118A Good Book Vs. Great Literature
Let's be honest: those holding literature degrees consider some of the most popular books and television shows and popular genres only fit for retards.
So what do you want to write? Something that people will enjoy, something that the Market has already proved a success? Or something thought provoking but uncomfortable (as anything that hopes to shake our perceptions should be)? Certainly you should strive for both but often times if you want a lot of feed back and instant money the clichés are the best.
Clichés become so because they work. You notice, especially in the genres, that the same stories are told over and over and over again. The reason for this is that people want to *read* the same stories over and over again.
For some people it's as shallow as this: have you ever had that little happy feeling when something all goes to plan? Or while reading a long online rant by someone who totally agrees with you? It's the same effect happening here: the reader agrees with you. Both you and the reader know where you're going and by picking up this specific genre the reader shows that they agree with you.
If you're a fan of Joseph Campbell you know that the hero's journey is a universal mono-myth repeated in every culture across the world with changes only to the wallpaper. The hero has to act in such a way because his actions are ingrained into our psyche. If he doesn't it can be so jarring and dissatisfying that we put down the book.
Not that writers haven't experimented. There are some absolutely, highly acclaimed books where the hero hasn't mastered the magic and the mundane but succumbed to the vices of human fallibility. But not everyone reads them. The most popular books today are the Twilight series and the Harry Potter series. (Now please excuse me for I haven't read the Twilight series and if I get anything wrong story-wise tell me so. That said, I obviously can't give an opinion of the overall writing style).
Twilight is a romance. It follows two passionate teenagers through their will-they-won't-they-oh-noes-how-can-he-do-that-doesn't-he-know-that-they're-ment-for-eachother-yay-a-baby-they-really-do-love-eachother-squee! roller coaster ride. We've seen it before, even the supernatural twist. Some of the main criticisms I've heard about the series is a) the sexism, b) the overblowness, c) the main characters and d) the baby, whose every aspect, from its name to its conception to its delivery to its future lover is one big WTF?! The main characters will be touched upon in 'The Hero of Our Times,' the next module.
Sexism and the Cinderella complex go hand in hand in this story. Secretly, or not so secretly as apparently the girl does all the housework for her father, this is a story about a poor little scullery maid rescued only to find out she was a princess all along. Cullen combines both the Prince Charming (though some people would definitely leave off the C in charming for this character) and the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent fairy godmother, combining the reward (hot boyfriend and eternal youth) with the saviour (protective boyfriend who is *always* right). To be safe and secure you need someone who will protect you. To show that he is competent in this matter Cullen needs to be proved right. Unfortunately for his lady-love the side-effect of this is that she seems always to be proved wrong. In showing how great it is to have a protector Meyers showed that her heroine needed protecting.
Which may be a bad message but isn't a terrible romance. Have you ever been so utterly wrong that you were worried that the one you love most might not love you anymore? Honestly I've been there. Well alleviate your fears: Edward knows you're wrong, has seen you stuff up before, and still loves you. One more tick against his name on the perfect boyfriend exam.
There *is* the creepy underlying message that Cullen is always right, the girl is always wrong, that her opinions and ideas can be dismissed before they're analysed because *she's always wrong* which is why she needs Cullen who is always right. And that's okay because since Cullen can do everything, you don't need to do anything. Since he is the perfect attentive, caring and passionate partner who always takes care of you you can be a child.
Though no one has said it directly I think what really creeps some people out about Cullen's romance with her is that he combines the Lover and the Father without the Friend and so his perceived right to physical intimacy (monogamous sex) and authority over her (demanding to know where she goes and demanding that she does not go) know no bounds and turns into creepy (watching her sleep at night because she's so beautiful and he just wants to make sure that she's exactly where she's supposed to be and not with anyone he doesn't approve of).
We need boundaries in all our relationships but on the same coin we yearn for our loved ones to know what's behind those boundaries and accept us unconditionally. We also want for our lover to have no boundaries so that we can reach to their soul any time we please. Cullen is an odd case then on first observation because while he often breaks her boundaries he keeps his tightly sealed up and threatens separation if she ever dares to cross them. He's the opposite of what we want in a lover.
Let's look at that a bit later. First let's have a look at the teenage psyche and some things you may need to know about the market.
Teenagers *are* overblown. You may not want to remember yourself and perhaps you did miss out on it but take a look around you. The teenage years are the time to explore new ideas and form new beliefs. It's also the time the twin facallcies 'no one's ever thought of this before/had my unique perspective and insights' and 'no one's ever felt like me before/has been this passionate before' are most committed and are usually finished off with a 'you'll never understand me!' Here's some interesting information:
…The teenagers' brain is a work in progress; the limbic area develops under the influence of testosterone before the frontal lobe…In girls an orgasm equates to falling in love for girls as oxytocin leads toformation of attachment…
…This immaturity is not all bad news as these relationships can prepare teens
for future relationships in life…
…This love has a reward system in the brain – Falling in love occurs with the
production of dopamine (leading to excitement), norepinephrine (leads to loss
of appetite and loss of sleep) and serotonin – leads to obsessive behaviour
This leaves teens vulnerable to biological stress and depression and
separation is very difficult… Girls more susceptible to depression because of the way they think –rumination…
This is a summary of the Whatever series that was shown on Australian free to air (on ABC I think) compiled for UWS student nurses. If Meyers is overblown she's only tailoring herself to a specific market: obsessive and chemically imbalanced teenage girls, especially the younger ones, who either because they don't have experience or because the experience they have had is dissatisfying, seek idealised, and therefore fictional, love. Take notes from this woman.
