Problem novels, issue books, social novels — whatever you call them, they’re abundant. Where’s the line between good fiction and moralising?
Problem novels, issue books, and moralising
Tag: storytelling
What does ‘gritty’ even mean, anyway?
gritty (adj.) 1590s, “resembling or containing sand or grit,” from grit (n.) + -y (2). In sense of “unpleasant” (of literature, etc.), from 1882, in reference to the sensation of eating gritty bread. Meaning “plucky, spirited, courageous and resolute” is from 1847. Related: Grittily; grittiness. The new hotness in adult pop culture right now is […]
What would an ordinary trans narrative look like?
Diversity is the new trend in media and pop culture these days, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though at times it feels like more of a buzzword than an actual commitment. We are, however, starting to see more diverse projects by diverse creators come down the pipeline — and I’m talking about good diverse […]
Stray Dogs and Wandering Montages
A couple of months ago, I watched Kurosawa’s Stray Dog (1949) with a friend when it was playing at the Pacific Film Archive. For those unfamiliar with it, the film traces the story of a policeman after his gun is stolen from him and used in a series of violent crimes for which he feels […]
Telling Our Own Stories
Throughout history, members of dominant classes have been telling the stories of marginalised groups, presenting those stories through a dominant lens and tightly controlling the narrative. It’s a system that allows structures of power and oppression to continue, because the people at the bottom of the system have no opportunity to fight those at the […]
Vampires and the Legitimisation of the Rape-Romance
Rape-romance is a rather old and established genre; for those not familiar with it, it’s a subset of romance that involves things like ‘forced seduction.’ The basic storyline involves the heroine repeatedly resisting the advances of the hero, who eventually ‘forces[1. What a nice word for rape.]’ her, making her realise that she really does […]
How Well Do Your Politics Wear?
I recently went on a bit of an experiment; I selected a bunch of shows that aired in 2001 and watched their September and October episodes, and in some cases followed through through the end of the season. I was interested in two things. The first was the influence of the political climate on television; […]
The Long and Short of Television
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about television as a narrative form, while I ponder various creators and their degrees of success and failure with the medium. Television is simultaneously ripe with opportunity and challenge and it’s clear not everyone is up to the task. What television provides is an opportunity for long form storytelling, […]