Enders Game Thread

[Kudu]

The film is not true to Kahuna's assessment.

 

In the novel when Stilson's gang confronts six-year-old Ender, the smaller, highly intelligent boy (the alter-ego of every sci-fi and/or Boy Scout nerd), not only kicks Stilson when he is down, but (unknowingly) delivers Stilson's death blow to warn the gang not to hurt him again:

 

Then Ender looked at the others coldly. "You might be having some idea of ganging up on me. You could probably beat me up pretty bad. But just remember what I do to people who try to hurt me. From then on you'd be wondering when I'd get you, and how bad it would be." He kicked Stilson in the face. Blood from his nose spattered the ground nearby. "It wouldn't be this bad," Ender said. "It would be worse" (Kindle Locations 351-354).

 

Ender is accepted into Battle School when he later explains to Graff "his belief that, by showing superiority now, he has prevented future struggle," an understanding of strategy reminiscent of Sun Tzu's "The Art of War."

 

Likewise, missing from the film are the scenes in which Ender breaks Bernard's arm during the flight to battle school, and singlehandedly takes on a group of older boys in the battleroom. Perhaps this missing hand-to-hand combat in "nullo" (no gravity) best illustrates Kahuna's primary objection to the novel:

 

Someone caught Ender by the foot. The tight grip gave Ender some leverage; he was able to stamp firmly on the other boy's ear and shoulder, making him cry out and let go. If the boy had let go just as Ender kicked downward, it would have hurt much less and allowed Ender to use the maneuver as a launch. Instead, the boy had hung on too well; his ear was torn and scattering blood in the air, and Ender was drifting even more slowly. 　 I'm doing it again, thought Ender. I'm hurting people again, just to save myself. Why don't they leave me alone, so I don't have to hurt them? 　 Three more boys were converging on him now, and this time they were acting together. Still, they had to grab him before they could hurt him. Ender positioned himself quickly so that two of them would take his feet, leaving his hands free to deal with the third.

 

Sure enough, they took the bait. Ender grasped the shoulders of the third boy's shirt and pulled him up sharply, butting him in the face with his helmet. Again a scream and a shower of blood. The two boys who had his legs were wrenching at them, twisting him. Ender threw the boy with the bleeding nose at one of them; they entangled, and Ender's leg came free. It was a simple matter then to use the other boy's hold for leverage to kick him firmly in the groin, then shove off him in the direction of the door. He didn't get that good a launch, so that his speed was nothing special, but it didn't matter. No one was following him. 　 He got to his friends at the door. They caught him and handed him along to the door. They were laughing and slapping him playfully. "You bad!" they said. "You scary! You flame!" 　 "Practice is over for the day," Ender said. 　 "They'll be back tomorrow," said Shen. 　 "Won't do them any good," said Ender. "If they come without suits, we'll do this again. If they come with suits, we can flash them." 　 "Besides," said Alai, "the teachers won't let it happen." 　 Ender remembered what Dink had told him, and wondered if Alai was right.

 

"Hey Ender!" shouted one of the older boys as Ender left the battle room. "You nothing, man! You be nothing!" 　 "My old commander Bonzo," said Ender. "I think he doesn't like me." 　 Ender checked the rosters on his desk that night. Four boys turned up on medical report. One with bruised ribs, one with a bruised testicle, one with a torn ear, and one with a broken nose and a loose tooth. The cause of injury was the same in all cases: ACCIDENTAL COLLISION IN NULL G 　 If the teachers were allowing that to turn up on the official report, it was obvious they didn't intend to punish anyone for the nasty little skirmish in the battleroom. Aren't they going to do anything? Don't they care what goes on in this school? (Kindle Locations 1850-1881).

 

Finally, the missing death blow scene in the shower (In the film, Bonzo is pushed backward by Ender and hits his head by accident):

 

Ender whirled in time to see Bonzo stagger backward, his nose bleeding, gasping from surprise and pain. Ender knew that at this moment he might be able to walk out of the room and end the battle.　 The way he had escaped from the battleroom after drawing blood. But the battle would only be fought again. Again and again until the will to fight was finished.　 The only way to end things completely was to hurt Bonzo enough that his fear was stronger than his hate. 　

