tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730774936536528202024-03-13T08:46:38.939-07:00Lit. Horror, Fantasy & Sci-Fijpotterfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01390910065294045600noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273077493653652820.post-5399792480232249282014-11-21T07:37:00.001-08:002014-11-21T07:41:56.878-08:00How to Write Literary Fiction in 3 Easy Steps!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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How does one write a work of<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> literary</i> <i>fiction</i>? What is <i>literary fiction</i>? Literary fiction is much like regular fiction
except for one key distinction, it’s better, much better, and important. If it
were a drink it would be a fine Vermouth with sweet, nutty undertones.
Thankfully there is a formula; a strict procedure anyone can follow to elevate
their work to literary status! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Step One: It is essential that you don’t start writing too
early. Firstly there are forms to fill out, lots of forms. Earnest Hemingway was famous for his adoration of paperwork. Once notarized,
color-coded, burned, trasmutated, re-notarized, digitized and emailed you are
ready to move on to Step Two. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It is essential in Step Two that you continue to resist the
urge to write; it is still too early in the process! The first step in Step Two is a virginal (gluten free) sacrifice to the current editor of The New
Yorker. Once <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Formidable One</i> has
been satiated it is time to adopt the proper attire: a faded tweed jacket,
carefully splotched with ink and coffee for charming effect. Next there are the
affectations befitting of a literary writer; adopt a smoking habit, shaky slender
hands, a twinge of alcoholism, haunted smoky blue eyes, and most crucially an
insatiable yearning for parental approval. At this point you should look the
part, smell the part and feel the part (so empty…). You are now ready for Step Three; Step Three is the final step in the process where you put everything
together! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Step Three: write an acclaimed work of literature. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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The distinction between <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">genre</i>
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">literary</i> fiction is really a
question of degrees. Genre fiction in the modern sense is a loose collection of
concepts and tropes that we have come to accept as defining elements of a
genre. The various designations of literary or genre fiction effect my
experience of a work in so far as it colors my expectations of it before
reading. However I often find that these expectations melt away as I actually experience
the work. Genre fiction is a category that is created by our expectations; in a
sci-fi novel for example you would expect prominent <i>science fiction elements</i> and maybe even plot
points, based solely on the genre. Conversely literary<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>fiction is defined by either its lack of expected elements, or the
reconfiguration of those elements. Commonly when genre elements are
appropriated within literary fiction, they take on a more ambiguous role. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Little Big</i> by John Crowley is an
excellent example of a more subdued approach to genre mixing. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Little Big</i> has all the elements of a
fairytale subtly layered in amongst a sprawling narrative framework that takes
on a variety of other subjects. The fantasy is so subtle at times in the story it
could be completely overlooked. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Ultimately the designation of a work as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">literary</i> is an artifice of categorization, a box designed posthumously
for writing that does not fit cleanly into other pre-existing categories. Perhaps
in times past the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Genre</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fiction </i>box was seen as too confining
for some writers that sought to create more substantive works. However in
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discern. As all the little boxes fade away, ideally we will be left with one big
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jpotterfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01390910065294045600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273077493653652820.post-65203622300963057982014-11-17T07:41:00.001-08:002014-11-20T22:15:12.020-08:00Aquatic Uncle in Class Response <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Water versus land symbolizes the divide that separates
generations. The physiological attributes that differentiate the land creatures
from their primordial relatives represent their respective outlooks and
attitudes toward change in the worlds they live in. The Uncle character’s scaly,
sharp exterior mirrors his disposition and his antiquated attitudes towards the
lifestyle choices of his younger relatives. While his wariness of land confines
him there is an undeniable wisdom that underlies his point of view. He is a
fully formed creature perfectly adapted to his old world. This confidence is
what draws the protagonist’s would-be fiancé.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I immediately identified with the dynamics of the family gathering as they were presented in the story. Both parties could communicate, however there were subtle but essential
differences in their use of language. The Uncle spoke in rambling, often confusing idioms and
said things that might strike a land dweller as offensive. It is clear that
while they share many familial similarities their respective reference points are completely different. As a result the Uncle feels unsettled by
the change and the young ones feel disconnected. The Uncle's initial bitterness
and general gruffness towards his family a reflection of this feeling.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The nature of the characters and setting would be well suited to
animation. The fantastical designs of the land and sea creatures and contrast between their worlds would be great design fodder. If it were adapted, more exposition would be
necessary and the protagonist character’s relationships and personality would
have to be expanded upon. Much of the short story is spent getting the readers
oriented in the world. If it were adapted a more conventional plot would have to
be constructed around the existing elements of the story. Many of the conflicts
are already present however they need to be expanded into full-fledged arcs.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
jpotterfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01390910065294045600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273077493653652820.post-62746912806892106912014-11-14T09:15:00.002-08:002014-11-21T07:40:10.368-08:00Wrestling with the Apocalypse, Exploring Octavia Butler's Alternative Perspective<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We tacitly accept many ideas in sci-fi as permanent trappings of the genre: Starry-eyed futurism, techno-fetishism that serves as both the main source of conflict and mankind’s salvation. When you consider the elements of classical science fiction these ideas come with the territory, they are the Coke and fries that come with the meal of mainstream science fiction. Even the grittiest science fiction ventures to the existence of humankind in a far future. Based on our species’ nuclear and environmental track record I posit any story set more than five years in the future is a bit over presumptuous. It is in this frame of mind that I approached <i>Lilith’s Brood</i> by Octavia Butler.<br />
