Thursday, December 22, 2005
Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame....
Pretty cool!
There was a lot of interesting memorabilia. Very well done. Several high-tech exhibits. High 'production values'.
I was frustrated that some of the exhibits were limited in content. Great interfaces, very pretty, but not a lot of depth. I'm sure licensing issues have something to do with it. Oddly, several exhibits featured information about imaginary worlds (Arrakis, etc.) without mentioning what book(s) and authors created them.
The gift store was a disappointment - not nearly the variety of geek-related paraphenalia I expected. And about, oh, 15 books for sale.
I enjoyed my visit very much, but on the whole I find the concept of a museum for a genre wasn't really functional. Science fiction as a branch of literature (or a genre, I should say) isn't about the artifacts, it's about the information. Science Fiction is alive and evolving. Science fiction exists only in the moment when someone is reading the book or watching the movie that inspires their imagination. It's an experience, as much as music is. The Experience Music Project next door seems to understand that. But the exhibits in the SFMHOF (no matter how interactive) did not convey the experience of science fiction.
What the place really needs is a research library and/or an extensive specialty bookstore where the actual texts can be accessible.
I'll have to mention that to Paul Allen next time I see him....
There was a lot of interesting memorabilia. Very well done. Several high-tech exhibits. High 'production values'.
I was frustrated that some of the exhibits were limited in content. Great interfaces, very pretty, but not a lot of depth. I'm sure licensing issues have something to do with it. Oddly, several exhibits featured information about imaginary worlds (Arrakis, etc.) without mentioning what book(s) and authors created them.
The gift store was a disappointment - not nearly the variety of geek-related paraphenalia I expected. And about, oh, 15 books for sale.
I enjoyed my visit very much, but on the whole I find the concept of a museum for a genre wasn't really functional. Science fiction as a branch of literature (or a genre, I should say) isn't about the artifacts, it's about the information. Science Fiction is alive and evolving. Science fiction exists only in the moment when someone is reading the book or watching the movie that inspires their imagination. It's an experience, as much as music is. The Experience Music Project next door seems to understand that. But the exhibits in the SFMHOF (no matter how interactive) did not convey the experience of science fiction.
What the place really needs is a research library and/or an extensive specialty bookstore where the actual texts can be accessible.
I'll have to mention that to Paul Allen next time I see him....
// posted by mapletree7 @ 9:01 AM 
