From Alien to The Matrix

Spencerian writes "Roz Kaveney's From Alien to the Matrix is definitely a love-to-hate book for me, and probably for most fanboys who've forgotten more than the author knows about the meanings, philosophy, and humor found in many popular SF films of the last 35 years. If you love to argue and curse when you read something that's so way off base in interpretation or appears to lack any research in even the basic meanings that most Americans found in a SF film, then this is your book. But if you hate arguing with your non-fannish significant other on why you really liked a particular movie, save your money by not buying this book. Oh, and dump your boy/girlfriend, too." Read on for the rest of Spencerian's review. From Alien to The Matrix: Reading Science Fiction Film author Roz Kaveney pages 208 publisher I.B.Tauris rating 4 reviewer Kevin H. Spencer ISBN 1850438056 summary For kooky, way-off-base interpretations of several Sci-Fi films, this is your book.

The book seemed interesting enough from the cover, given a pleasant upsurge in the number of meaning and philosophy books on many SF films. I was expecting another take on my current joy, The Matrix universe, as well as some tidbits from other movies to get me delving for the hidden jokes and thoughts of a classic or two, like the Alien movies. Despite the title, the book is not all inclusive on film SF and does not discuss with any significance any of the latest Marvel superhero movies, and definitely skips discussion on the the Lord of the Rings trilogy--a tragic omission in light of its popular and Oscar-winning performance that brought SF/Fantasy to Hollywood legitimacy. Specifically, the writer discusses and contrasts elements from a handful of interesting SF movies of the last quarter-century, including

* The Matrix trilogy, including elements from "The Animatrix" and the "Enter the Matrix" game
* The Alien movie saga
* Galaxy Quest
* Dark City
* The Star Wars saga
* The Terminator saga
* Strange Days
* Small Soldiers

Small Soldiers? That was science-fiction? That was worthy of discussion in a book on SF film meanings? Surely there were other films of the last 25 years related to the chapter's subject on robots and AI that were more germane, such as "Bicentennial Man," "I, Robot," "Star Trek: Nemesis," and even the writer's home favorite of Marvin from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (not the 2005 release, but the 1980's TV depiction from the BBC, since this book was apparently printed in the early months of this year).

This book was written by someone that doesn't appear to read or watch much in the way of SF beyond what they see at the movies. Realizing that the writer was British, I tried (and failed) to give her allowance for her non-American point-of-view on the topic, hoping for some enlightenment over my decadent Cowboy Way of watching SF here in America. There are many areas in the book where her interpretation simply is misinformed. The writer apparently had chosen to write her book as a self-interpretation of the movies in question, failing almost completely to read other interpretations or discussions from the movie's directors or screenwriters.

The book as a whole, particularly with its monotonous small text and a complete lack of the simplest illustrations or even eye-catching chapter header graphics, feels like a dry collegiate dissertation written by someone who could give a damn about the subject matter and just needs a passing grade.

One example of the author's lack of research or understanding was confirmed by my own mother, a woman of 64 years that enjoys the Matrix movies as much as her son but has developed her understanding of the movies on her own, without my coaching. In one example in the book, the writer says that Neo, in "The Matrix," was told by the Oracle that he was not the One. In fact, the Oracle said no such thing--it was Neo who told himself that he was not the One. The Oracle, after toying with Neo to a degree by examining his hands and face, said, "...but you already know what I am going to say, don't you?" with Neo completing his own assumption, "I'm not the One." The Oracle implied that Neo was indeed in possession of the ability, but that his mind was not ready--a point confirmed by Neo's self-doubt (Neo's pod-name, "Thomas" is a Gnostic Christianity reference to that apostle's doubt of the resurrection of Christ). My mom, of all people, got this, but it was lost completely by the writer.

Other points in the book are just outright wrong and filled with error. Quoting a description about the climatic moments near the end of "The Matrix Revolutions": "Neo sets off to interview the Machines--along the way he is blinded and Trinity killed by a human who has been absorbed by Smith." In fact, Trinity was attacked, but not killed by Bane/Smith -- she would die moments after their hovercraft crash lands near the center of the Machine City.

Bad fact checking is a hallmark of this book. One glaring example was in finding the name of actress Nichelle Nichols of "Star Trek" badly warped to 'Michelle Nichols' in a discussion of the movie "Galaxy Quest." A sentence discussing the kiss between Persephone and Niobe in the cut-scenes of the game "Enter the Matrix" wrongly named Jada Pinkett-Smith's character as "Phoebe." Oh, no. What would Ross and Chandler say?

That's not to say the the whole book is totally tainted. At worse, this book is no less informed than your non-fannish significant other, a person that most of us will still take some time to listen to for wisdom or enjoyment, even if their views seem stupid initially. One quote I will leave to your enjoyment or disdain regarding a take on Darth Sidious from the Star Wars trilogy: "Palpatine is not just a machine politician, but a Dark Lord in the manner of Tolkien, and his corruption of Anakin Skywalker to the point where he becomes Darth Vader parallels the seduction of the human kings who became the Nazgul."

Her discussion on the Alien movies, particularly "Aliens," showed some insight, indicating the writer was more familiar with this material, or just more attentive. I'd guess she was most comfortable with the Alien saga--more than one-third of the book was devoted completely to the Alien movies. The book's title would be more appropriate as From Alien to Alien and More about Alien: And Some Meaningless Discussion About Some Lesser Science Fiction.

The writer name-drops Philip C. Dick, William Gibson, and Heinlein in an attempt to sound knowledgeable. "Big whoop," you might say,"as fanboys to various interests, we ALL do that kind of thing." But like the most decrepit and ill-informed of us non-mundanes, the writer seems to do this more to impress and less to inform, compare or contrast. The names just stick out like they're supposed to have meaning just because they are in the book.

Maybe this is a British thing. Maybe I'm wrong or not as enlightened while scanning this book (which is, unfortunately, the best I could do while trying to read it before I began stammering uncontrollably to myself moments later about some bad interpretation). Maybe I need a book on interpreting this book. I'd like to keep my mind open to the possibility (however unlikely) that this was really not such a bad book for most of us. Buy the book if you like Alien saga interpretations or if you like to invoke apoplexy in yourself or others. Otherwise, look for my copy of this book at your local discount used book store--and don't mind the drink stains and coffee cup rings. The book also doubles as an excellent coaster.

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