<br />
Butler’s perspective as a woman science fiction writer [gasp] of African decent [double gasp] decimates the dull assumptions of an entire genre. She creates a world that is completely unique, bizarre and believable in equal measure. The sharp and resilient protagonist Lilith embodies her fresh contribution to sci-fi characterization. Lilith’s womanhood plays an important part in her struggles with an ambiguous alien sexuality. She is forced to reassess the meaning of her genetic heritage and her intrinsic concepts of motherhood.<br />
<br />
In <i>Lilith’s Brood</i> if not for some fortuitous (and weirdly erotic) alien intervention, our species would have vanished completely from the universe without so much as a whimper. Much has been made of Octavia Butler’s self-proclaimed pessimism, but this is just the shell of a complex and nuanced point of view. Butler seems to be operating from the assumption that humanity’s self-destruction is a foregone conclusion. And not just in the Cormack McCarthy sense, where after the apocalypse some grizzled men scurry around and engage in stern melodrama. Butler’s vision is complete annihilation; gone, dead, the humans are no more. Though she certainly does not posses the same glowing regard for mankind’s ability to triumph over all odds as many of her contemporaries, her apocalypse is not without the occasional hopeful glimmers.<br />
<br />
By starting the story after humanity’s alien-assisted resurrection Butler attempts to shed some light on humankind’s Promethean tendencies. She seems to share the point of view her Oankali alien race. The Oankali essentially view the Human race as a room full of violent, highly intelligent toddlers who should not be left alone under any circumstances. But is there anything our species can do to avoid certain annihilation? Conventional science fiction would purpose the standard raft of ideas: Spaceships, war, wormholes, bigger spaceships, mind-expanding drugs, Robots! Butler takes a differing standpoint. It is clear she does not believe that Humanity can transcend its genetic dead man’s switch unassisted. In<i> Lilith’s Brood</i> the answer to Humanity’s salvation is though a process of dispassionate genetic manipulation. The Oankali can take even the worst aspects of our species’ biology and by combining it with their own genetic material, transform into strengths. Butler is probably not advocating for genetic manipulation as a solution to all mankind’s ills, rather she is purposing that the problems our species faces are much deeper than we would like to think. Perhaps too deep for us to escape from. Is the divisive, hierarchical nature of mankind encoded on a cellular level? An impossible question to be sure, but maybe the key to our salvation lies in a different direction.<br />
<br />
The prospect of any one individual in our species bringing about the destruction of our entire race seems ridiculous, even the most dangerous among us subject to human limitations. However when we think stop thinking of individuals and start thinking about groups the scenario becomes frighteningly plausible. Though details are scarce in Butler’s vision it is implied that a nuclear attack by an extremist group is what finally renders the world uninhabitable. Perhaps then the message should be to keep a more critical eye to those who vie for ultimate power over others. While we wait for our grotesque-yet-sexy alien overlords to breed away our malignant natures, some gentle, massive restructuring of civilization wouldn’t hurt. We might consider allowing for more diverse perspectives like Butler's to permeate our societies. A more diverse sampling of viewpoints would shift the balance of power in the favor of a species made up of individuals, over divisionary factions made of ideas. <br />
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jpotterfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01390910065294045600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273077493653652820.post-54768995834347396322014-11-08T19:10:00.002-08:002014-11-09T12:23:42.704-08:00Snow Crash and Assorted Ramblings on Virtual Reality <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Slip a calculator into one of your jumpsuit pockets and grab
a plank it’s time for Snow Crash! Neal Stevenson’s 1992 novel is one part
earnest, philosophical techno thriller and two parts schlocky nineties action
movie and comedic satire. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the world of Snow Crash the Federal Government has been
thoroughly decentralized. It now delegates the vast majority of its former duties
and territories to corporations and their spiritual brethren in various
criminal organizations. But this grungy, anarchic world is really only the
embellishment to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i> reality of
the story. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Metaverse</i> (or what
modern folk today might know as “The Internet”) is the more functional of the two
realties. It is a virtual cyberspace where for an elite group of hackers
anything is possible. Many of the characters we meet in Snow Crash prefer to live
here, including the main character, who goes by the cringe inducing pseudonym <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hiro Protagonist</i>. Hiro is a master
hacker and an original architect of the Metaverse back in the primordial times of about a decade prior. Because of his elevated status Hiro has
the power to bend this reality to his will. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Aspects of Stevenson’s cyber-reality reflect the current
state of the Internet; he anticipated the importance of the Internet in
day-to-day social interactions, and he seemed to be aware of the potential
implications of interconnected surveillance technology, interestingly, he also describes software
very similar to Google Earth. Even at its most hokey (virtual reality public
transport system?) the Metaverse idea is nothing less than entertaining. With
some hindsight the main problem with the Metaverse is Stevenson’s complete adherence
to virtual reality as the future user experience of the Internet. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The problem with this form of interaction and the Metaverse writ
large is obviously one of practicality. Why go through all that trouble with a 3d avatar when a few clicks or swipes will suffice in so-called <i>flatland</i>? Stevenson’s
term for the kind of 2d interfaces that are currently the norm (and perhaps a clever nod to Edwin A. Abbott's novel), that remain
essentially unchanged in premise since the nineties. With hindsight it’s clear that
Stevenson underestimated the power of a clean and powerful GUI. So far immersive
virtual reality is largely the stuff of videogame power fantasies and insubstantial
tech demos. The Internet landscape as it has emerged is far more scattered and far more subtly tinged with sinister corporate and
government influence than Stevenson could have imagined in 1992. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The innate complications involved in simulating a compelling
all-encompassing reality are what doomed projects with Metaverse-esc
aspirations like Second Life and PlayStation Home. It could be argued that the
closest analog we currently have to the reality of the Metaverse is Facebook.
