gravity of the situation, and try to act with a kind of pragmatic ruthlessness, as you would.
I can't guarantee that this is a 100% successful rationalist movie. I am sure that if I re-watched it, I'd notice lots of stupid stuff, too. But at least the movie had its brain in the right place and tried.
u/None [+3] (4 hours later)
I've seen it. Honestly, it seems that this "rationalist" side is a little overshadowed by the improbable dumb shit that happens.
u/Salaris [+2] Dominion Sorcerer (a day later)
If you're up for anime, Log Horizon is pretty rational (but not rationalist).
u/ianstlawrence [+2] (2 days later)
GODDAMN FUCKING PRIMER
TIME TRAVEL
8k BUDGET
AMAZING
Took me watching it 4 times to get what the fuck was going on.
u/ZombieboyRoy [+2] (10 days later)
Can't believe I miss this thread.
My roommates and I found the anime series "Legend of Galactic Heroes" fits the bill for a rational story.
Highly recommend it.
u/Schnake_bitten [+2] (7 hours later)
"The Man from Earth" I can't say that it is really fits the criterion, but I think I found it in this sub and love the shit out of it. It is about a man who claims to be immortal.
u/None [+5] (9 hours later)
In truth, I couldn't get around the fact that nobody tried to ask him to speak in ancient languages and maybe translate linear B.
u/eaglejarl [+3] (8 hours later)
Second the nomination. Great movie.
u/None [+0] (55 minutes later)
Agents of SHIELD isn't … Well, it isn't bad, but I wouldn't call it rational. I don't watch much TV nonironically lately; it's mostly "throw-popcorn-at-screen" mode.
I'm sure there are some good animes, but I'm not into that.
u/None [+3] (a day later)
Aldnoah.Zero. The main character Inaho is clever as all get-out and routinely out-thinks his opponents.
u/AmeteurOpinions [+1] Finally, everyone was working together. (a day later)
Erm, no. Inaho is only clever by contrast to his opponents being absolute idiots, which is pretty far from any kind of rational fiction.
u/None [+2] (2 days later)
Doesn't change that he's still outmatched in most other aspects: resources, equipment, time, etc. At one point he spoiler. He is, at the very least, thinking his way out of problems. He might not be assessing relative Bayesian probabilities in his head but at least he's using it.
u/AmeteurOpinions [+1] Finally, everyone was working together. (2 days later)
I never actually finished the show, only dropped it like a JDAM at the first whiff of Slaine having plot-relevant pedigree. Even before that I was getting fed up with the inability of anyone besides Inaho to have ideas. The first three episodes were good, but it couldn't hold my interest.
u/None [+3] (3 days later)
I thought the first two episodes were unbearably predictable, then Inaho shows a modicum of intelligence and I'm in. I guess my expectations were just low going into it, and yeah he does have kind of a monopoly on ideas, but Slaine...that last episode of season 1, holy crap.
u/None [+1] (4 hours later)
I hear you mate. It seems like it's getting dumber and dumber every year. Or it's just me getting old, who knows.
u/None [+2] (11 hours later)
Gerry Mander's Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television is perhaps more comprehensive than anyone needs, but I think it's not getting dumber, and you are not becoming a cranky old coot shouting at youngsters. It's very likely that it just takes time to get familiar enough with something so it moves from superstimulus to I-can-see-how-this-is-a-flawed-mechanism to this-is-annoying to how-could-I-possibly-have-time-for-anything-delivered-via-this-clearly-poor-mechanism.
u/PeridexisErrant [+1] put aside fear for courage, and death for life (16 hours later)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Arguments_for_the_Elimination_of_Television
Looks like a fascinating read (if skimming a wikipedia page is enough, you can try to dodge the irony).
u/autowikibot [+2] (16 hours later)
#####
######
#### Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television:
Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television (1978) is a book by Jerry Mander, who argues that many of the problems with television are inherent in the medium and technology itself, and thus cannot be reformed.
Mander spent 15 years in the advertising business, including five as president and partner of Freeman, Mander & Gossage, San Francisco, a nationally-known advertising agency.
====
^Interesting: ^Jerry ^Mander ^| ^The ^medium ^is ^the ^message ^| ^Martin ^Gardner ^| ^Television ^studies
^Parent ^commenter ^can [^toggle ^NSFW](/message/compose?to=autowikibot&subject=AutoWikibot NSFW toggle&message=%2Btoggle-nsfw+cm7qz6e) ^or [^delete](/message/compose?to=autowikibot&subject=AutoWikibot Deletion&message=%2Bdelete+cm7qz6e)^. ^Will ^also ^delete ^on ^comment ^score ^of ^-1 ^or ^less. ^| ^(FAQs) ^| ^Mods ^| ^Magic ^Words
u/None [+1] (a day later)
Oddly, since the book is mostly specific to the medium of television (and not all vapid enterprise), there is little irony. On some level, if your prior estimate on the probability of television being unfixably deficient is so low you do need the entire book to convince you, it is likely a testament to the spectacular power of television to hide or attempt to eliminate all complexity of those potential issues (you'd be surprised how many people say "well, it's just a medium, message is what matters" as if this is a mega-powerful knockdown argument that had not at all been considered by someone who worked in the field and did enough research to fill a book -- attempting to explain that it isn't that simple has led people to just keep repeating themselves at me... it's somewhat alarming).