 

So Ender leaned back against the wall behind him, then jumped up and pushed off with his arms. His feet landed in Bonzo's belly and chest.　 Ender spun in the air and landed on his toes and hands; he flipped over, scooted under Bonzo, and this time when he kicked upward into Bonzo's crotch, he connected, hard and sure. 　 Bonzo did not cry out in pain. He did not react at all, except that his body rose a little in the air. It was as if Ender had kicked a piece of furniture. Bonzo collapsed, fell to the side, and sprawled directly under the spray of streaming water from a shower. He made no movement whatever to escape the murderous heat (Kindle Locations 3211-3220).

 

Basement writes that "Harrison may have been not intense enough." For many years fans said the book was unfilmable because the drama takes place inside Ender's heart and head. Harrison's portrayal of Graff is heartless and calculating enough for me, but the film is so fast-paced that Ender never seems to experience the utter and absolute isolation that Harrison's Graff defends, and that Kahuna so emphatically decries.

 

Aside from Kahuna's objections to the novel, also missing from the film are plot and character developments for events I hope to see in sequels. In the twelve (12) novel sequence, Bean and Peter join forces on Earth, while Ender, Valentine, and "Jane" travel the stars for thousands of Earth years in search of a home planet for the Formic queen.

 

 

All of that being said, the film exceeded my expectations, and continues to stand up after three viewings.

 

 

In the novel, Bean is younger and smaller than little Ender, has a much higher IQ than child genius Andrew, has a better grasp of strategy than Commander Wiggen, and is more ruthless than "Ender the Xenocide." What makes Ender the better leader, is his unique blend of empathy and killer instinct. In this the film is true to Card's raft scene, which expresses the novel's central theme:

 

"In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them--" 　 "You beat them." 　 "No, you don't understand. I destroy them. I make it impossible for them to ever hurt me again" (Kindle Locations 3609-3613).

 

 

The missing scenes are more than compensated by Asa Butterfield's acting. Bearing is everything in the "Real" Patrol Method, because a Patrol Leader must be able to hold his own when the adults are not around.

 

To that end, my favorite scene is Ender's solution to the unwinnable choice the giant offers his avatar in the Mind Game: Specifically, Butterfield's bearing when Ender explains his actions to Alai.

[Kudu]

Just back from the movie.

 

They did a good job staying true to the book.

 

Didn't really address the homicidal nature of Peter. They did not discuss Peter and his political aspirations on earth. They minimized Enders struggle at the battle school and the guilt after the genocide. Didn't do the ending justice or his break

 

Harrison Ford, Asa and Ben Kingsley did a good job. Harrison may have been not intense enough.

 

The CGI was incredible. The zero g battle room was fantastic, saw it in IMAX. made me a touch motion sick.

 

I think the theme are too dark to make it the success of a star wars. The crowd was quiet when we were leaving. I think most had not read the book and were stunned by the ending.

I think the theme are too dark to make it the success of a star wars.

 

I'm thinking maybe a Jar Jar Binks figure for the "Earth Unaware" prequel...

[Sentinel947]

So I just bought Ender's Game on DVD, and the movie still gets me. I have so much appreciation for how the director owned this movie, while keeping the core of the book intact. Did he change things? yes, but honestly, it didn't hurt the movie much. The ending, the final 2 minutes or so, was arguably stronger than the books ending.

[Sentinel947]

The film is not true to Kahuna's assessment.

 

In the novel when Stilson's gang confronts six-year-old Ender, the smaller, highly intelligent boy (the alter-ego of every sci-fi and/or Boy Scout nerd), not only kicks Stilson when he is down, but (unknowingly) delivers Stilson's death blow to warn the gang not to hurt him again:

 

Then Ender looked at the others coldly. "You might be having some idea of ganging up on me. You could probably beat me up pretty bad. But just remember what I do to people who try to hurt me. From then on you'd be wondering when I'd get you, and how bad it would be." He kicked Stilson in the face. Blood from his nose spattered the ground nearby. "It wouldn't be this bad," Ender said. "It would be worse" (Kindle Locations 351-354).

 

Ender is accepted into Battle School when he later explains to Graff "his belief that, by showing superiority now, he has prevented future struggle," an understanding of strategy reminiscent of Sun Tzu's "The Art of War."

