• LOGIC💣@lemmy.world
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    15 hours ago

    When I was a teenager, the Ender’s Game series was about exceptionally smart children. As an adult, it’s about eugenics and forgiving Hitler.

    • mika_mika@lemmy.world
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      3 hours ago

      I don’t think this is fair. Even the concept of society labeling “thirds” is portrayed as something disturbing.

      And the sociopath brother becomes the hegemon of the planet earth if I recall correctly, and this also is not a good thing, but more seen as a dystopia reality. The military isn’t seen as good, but manipulative.

      Are the children bred as soldiers or to be leaders in society ever portrayed as good? it reads as tragic.

      Is Hitler the queen of the hive in your eyes or Peter? Because Peter definitely isn’t seen as positive and the hive is a different form of existence that eventually leads to the message that different species despite all origins or existence in a hypothetical can eventually come to coexist if mutual understanding is somehow found.

      (I’m queer and Card is a bigot who can eat it, but I don’t think any of it really shows in his writing.)

      • LOGIC💣@lemmy.world
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        3 hours ago

        Is Hitler the queen of the hive in your eyes or Peter?

        The question is whether you can commit genocide/xenocide and still be forgiven, and it’s a theme that the series touches on over and over. The most famous genocide today is the Holocaust, so critics of Card phrase it as whether you can forgive Hitler.

        I’m sure that Card has spoken specifically about this subject (whether he thinks people should forgive Hitler), as well, and while I think I remember what he said, I’m not so sure that I would simply say it.

        But he’s got a history of making some provocative statements about his beliefs.

        Like, he has said that an important part of his books is to spread Mormon beliefs. I remember, after reading the Ender series, I read The Worthing Saga, and midway through, felt it necessary to go look up which religion he belonged to, just because he made it so obvious that he was criticizing Christian religions. (If I remember correctly, I didn’t have to look hard to find his religion, because it was in his biography on the book jacket.)

    • U7826391786239@lemmy.zip
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      15 hours ago

      another book i loved when i was stupid(er).

      doesn’t help that orson scott card is still a raging homophobe. brandon sanderson is also a mormon, but (it looks like) he was able to grow the fuck up and stop being a bigot