Whether/how Facebook’s core functionality would work in an immersive virtual
reality is debatable but the company’s recent acquisition of Oculus VR is an
interesting wrinkle. For the immediate future there is still plenty of virtual
reality to be had, albeit operating in a more limited capacity. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Metaverse closely resembles the modern MMO videogame
format. These games can be staggeringly intricate but their limited scope and
utility allows them to empower the player within a more limited construct of the virtual
world. <a href="http://www.wired.com/2014/02/eve-online-battle-of-b-r/">Eve
Online</a> is a fascinating example of an extraordinarily sophisticated reality on
a colossal scale. So colossal in fact that, it’s economy is worth more in real
currency than some many modestly-sized nations. With the emergence of new virtual reality
technology and real-time rendering techniques that are quickly approaching what
Stevenson describes in Snow Crash it is not out of the question that we could
some day experience a reality as believable as the Metaverse. The
last hurdle is whether the general public is willing to strap something like a headset on
their face for multiple hours a day. Considering how fast smartphones and tablets have caught on it's certainly not out of the question, nor is it that large of a jump functionally speaking.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The final question then emerges if virtual reality does
catch on who will be using it? Snow Crash does a great job in answering this
question on many levels. The world of Snow Crash is a clearly delineated technocracy. The
lower classes jack into the Metaverse through public terminals and are given
glitchy low-resolution avatars. While middle-class males like Hiro and corporate entities comprise the upper strata of the Metaverse. What emerges is
a system that leads to systematic discrimination against the techno-illiterate, ostensibly
the poor and the elderly. The entire purpose of creating an immersive
cyber-reality is to create a place for complete ideological and creative sovereignty. It
should be a place where the individual is free from the constraints of society
and the natural universe. Cyber-reality becomes dangerous when it begins to
parallel <i>real </i>reality too closely and in doing so replicates the systemic limitations.
Perhaps a cyber-reality that is completely uninhibited is impossible until we solve
the problems in our immediate reality. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
*Edit: In a strange coincidence I just stumbled upon <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/6/7164603/the-big-future-can-we-build-a-virtual-world">this</a> Verge article today by Adi Robertson that touches on a lot of the same points as my post; she gives a great general overview of where VR tech is at now and where it could potentially end up. Here is a excerpt on the potential future of VR:<br />
<br />
"...<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 28.0499992370605px;">some of the most exciting possibilities involve blending the physical world with VR. Sharing experiences will become more intense, and online research takes on a whole new meaning. And then there's the entire field of augmented reality, where virtual and physical elements combine. If we figure out how to actually get there, the possibilities are endless."</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://majorspoilers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Snow-Crash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://majorspoilers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Snow-Crash.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
jpotterfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01390910065294045600noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273077493653652820.post-88934343439858630302014-10-27T21:03:00.002-07:002014-11-09T12:26:24.010-08:00What's a Ubik?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Ubik</u> by Philip K. Dick is, at least on the surface, a
bit of a puzzling ordeal. Part futuristic hyper-capitalist dystopia, part
rambling psychic fever dream. One of the most intriguing ideas amid Philip K.
