i Hate Hollywood.

So I only write in here when I feel as if I have something at least semi intelligent to say. This is why I have been quiet for the last week and a half. Mid terms and papers have been numbing my brain. Thankfully a debate was sparked on myspace with a good friend of mine Ricky Brandt that got me thinking.

I was quite ecstatic when I heard Beowulf was coming to the silver screen. However like always, I was hesitant as to how good it would be. I posted this online using Troy as an example of an awesome idea turned can to shit through the glorification of Hollywood fucking with originality. Ricky replied to me as if bewildered that I didn’t like Troy. Here’s a little fact about Joe Hickey, I love mythology, and I have read quite a bit of it during my studies. I am by no means brilliant with mythology, but I know my stuff to the extent I know when people fuck up the story. Granted I haven’t seen Troy since I wasted the eight dollars on it to go see it -so I can’t use specific examples- but I know they changed the story quite a bit from the epic poem that I read and was mesmerized with.

After the LOTR series and Potter series, I was hoping that Hollywood was learning a lesson, and keeping the stories basically unchanged. Granted LOTR’s kept a lot out of the books out of sheer size of the stories, but they kept very well with the storyline and did an amazing job, ditto for Potter flicks. So I thought maybe…just maybe.

So there I sit in the theater and I will say at first I am stoked. The 3D is actually very well done, the animated aspects which I was upset with at first proved to be quite engaging. Then I see Grendel, and I was pissed. But I won’t knock the movie for their artistic version of what Grandel looked like. That’s open for interpretation and I respect others opinions on such matters. I am fairly certain that within the epic poem of Beowulf they never actually describe Grendel’s physical features, and if I am wrong please correct me. Either way, personally I did not like Grendel.

For those of us who have actually read Beowulf you should know it’s a three part episodic structure; the killing of Grendel, the killing of the mother, and the killing of the dragon. Now I haven’t read Beowulf since last semester (yet I know the story well) but I don’t feel like researching to double check my Beowulf story, so if I am wrong as always correct me and I will gladly retake everything I am about to say.

The first episode is amazing, and done almost for verbatim from the original epic, they even incorporate the swimming story where Beowulf slays the water serpents, which I honestly thought would have been left out. Kudos, so far so good, it really has been awesome thus far.

Then we meet the mother and this is where one of the most ancient and well known epics turns from an epic to a fucking episode of Jerry Springer. From this point out the writers rewrite the Beowulf tale and turn it into a modern shitty version of broken family structure, jerry Springer episode, with a revenge tale tossed amidst. They make Beowulf flawed in so many ways he completely looses his epic heroism.

This is Beowulf, an epic hero! He is supposed to have certain personal characteristics that make him the amazing hero that can battle a demon with no armor or sword. But oh no! I know exactly what Hollywood was thinking…and their fucking idiots. We have to make Beowulf more modern, he needs to be flawed, and he needs to represent modern society so the viewers can relate to him. All fine ideals when creating a movie, except one that already been written and has already passed the test of time! Nothing any Hollywood writer will ever write will ever be greater then Beowulf, you dumb bastards. Way to destroy one of the most beloved stories known in mankind? Way to ruin it you fucks.

How does everyone else feel about this? Agreed? Disagree?

Gamers

This isn't going to be much of a blog, more of a shout out and a push for a good friend of mine who has created an awesome gaming site.

http://www.digitalsomething.com

its already getting 300 hits a day and growing.

For those of you who don't know i am an avid gamer and a lot of my fantasy writing is very influenced by the japanese culture that i have been exposed to through role playing games such as the Final Fantasy Series, Chrono Trigger, Suikoden, amongst others.

Currently i am playing:
-Eternal Sonata
-Final Fantasy Tactics (remake for psp)
-Alot of NBA 2k7

And as alway you are able to read the first few chapters of my novel for free through my storefront: www.lulu.com/ackio

if you like what you read you can purchase it online, or if you know me personally get ahold of me, i sell them myself for 15 dollars, and that will benifit us both moreso.

thanks again!

I will be doing a legit post on something within the next few days so keep coming back!

-Joe

Elitism

Well first let me thank my friend Gary for discussing and replying to my earlier post about Elitism. I don't know too many friends who will even listen to me talk about this let alone reply and discuss it. So I applaud you and welcome hopefully future discussions regarding writing and art.

