Monthly Archives: July 2024

Narratives are Dangerous

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It has been proposed that what makes humans different from other animals is that we are rational and thinking beings. But we are not alone in that quality. Numerous animals, some not very closely related to us by the great sifting of evolution appear to rationally solve problems to achieve intended goals.

I think one of the very important ways that humans are unique is that we are narrative animals. We can’t be certain that other animals do not have stories that they pass to one another but the evidence for it is quite slim. It is what humans do, we endlessly craft stories to explain the world. At one time those stories imagined beings of cosmic powers and childish desires to explain the seasons, the weather, and why life at times is glorious and sometimes cruel.

The trouble is that we love stories so much that the inherent attraction they display draws us away from reality. Every con man is a storyteller, every politician is a storyteller, giving stories a far greater consequence than mere entertainment.

Seductive narratives blind us to reality. Once we have accepted a narrative as truth the actual truth becomes less important. Narratives from people we trust, the counter narratives our allies spin about our enemies, and the narrative we tell ourselves all bend and distort our ability to see what is actually there.

It is said that every villain is the hero of their own story and that is true, but it elides an important element, that the story they tell themselves where they are heroic is as fabricated as their heroism.

The NAZI’s vile, evil, and murderous campaign across Europe could not have existed without the false, defamatory and insidious story at the heart of antisemitism. The NAZIs could only see themselves as heroes in a story about an insidious global conspiracy. That is one reason why I despise stories that use deep and vast conspiracies as part of their world building. They are a powerful form of storytelling that makes a random, chaotic world comprehensible but always at the cost of some invented cabal that all too easily can been seen in the ‘real’ world. Neo-Nazis adopted a love for Carpenter’s They Livebecause they saw the vast conspiracy that Carpenter constructed as his satire on capitalism to actually be about their imagined global fight with their imagined foes. The trope of the vast hidden conspiracy used for aliens is all too easily repurposed for any outgroup.

This is the danger of narrative. Narratives can inspire killing. Everyone practices storytelling and every need to be aware of the power that they unwittingly possess.

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Chosen One Stories

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I have never been overly fond of ‘chosen one’ narratives. There is something in the core concept that some people are just ‘special’ and deserving of praise and riches because fate or the gods or something has selected them above all others that just rubs my skin wrong.

There is a vague memory lurking in my brain of some production of a Camelot myth that struck at just the right time to inspire a foundation element of my ethos and personality. Arthur proclaiming that Laws must bind high and low alike or they are not laws at all. To me this extends to narratives.

The chosen one myth is at its heart, to me, a perpetuation of the lie of nobility. That person is better than you by virtue of birth. You own that person you loyalty for no other reason that chance has deemed it so. Granted, in stories the heroes nearly always are virtuous and good people. Luke refuses to turn to the dark side even though it will cost him his life. Aragorn is a kind, just, and benevolent king. Harry Potter despite a childhood of horrid abuse is compassionate and only interested in what is right, immune to the seduction of sudden riches, fame, or sports induced glory. These characters are ‘good’ because the author has made them so, not for any other reason.

While I have never been a dedicated fan of the Dune novels, I deeply appreciate that in that series not only is the ‘chosen one’ the source of billions upon billions of deaths and the imposition of a tyrannical galactic theocratic dictatorship but that from the start the ‘chosen one’ myth is a lie fabricated to manipulate populations for the goals of an uncaring elite.

One reason I adore The Last Jedi is that the chosen one is flawed and scared and subject to human frailty, but most all because it ends with a nameless slave wielding the power that had been reserved to the ‘noble.’

I doubt I would ever write a ‘chosen one’ story but if I did you can be assured that it would be to subvert it.

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Reboots, Remakes, and Reimaginings

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Later this month Apple TV+ will begin streaming the television series Time Bandits from series creators Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement. The series is a reimagining of the 1981 fantasy film by Terry Gilliam and against centers on a young boy’s adventures through time with a rag tag collection of misfits that have stolen a map indicating fractures in history/

There are voices raised in alarm and protest over the remake of what some hold as a dearly beloved classic. I watched the original film during its theatrical run and to this day quotes from the script still spring from these lips. (Most often, “Stay, Guard the Map,” whenever I leave anything on a table or such.)

That said I am no distraught over a remake. While it is often a cheap ploy to grab an already existing audience for more cash remakes are not always an evil thing. The admired classic film The Maltese Falcon which propelled Humphrey Bogart to stardom is not only a remake but the secondremake of that story. The earlier two adaptations failed to catch fire with audiences.

But remakes can also be horrid affairs that fail to understand the source material of the original. In 1965’s Flight of the Phoenix when the pilot is pointing out flaws in the plan to make a new airplane from the remains of the crashed one with the survivors strapped to the wings, he insists that the injured man cannot be expected to do that. The aircraft designer says that the man will die before the work is completed and therefore is not a factor. He is cold, it is calculating but he is not cruel or evil but simply dictated by reality. In the 2004 remake he shoots and kills the man, a dramatic and terrible interpretation of the text.

