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I think items like this, which have no relationship to the VC or tech space, are complete noise on HN. I understand that the culture of celebrity tickles a pri

I think items like this, which have no relationship to the VC or tech space, are complete noise on HN. I understand that the culture of celebrity tickles a primitive part of our brains, and that it's impossible to prevent on a site like reddit. But it bothers me more than it should to see this drivel on a site driven by technophiles. Why is this death any more significant than any other human being who wasn't lucky enough to be in show business? Based on the comments and voting, though, I appear to be an extreme outlier in this opinion.

anigbrowl 10y ago
drivel on a site driven by technophiles A lot of people became technophiles because of the cultural influence of films like Star Wars. Perhaps you haven't noticed how every new claim of holographic display technology, for example, is held up against the imaginary example from that film. Star Wars was unique for its time in presenting the future as combining both breathtakingly advanced technology with industrial decay and totalitarian oppression. The series also signaled a dramatic change in how women were portrayed on screen. The dominant communication medium has substantial power to shape society. While the on-screen technology is fictional, the Star Wars series was also hugely innovative in terms of film production technology, giving rise to modern video editing software, sound design techniques, and many digital workflow techniques. It's had a massive impact on film technology and everything to do with it.
- krapp 10y ago
  If this thread were about the effect of Star Wars on technology and tech culture, it would be on topic. But the death of a celebrity is exactly the sort of mainstream, intellectually vacant news that this site is supposed to avoid. The death of a woman who was chained in a bikini to a pretend space slug gets this much attention, but the death of the woman who confirmed the existence of dark matter in the actual, not fictional universe is barely being discussed, on what's supposed to be a forum that values substantive intellectual content over trivia.
- appleflaxen 10y ago
  > The dominant communication medium has substantial power to shape society. yeah, that's kind of my complaint. we give these individuals an oversized amount of influence over public decisions. should jenny macarthy really be the one who advises us about vaccinations? IMO: no. And if jenny mccarthy doesn't deserve reverence, why does carrie fisher? because her role was in a different film? that doesn't even make sense.

anigbrowl 10y ago

drivel on a site driven by technophiles A lot of people became technophiles because of the cultural influence of films like Star Wars. Perhaps you haven't noticed how every new claim of holographic display technology, for example, is held up against the imaginary example from that film. Star Wars was unique for its time in presenting the future as combining both breathtakingly advanced technology with industrial decay and totalitarian oppression. The series also signaled a dramatic change in how women were portrayed on screen. The dominant communication medium has substantial power to shape society. While the on-screen technology is fictional, the Star Wars series was also hugely innovative in terms of film production technology, giving rise to modern video editing software, sound design techniques, and many digital workflow techniques. It's had a massive impact on film technology and everything to do with it.

krapp 10y ago
If this thread were about the effect of Star Wars on technology and tech culture, it would be on topic. But the death of a celebrity is exactly the sort of mainstream, intellectually vacant news that this site is supposed to avoid. The death of a woman who was chained in a bikini to a pretend space slug gets this much attention, but the death of the woman who confirmed the existence of dark matter in the actual, not fictional universe is barely being discussed, on what's supposed to be a forum that values substantive intellectual content over trivia.
appleflaxen 10y ago
> The dominant communication medium has substantial power to shape society. yeah, that's kind of my complaint. we give these individuals an oversized amount of influence over public decisions. should jenny macarthy really be the one who advises us about vaccinations? IMO: no. And if jenny mccarthy doesn't deserve reverence, why does carrie fisher? because her role was in a different film? that doesn't even make sense.