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I originally had a long-winded rant underway, but I changed my mind. I needed to get a few things out of my system.
Anyway, that aside, I want to talk about something I've done in my work in progress, Frost Giants.
I started the first chapter out with Loki observing the human race in a distant future. I have a thing for distant future. It's so intriguing, along with old-fashioned epic fantasy. So amazing.
In Chapter One, Loki's visiting the place of my birth - Marquette, Michigan - and he's watched a particular science-fiction/action/adventure flick many people are familiar with and loving; the first Avengers movie.
This chapter is a bit of a social commentary, how we could possibly progress as a society but at the same time remain stalled as a society. Domestic violence, Bible Thumpers proclaiming what they do at people who go to movies and/or cosplay, athletes still picking on the geeks and nerds and the like. One critiquer at Scribophile commented that geek culture is more socially acceptable now. At the time, I considered it was possible this person could be right. Comic book movies have certainly increased in popularity and not just with the geek culture that's sustained comic books but with outsiders as well.
The past year has proven this critiquer's comments to be quite wrong on quite a few levels.
I've seen a video of a voice actor standing up to a Christian couple protesting an anime convention. The couple wore signs condemning the convention goers for being there, for being different and trying to find a group of like-minded individuals. I've seen memes defending Pokemon Go players because I happen to be friends and family with Pokemon Go players. I'm friends with people older and younger than me. I have seen condescension from a near thirty-year-old on a few things, too. And I've seen a post or two on facebook shaming the readers of 50 Shades of Grey for protesting against a presidential candidate.
Mind you, 50 Shades is not embraced by geek culture, not by any means. Not to say we don't like erotica, but we like it better with our favorite characters, even when the couple in question isn't cannon. Here's the thing, though: I'm seeing a few geeks defending the readers of 50 Shades. Hell, even I'm defending the readers of 50 Shades.
Why?
Because there's nothing more disheartening and infuriating as being shamed for reading a book. Seriously! There is nothing more aggravating than someone trying to give you false information about a book when you're the one who has read the book but not them. A little over two years ago, my brother and I were both telling my grandmother that Harry Potter does not teach witchcraft to children, and she insisted that it did! He and I have read the books, she hadn't. How the hell can you tell someone about a book that you haven't read and judge them for it when they point out that they've read it and that you're wrong? Seriously!
Mind you, I will never touch 50 Shades of Grey. I've seen a quick excerpt from the story, and the prose, the metaphor just makes me cringe (while at the same time has me laughing because I've owned a few hamsters in my time and I've seen how they nibble). I've heard too many reviews about how poorly written the story is, and I know the backstory to the story. I am not impressed. However, I will not shame a person for simply reading a book. Period.
However, knowing that there are people out there shaming others for reading a book makes me question just how accepted geek culture and reading culture really are at this point. There's this notion existing out there that, once you get a job and graduate high school, you have to start behaving like an adult, and, apparently, behaving like an adult means ridiculing someone else for basically being true to thine own self. There is a HUGE difference between trying to educate someone and holding a healthy debate, be it over politics or whether or not Tony Stark is a better superhero than Bruce Wayne, and riducling someone for something as simple as reading a book or embracing geek culture.
I, quite honestly, do not see geek culture being 100% accepted in either the near future or the distant future. Not as long as there are people out there who are willing to teach their children that it's okay to shame someone for something simple.
Like reading a book.
When did it become so uncool to read a book? When did reading become an activity to be mocked and scorned?
To me, these questions are obstacles many writers now have to overcome. It isn't just about making geek culture more socially acceptable, putting it on par with sports culture. It's about making reading in general acceptable again, and, with the reactions I've been seeing about 50 Shades of Grey, I do feel like reading is something people are starting to look down upon.
And that saddens me greatly.
Anyway, that aside, I want to talk about something I've done in my work in progress, Frost Giants.
I started the first chapter out with Loki observing the human race in a distant future. I have a thing for distant future. It's so intriguing, along with old-fashioned epic fantasy. So amazing.
In Chapter One, Loki's visiting the place of my birth - Marquette, Michigan - and he's watched a particular science-fiction/action/adventure flick many people are familiar with and loving; the first Avengers movie.
This chapter is a bit of a social commentary, how we could possibly progress as a society but at the same time remain stalled as a society. Domestic violence, Bible Thumpers proclaiming what they do at people who go to movies and/or cosplay, athletes still picking on the geeks and nerds and the like. One critiquer at Scribophile commented that geek culture is more socially acceptable now. At the time, I considered it was possible this person could be right. Comic book movies have certainly increased in popularity and not just with the geek culture that's sustained comic books but with outsiders as well.
The past year has proven this critiquer's comments to be quite wrong on quite a few levels.
I've seen a video of a voice actor standing up to a Christian couple protesting an anime convention. The couple wore signs condemning the convention goers for being there, for being different and trying to find a group of like-minded individuals. I've seen memes defending Pokemon Go players because I happen to be friends and family with Pokemon Go players. I'm friends with people older and younger than me. I have seen condescension from a near thirty-year-old on a few things, too. And I've seen a post or two on facebook shaming the readers of 50 Shades of Grey for protesting against a presidential candidate.
Mind you, 50 Shades is not embraced by geek culture, not by any means. Not to say we don't like erotica, but we like it better with our favorite characters, even when the couple in question isn't cannon. Here's the thing, though: I'm seeing a few geeks defending the readers of 50 Shades. Hell, even I'm defending the readers of 50 Shades.
Why?
Because there's nothing more disheartening and infuriating as being shamed for reading a book. Seriously! There is nothing more aggravating than someone trying to give you false information about a book when you're the one who has read the book but not them. A little over two years ago, my brother and I were both telling my grandmother that Harry Potter does not teach witchcraft to children, and she insisted that it did! He and I have read the books, she hadn't. How the hell can you tell someone about a book that you haven't read and judge them for it when they point out that they've read it and that you're wrong? Seriously!
Mind you, I will never touch 50 Shades of Grey. I've seen a quick excerpt from the story, and the prose, the metaphor just makes me cringe (while at the same time has me laughing because I've owned a few hamsters in my time and I've seen how they nibble). I've heard too many reviews about how poorly written the story is, and I know the backstory to the story. I am not impressed. However, I will not shame a person for simply reading a book. Period.
However, knowing that there are people out there shaming others for reading a book makes me question just how accepted geek culture and reading culture really are at this point. There's this notion existing out there that, once you get a job and graduate high school, you have to start behaving like an adult, and, apparently, behaving like an adult means ridiculing someone else for basically being true to thine own self. There is a HUGE difference between trying to educate someone and holding a healthy debate, be it over politics or whether or not Tony Stark is a better superhero than Bruce Wayne, and riducling someone for something as simple as reading a book or embracing geek culture.
I, quite honestly, do not see geek culture being 100% accepted in either the near future or the distant future. Not as long as there are people out there who are willing to teach their children that it's okay to shame someone for something simple.
Like reading a book.
When did it become so uncool to read a book? When did reading become an activity to be mocked and scorned?
To me, these questions are obstacles many writers now have to overcome. It isn't just about making geek culture more socially acceptable, putting it on par with sports culture. It's about making reading in general acceptable again, and, with the reactions I've been seeing about 50 Shades of Grey, I do feel like reading is something people are starting to look down upon.
And that saddens me greatly.
