Accurate Portrayal Of Frontier Planets

POSTED BY: DakotaSmith
UPDATED: Thursday, June 10, 2004 13:04
VIEWED: 25056
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LOONYTOON

Wednesday, October 9, 2002 1:31 AM

yes, a .25 might be a bit more powerful than a short, but not a LR, thats the point I was trying to make. I used the most powerful loads in my book for reference. And I beleive in carryin as many weapons as possible, as bad chit seems to happen when you go to take a dump and leave your rifle in camp. As I said, I don`t plan on fighting an infantry war anytime soon. I`m one of those paranoid, conspiracy theorist, far right wing nuts that the media would describe as having an "arsenal" in my house. I figure the next war will very likely be on american soil, and I will take to the hills and play wolverine for a while.(WAAAYYYY off topic)!

And you can get a case with a seperated head out of an auto with a slap and cycle? Damn, you must slap pretty hard! And you are probably right O`connor would probably use the .280/308 (I can`t bring myself to use metric designations!)
but I am a boring romantic and prefer cartridges with some "ghost". Thats why I love the old .44wcf! And I drive a `69 GMC could wup a golfs butt anyday!

REXRAYGUN

Wednesday, October 9, 2002 8:09 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by millernate:
2. Why use revolvers when automatics are easier to make?

3. The fashion. I sincerely doubt that fashions popular in the 1800s will ever come back into style again. Sorry but it might have made more sense to have the clothing be more modern (read: how you see ranch clothing today) might make sense.

I think that one thing that's being overlooked a lot is who these people are likely to be descendants of. People used to cities, tend to immigrate to cities, whereas it takes a ceertain mindset to live out on the frontier as a farmer.

Let's look at the two places where such expansion and ranching have been most prevelant, The USA and Australia. Rancher-types in both places adopted similar customs, dress, and for the most part, preference for functional firearms (rifles, shotguns) over machine pistols.

In addition, folks in those regions and lifestyles still tend to favor an Old Western look to their clothing, such as a preference for boots over dress shoes and Cowboy hats. They may have originally been bought to keep the sun and rain off, but now are as much a matter of pride and local culture as anything.

In addition, hunting and fishing are often passtimes that "country" people tend to enjoy. These passtimes don't require semi-automatic weapons, and with some maintainance, these weapons can last for centuries. The colonists in space could simply be hanging on to these possibly-outdated firearms for the sake of sentimentality, or cultural identity. Yes, there are semi-auto, pump-action shotguns now, but folks around here (Texas) are just as likely to have a double-barreled breakdown shotgun, and even less- likely to have a Striker.

As to fashions repeating, do any of you remember the way people, even up North, started dressing after Urban Cowboy came out? Anyone remember the rage a few years ago of "Southwestern" as a decorating theme? Heck, even LA Gangstas are susceptible to this, as there was reportedly an increase in the illegal sales of M1911-type .45 Autos, after Chow Yun Fat used them in a movie. This was even a topic of dialogue in "Jackie Brown."

More metropolitan folks would be more likely to live on the Alliance inner worlds, or at the very least, work in a larger city of a frontier world, such as was mentioned in the "Mrs. Reynolds" episode.

Just my dos pesos,

Rex!

ZICSOFT

Wednesday, October 9, 2002 8:28 PM

Quote:
Let's look at the two places where such expansion and ranching have been most prevelant, The USA and Australia. Rancher-types in both places adopted similar customs, dress, and for the most part, preference for functional firearms (rifles, shotguns) over machine pistols.

Hmm. Good point. I dimly recall reading somewhere that most "old west" cowboys used their six-guns mainly to kill nuisance animals -- only a few of which were of the two-legged variety. And Mal did grow up on a ranch.

JOSS, WHERE'S MY CHECK???!!!

THEGN

Wednesday, October 9, 2002 10:08 PM

I would like to see other building materials. It makes sense to me, that if you're isolated on a frontier planet you would make use of the surounding material instead of importing in material that may not be available. I would like to see some mud-brick buildings and stone buildings, just to create the atmosphere of differing cultures due to isolation.

-----------
In the Dark Ages, Romano-Celtic Britannia was over-run by Viking-like cultures collectively called the Anglo-Saxons. They were led by warlords called Drytinns, and the greatest warriors among them were the Thegns.

REXRAYGUN

Wednesday, October 9, 2002 10:42 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Zicsoft:
Hmm. Good point. I dimly recall reading somewhere that most "old west" cowboys used their six-guns mainly to kill nuisance animals -- only a few of which were of the two-legged variety. And Mal did grow up on a ranch.

