That’s quite a different thing than being anti-woke, though. It is fair to criticize entertainment media for putting a political message before entertainment (not that I find only shooting and explosions very entertaining, but that is a different matter). It is not like he criticizes left political views themselves. Of course, it is also unreflected of him not to notice politics that persist in his own books, but if I boycott all media with someone involved who voiced an opinion different than my own, I will run out of books and suffocate in a bubble.
Right, I suspect this is voicing a much older consensus about effective storytelling and good art:
If you want to send a message, use Western Union. — Frank Capra (director of message-heavy films like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It’s a Wonderful Life)
Given his filmography, it’s pretty clear Capra didn’t mean that politics should be avoided when telling a story, just that the story should come first. The idea is that any “message” a writer might convey will naturally be embedded in the stories they tell, whereas writers who attempt to construct a story around a particular message tend to fail at delivering either.
says his movies do good because he doesn’t do politics.
He’s almost certainly right. I haven’t encountered any significant our side/their side political mud slinging in his works. His two biggest hits, The Martian and Project Hail Mary, both feature nature itself as the antagonist, and all of society, everyone everywhere, setting aside their differences to work on solving the problem using the most powerful, righteous tools available: Science and Engineering.
Now, what cohort would you expect to try to cancel the author of books like that? The dogmatic, anti-science, fascist right wing? Nope! It’s the assigned-gendergaseous-at-tumblr crowd, because he does something other than recite the colors of the pride flag.
Which of those two groups did you expect to be the most insular and shunning? Was it the skinheads or the bluehairs?
I knew someone was going to make my point for me better than I ever could have.
I have voted Democrat in every election since 2006. That was a mid-term. I voted for Obama twice, Clinton once, Biden once, and Harris once. I voted no on North Carolina’s bathroom bill in 2016. Is this the behavior of a “transphobic alt-right nazi?”
No. Voting Republican is, like 13% of LGBTQ voters did. I’ve done more for LGBTQ rights than 1 out of every 8 American queers. Actually, probably more than that, probably closer to 1 in 6 or 5, because that 13% is out of those who bothered to cast a ballot at all.
So you get to miss me with that slander.
“Wokeness.” Allow me to reiterate: Andy Weir writes stories about the peoples of the world setting their differences aside to work together to solve problems using science. Stories of mankind’s greatest triumphs, our finest hours, are those of cooperation and evidence-based understanding of reality. Anyone who is actually woke, actually enlightened, would be overjoyed at seeing folks on the right embrace those stories. An actual enlightened person would be trying to think of more ways to get more stories like that in front of the right’s eyes.
What I see out of the self-styled “Woke” is absolute language policing. To the same or even greater degree than The Right, The Left, particularly the “inclusivity” enclave, demands obedient conformity to in-group norms. You will be declared an outsider and most heinous enemy if you say the wrong things, say things the wrong way, or talk to the wrong people. I am not your ally, not because I hate you, but because you make it impossible.
Not reading the whole article but that pic makes me like him more… SciFi is fiction. An escape from reality. Maybe his books are successful because they help the readers do exactly that.
Disagree pretty hard. SciFi has always been a medium for exploring the philosophical and political. Every description of a future dystopia/utopia is social commentary; every alien race is a commentary on xenophobia or cultural exchange. Hell even his own books explore…
Tap for spoiler
themes of ecosystem collapse and humanity’s response, which can’t be anything but a political take in 2026.
If you don’t want politics in your books SciFi is probably the worst place to look. Someone should tell him to stick to… idk… character driven romance novels or something.
Deceptichum@quokk.au 4 weeks ago
Image
https://www.reddit.com/r/saltierthankrayt/comments/1s39w4z/andy_weir_author_of_project_hail_mary_does_an/
He’s a “fiscal conservative” who criticises new Star Trek saying it’s “shit” and says his movies do good because he doesn’t do politics.
Kratzkopf@discuss.tchncs.de 4 weeks ago
That’s quite a different thing than being anti-woke, though. It is fair to criticize entertainment media for putting a political message before entertainment (not that I find only shooting and explosions very entertaining, but that is a different matter). It is not like he criticizes left political views themselves. Of course, it is also unreflected of him not to notice politics that persist in his own books, but if I boycott all media with someone involved who voiced an opinion different than my own, I will run out of books and suffocate in a bubble.