Dick’s usual torrent of inventiveness is how cryogenic freezing is used
throughout the story. In the world of Ubik, man has cured death, sort of; actually
it’s more of a treatment. By freezing a body immediately after “death” and
placing it in a process known colloquially as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cold Pac</i> one may stall the final <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">symptoms</i> of death for many years. Cold Pac preserves the body in a
kind of half-life where the dead communicate with the living and retain a kind
of artificial consciousness. Like life, half-life is also limited; every minute
a person in half-life connects with the living world to communicate they edge
closer to their final permanent death. This technology has some major
implications both for the characters in the story and society as a whole. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cold Pac, like everything in the coin-operated world of
Ubik, including doors, and all manner of mundane household appliances, comes at
a price. Cold Pac is not a technology that is available for everyone. Only the
reasonably wealthy can afford to be preserved in half-life and even amongst the
wealthy patrons there are multiple tiers of service. It is not a stretch to
draw comparisons between Cold Pac and current life extending technologies. Despite
their helpfulness most of these current technologies remain unavailable to the
vast majority of the world’s population. If a cure for death did exist in the
modern world Dick’s assumptions on the availability of that technology is
probably not that far off. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While many implications of Cold Pac are potentially
wonderful, or at the very least convenient, it’s worth questioning why anyone
would want it at all. Cold Pac could be seen as a harmful invasion into the natural
grieving process. After all the technique is only prolonging the inevitable,
and the half-life recipients aren’t exactly living in bliss, as we witness
later in the story. The process invites in a whole rabble of tricky
philosophical implications. There is the basic question of whether science
should be meddling with the balance of life and death in the first place (sure,
why not?), or more specifically whether mortality should be left to the control
of market forces (no, that’s probably bad). The practitioners of the practice
perhaps started out as purely scientists, but necessity has transformed them to
part pitchmen, part morticians, part theologians. All in all the half-lifers
are getting a bit of a raw deal. The whole setup seems to benefit the living
first and foremost (although one could say the same about all post-death arrangements including funerals). <o:p></o:p></div>
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But these ideas only begin to scratch the surface of Ubik’s
weirdly compelling mix of concepts; the omnipresent advertising for Ubik products
throughout the novel becomes a kind of metaphorical shape shifting God.
Multiple semi-serious references are made to reincarnation at the end of Cold
Pac by the half-lifers. Ubik is perhaps not one of Philip K. Dick’s most
seminal works but it is awash in the kind of digressive, paranoid wisdom that
cements his place as the philosopher king of modern science fiction. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1179266288l/895473.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1179266288l/895473.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>
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jpotterfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01390910065294045600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273077493653652820.post-29722155909743096112014-10-17T14:55:00.000-07:002014-11-09T12:32:08.299-08:00Alfred Bester the Accidental Father of Cyberpunk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Between the foreboding depictions of new technology
haplessly entangled with mankind and the omnipresence of sinister corporations
Cyberpunk seems like a genre devised especially for the Internet
age. The mere mention of the
term conjures up visions of a foot chase through the neon rain slicked streets of future
Los Angles, or the frantic Zen warrior Neo jamming an AC cable into his
cerebellum. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">But
what if I told you </i>the birth of cyberpunk was happening at the same time... as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the jitterbug</i>? You might be
skeptical, and so was I until I read <u>The Stars My Destination</u> by Alfred
Bester.<br />
<br />
(Some mild spoilers to follow)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bester’s preposterously grizzled, lowlife anti-hero is about
as Cyberpunk as it gets. We are introduced to Gulliver Foyle as the lone survivor
of an interstellar shipwreck. After enduring six months in the wreck the lowly crewman’s
only notable trait seems to be his penchant for self-preservation. When a
passing ship ignores his obvious calls for help Gully vows revenge. The means
by which he actuates his revenge cements him as one of the nastiest characters in
science fiction. Foyle’s sick determination for revenge unleashes his brutal potential;
his transformation from a simple brute to a brilliant cybernetic enhanced
killing machine is surprisingly poignant. Bester’s unflinching depiction of multiple
flavors of violence is intense, even by modern standards. It’s hard not to see
the echoes of Gully Foyle in later archetypical cyberpunk heroes; he’s part Henry
Dorsett, part Motoko Kusanagi, and a little bit Kwisatz Haderach. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Bester isn’t immune to the occasional bout of the
anachronistic sniffles and his grasp of science is flaky at (most) times, however he
delivers on the things that count, namely characters and world building. While
reading <u>The Stars My Destination</u> I was consistently surprised at how
contemporary the work felt. The world he creates is packed with prescient social
commentary and technologies. From a rampant corporate oligarchy to a poor,
technologically deprived underclass it’s hard not to see parallels to issues
that could be ripped from today’s headlines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All this and I haven’t even mentioned <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jaunting</i>, a central mechanic to the story whose social and
technological ramifications are a topic worth discussing in and of itself. For the uninitiated, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jaunting </i>is a form of personal
teleportation that one may practice by willpower alone. The economic
ramifications of the near complete removal of the need for personal
transportation have resulted in a major restructuring of society on every level.