Which is why I say that his pistol and holster are probably heirlooms or hand-me-downs from his mother or one of the ranch hands. Sentimental value and familiarity are probably just as important as functionality or practicality to people who don't have much.

Just my dos pesos,

Rex!

REXRAYGUN

Wednesday, October 9, 2002 10:42 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Zicsoft:
Hmm. Good point. I dimly recall reading somewhere that most "old west" cowboys used their six-guns mainly to kill nuisance animals -- only a few of which were of the two-legged variety. And Mal did grow up on a ranch.

Which is why I say that his pistol and holster are probably heirlooms or hand-me-downs from his mother or one of the ranch hands. Sentimental value and familiarity are probably just as important as functionality or practicality to people who don't have much.

Just my dos pesos,

Rex!

ZICSOFT

Wednesday, October 9, 2002 10:56 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by RexRaygun:

Just my dos pesos,

Well, you're not the first rural guy to see stuff like this in Firefly that us city types missed. Which is just the sort of cultural difference that's obviously going to be at the center of a lot of stories.

Hmm, you've made me wonder if this isn't at the heart of the popularity of westerns, a genre that basically died off in the 70s. Before that date, most Americans would have spent their formative years on farms, ranches, very small towns, and other rural settings. Such people would enjoy adventure shows that reminded them of their own roots. But starting in the 1940s, America basically became an industrial countries, and after a while, people who'd grown up in an urban setting predominated.

Stop me if I'm getting too stuffy!

JOSS, WHERE'S MY CHECK???!!!

REXRAYGUN

Thursday, October 10, 2002 3:41 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Zicsoft:

Well, you're not the first rural guy to see stuff like this in Firefly that us city types missed. Which is just the sort of cultural difference that's obviously going to be at the center of a lot of stories.

Hmm, you've made me wonder if this isn't at the heart of the popularity of westerns, a genre that basically died off in the 70s. Before that date, most Americans would have spent their formative years on farms, ranches, very small towns, and other rural settings. Such people would enjoy adventure shows that reminded them of their own roots. But starting in the 1940s, America basically became an industrial countries, and after a while, people who'd grown up in an urban setting predominated.

Actually, I'm not a rural person at all. I live in Dallas, and moved here from San Antonio, which are two of the ten largest cities in the US. I am very much a city person, but I know what you mean

I think your urbanization argument is a valid one. Not as many people in the USA (or other countries, I'd imagine) have that connection to working the land, nor do they have as much experience surviving in such a rugged environment.

In addition, though there are plenty of farmers in Third-World countries would be skilled at farming, most of them probably would not have the same "Pioneer Spirit." What I mean by this is that they are usually farming the same land that their families have for generations,rather than opening up new areas for cultivation, while the ranchers and farmers of Australia and the USA are relative newcomers and had to tame the land.

Just my dos pesos,

Rex!

REXRAYGUN

Thursday, October 10, 2002 3:42 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Zicsoft:

Well, you're not the first rural guy to see stuff like this in Firefly that us city types missed. Which is just the sort of cultural difference that's obviously going to be at the center of a lot of stories.

Hmm, you've made me wonder if this isn't at the heart of the popularity of westerns, a genre that basically died off in the 70s. Before that date, most Americans would have spent their formative years on farms, ranches, very small towns, and other rural settings. Such people would enjoy adventure shows that reminded them of their own roots. But starting in the 1940s, America basically became an industrial countries, and after a while, people who'd grown up in an urban setting predominated.

Actually, I'm not a rural person at all. I live in Dallas, and moved here from San Antonio, which are two of the ten largest cities in the US. I am very much a city person, but I know what you mean.

I think your urbanization argument is a valid one. Not as many people in the USA (or other countries, I'd imagine) have that connection to working the land, nor do they have as much experience surviving in such a rugged environment.

In addition, though there are plenty of farmers in Third-World countries would be skilled at farming, most of them probably would not have the same "Pioneer Spirit." What I mean by this is that they are usually farming the same land that their families have for generations,rather than opening up new areas for cultivation, while the ranchers and farmers of Australia and the USA are relative newcomers and had to tame the land.

Just my dos pesos,

Rex!

ZICSOFT

Friday, October 11, 2002 7:41 PM

Well, I've never been to Dallas or San Antonio. But I have been to Austin, and it seemed to me that the interpenetration of urban and rural was pretty heavy. And Austin's a fairly big city, with a social and cultural rep that easily as big as Dallas's. I think residents (even urbanites) of a state like Texas might have a greater sense of what rural living is like than does a state like California, where I've spent almost my entire life. We have a rural element too (I think we do more farming and ranching than Texas does) but rural and urban California don't interconnect the same way.

JOSS, WHERE'S MY CHECK???!!!

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