Honestly, I am a bit tired of the current trend of adapting any big YA fantasy novel (actually, series) into movies. I mean, first of all it's unoriginal and a safe bet to get money. Lord of the Rings was really popular, so they adapted Harry Potter, and then because of that you have Twilight and The Hunger Games and others to a lesser extent. They've got built-in fanbases who will pay money. But I sort of wonder what it does to the authors of the works, especially of the less-than-successful (not just commercially, but storytelling-wise) adaptions like The Golden Compass, City of Bones, Eragon, and Percy Jackson (which somehow managed to have its sequel made which I haven't seen, but it looks like they attempted to fix problems from the first one). Everyone just says the movie was bad and goes back to reading the books, and critics frown at Hollywood. As they rightly should. It's not that these books aren't worth adapting, although they may not be suited to the big screen, but they are just misread for more focus on special effects, etc. And often it depends on how much the studio cares about the story--LOTR, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games were more well cared for than some others.
An interlude here, as I wish to complain about journalism surrounding these things. I'm a huge children's/YA fan, but it's not just the sometimes condescending tone towards these fanbases that bothers me. (Then again, the tendency for some fanbases to get so focused on romance in terms of the physical attractiveness of actors does rather annoy me. As does those who expect movies to be just like books, because that's understandable but silly.) It's the comparisons. Twilight was the next Harry Potter and The Hunger Games was the next Twilight and now Divergent is the next Hunger Games. This is extraordinarily tiring because not only does it inspire people to think of the industry as churning out retreads, but it just dumbs it all down. The comparisons happened because of just one aspect of the titles in question (popularity, teenagers/love triangle, dystopia) and doesn't take into account the whole thing. I mean, I personally like Divergent more than The Hunger Games because I connected to it more (though I did think there was a bit too much romance, but at least it wasn't a love triangle). I like the concept better, and the fact that not everyone has to die allowed me to connect more to the characters. At any rate, the success of great leading female characters does make me cheer, though I do occasionally worry that the publicizing of romance degrades their actual characters a bit. At least The Hunger Game survived the shipping to become well-loved by members of both genders, and hopefully not just because of the violence.
So back to me and my own writing, which does happen to be fantasy. Most of my stories involve some sort of fantastical or science fiction concept. This does often happen because I think "Wouldn't it be cool..." but over time I have become a bit more sophisticated. I've realized that I use these concepts to explore things between characters that I imagined being hard to discover on Earth, and also I would be terrible at writing a traditional high school story, not having gone to a traditional high school myself. I admit to being a rather sheltered individual, so imagining going places and exploring them with people I want to know better form the basis of many of my stories--and the ones that haven't, I have taken my characters and really explored them based in some of my own experiences growing up. That is first and foremost what my books are about. The concepts and plots center around putting characters in certain positions.
But to the generalizing eye, that's not what I'm doing. I'm writing another children's/YA (seriously, it really is on the borderline between the two) fantasy trilogy. There would be a lot of cool stuff I would absolutely adore to see made into film. But I just am worried that those things will dominate, in both book descriptions and possible movie deals.
I'm an aspiring writer. Join me in exploring what I enjoy reading and musing about related topics.
Showing posts with label characters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label characters. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Words Have No Meaning
I've been working on some longer posts, but I really haven't posted anything for a while. So here are some snippets of bigger things I think about. I am intrigued about the relationship between words and society, as well as stories and society. Do they affect what we expect? Are some things more accurate if we don't have to put them in words, as those words are attached to meanings, and those meanings have been shaped culturally?
How much are we made up of storybook culture? There is a sort of received wisdom that comes with society, and I wonder how much of it is influenced by stories. I thought about how when people decide to tell people things publicly, what they say often becomes simplified and sanitized so it can be easily told and understood. And as someone whose complicated but insisted not-romantic relationship was translated and assumed to be the wrong thing, this bothers me. Yes, I said things, and I certainly had some feelings, but they were different and I knew they were, and I tried explaining. Sometimes I felt like he was a close friend in spirit (because we did not talk very much) whom any romantic entanglements would ruin. Sometimes I felt like he was a younger child I was watching out for. And then I increasingly felt that our personalities were so conflicting and stubborn that no wonder we argued and stopped talking. But no one - not even him - wants to hear about this. It's just got to be simplified.
"I care about this person" becomes "She likes him." "I cannot physically sing well in front of people because of bullying and an unsympathetic teacher" becomes "She doesn't like to sing in front of people." "I was bothered by the blood and the realization that I can easily injure people I love" becomes "Oh, he just accidentally cut his best friend." Emotions get scarified for an easy-to-pass-along story that others easily understand. When someone asks why a couple broke up, they're looking for something that slots into a category that makes sense based on received wisdom. If the pair make the smart decision and keep it quiet, because no one else will really understand, then other people whisper and suspect even worse things, or the wrong things, or simplified things. Everyone wants to know and when everyone does know, they don't understand. There is no way to win. I find it as fascinating as it is frustrating.
And that is part of the reason I write things. I journal to keep track of my feelings and emotions. It's hard at times but I want to understand what makes us human. I have been very privileged to know people who have been different than cliched, storybook characters. I have been very privileged to have a relationship based on accepting each other and being open and figuring out how relationships really work. These are what writers need to write about. Not stories where characters are easily slotted into a "love interest" role often based upon physical appearances. Not stories where the dating just happens to begin by a perfectly coordinated kiss. Not stories where the girls are the only ones being insecure about their behaviors and appearances.