Septimaeus@infosec.pub 4 weeks ago
Right, I suspect this is voicing a much older consensus about effective storytelling and good art:
Given his filmography, it’s pretty clear Capra didn’t mean that politics should be avoided when telling a story, just that the story should come first. The idea is that any “message” a writer might convey will naturally be embedded in the stories they tell, whereas writers who attempt to construct a story around a particular message tend to fail at delivering either.
CluckN@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Anti-woke is a bold claim for doing a podcast during a press tour and saying he doesn’t do politics.
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
He’s almost certainly right. I haven’t encountered any significant our side/their side political mud slinging in his works. His two biggest hits, The Martian and Project Hail Mary, both feature nature itself as the antagonist, and all of society, everyone everywhere, setting aside their differences to work on solving the problem using the most powerful, righteous tools available: Science and Engineering.
Now, what cohort would you expect to try to cancel the author of books like that? The dogmatic, anti-science, fascist right wing? Nope! It’s the assigned-gendergaseous-at-tumblr crowd, because he does something other than recite the colors of the pride flag.
Which of those two groups did you expect to be the most insular and shunning? Was it the skinheads or the bluehairs?
Deceptichum@quokk.au 4 weeks ago
You sound like a transphobic alt-right dickhead.
Checks out you’d be on the Nazi instance spewing shit like that.
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
I knew someone was going to make my point for me better than I ever could have.
I have voted Democrat in every election since 2006. That was a mid-term. I voted for Obama twice, Clinton once, Biden once, and Harris once. I voted no on North Carolina’s bathroom bill in 2016. Is this the behavior of a “transphobic alt-right nazi?”
No. Voting Republican is, like 13% of LGBTQ voters did. I’ve done more for LGBTQ rights than 1 out of every 8 American queers. Actually, probably more than that, probably closer to 1 in 6 or 5, because that 13% is out of those who bothered to cast a ballot at all.
So you get to miss me with that slander.
“Wokeness.” Allow me to reiterate: Andy Weir writes stories about the peoples of the world setting their differences aside to work together to solve problems using science. Stories of mankind’s greatest triumphs, our finest hours, are those of cooperation and evidence-based understanding of reality. Anyone who is actually woke, actually enlightened, would be overjoyed at seeing folks on the right embrace those stories. An actual enlightened person would be trying to think of more ways to get more stories like that in front of the right’s eyes.
What I see out of the self-styled “Woke” is absolute language policing. To the same or even greater degree than The Right, The Left, particularly the “inclusivity” enclave, demands obedient conformity to in-group norms. You will be declared an outsider and most heinous enemy if you say the wrong things, say things the wrong way, or talk to the wrong people. I am not your ally, not because I hate you, but because you make it impossible.
PolarPirate@lemmy.zip 4 weeks ago
Not reading the whole article but that pic makes me like him more… SciFi is fiction. An escape from reality. Maybe his books are successful because they help the readers do exactly that.
stickly@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Disagree pretty hard. SciFi has always been a medium for exploring the philosophical and political. Every description of a future dystopia/utopia is social commentary; every alien race is a commentary on xenophobia or cultural exchange. Hell even his own books explore…
Tap for spoiler
themes of ecosystem collapse and humanity’s response, which can’t be anything but a political take in 2026.
If you don’t want politics in your books SciFi is probably the worst place to look. Someone should tell him to stick to… idk… character driven romance novels or something.
PolarPirate@lemmy.zip 4 weeks ago
Oh dear god not the book tok crap
dansemacabreingalone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 weeks ago
Thats like saying food is just calories and huel is the best food. This is deeply offensive to me.
PolarPirate@lemmy.zip 4 weeks ago
👍
Rubisco@slrpnk.net 4 weeks ago
I know I’m days late to this, but thanks for the heads-up, D.
Here are some other links I found on the matter, in case anyone else is late like me:
vocal.media/…/in-the-author-s-universe-interview-…
gizmodo.com/andy-weir-star-trek-pitch-backlash-pa…
FlexibleToast@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
But most of me Star Trek is shit. I’m a Trek fan, but the post JJ era has been mostly bad.