King Kong 1933 is an impressive achievement of technical filmmaking and transcends the simple adventure story envisioned by its creators. The 1976 film has none of the charm or heart of the original and the 2005 version while indulgent clearly has heart and a deep adoration for the source material.

Remakes like any artistic attempt are inherently neither good nor bad and only time will answer of the Time Bandits series meets expectations.

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Not My Best Weekend

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This past weekend, which was an extended weekend for many here in the US but not for myself, was not as fun as I had hoped.

Originally, I was scheduled to run my Tabletop Role-playing Game of Space Opera for my friends and since that is the only time I see most of them I was quite looking forward to it.

However, this week, even with a holiday on Thursday, proved to be more stressful than I anticipated. A trip to the dermatologist to have a very small mole removed left lingering questions that gnawed at my subconscious.

By Saturday cycling migraine headaches arrived. None were very intense, but they would appear, disrupt my thinking and then recede only to return a couple of hours later. Too discombobulated to think clearly and with the prospect of a couple of hours with headphones on, the game is held over zoom, I was forced to cancel the session.

The headaches continued into Sunday, but I managed to keep my Sunday schedule of walking in the San Diego Zoo with my sweetie-wife, though the humidity made the experience quite a sticky one.

I also received another ‘pass’ from an agent I had queried to represent my werewolf novel. The rejection included a very brief reason. Normally any response beyond a canned form email is reason to be encouraged. Not this time.

Their specific issue, and granted this is just one person’s opinion, is that the sample was too ‘tell not show’ and felt overly expository. This stung because I have always felt that showing not telling and deftly handling exposition were part of my strong suits as a writer.

Ah well, the new week is starting and I shall raise my hopes once again.

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Gaiman, Hero Worship, and Human Frailty

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Numerous people throughout fandom are shaken to their cores as allegations are leveled at yet another beloved icon this time Neil Gaiman. I will not be going into the accusations as I have too little knowledge of what is precisely asserted to have an educated opinion.

Neil Gaiman has been a beloved writer in the genre spaces for some time. There have been numerous stories of his kindness and repeated examples of how he has brightened the darkness for other, often with wise comments on this mad industry and its often heavy psychological toll.

However, I am reminded of a bit from the MCU series Loki when the titular character comments that ‘No one good is truly good and no one bad is truly bad.’

We are all shades of gray. Darkness and light lives in every person’s heart. We all have an impulse to be compassionate and caring and we all have impulses to hurt and dominate.

It is now likely that Gaiman will join a terrible list of former artistic talents such Joss Whedon, Roman Polanski, or Kevin Spacey. What are we to learn from this?

I think Frank Herbert, a beloved writer in his own right may have already tried to teach us something about this with Paul Atriedes. Heroes are dangerous to your health.

There is a school of criticism where it is considered critical to separate the artists from the art. Buffy the Vampire Slayer remains an outstanding example of writing with an empowering message about feminine strength told through the lens of superheroes and monsters. Gaiman’s writing about love and the fantastic remain unchanged, the text of the stories and novels are precisely the same as they were last month before this knowledge came to light. Polanski’s adaptation of Macbeth or his cinematic genius directing in Chinatown still speaks truth the corrupting nature of power despite the man’s vile actions as a rapist.

I am not here to tell you to not read or consume any particular artists work because of their reprehensible personal nature. That is a decision each person must make for themselves. It is the personal moral quandary of the audience. What I can say is that the work does not change.

What we should strive to do always with the artistic products we adore because they speak to our very souls is to never forget that all artists are human. All humans are flawed and never construct fantasies of perfect for the flawed people of this planet.

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248 Birthdays

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It has been 248 years since the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. That nation born nearly two and a half centuries ago has never been far from perfect. It labor under the Absolute Evil of slavery and that has cast a long and terrible shadow across time. On the other hand, the aspirational ideals presented in that document has not only given fire to the fight against slavery and tyranny here and abroad but has severed as beacon to be our better selves.

Over the centuries we have explanted the notion about who matters and whose voices can be heard in the public square. What was once unthinkable in terms of human liberty are now enjoyed but there are more to unchain.

Recently the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) enacted a new test to determine in something was constitutional or not, the ‘history and tradition’ test. If something did not have an analog in the nation’s history or its tradition, a very slippery concept to applied fairly without biases of the head or heart, then it was in conflict with the supreme law of the land.

This is not only an invitation for personal preference to direct outcomes it is directly and thematically in opposition to our founding. A founding that proclaims that the traditions of the past do not fence in our present or future liberties. That because we have always had a king who should therefore always have a king. This nation is a bold experiment in new thinking not traditional customs.

For citizen of the United States of America this year is vitally important year. This election transcends petty policies and speaks to the very nature of the American system.

We can elect a corrupt, venal, criminal of a man who has no wish beyond his own greedy vices and appetites, throwing away two and half centuries of democratic self-governance, or we can accept that policy is less important that principal and keep him and his ilk out.

