It's the first Wednesday of the month and so it’s time for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) blog hop! In an IWSG post, we writers bring our writing challenges and problems out into the open to share with each other and try to offer solutions. I apologise for missing Monday’s monthly post. Because of that, I’ve decided to do a bit of a double-up on this evening’s post. That said, today I answer the blog hop's optional question of the month and I have mini reviews of two psychedelic, science fiction movie sequels, both of which are based on books: the underground short film, "Space Disco One", and "Dune: Part 2"!

IWSG Question of the Month

The IWSG question for March is: Have you "played" with AI to write those nasty synopses, or do you refuse to go that route? How do you feel about AI's impact on creative writing? My answer to the first part of the question: no, I haven't and I don't ever plan to. Read on to know why and for my answer to the second part.

First off, I should mention that I don't think of writing synopses as a nasty task and so I don't feel a need or desire for an AI program to write them. I actually like writing synopses for my stories and books. However, because synopses are often used for marketing, I can see why many other authors and aspiring authors may not like writing them. However, for me, the synopsis is like a very short version of the book or story. Writing it helps me to know more the idea behind my book and to explain the book to potential readers. If I let an AI program crank out the synopsis, I’m telling myself that I don't know what my own book is about nor do I want to try to explain it. 

Having the machine create the synopsis is telling myself that I want it to tell me what the story is about. To let AI do this, and so here is my answer to the second part of the question, makes creative writing too much of a mechanical or data processing process than it does a human creative act. 

Mini Movie Reviews

I saw two groovy sci fi movies over the weekend. One that the majority of the world hasn't heard of because it's an underground film, the other that the whole world has heard of. The former is 2007's "SpaceDisco One", directed by Damon Packard; the other is Denis Villeneuve's "Dune: Part 2" which released last Friday. 

"SpaceDisco One": Many may refer to this approximately one-hour film as a sub-B one and they may be right. However, that's more in the sense of quantity (in this case number of viewings) than quality. It's an art house, avant-garde, complex movie yet visually stunning. The very basic storyline is that two young women who are the daughters of the heroic couple of 1976's "Logan's Run" (based on the 1967 novel of the same name) meet up with Winston Smith of George Orwell's classic novel, "1984", only to discover that they are characters in a movie that is a sequel to both works. The movie comes across as a tribute to 1970s/early '80s disco music and space opera films, as well as a commentary on society of the 2001s that it was produced in and how we may be headed toward a totalitarian surveillance state. 

Because this movie is about the making of a sequel, it itself is considered a sequel to both "Logan's Run" and "1984" movie adaptations. Scenes from both films run throughout the movie and so does news footage of the events of the time it was produced in. The dazzling lights of a space disco roller rink where people compete and train in laser tag competitions gives the movie a psychedelic touch. Because of the experimental style, this film is not for everybody. However, if you like surrealism and art house films combined with science fiction and social satire then you'll like this. You can watch "SpaceDisco One" right now for free on Tubi TV!  

"Dune: Part 2": In my last weekly post, I had said that BBC referred to this movie as psychedelic but the trailer didn't convey that very much. However, I also said that, obviously, trailers don’t show you everything. Well, the psychedelia was one of the characteristics that “Dune 2”’s trailer didn't show but it’s definitely in the movie and done very well. It occurs mostly in the "mystical" segments. 

“Dune 2” picks up from where the previous film left off: Paul, the Duke of the House of Atreides, and his mother, the Lady Jessica, are stranded on the desert planet Arrakis but settling among the native Fremen. The two, along with a Fremen girl, Chani, attempt to get the people of the planet to fight against the exploitive Harkonnen Empire that’s taken control of Arrakis for its spices. The movie's main characters are likeable, believable and so are played really good by their actors. The cinematography is as superb as that of the first movie: longshots and panoramic views of alien desert landscapes and close-shots of the action scenes. The ending is satisfyingly conclusive while leaving the story open for yet another sequel. 

That's all that I have for this post. I'm skipping next Monday since this week was a blog hop week and I've doubled up on what would have been this past Monday's post. But I'll be back the following Monday with more sci fi and fantasy topics! Have you tried using AI to write your synopses? Do you enjoy writing synopses yourself? Have you seen either of the two above movies or plan on seeing them? 

Today’s IWSG is brought to you by these super co-hosts: Kristina Kelly, Miffie Seideman, Jean Davis, and Liza @ Middle Passages! IWSG was founded by awesome author Alex Cavanaugh, writer of the Cassa Series of novels! 

Until next time . . .