Once upon a time there was a college professor named John Norman. He wrote a large batch of paperback novels about a fantasy planet named Gor, whose primary trait was the literal sexual slavery of women and their ultimate fulfillment therein. (The men seemed happy with it too.) This inspired first a real-life subculture, then a movie. Two movies, in fact, but we haven’t gotten to the second one, yet.
Who left theaters more unsatisfied, the fans of Norman’s books, or those who had never heard of them and just wanted to see another sword and sorcery movie? The debate rages to this day…
Abandon all hope of entertainment, ye who choose to travel to the planet of Gor.
#1 by Blake on February 28, 2010 - 5:53 pm
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Reading about the subject on Wikipedia, I find it hard to believe that a modern woman could become a Gorean and subject herself to the sort of role-play fantasy of her being a love slave to a man who doesn’t give a darn about her.
#2 by rjschwarz on February 28, 2010 - 7:50 pm
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As a teen I read all the books. He mixed really good swords and politics adventure with dubious sex stuff that made the books too embarrassing to have seen on my bookshelf. I suspect the sex stuff was the main point as most plots turned on it at the end but even back then I couldn’t help but think he’d have been considered one of the big successful names in fantasy if he tuned down the misogyny and sexism and kept to the swords and politics.
Oh, and he had a thing, and by a thing I mean he loved to mix multiple sentences into one, for commas.
#3 by Jen S on March 1, 2010 - 11:31 pm
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Wow, repulsive is too mild. Is there a word for Ultra Repulsive? Like how you feel when you see a bleach blonde midget in a thong?
Ken, is the actor playing Melanus the same as the one playing the role in Outlaw? Because that guy was an idiot savant genius of bad acting.
#4 by El Santo on March 2, 2010 - 8:25 am
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“Is there a word for Ultra Repulsive?”
I’m fond of “repugnant” and “vile” for that purpose.