Interestingly, this restructuring includes some unforeseen consequences including
the fortification of woman of the upper classes in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jaunt Proof</i> ™ rooms. Leading to a new Victorian age of culturally
mandated sexual repression.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bester’s also experiments with his writing in some radical
ways. Psychedelic onomatopoeia abounds and the style of writing undergoes
changes in parallel to our hero's accumulating intelligence. Bester uses language to viscerally immerse the
reader in Foyle’s state of consciousness. Bester should be owed a great debt
for taking the first strides on the fringe of a sub-genre that didn’t come into
its own culturally, until after his death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whether or not Bester knew it at the time, the importance of his
endeavor had far reaching effects. Many of the elements of Cyberpunk have been
appropriated into the mainstream and are now inexorably linked to modern science
fiction. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://raggedclaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/howard-chaykin_the-stars-my-destination_heavy-metal-viin11_mar1979_p44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://raggedclaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/howard-chaykin_the-stars-my-destination_heavy-metal-viin11_mar1979_p44.jpg" height="320" width="232" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p></div>
jpotterfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01390910065294045600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273077493653652820.post-16924528055050422992014-10-08T21:56:00.000-07:002014-10-08T21:56:18.735-07:00Gods with Mustaches, Myth in the Contemporary World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In Neil Gaiman’s <u>Anansi Boys</u> a painfully normal man Charles accidental
discovers that his father is the West African God of mischief, Anansi and he
has a brother who is also a God. Charlie is a permanently embarrassed wreck and
his brother is a blithe, womanizing sociopath. Friction builds as Charlie
attempts to reconcile his ordinary life against the powerful forces of ancient
myth that make his brother such a pain in the ass.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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According to Gaiman's lore the first stories to exist were the stories by the
God Tiger, now long forgotten. Tiger’s stories were distinguished by their
brutality and revelry in predatory violence for survival. The trickster Anansi cunningly took
the stories from Tiger and transfigured them with wisdom and guile into
something else entirely. All stories now are said to be Anansi stories. As the
Anansi mythology tumbles into the present it is scrutinized under modern
precepts where its relevance to the contemporary world is tested.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If the Anansi stories are the progenitors of myth they are
also the parents of modern narrative. But Myths are not just stories. They are
the very essence of what makes us human. It would not be an stretch to say
that modern civilization would not exist without myth. Myths were the very first
form of figurative invention, a first attempt to quantify our situation as
sentient beings in a universe. Mythmaking is the kind of activity that
separates us from other animals. While the natural world was busy clawing its
eyes out, myth allowed us to tiptoe up the evolutionary ladder behind. In <u>Anansi
Boys</u> we witness the literal combat between Anansi stories and Tiger stories.
This is really the primeval forces of nature pitted against the edified
worldview born of myth. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As cultures developed
ancestral stories helped give meaning to life. They created a framework that
reassured people that they fit in some overarching narrative, the grand
tapestry of culture. This has developed into a much broader form in the
contemporary world. We use myths to define our culture through expansive archetypes,
for example the stories and ideas that inform the so-called American worldview
(personal freedoms, pursuit of happiness, manifest destiny etc.)<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i> Myths that help define a culture also help
define us personally. We form our own identities by the way we make associations
with those larger cultural constructs. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We are often not aware of the influence of myth in our
contemporary world. But the Anansi stories are hiding in plane sight, they are
so much a part of the fabric of modern experience that they don’t even register
as novel. Whatever cultural narratives you subscribe to, whether there are Gods
or mystical worlds, whether those Gods have mustaches, the details are irrelevant.
Those potentially mustachioed figures of myth are just whiskery vessels to
transport ideas through time. Myth is the fundamental ingredient to human
culture, the lifeblood of imagination and the driving force behind our interminable
progression into more enlightened creatures. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://dynastyofsteamandsteel.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/9780755305094.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://dynastyofsteamandsteel.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/9780755305094.jpeg" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p></div>
jpotterfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01390910065294045600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273077493653652820.post-55428606030876064522014-10-05T19:28:00.002-07:002014-10-05T19:38:33.221-07:00Pratchett v. Tolkien and the Epic Arms Race for Epic Fantasy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I was glad to finally get the chance to read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Color of Magic</i>,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>the first book in Terry Pratchett’s long-running<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Disc World </i>series. As a longtime Tolkien
fan reading Pratchett’s work for the first time was a particularly rewarding
experience. Pratchett borrows just enough from the epitomes father of modern
fantasy to make the corkscrews in his narrative particularly effective. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Much of modern fantasy writing seems to be lurking in
Tolkien’s shadow. The Stilted writing is rich in archetypical trappings but
lacking in real substantive storytelling. What has emerged is a kind of epic
fantasy arms race; too many characters, convoluted lore, and tomes upon tomes
of plot. Pratchett was well aware of the state of his genre when he started
writing fantasy. His Disc World series was a great first push off a cliff into
the gulch of relative respectability that the genre enjoys today. He draws on a
vast array of stale formulas and puts them in blender adding a generous helping
of his own dry wit and rage. What emerges is something truly unique, by any
measure a satirical feat. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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What sets Pratchett apart from many of his contemporaries is
his approach to world building. Right up front he takes on the often-ridiculous
conceits of fantasy worlds and gives them a colossal turtle-sized redecoration.