Like Klaatu said at the end of The Day the Earth Stood Still “The choice is yours.”

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The Importance of the Denouement

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Once the story and plot have concluded all that remains for your prose or film is the denouement. This is a vital element of storytelling and one that if missing can seriously unsettle a reader or audience.

The purpose of the denouement is that it provides the space and time for the emotional climax of the tale to flower. If the story is a tragedy, it allows the audience to feel the weight of the loss or the futility of the character’s resistance to their fate. If the story has a conventionally ‘happy’ ending, then the denouement allows the audience to bask in the victory and empathize with the characters journey.

A denouement can be extremely short, sometimes in film a single freeze-frame can provide the emotional closure a story requires. Most are short segments that simply allow the reader or audience to cool down from the heat of the climax. An excellent example of this in film is Ripley’s recorded message in the original Alien. After igniting the engines, she has defeated the monster and there is no more plot to complete. However, ending the film with her watching the Zeta Reticulian parasite ejected in the void would have been unsatisfying. Our hearts were beating too fast to end it there, the denouement was absolutely essential.

Of course, a denouement can be overdone, creating a sense that a story or film never ends. The best example of that is the conclusion of The Return of the King where it felt as if the film had ended several times because the director was insistent on getting to the novel’s final line. That extended denouement did not work for everyone.

And when the denouement is all together missing the ending feels abrupt often leaving a reader or audience confused and shocked.

An American Werewolf in London has no denouement and nearly everyone the first time that view it are stunned by the unexpected and nearly slap in the face manner in which the film goes to credits and end song.

Think about your denouement and what you need it to do and how you will achieve it.

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There Are No Norms

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I have not written on the American Political disaster that unfolds about us recently not because it is unimportant or that I do not care but because in my heart I knew such writing to be futile. There are very very few my words may sway in even the smallest of measures. For the most part people are cemented into their camps and only November thru January will let us know if this ship of democracy founders or survives this tempest.

After yesterday’s SCOUTUS corrupt ruling I have to at least make some attempt, I have to speak the truth as I see it.

This heavily politized courts finds that people have no right to bodily autonomy because the words are not in the document but amazingly finds full and partial immunity to commit crimes for the nation’s highest ranking law enforcement officer. If Trump is returned to the Oval Office this petty, ignorant, vengeful man will turn the full power of the Federal government upon his enemies. He will order the IRS to audit, investigate, and harass the wealthy who spoke out against him. The FBI and the DOJ stripped of independence will be hounds sicked on political and personal enemies. The Office of the President will be for sale to those who enrich Trum personally. Hey, you want that carried interest loophole expanded? Well, he won’t sign the bill, the very definition of an ‘official act’ until you make the requisite deposit to his bank account. This vile greedy and hateful man has no loyalty, no patriotism and this country’s enemies around the globe know this fact.

Make no mistake in reading the decision neutrally. This partisan court which has already decided that stare decisis is for sucker and that have twisted and invented new interpretations to achieve their desired outcome will in no manner apply such reasoning for any democratic politician. This immunity is for one Republican at that solely.

We have but one path forward to save our Republic. We must vote Democratic at every level. We must give the majorities in both houses to the Democratic Party and ensure that a Democratic person holds the Oval Office. The ‘norms’ are gone and with that power the Democrats must jettison the filibuster and reform the court. If that is not done this election this cycle we may very well be doomed.

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Time and Familiarity Distorts Art

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By chance I am reexperiencing a couple of television series. To follow along with the podcast The Detective and The Log Lady my sweetie-wife and I are rewatching the surrealist mystery horror series Twin Peaks with an episode each Sunday evening. On YouTube I am enjoying watching millennial reactors experience the original series of Star Trek for the very first time.

Season one of Twin Peaks speeds along much faster than my faulty memory recalled. I had forgotten that the entire first series, as the Brit would say, totaled just 8 episodes. Not even half of a tradition American television season. My emotional memory of a slow, languid story that unfolded at a leisurely pace is entirely a construction that the mood of the series and the decay determine by the decades since its debut.

Star Trek has had a different course in my recent re-exposure to the program. I grew up watching reruns of the series in the 70s. (With very hazy memories as a child of the original broadcast.) I have seen every episode countless time, own the program on Blu-ray dice and have player the Roulette Episode game with myself where dice determine which story to watch.

This saturation of the series, with a judgment set by decades of rewatching that fixes the good and bad episodes into their hierarchy is quite shaken when a new viewer comes along.

Let That be Your Last Battlefield has long been on my list of some of Trek’s worst episodes. Aliens with superpowers that exist solely to put the plot of a deterministic course and a ‘message’ presented with all the subtly of a frying pan to the face made this episode painful to watch.

And yet people new to the series, without their opinions set my decades of judgment, can find the story engaging and relevant. My familiarity with the episode exaggerated it faults until I could no longer see its charms.

Oh, it remains a poor episode and the faults I have mentioned are glaring with my experience as a writer, but the bod doesn’t always overpower the good. It is important to try and keep that fresh new viewer experience alive.

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