The Story in the Mind

I watched Alien 3 tonight. I had watched Alien and Aliens over the previous two weeks as I've been working my way through the quadrilogy. I thought Aliens was an amazingly awesome movie so going into Alien 3 I guess I had some expectations. It was a very different movie from the other two, I'm not sure if it was in a bad way though. It was just a very different mood and seemed almost completely detached from the other two.

After finishing the movie I went to the imdb forums and started reading. I have never seen so much conflict in an imdb forum. There are a lot of people that have serious problems with the movie. I can understand why when reading their points. There are many plot holes and the film also kills off the only two other characters from the previous movie before this one even begins. I can't say it was a satisfying conclusion to the other two movies. And this is where I am very interested in how I feel about that.

All three movies are stories, thought up out of someone's head the same way my own imagination can do, or anybody's for that matter. The stories have been tied together by their names, characters, and visuals. But what really validates the stories as a fictional truth? Do I have to accept the events of the third movie as an unavoidable conclusion to the other two? Many people don't, I discovered reading on imdb. So can anyone ignore whatever parts of a story they want to? In my opinion this is an acceptable thing to do. The same way many people reject star wars episodes 1, 2 and 3. The author loses control of their characters and events the moment they share their creations with another person. In general, people like to accept the author's intent for the plot but is it necessary to do so? I think my imagined ending to a book I never finished is just as real as any ending. Maybe that goes against everything a story is supposed to be because it is very difficult to convince myself it's true. I'm fascinated by the feeling of unrest I share with many other fans over the plot of Alien 3. What if instead of watching the movie a friend just made up a different story for Alien 3 on the spot and told it to me? How would I feel about the story then if it didn't live up to my expectations? At what point and degree of delivery does the story develop enough authority to invest my feelings.

I feel like maybe I'm nerding out here and discussing the difference between fan fiction and recognized canon, but I think there's more to it than that. I could walk out of a movie half-way through and decide for myself how things end. The reason I can do this is because unlike real life, a story will only advance from within my own mind. So it is interesting to consider then how much interest we will give to a story that has been brought to a screen or text. If someone were to tell you a character in your favorite tv show was killed you would no doubt be intrigued and perhaps saddened, but realistically it is only the writer that has decided this is true. And what right does a writer have to decide a fact once you have carried the story into your own mind? I don't know. I need to think about this more.

New Personal Best

I just set a new personal record for longest time riding a public bus as the only passenger. I didn't keep track of time or stops but I can say that it was almost like riding a gigantic taxi for practically free.