An ode to bad science fiction movies and some art

Big drills, monkey men, flying monsters, oh my. Perhaps there should be a movie version of this.

Science fiction B-movies are my favourite. I expect them to be bad and they often are, but the campy action can be fun to watch. Sometimes I get pleasantly surprised and the movies are actually good (from my perspective) like Pitch Black, Apollo 18 and Iron Sky.

For movies set in space, the space suit options can be fabulous. Check out these.

Sometimes, these B-movies present a gem of a thought exercise resulting in great conversations. Like, how does Godzilla get from his native Japan to New York City? Even if he walks across the sea floor, there is no direct route – perhaps he takes a short cut through the Panama Canal? Heroine's manage to stay perfectly coiffed under the direst circumstances, for example: Warbirds (plus there were pterodactyls). An alien attack or meteor storm – no problem! A group of expert misfits perpetually wait in the wings to come to our rescue.

Recently, over at Infinite Spider, the extra-creepy big bug issue was examined. There are a number of limits to insect physiology preventing them from reaching super-sized proportions. For instance, bugs breathe using a different system than us, which restricts their size – a monster-size insect just can't consume enough oxygen to live. That doesn't stop the movies, anyone remember Mimic? The cockroaches solved the lung issue, grew to the size of humans and horror ensued. Before feeling safe in our world of easily-crushed insects, there once was a carnivorous dragonfly-like insect, the meganeura, possibly the largest flying insect ever with a wing span approaching a metre. Imagine what that would do to a windshield!

On a slight tangent – the images from The Honeybee Alterations by Aganetha Dyck are hauntingly beautiful and an interesting collaboration between human and bees. I love the collision between the beautiful organic shapes of the honeycombs and the mildly garish porcelain figures. These sculptures make me imagine a new civilization being built on the decaying remnants of a old one – perfect fodder for a B-movie. I wish I was close enough to go see this exhibit in person.

Image is from here.