We need stories where characters fall in love by thinking hard about their feelings. When they see each other as not beautiful or handsome, but as who they really are, and it's the personality they fall in love with and becomes one with the physical side. We need stories in which couples openly discuss everything, and ask to make sure they are both okay with every little thing before they do it. We need flaws that are admired and discussed, and guys who are not "dreamy" or "cool" or overly confident. And we also need stories about relationships that are close but not romantic, and we need to call out society for questioning those. Romance is a cop-out. Relationships are based on something real, and they come in many forms.
My boyfriend and I have made "words have no meaning" a bit of an inside motto. We're both somewhat shy about compliments, and I never feel like words quite do justice. Putting things - especially feelings or impressions - into words seems to cheapen it. It's taking something abstract and cramming it into a definite shape. It's more limited. Similarly, the meanings of certain words are obstructed by the way culture has interpreted them. And then there are other things that don't have to be expressed in words, and sometimes one does not have to go through the effort to explain his or her feelings if others know and can tell.
And yet, we are writers. We take on this challenge. I keep a diary and also a more generic writing journal, and I know that my hastily written diary is clumsy and not very precise, whereas my writing journal - when I'm writing about something real - is more thoughtful and generic. This is because my writing journal is more universal; rather than telling what happened I show it through a letter written to someone who would never read it, or a metaphor or comparison. The writing, as a result, is much more powerful and easier for others to sympathize with. It's showing, not telling. And that's what writing is about: translating the world you know and what you want to say about it into something that others can understand, and entertain them to boot.
How much are we made up of storybook culture? There is a sort of received wisdom that comes with society, and I wonder how much of it is influenced by stories. I thought about how when people decide to tell people things publicly, what they say often becomes simplified and sanitized so it can be easily told and understood. And as someone whose complicated but insisted not-romantic relationship was translated and assumed to be the wrong thing, this bothers me. Yes, I said things, and I certainly had some feelings, but they were different and I knew they were, and I tried explaining. Sometimes I felt like he was a close friend in spirit (because we did not talk very much) whom any romantic entanglements would ruin. Sometimes I felt like he was a younger child I was watching out for. And then I increasingly felt that our personalities were so conflicting and stubborn that no wonder we argued and stopped talking. But no one - not even him - wants to hear about this. It's just got to be simplified.
"I care about this person" becomes "She likes him." "I cannot physically sing well in front of people because of bullying and an unsympathetic teacher" becomes "She doesn't like to sing in front of people." "I was bothered by the blood and the realization that I can easily injure people I love" becomes "Oh, he just accidentally cut his best friend." Emotions get scarified for an easy-to-pass-along story that others easily understand. When someone asks why a couple broke up, they're looking for something that slots into a category that makes sense based on received wisdom. If the pair make the smart decision and keep it quiet, because no one else will really understand, then other people whisper and suspect even worse things, or the wrong things, or simplified things. Everyone wants to know and when everyone does know, they don't understand. There is no way to win. I find it as fascinating as it is frustrating.
And that is part of the reason I write things. I journal to keep track of my feelings and emotions. It's hard at times but I want to understand what makes us human. I have been very privileged to know people who have been different than cliched, storybook characters. I have been very privileged to have a relationship based on accepting each other and being open and figuring out how relationships really work. These are what writers need to write about. Not stories where characters are easily slotted into a "love interest" role often based upon physical appearances. Not stories where the dating just happens to begin by a perfectly coordinated kiss. Not stories where the girls are the only ones being insecure about their behaviors and appearances.
We need stories where characters fall in love by thinking hard about their feelings. When they see each other as not beautiful or handsome, but as who they really are, and it's the personality they fall in love with and becomes one with the physical side. We need stories in which couples openly discuss everything, and ask to make sure they are both okay with every little thing before they do it. We need flaws that are admired and discussed, and guys who are not "dreamy" or "cool" or overly confident. And we also need stories about relationships that are close but not romantic, and we need to call out society for questioning those. Romance is a cop-out. Relationships are based on something real, and they come in many forms.
My boyfriend and I have made "words have no meaning" a bit of an inside motto. We're both somewhat shy about compliments, and I never feel like words quite do justice. Putting things - especially feelings or impressions - into words seems to cheapen it. It's taking something abstract and cramming it into a definite shape. It's more limited. Similarly, the meanings of certain words are obstructed by the way culture has interpreted them. And then there are other things that don't have to be expressed in words, and sometimes one does not have to go through the effort to explain his or her feelings if others know and can tell.
And yet, we are writers. We take on this challenge. I keep a diary and also a more generic writing journal, and I know that my hastily written diary is clumsy and not very precise, whereas my writing journal - when I'm writing about something real - is more thoughtful and generic. This is because my writing journal is more universal; rather than telling what happened I show it through a letter written to someone who would never read it, or a metaphor or comparison. The writing, as a result, is much more powerful and easier for others to sympathize with. It's showing, not telling. And that's what writing is about: translating the world you know and what you want to say about it into something that others can understand, and entertain them to boot.
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