 

Likewise, missing from the film are the scenes in which Ender breaks Bernard's arm during the flight to battle school, and singlehandedly takes on a group of older boys in the battleroom. Perhaps this missing hand-to-hand combat in "nullo" (no gravity) best illustrates Kahuna's primary objection to the novel:

 

Someone caught Ender by the foot. The tight grip gave Ender some leverage; he was able to stamp firmly on the other boy's ear and shoulder, making him cry out and let go. If the boy had let go just as Ender kicked downward, it would have hurt much less and allowed Ender to use the maneuver as a launch. Instead, the boy had hung on too well; his ear was torn and scattering blood in the air, and Ender was drifting even more slowly. 　 I'm doing it again, thought Ender. I'm hurting people again, just to save myself. Why don't they leave me alone, so I don't have to hurt them? 　 Three more boys were converging on him now, and this time they were acting together. Still, they had to grab him before they could hurt him. Ender positioned himself quickly so that two of them would take his feet, leaving his hands free to deal with the third.

 

Sure enough, they took the bait. Ender grasped the shoulders of the third boy's shirt and pulled him up sharply, butting him in the face with his helmet. Again a scream and a shower of blood. The two boys who had his legs were wrenching at them, twisting him. Ender threw the boy with the bleeding nose at one of them; they entangled, and Ender's leg came free. It was a simple matter then to use the other boy's hold for leverage to kick him firmly in the groin, then shove off him in the direction of the door. He didn't get that good a launch, so that his speed was nothing special, but it didn't matter. No one was following him. 　 He got to his friends at the door. They caught him and handed him along to the door. They were laughing and slapping him playfully. "You bad!" they said. "You scary! You flame!" 　 "Practice is over for the day," Ender said. 　 "They'll be back tomorrow," said Shen. 　 "Won't do them any good," said Ender. "If they come without suits, we'll do this again. If they come with suits, we can flash them." 　 "Besides," said Alai, "the teachers won't let it happen." 　 Ender remembered what Dink had told him, and wondered if Alai was right.

 

"Hey Ender!" shouted one of the older boys as Ender left the battle room. "You nothing, man! You be nothing!" 　 "My old commander Bonzo," said Ender. "I think he doesn't like me." 　 Ender checked the rosters on his desk that night. Four boys turned up on medical report. One with bruised ribs, one with a bruised testicle, one with a torn ear, and one with a broken nose and a loose tooth. The cause of injury was the same in all cases: ACCIDENTAL COLLISION IN NULL G 　 If the teachers were allowing that to turn up on the official report, it was obvious they didn't intend to punish anyone for the nasty little skirmish in the battleroom. Aren't they going to do anything? Don't they care what goes on in this school? (Kindle Locations 1850-1881).

 

Finally, the missing death blow scene in the shower (In the film, Bonzo is pushed backward by Ender and hits his head by accident):

 

Ender whirled in time to see Bonzo stagger backward, his nose bleeding, gasping from surprise and pain. Ender knew that at this moment he might be able to walk out of the room and end the battle.　 The way he had escaped from the battleroom after drawing blood. But the battle would only be fought again. Again and again until the will to fight was finished.　 The only way to end things completely was to hurt Bonzo enough that his fear was stronger than his hate. 　

 

So Ender leaned back against the wall behind him, then jumped up and pushed off with his arms. His feet landed in Bonzo's belly and chest.　 Ender spun in the air and landed on his toes and hands; he flipped over, scooted under Bonzo, and this time when he kicked upward into Bonzo's crotch, he connected, hard and sure. 　 Bonzo did not cry out in pain. He did not react at all, except that his body rose a little in the air. It was as if Ender had kicked a piece of furniture. Bonzo collapsed, fell to the side, and sprawled directly under the spray of streaming water from a shower. He made no movement whatever to escape the murderous heat (Kindle Locations 3211-3220).

 

Basement writes that "Harrison may have been not intense enough." For many years fans said the book was unfilmable because the drama takes place inside Ender's heart and head. Harrison's portrayal of Graff is heartless and calculating enough for me, but the film is so fast-paced that Ender never seems to experience the utter and absolute isolation that Harrison's Graff defends, and that Kahuna so emphatically decries.

 

Aside from Kahuna's objections to the novel, also missing from the film are plot and character developments for events I hope to see in sequels. In the twelve (12) novel sequence, Bean and Peter join forces on Earth, while Ender, Valentine, and "Jane" travel the stars for thousands of Earth years in search of a home planet for the Formic queen.

 

 

All of that being said, the film exceeded my expectations, and continues to stand up after three viewings.