But remember what I said about the feeling fallacy? And remember what I said about Cullen and his barriers? Good. Now think about this: you know how special you felt when you first fell in love. You may have understood then your partner's flaws or maybe you see them only in hindsight but still you must admit that they did have flaws. But Cullen is flawless (put aside your opinion of the character if you've read the book and for once take the writer's word for it: he's supposed to be perfect). Having a flawless person fall in love with you is a big ego boost. Having it be mutual is almost as big an ego boost as turning them down, knowing you can do better (which explains every 'other guy' in every romantic comedy ever but you knew that). Because that person's special your combined love is almost definitely more special than anyone else's. Meyer's choice of supernatural fiction gives her the ability to compound that specialness with the specialness of being in love with a vampire (who would never kill *her*) instead of some plain old ordinary boy and living forever pretty instead of growing old like those plebs who aren't in as much love as her because they will eventually die and everybody knows that love and importance stop at the grave. Quality and quantity! Meyer you genius you.
Now add that all together plus the fact that Cullen is over 100 years old. And yet he's never found another girl remotely attractive until she (and by she, I mean the reader) came along. Only she is special enough to break down his barriers. And that's the most important thing in this series, the message that Meyer was really trying to write instead of that creepy message every Twi-hater associates with her, the message that every Twi-fan gets is this: you have the perfect boyfriend because only you are special enough to deserve him.
Cullen's barriers also have connections to the real world as many Twi-apologists (I feel like a smurf now) have pointed out. When a person doesn't admit their feelings to you yet you feel a strong attraction to them isn't it nice to believe that they are secretly barely restraining themselves from sucking your… blood? What Meyer's doing here is telling every girl in her readership that yes he really is interested in you, just keep hanging around. Cullen, as boy and therefore by tradition, must make the first move. But what's holding him back aren't the mundane fears of rejection, ridicule and potential awkwardness especially found in long term friendships when a sexual relationship is requested, that hold most boys back or more frightening for the girl: a complete lack of disinterest towards her. No Cullen is held back because of his sheer vampire awesomeness. And the times when he decides not to communicate aren't because he's being a sullen passive-aggressive jackarse who's waiting for her to figure out because if she loved him she'd understand him or because there's nothing going on in his head worth discussing and he knows it. No it's because he's an awesome vampire who only has her best interests at heart and is willing to sacrifice his interests for hers.
Or how about the time when he puts his hands up your blouse even after you said you only want to kiss? Cullen doesn't even do that. But he does it in such a way as to entice the reader. Instead of being a sexually hungry creature like most teenager boys, because Edward has had 100 years to master his urges, he makes the girls realise something: they're sexual creatures too. And I think this is what Meyer is offering that girls don't often get in most romcoms: for once they chase the guy. Edward is, on the surface, a non-threatening figure but there's always that under current of dark sexuality that the girl must fight to obtain.
The demon baby from Hell/Edward Cullen's cold penis: Again the creepy overrides the special for the haters and I can understand this because it sounds like it's bloody everywhere. But try hard dear readers to ignore them for now. Let's look at the appeal: a baby who's only a baby for as long as you give a damn. If you get pregnant in real life the little creeper will stick on you like glue for the next twenty five years and it's only cute for about five of those years (they won't be in order) and after them no one cares. Big whoop! You've made a baby. Even the most uneducated, dumbest person on the face of this Earth could do that.
However in magic land that baby will have long reached maturity by seven (still two years of non-cute, but you can't have everything, am I right?). IN magic land only you are strong enough to push out that baby and even then your boyfriend (I don't know which one honestly) is there to rescue you yet again. In magic land everyone worships the ground you walk on because only you can use what millions of generation of evolution put between your legs effectively and the best part is: only your beautiful, delightful girl matures at the ripe old age of seven, you won't have to worry about an angsty grouchy teenager obsessing over a boy with no job and eight tattoos. Oh no, you've already met the boy and like him so much that you almost dated him. He wasn't as perfect as Eddie but he's perfect enough for your little girl. Everything's all worked out, no major dramas and the rest off your eternal life is going to be just as perfect as you are.
No wonder the books sell if the reader can be made to feel that. And that's why I haven't used the female lead's name once because I honestly don't remember her. But even though I haven't read the book or seen the movies I know both the hero's name and the actor who plays him. He's not more important then her but he's the one people build dedications to and write unauthorised biographies about because every girl knows exactly who the heroine is: herself.
