But first: apparently, I have an Internet kindred spirit on Cracked! OK, so what do I mean by a “story about storytelling”? There are lots of stories in which characters tell stories to one another, from the trivial type like, “Let me fill you in on the entire plot up…
Dear TV producers, writers, showrunners, etc., Although I don’t watch much of your work lately* (sorry, it’s not you, it’s me), I noticed that you have a problem that seems to span genres, timeslots, and ratings. Eventually, the premise of your long-running series gets stale; you feel like you’ve done…
If your high school English class was similar to mine, you probably learned something about The Great Chain of Being. This, we were taught as we drummed impatiently on our copies of whatever Shakespeare play happened to be on the curriculum this year, was an Elizabethan concept of the order…
I finally figured out my vicious TV-show circle, prompted, as I often am, by House, M. D.. However, this wasn’t prompted in my usual there-was-a-theme-or-storytelling-choice-on-House-that-made-me-think-of-themes-or-storytelling-choices-in-general way. Instead, I realized: I don’t want to watch this show any more. And then I wondered why.
Ga ga ooh la la… Okay, so without condemning or praising this development, and acknowledging that I’m judging based only on the first couple episodes of the season, one of my favourite shows has suddenly shifted emphasis from mystery to romance. This seems to have split fans down the middle.…
(See? See what I did there?) I’m blogging today about three works that made me think a bit more about how expectations and knowledge can affect the way I experience stories. Yeah, you’ve been warned.
When the season finale of House (or Dexter, or The X Files, or whatever single TV show I’m into) airs, I promise myself: next season, I will not fall for the same old trap. I will not seek out spoilers from Wikipedia or fanboards. I will not skim through fanfiction.net…
(Yes, I know this is long. But I’m out of the country come Monday, so this makes up for no blog next week.) I love surprise endings. I enjoy reading them — nothing makes me feel more satisfied with the ending of a book or movie than a well executed…
(PRE-POST NOTE: There are lots more important things to blog about this week than what I prepared for today. But it takes me a long time to think about things until I’m satisfied with my conclusions and even longer to write them up in a way that makes sense to…
(Happy Victoria Day long weekend! And happy birthday, cousin M!) What does it mean to say a story is “like fanfiction”? The phrase is almost always used with derogatory intent. No one says a TV show, movie, or book is like fanfiction to highlight its attractive qualities, even though there…