Competence erotica

[drdoug]

I saw the film of The Martian recently, and noticed that several reviewers called it competence porn. There's Apollo 13, too, which until The Martian came out is one of the few examples of a film with adventure and excitement but no bad guys. More recently, there's James May's The Reassembler, three short TV episodes of nothing more than James May

Comments

[purplerabbits]

I concur about Sherlock, and I do love competence fiction, even though it bugs me that 'being good' is so often seen as the equivalence of sex :-)

And according to this interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SemyzKgaUU the hydrazine reaction would have cooked Watney alive, but to be fair Weir didn't know that when he wrote it...

My favourite competence fiction has been shipwreck stuff (I adored Coral Island as a child though it is scientifc nonsense) and pioneer fiction like the Little House books which I adore. The issue with both is the historically accurate but sucky racism and sexism. I'd love to read fiction like that set in more modern times and/or without that issue

[drdoug]

Oh wow, thanks for the interview, that looks great.

And yes, shipwreck stuff and pioneer stuff has that element to it as well. Although ISTR Pa making some pretty dubious strategic decisions. The fun thing about having it set in the future is you can tweak the social attitudes to be better as well, I suppose.

[moral_vacuum]

The Admirable Crichton, McGyver, and certain A Team scenes. The anti personnel weapons in a nightmare on elm street.

[drdoug]

Hah. Competent butlers certainly abound, and I love 'em for it. Jeeves and Bunter, of course, although the former is more in the magic line than what I was thinking of as competence erotica. Likewise McGyver and A-Team, I think: my memories are hazy, but I recall the constructions emerging from the garage at the end of the assembly sequence being pretty preposterous, as a rule. But lots of exploding fun.

There's also, in the same line, Home Alone. I'll leave you with that one.

[makyo]

Thinking about Sayers' stories, all of the main characters are very competent: Wimsey certainly is, Bunter as well (his expertise with photography and fingerprints comes in very useful on numerous occasions), but Harriet Vane is very clever as well (which is obviously one of the many things Wimsey appreciates about her) and Charles Parker definitely knows what he's doing too. They are, though, all very plausibly good: there's nothing that requires anything beyond an ordinary level of cleverness, careful thought and attention to detail. Wimsey is unusually good at cricket, but even there he's just very talented, not impossibly good

[drdoug]

On reflection, MacGyver and The A Team deployed the device of the deus ex machina in the finest and fullest tradition of Classical Greek drama. An unexpected mechanical contrivance to enable the protagonists to escape an otherwise impossible situation? I love it when a plan comes together!

I would also bet a pint that this thesis has been advanced more than once in 90s student essays in media or cultural studies.

[elfy]

I wonder if something like "Kevin alone at home" would count :) I mean, it's at least 20 years ago that I saw that movie, but if I remember correctly he had quite a lot of cool ideas to defeat the burglars ... right?

I'll try to think of more, but this is the first that came to my mind, funnily.

[momentsmusicaux]

The Mysterious Island, by Jules Verne.
A group of Americans are shipwrecked on an unknown island, and they proceed to build the rudiments of a miniature civilisation on it.
(Unfortunately, the need for some sort of plot messes things up later on...)

[momentsmusicaux]

The Mysterious Island, by Jules Verne.
A group of Americans are shipwrecked on an unknown island, and they proceed to build the rudiments of a miniature civilisation on it.
(Unfortunately, the need for some sort of plot messes things up later on...)