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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 7763074" data-attributes="member: 22779">Ok, I think we're missing each other's points here because I'm a bit lost.2001 is ALL about what it means to be human.&nbsp; That's the whole point of HAL and a host of other elements.&nbsp; Blade Runner?&nbsp;&nbsp; That's the central theme.&nbsp; Is Dekker human or not?&nbsp;&nbsp; The entire premise of the movie is an examination of what it means to be human.&nbsp; The entire premise of Minority Report is what does free will mean in the face of future knowledge.&nbsp; It's not about morality, it's about ethics.&nbsp; Conan stories are not about that.&nbsp; They are about the good guys (granted, a not so nice good guy) vs the bad guys.&nbsp; It's a morality tale in that the good guys win and the bad guys lose.&nbsp; It's pretty much straight up romance literature.&nbsp; With a lot more sweat and a lot less prose.&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin&nbsp; &nbsp; :D"&nbsp; data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />&nbsp; There's no bigger questions being asked.&nbsp; There's no examination of what any of the tropes actually mean in relation to the characters.&nbsp; There's magic, but, it's purely a plot device.&nbsp; At no point do we have any sort of discussion as to the ramifications of multiple sentient beings co-existing.&nbsp; Snake people are there to be killed.&nbsp; Because snake people are bad.&nbsp; IOW, Conan is all about morality because it never actually asks any ethical questions.&nbsp; What does the existence of undead mean?&nbsp; What are the societal ramifications of magic?&nbsp; None of this is questioned.&nbsp; It's just accepted.&nbsp; Because, the bigger theme is, Good vs Evil.&nbsp; We root for Conan because he's the Good Guy.&nbsp; Unquestionably the Good Guy.&nbsp; He even comes built in with a ready made code of conduct (rough and ready as it is) for dealing with stuff like women and whatnot.&nbsp; Plus the themes of the &quot;Noble Savage&quot; in the face of civilization.&nbsp; He's better than everyone at pretty much everything.&nbsp; The reason that I don't worry about the aesthetics of, as you say, LotR and Conan is because thematically, they both fit fantasy rather well.&nbsp; They are both morality tales where the good guys (who may not be purely good, but are on the side of good) beat the bad guys who are obviously bad.&nbsp; Frodo never questions why they have to stop Sauron.&nbsp; Conan never questions why he has to stop Thoth-Amon.&nbsp; They're the bad guys.&nbsp; They need to be stopped.&nbsp; Roll the story.SF asks different questions than Fantasy does.&nbsp; In fantasy, a golem is just an animated statue.&nbsp; In SF, a golem is Data.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 7763074, member: 22779"] Ok, I think we're missing each other's points here because I'm a bit lost. 2001 is ALL about what it means to be human. That's the whole point of HAL and a host of other elements. Blade Runner? That's the central theme. Is Dekker human or not? The entire premise of the movie is an examination of what it means to be human. The entire premise of Minority Report is what does free will mean in the face of future knowledge. It's not about morality, it's about ethics. Conan stories are not about that. They are about the good guys (granted, a not so nice good guy) vs the bad guys. It's a morality tale in that the good guys win and the bad guys lose. It's pretty much straight up romance literature. With a lot more sweat and a lot less prose. :D There's no bigger questions being asked. There's no examination of what any of the tropes actually mean in relation to the characters. There's magic, but, it's purely a plot device. At no point do we have any sort of discussion as to the ramifications of multiple sentient beings co-existing. Snake people are there to be killed. Because snake people are bad. IOW, Conan is all about morality because it never actually asks any ethical questions. What does the existence of undead mean? What are the societal ramifications of magic? None of this is questioned. It's just accepted. Because, the bigger theme is, Good vs Evil. We root for Conan because he's the Good Guy. Unquestionably the Good Guy. He even comes built in with a ready made code of conduct (rough and ready as it is) for dealing with stuff like women and whatnot. Plus the themes of the "Noble Savage" in the face of civilization. He's better than everyone at pretty much everything. The reason that I don't worry about the aesthetics of, as you say, LotR and Conan is because thematically, they both fit fantasy rather well. They are both morality tales where the good guys (who may not be purely good, but are on the side of good) beat the bad guys who are obviously bad. Frodo never questions why they have to stop Sauron. Conan never questions why he has to stop Thoth-Amon. They're the bad guys. They need to be stopped. Roll the story. SF asks different questions than Fantasy does. In fantasy, a golem is just an animated statue. In SF, a golem is Data. [/QUOTE]

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