The key to Pratchett’s success is the mundanity that he allows to infuse the
most fantastical elements of his world. By contrast the settings in Tolkien’s
works are separated from our world by a kind of gauzy mythological curtain.
Despite all the war and tragedy and heartbreak Middle Earth couldn’t be further
off from the messy grey morality present in our world. Even the evil places are
perfectly, unremittingly evil. The sense of meticulously constructed antiquity
is almost oppressive in it’s grandioseness. Pratchett by contrast revels in
deconstructing the mythology of places and the creatures that inhabit them. Nothing
is as it seems and chances are it’s a lot less remarkable than you think. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Tolkien doesn’t create characters so much as he creates
archetypes. Even the Hobbits that function as the audience’s proxies are pulled
from an idealized vision of middle class English society. While the characters
are occasionally depicted as hungry or tired they are primarily motivated by
honor, vengeance or pure evil (and definitely not sex). Tolkien’s warriors,
wizards and elves seem to exist on a higher moral plane then contemporary man. </div>
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Pratchett takes an opposing approach. His characterizations, for all their
zaniness and sinister whimsy feel grubby and lived in. Like real people they
are more likely to act in their own self-interests unless sufficiently <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">persuaded</i> otherwise. Heroes aren’t honor
bound so much as they are driven by insatiable blood lust that may or may not occasionally
coincide with honorable deeds. We often see the actions of so called heroes
measured in collateral damage rather than purity of heart. In essence the
divide between Pratchett and Tolkien is a basic philosophical one. Tolkien’s
worlds are meticulously crafted binary systems, Good vs. Evil. He believes that
absolutes can exist and that with effort we too can move towards absolute good (and
maybe triumph over evil while we’re at it). This is a decidedly Christian point
of view, and a fairly commendable one at that, after all his generation killed
Hitler and invented zippers. Whether this kind of morality is still applicable
in our brave new world of soy lattes and terrorism is a deeply philosophical question far above my pay grade, however the massive trans-media success of the
Tolkien Empire would make a strong case that it is. Pratchett takes a different
approach. One might be tempted to call it pessimistic but I prefer to think of
it as a viewpoint that celebrates the quirks of human nature. Instead of using
fantasy as a means of projecting what we should be, Pratchett projects reality
onto fantasy to show us how we truly are in sarcastic high definition. <o:p></o:p></div>
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jpotterfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01390910065294045600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273077493653652820.post-9341920379099019622014-09-22T19:55:00.001-07:002014-09-22T19:55:15.886-07:00In Defense of Evil Witches<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The first impression of the witches in Diana Wynne Jones’ <i>Aunt Maria</i> was that of familiarity. These
aren’t the flimsy monsters of folklore, or the persecuted healers at the
barbeques of antiquity, they are ordinary people from a small town, old people
to be sure, but by all accounts still people. The story is embellished with
supernatural touches but the real machine underneath is driven by the endemic
struggle of the sexes. It would be tempting to characterize Jones’ depictions of
witches as playing to easy stereotypes surrounding strong women in authority
roles, but there are more layers to Jones portrayal then she lets on at first.</div>
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Galloping in to the minefield of gender politics Jones first
illustrates the complex familial dynamics that keep Mig, Chris and their
saintly mother in Maria’s grasp. She beautify articulates the delicate dance of
politeness in amongst their cold war of passive aggression. The real forces at
play here are the tooth and claw struggle of social superiority by animals only
somewhat constrained by the rules of civilized society. Women have never ascended
to power easily. At every foothold they are faced with the insecure rhinoceros of
patriarchy. But Maria fights against these odds; perhaps the poisonous
stereotypes and constant threat of exploitation darkened her last shreds of
humanity. Perhaps she could have been the archetype of the powerful, benevolent
witch, a spiritual healer and wise leader in her community. Instead she emerges
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There is nothing magical about the villain Jones constructs
for her story; underneath the trappings of genre fiction beats the heart of an
ordinary, everyday megalomaniac. As it turns out there is nothing particularly
villainous about her villains either. Maria has deceived herself just as
thoroughly as she has her followers. How do you punish someone who according to
her own delusional worldview has never done anything wrong? In the end Maria’s
manipulations are more of an indication of her own tragic solipsism then an
indication that she wants to cause harm to others. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all what else is there to do in
Cranbury?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnn6JcQLmE-RSXCfgFrSFYcSdON6gVSeIu-RwSsTgKVnsuMygfGAJ9Fw-RU4XvEpoOr0Kd9NIGfs_6TQ1IEwduVB6m7ghnGJ-963CPuZ4HGP5zCPFWeJTUN7pQWRn4dgTYP7QEN1zIYg/s1600/auntmaria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnn6JcQLmE-RSXCfgFrSFYcSdON6gVSeIu-RwSsTgKVnsuMygfGAJ9Fw-RU4XvEpoOr0Kd9NIGfs_6TQ1IEwduVB6m7ghnGJ-963CPuZ4HGP5zCPFWeJTUN7pQWRn4dgTYP7QEN1zIYg/s1600/auntmaria.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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jpotterfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01390910065294045600noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273077493653652820.post-68675039835925888112014-09-21T12:00:00.002-07:002014-11-09T12:40:32.706-08:00Angela Carter and the Power of the New Weird<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>
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The concept of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">weird</i>