Understanding the appeal of Edward Cullen then, as a writer, you can delete the creepy message without deflating the happy special message if you're careful.
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is just as escapist as Twilight but in fact many other novels are too. Why aren't they so incredibly popular?
Houses: Now honestly I think it's a little creepy that an eleven year old is told that for the next seven years they're going to be placed in a House based on their personality at this time and that they're going to be with a whole group of people with that exact same attribute. I almost see it as incestuous, kind of like those people who believe in Creationism and only listen to those people who support their argument and say that those who don't are ignorant liars no matter how much evidence we provide. That's kind of a mental incest to me; instead of the same genetic make up being copied again and again in isolation until it mutates into something obscene, it's ideas that are copied and mutated, and that's what I thought was going to happen in Harry Potter (it did to some extent I think). However have you seen how popular the Houses are in Harry Potter? Fans affiliate themselves with Houses all the time. It's changed how fans interact with each other. Instead of:
"Hi, I'm Ellie M_. I'm 21. How old are you?"
You get:
"Hi, I'm Ellie Snape-Granger and I'm proud to be a Hufflepuff!"
And don't you just love the short hand? Being associated with a House that defines who you are means you never have to be unsure of who you are as a person because an omniscient talking hat. You never have to question who you are. You never have to evolve into someone else because you're the finished product. Believing that you're in a particular House means you don't even have to think too deeply about how to act. Everyone has a general idea of how members from each House act even if it's not in cannon and that means it's a double bonus. We've learnt that you should never apologise about who you are and if you're in Slytherin you're a bitch. People know who you are (or at least who you aspire to be, which is not the same thing as many forget) without needing to get to know you and even if you're not really the person you say you are. In the same way that it would be the height of rudeness for someone to come up to me and say 'you're not an agnostic' it would be the height of rudeness to come up and say 'you're not a Ravenclaw (because you're a fucking moron)' to an avid Harry Potter fan. It doesn't matter who we really are but how we define ourselves and no one's allowed to say anything. And we define ourselves as fantastic and exotic. If I held a poll to see which House people thought themselves to be in it would blow up with so many hits. If it didn't though I'm guessing Slytherin would be in the lead by a long shot and Ravenclaw and Gryffindor would be close together with Hufflepuff getting the wooden spoon. No one wants to be known as hard working and with lots of friends. They want to be dangerously exotic or clever or in the same House as the main characters.
Again, just as in Twilight, people yearn for connectedness Ms Rowling is meeting that need. And yes I do think this was intentional on her part though I'm guessing she didn't mean it to explode.
Interesting Setting: Self-explanatory. But not just the settings you see, also the settings and people around the edges that you don't see. This isn't a stage, this is a place where people can live and function and have a cup of tea. There's a whole world that Ms. Rowling has created and she's only giving us the most interesting parts. There are a lot of things unsaid and unlike most writers she doesn't do a little dance to draw attention to a plot thread she's never going to finish or a realisation that she'll never make explicit while saying 'neh neh nah neh neh! You'll have to guess!" No, she naturally let's you make your own assumptions about things she doesn't have time to go into while getting on with the rest of the story.
Damn good writing: I like children and young adult books. I like the ones from my youth such as The Secret Seven and Peter Rabbit and The Gumnut Babies and Blinky Bill and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I also like the newer ones like A Series of Unfortunate Events and Artemis Fowl. What I'm noticing though is that there's a very cutesy style going on, like the authors are too clever by half and I think the kids think that they are too. Rowling doesn't have that cleverness to her writing. She's smart without being a smart arse. She never talks down to her reader or make it blatantly obvious that she's playing with them and never makes her main characters stupid yet lets them do stupid things and have age appropriate insight. She lets kids be kids and makes you come to thee realisation that kids are people too, not half-finished, but still constantly growing just like you and I.
Where Twilight was the Cliché Harry Potter is the Mono-Myth. I honestly suggest you buy Joseph Campbell's book Hero of 1000 Faces or look up some summaries online. And I know somewhere a fan has applied it to Harry Potter. The monomyth is something that is so deeply rooted into our sub-conscious that all populations over the world, ancient and modern, use it with cultural variations. Harry Potter is, in one sense, the next hero to play out the myth.
A/N:
Well that was emotionally taxing so I'm cutting it a little short. I feel very tired from writing it but that's okay because I'm almost finished my essay. If I don't recover in time for next week though (since I also plan to be getting cross-eyed drunk this weekend as a belated celebration for my 21ist!) we'll be looking at a list of clichés that I absolutely loathe before resuming regular updates a fortnight from now.
Thanks for the reviews guys. I'm getting some really interesting people reviewing and favouriting me and they both like Ian Flemming. Gotta say you people have good taste. And special thanks to 008. I honestly think I'm being too bitchy (I don't set out to be) so it's nice for someone to say that I'm taking it lightly.