Re:Towards a taxonomy of cliches in Space Opera (2016)
by Animats on Sunday September 05, 2021 @11:36PM
(#28429981)
Scale is often a problem. Not just in the usual planetary/interplanetary/interstellar distance sense. But in civilizations.
The "spaceport in the middle of a desert with a lot of ship traffic" is something of a cliche. Why are they there? What are they hauling? Why is there no groundside freight operation and ground transportation? This also comes in the "space station in the middle of nowhere" form.
There's also organizational scale. Problems which would be dealt with at some low level make it up to Emperor level when they involve the protagonist. This applies to both businesses and governments.
This is tied to the "chosen one" mindset. Star Wars was way too influential in this area. Disney/Pixar is way too into that. You don't see "worked their way up through the ranks" much.
The "spaceport in the middle of a desert with a lot of ship traffic" is something of a cliche. Why are they there? What are they hauling? Why is there no groundside freight operation and ground transportation? This also comes in the "space station in the middle of nowhere" form.
There's also organizational scale. Problems which would be dealt with at some low level make it up to Emperor level when they involve the protagonist. This applies to both businesses and governments.
This is tied to the "chosen one" mindset. Star Wars was way too influential in this area. Disney/Pixar is way too into that. You don't see "worked their way up through the ranks" much.