Should old SciFi be judged by today's standards?

[Admiral X]

It isn't about acting ability so much as how much the studio think they will draw. So basically Mary Poppins wasn't expected to draw as much as whatever blockbuster action popcorn flick Dwayne Johnson was starring in, and the leads were paid accordingly, and I'm sure the movies themselves were budgeted accordingly. It's just like with people claiming it's sexist that the women's soccer team isn't paid as much as the men's team in spite of the fact the men's team draws far larger numbers and makes far more money.

[Zargon]

So like I said....Hollywood, and really society, have not changed all that much from the ''old" times. Really, things are just as ''bad'' as they ever were.

Sure a couple movies and a couple TV shows ''try" to show a bit more ''better" social view point.....but they are really more the exceptions.

Most of the women, and non white folk in general, STILL take a back seat in the vast majority of movies. There might be no ''Miss Pennyworth, go make us some coffie, we men must make a plan to save the world" in modern movies.....but really all you get is women and other non white folks are ''just there".

[Karha of Honor]

So like I said....Hollywood, and really society, have not changed all that much from the ''old" times. Really, things are just as ''bad'' as they ever were.

Sure a couple movies and a couple TV shows ''try" to show a bit more ''better" social view point.....but they are really more the exceptions.

Most of the women, and non white folk in general, STILL take a back seat in the vast majority of movies. There might be no ''Miss Pennyworth, go make us some coffie, we men must make a plan to save the world" in modern movies.....but really all you get is women and other non white folks are ''just there".

Number of black leads who were considered a box office draw...

!990 till today vs 1930 till 1960.

[Mecha82]

So like I said....Hollywood, and really society, have not changed all that much from the ''old" times. Really, things are just as ''bad'' as they ever were.

Sure a couple movies and a couple TV shows ''try" to show a bit more ''better" social view point.....but they are really more the exceptions.

Most of the women, and non white folk in general, STILL take a back seat in the vast majority of movies. There might be no ''Miss Pennyworth, go make us some coffie, we men must make a plan to save the world" in modern movies.....but really all you get is women and other non white folks are ''just there".

That seems to be sad reality. I would like to see more cases were woman or member of non-white folk is in major role or maybe even in main role and has gotten that role because of his or her acting skills and talent but unless things change to better I wont see that happening. Of course even then there would be those on internet and social media claiming that role was given to that person only because of diversity.

[Yukaphile]

I actually brought this topic up in another thread.

[Karha of Honor]

So like I said....Hollywood, and really society, have not changed all that much from the ''old" times. Really, things are just as ''bad'' as they ever were.

Sure a couple movies and a couple TV shows ''try" to show a bit more ''better" social view point.....but they are really more the exceptions.

Most of the women, and non white folk in general, STILL take a back seat in the vast majority of movies. There might be no ''Miss Pennyworth, go make us some coffie, we men must make a plan to save the world" in modern movies.....but really all you get is women and other non white folks are ''just there".

That seems to be sad reality. I would like to see more cases were woman or member of non-white folk is in major role or maybe even in main role and has gotten that role because of his or her acting skills and talent but unless things change to better I wont see that happening. Of course even then there would be those on internet and social media claiming that role was given to that person only because of diversity.

It's not just about acting skill. Some people randomly connect with an audience taht sizeable enogh to make them a star, some don't.

[Zargon]

So society has not changed much....and special effects are hit or miss. So that makes 'old" Sci fi not all that diffrent.

Sure in the '50 every sci fi movie was about ATOMIC something (''I will use my ATOMIC ray to read your mind!". Just like everything from the '90's just had to be about nanites.

An old sic fi space ship might just teleport by fading away....the new, cool space ship has like six minutes of CGI spam.

[Nealithi]

So society has not changed much....and special effects are hit or miss. So that makes 'old" Sci fi not all that diffrent.

Sure in the '50 every sci fi movie was about ATOMIC something (''I will use my ATOMIC ray to read your mind!". Just like everything from the '90's just had to be about nanites.

An old sic fi space ship might just teleport by fading away....the new, cool space ship has like six minutes of CGI spam.

Now I suddenly want an effects war. One side with the dazzling lights and huge cgi use for swooping turns and pulsing weapons etc. And an old school minimal effects group. With teleport to just fade out. And you see from their bridge them calling for weapons to fire etc and can only tell from the screen shaking a bit.

[Yukaphile]

If you're only going with FX, I can accept a lot in that department. Take "The Devil in the Dark." While the cavern sets are meant to be pure serious at the time, they look cheesy in retrospect, and it's hilarious as hell. But then, the story is such pure quality, your brain barely even registers it. At least, it doesn't with me. Then again, I grew up with those stories, so it may be a bit biased to say that. A better example would be my journey through early Doctor Who. I think most of the sets hold up, and the effects hold up - for the most part. Except when it's so clearly staged like the fake gunfights and the cheesy 1960s B-movie type effects. Then you just roll your eyes.

[Riedquat]

Doctor Who certainly had a reputation for cheap-looking cheesy sets even at the time, let alone in retrospect, but also bear in mind things like them getting a rebuke from the London Underground for filming there after they refused permission, not realising that they'd built a set instead.