as we know it today has it’s roots in Shakespeare’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Macbeth</i>. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Macbeth</i> the Weird
Sisters, also known as the Three Witches, controlled the destiny of the
protagonists through the powers of fate. These great powers were of mystical,
otherworldly origins, hence the idea of weird as unnatural, strange or not of
everyday experience. In the modern usage weird is often used as a kind of
pejorative, employed to quarantine those outliers who operate independent from
the status quo. Many artists have re-appropriated this term, elevating it to a
loose sub-genre of works in the so-called “New Weird”. These artists exalt the
ambiguous experiences separated from the everyday to dig into the least
comfortable realties of human nature. These works are often characterized by an
unexpected point of view and contain surrealist motifs as a means to delve into
the workings of the subconscious mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Angela Carter explores weirdness extensively in her novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nights at the Circus</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nights
at the Circus</i> journalist Jack Walser becomes obsessed with the truth behind
the life of Sophie Fevvers an orphan girl turned circus performer who has
allegedly sprouted a set of giant wings from her back. Carter plays with our
preconceived notions around the characters in the story. As we are swept into
Fevver’s elaborate narrative, the weird aspects of the so-called “Freaks” are
rendered as mundane with the details of their everyday life and down-to-earth
personalities. However their experiences amongst the supposedly ordinary
populous stand out in stark relief for their strangeness and cruelty. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The setting in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nights
at the Circus </i>is the true source of the stories strangeness. The circus
setting appears in various incarnations; firstly through Jack’s point of view
in London, then through a more fluid narration as we follow the circus across Russia.
Through Fevver’s narrative we learn of the brothel where she was raised. In the
brothel Fevver’s wings did not alarm the other women, rather they saw Fevvers
as a beacon of hope, a physical symbol of their moral separation from the rest
of the world as a result of their profession. The last place Fevver’s describes
to Jack is her stay in Madame Schreck’s house of horrors. Schreck’s house is by
far the most exaggeratedly cruel and shocking example of how people are treated
when they are made to be the mysterious other by exploitative forces. Throughout
Carter’s story we are faced with this dichotomy of the freak or the whore
versus the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">normal</i>, freaks and whores
in this case being interchangeable stand-ins for the moral other in society. <o:p></o:p></div>
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What makes <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nights at
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necessarily what they say but what they deliberately occlude. Jack casts his
shadows of doubt over Fevver’s story from the very first sentence. Although
Jack is eventually swayed by Fevver’s tale the audience is left largely in
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ingredient to weird. There is always a sneaking suspicion that something is ‘just
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perception of reality. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/94/Nights_at_the_Circus_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/94/Nights_at_the_Circus_cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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jpotterfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01390910065294045600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273077493653652820.post-56379171101193917652014-09-08T12:22:00.002-07:002014-09-08T12:23:36.585-07:00No Names and Doers in A Wild Sheep Chase<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When taken a face value <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A
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western assumptions of storytelling, much less those of the often formulaic Horror genre. The
universe presented throughout the story seems to coil in on itself, spinning an
ever-tighter cocoon of absurdities. As such it’s easy to loose oneself in Murakami’s flourishes and tangents and lose focus on the larger
picture. When taken in from a distance that twisted cocoon actually takes on a clear
point of view that both replicates and repudiates elements of western
storytelling and comments on post-war Japanese culture. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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To say that the unnamed protagonist of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Wild Sheep Chase</i> is a reluctant hero, would be to reconfigure the
definition of ‘hero’ and stretch ‘reluctant’ to its breaking point. There is no
easy term for the protagonist, he is not an anti-hero, he is not exactly an
everyman, nor is he exactly an outsider, he works in advertising. He just is. He
is really more of a force, a kind of Zen monk of mediocrity, a physical
manifestation of post-modern boredom and vague existential unease. <o:p></o:p></div>
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If <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Wild Sheep Chase</i>
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then takes a limo ride to casually accept it, then makes some follow up
phone calls to his quest-giver to make small talk and finagle the details. There
are some of the trappings of a classic detective story however lunch breaks, neurotic chain-smoking or ‘intercourse’ often overshadow them. What this all
adds up to is the author’s exaltation the mundane.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mild Spoilers Ahead</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
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The horror genre
elements are introduced when Murakami pits the ‘No Names’ against ‘The Doers’
in society. ‘The Doers’ (i.e. The Boss, or the unnamed Ainu youth) manipulate
the ‘No Names’ and the supernatural spirit manipulates ‘The Doers’ in tern. The