 

 

In the novel, Bean is younger and smaller than little Ender, has a much higher IQ than child genius Andrew, has a better grasp of strategy than Commander Wiggen, and is more ruthless than "Ender the Xenocide." What makes Ender the better leader, is his unique blend of empathy and killer instinct. In this the film is true to Card's raft scene, which expresses the novel's central theme:

 

"In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them--" 　 "You beat them." 　 "No, you don't understand. I destroy them. I make it impossible for them to ever hurt me again" (Kindle Locations 3609-3613).

 

 

The missing scenes are more than compensated by Asa Butterfield's acting. Bearing is everything in the "Real" Patrol Method, because a Patrol Leader must be able to hold his own when the adults are not around.

 

To that end, my favorite scene is Ender's solution to the unwinnable choice the giant offers his avatar in the Mind Game: Specifically, Butterfield's bearing when Ender explains his actions to Alai.

I was worried how that scene looked to people that had never read the book. The movie made Ender look psychopathic and violent, when he really is a very reluctant killer.

[packsaddle]

I think the murder, early in the story, is not a crucial component and sanitizing that is probably OK. The part that I think failed was that there wasn't much of an ethical struggle regarding the genocide. Almost an afterthought. But I guess that's not too different from real life considering how we humans have treated so much of this planet.

[packsaddle]

I think the murder, early in the story, is not a crucial component and sanitizing that is probably OK. The part that I think failed was that there wasn't much of an ethical struggle regarding the genocide. Almost an afterthought. But I guess that's not too different from real life considering how we humans have treated so much of this planet.

OK, editing is not working now.

So, in retrospect, I do appreciate that both the book and the movie provide a lesson to our young people - not to trust authority.

[Kudu]

The Hayekian Liberty of Ender’s Game

 

http://blog.acton.org/archives/66809-hayekian-liberty-enders-game.html

 

by Joe Carter on Thursday, March 13, 2014

 

My conversion into a fan of science-fiction began with an unusual order from a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: “Each Marine shall read a minimum of three books from the [Commandant’s Professional Reading List] each year.â€Â

 

Included on the list of books suitable for shaping the minds of young Lance Corporals like me were two sci-fi novels: Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers and Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game.

 

I soon discovered what lay hidden in these literary gems. Along with surprisingly intriguing story lines, both novels provide some keen insights on the role of training, discipline, and creativity in preparing an effective military. But Ender’s Game also included a concept that, at the time (1990), I would not have been able to classify: a Hayekian view of knowledge and liberty.

 

As Sam Staley says, the novel provides “lessons about individualism, liberty, and the value of markets.â€Â

 

Ender has a startling degree of empathy. He understands the motivations and psyche of his friends and his enemies. And, as a commander, he allows his officers to lead, take risks, and use their judgement. Even when he is outnumbered, Ender is able to use the creativity of his sub-commanders to gain advantage. In fact, Ender’s insubordinationâ€â€his willingness to take risks and follow his own path–is an essential part of his development as a commander. This is the entrepreneurialism that forms the heart of much free-market economics, particularly Austrian economics.

 

In contrast, his enemy, “the buggers,†are directed by a central commander. A Queen Bee, if you will. The enemy’s strategy is centrally coordinated. More uniquely, their entire strategy is based on complete and instantaneous knowledge of the central planners goals, values, and directives. It is a true collective. Even in this ideal setting, the centrally coordinated strategy is less adaptable, less nimble, less robust, and, ultimately, less resilient.

 

Thus, Card has set up a battle of values and social systems, not just military strategies. Ender instinctively and effectively utilizes the intelligence of all the individuals in his fleet by letting them use their decentralized and fragmented knowledge, expertise, and skills to make critical decisions in the field, including being alert to new opportunities (entrepreneurship) and being accountable for their actions. While Ender still plays the commander, he learns that his effectiveness increases by giving his friends more freedom, not less. Humans survive the war, thus showing the benefits of individual freedom over central planning.

 

Ender’s Game is one of my all-time favorite novels of any genre, so I recommend it unreservedly....

 

And if you’re already a fan of the Ender Wiggin’s saga, check out Jaqueline Isaacs’ “Five Books You’ll Love if You Liked ‘Ender’s Game’â€Â.

 

 

http://www.valuesandcapitalism.com/dialogue/society/five-books-youll-love-if-you-liked-enders-game