scourge infecting Murakami’s universe is not the all-purpose, moralistic ‘Evil’
so prevalent in western horror, it is the embodiment of rugged individualism. When
the Doer has fulfilled their singular purpose at any cost, the sprit leaves
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modernization.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a5/Haruki_murakami_a_wild_sheep_chase_9780375718946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a5/Haruki_murakami_a_wild_sheep_chase_9780375718946.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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jpotterfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01390910065294045600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273077493653652820.post-11292743678180451542014-08-25T13:56:00.000-07:002014-08-25T14:04:41.282-07:00A Spark of Humanity, Relationships in 'Interview with the Vampire'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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By their very nature vampires seems
destined for isolation. Though they share many superficial similarities with
humans they are parasites by nature, isolated in what what Rice refers to as a ‘forest
of humanity’. In <i>Interview with the Vampire</i> Rice explores one such vampire,
who struggles to balance his baser instincts with his need for companionship on
his immortal journey. The through line of the story is the relationship between
Louis and the cruel and guileful Vampire Lestat. Although Lestat constantly toys
with Louis, torments him even, the reality is Lestat is the true benefactor from
their relationship. He is desperate for companionship and his monstrous
behavior is partly his true nature and partly a smokescreen to
hide his weakness. Louis for his part accepts his cohort in immortality. At
first out of necessity and fear as he grasps for anything after the death of
his brother, but later it seems out of a begrudging fondness for Lestat. But immortality
it would seem is destined to devastate any relationship. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Tormented by a nagging sense of morality Louis does everything in his
power to resist Lestat’s constant invitation to succumb to his baser urges.
Slowly Louis caves to Lestat and his own craving for human nourishment. Louis
becomes disillusioned with Lestat’s glaring lack of humanity and his own
bloodlust. As Louis contemplates leaving, Lestat introduces him to the most
important relation of all, the little vampire girl Claudia. They take her in as
their ‘daughter’ so they may stay together to care for her. Although Louis and
Lestat take up pseudo-parental roles, it would be inaccurate to characterize
their relationship as father-daughter. Lestat plays the role of the stern,
father figure who teachers her the violent facts of vampire life and Louis is
more mothering and teaches her the joys of knowledge and critical thinking.
Even so, for all Louis’s endless adoration, Claudia is still more of his
plaything, his docile vessel to fill with ideas. Since it is not a parental or
sexual relationship the only explanation for Louis’s attachment to Claudia is
his feeling of power over her as well as the connection to what her innocent
form represents in his last vestiges of humanity. What Claudia gets from their
relationship is not immediately clear obvious, however it is
very different from what Louis is receiving. It is only when Claudia starts to
use some of the knowledge she gained from Louis to uncover the
truth that their relationship starts to break down. From that point on they
are only ‘bound together by hatred’ as Claudia says. When it is clear that
Claudia has turned monstrous and the power dynamic shifts again Louis feels
lost. It is this shifting of power that
turns Louis and Claudia against Lestat and leads Louis briefly towards Armand, a
turn of events that spells ruin for all. After so much loss, Louis takes the
only reasonable approach and becomes a solitary creature. The path that seems
destined for all vampires that, like Louis still retain some inner spark of humanity.<br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
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jpotterfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01390910065294045600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273077493653652820.post-56165988450989904092014-08-18T12:07:00.001-07:002014-08-18T12:07:17.864-07:00'Dark City' as an Example of Contemporary Gothic Esthetics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When I think of the Gothic in contemporary culture Alex Proyas' film <i>Dark City </i>immediately comes to mind. Dark City is a hard film to categorize in many ways because it draws on influences as diverse as film noir, expressionism, and science fiction, however the foundations for the film both stylistically and thematically are undeniably gothic. The first thing one notices about Dark City are the striking visuals. The story takes place in a throbbing, congested tangle of buildings based on a hodgepodge of 19th century cities. This mysterious city and all it's inhabitance are suspended in eternal night . The monsters in the film, called Strangers, congregate in cathedral-like industrial spaces underground which are bursting with religious imagery. Although there are no castles, churches or victorian mansions in Dark City it characterizes the bizarre, modern post-industrial equivalents in much the same way. The sense of dread the setting provokes in combination with constant darkness is undeniable. As the amnesiac hero struggles to comes to terms with his situation, the constant and impenetrable shadows of his surroundings are host to a mysterious and pervasive evil. At first this may only seem to be reflection of the character's own considerable inner turmoil and distorted perceptions, however he soon finds himself at battle with monsters that seek to exploit the nature of mankind for their own immortality. Ultimately the hero must confront this evil head on to fight off the supernatural forces that enslave humanity and stave off the darkness. Dark City is perhaps not the most obvious example of "contemporary gothicness" because it strives for much more. It uses gothic esthetics as the basic ingredients for a rich melange of themes, styles and references. It is this blend that I find particularly fascinating. </div>
jpotterfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01390910065294045600noreply@blogger.com0