I think Gary and I have cleared some things up in our previous discussion in my last blog. We largely agree that that genre literature has little or anything to do with a creative writing fiction workshop. I even co-sign your C.S. Lewis example.

So let me first start this new blog by addressing your final question:

My theory of elitism? I really haven’t thought much of it, but as soon as you asked my brain orgasmed (seriously). First let me start by saying it’s definitely one of the harder questions I have ever been asked. Up there with "what is art" which must be noted as being one fucking helluva loaded question.

Okay, my theory of elitism is simple (I hope). Any two bit fuck can write a story. It’s not hard to follow a sequence and create a story. The building blocks are simple and if you have a primary education you can successfully write. When I was in first grade I wrote my first story. I was fucking awful, but it was a story.

So, as we grow so does our knowledge in just about every aspect of the world. We learn and better understand our language; we are exposed to books, movies, and television, all which imbed within our minds bits and pieces of the building blocks of story telling, largely unbeknownst to us we file it away deep into our unconscious. Yes, I honestly think deep down everything we learn about writing and creating narrative is already embedded within our minds through our cultural experience. I really think most people (I’m talking decently educated people, at least with a high school education) all know what the dues-ex machina is. Granted they probably don’t know the fancy term used to coin it, but if they watch the Simpson’s then they have run across it in one of the tree house of horror episodes (amongst about a hundred other massive pop culture medias). If you’ve ever read Lemony Snicket or seen the multi million dollar movie then you have been exposed to the wonders of Meta-fiction. I promise you we all have been exposed to the panopticon, most people just don’t realize it. My point being: its there, you know it, you’ve been exposed to it, most people just don’t realize it.

Okay… maybe this isn’t that simple.

Elitism is the act of digging down deep and cultivating that unconscious knowledge and transforming it into tools to use as writers. Elitist acknowledge that there is more to writing a story then just a sequence of events that are played out through characters that ten year olds can create. They are aware of the underlying ideals, metaphors, theories, all those juicy things that are studied by critics. Elitists know of the multiple lenses you can read any given story with. They study literary theory to find awareness of these lenses, to pick apart stories past just the words on the page, to realize and acknowledge the literary devices used in said story to develop its narrative. They know of Marxism and post-structuralism. They seek out the knowledge and use it not only in reading and responding to texts but to develop and create that of their own.

I know people who have written amazing literary fiction without even understanding the theories they used, or missed out on strengthening the piece because they were unaware. Thus they have the knowledge imbedded in them, they just don’t know what the hell their tapping into.

Man… does this make sense?

Let me digress, my theory of Elitism is that those who seek out the knowledge will be the fore runners in using the myriad of tools that stem from them. You let me open up paint shop pro, and I may paint a little cute picture of a flower, but you give it to someone who has studied the program and they will make you something phenomenal.

This may have to be revisited in the future as my own knowledge expands. For I have neglected to discuss a few key elements of writing that I truly feel need to be brought in. You can be smart as fuck when it comes to literary theories, that doesn’t make you a phenomenal writing. There are some things that can not be taught such as creativity and control. Let me also say that the majority of elitist that I have come across (or those who claim the title of one) can’t write shit worth reading. They are indeed book smart, and they can tear your story a new ass hole, but when it comes down for them to deliver…. Well just wait and see I guess.

Let me go on to say at first, I fucking hated literary theory. But at the same point it was damn interesting. I will once again say I am not an elitist, but that I strive to become one. Hopefully someday…

I will totally agree with you saying that it will be a rough track that I will be pursuing. I will also second the notion that it is damn hard to create a series of fantasy novels that cover both the younger audience yet still appeasing the literary snobs. But let me argue by saying it is not impossible. The Wizard of Oz is a perfect example, and the first to really come to mind. I won’t strain myself to think of more.

I will say that the first novel of mine is not high art, or at least not to my knowledge. I started writing it before I became aware of this higher order of concerns. However it definitely plants the seeds towards many different paths for my characters to take. I have purposely used a lot of “myth” and for those who study and understand it there will be plenty to pick and chew apart. I have little doubt that I can potentially keep the gripping tale and still hit on some very interesting philosophies and personal statements. Hell the core of the series attacks the notion of creation and confronts it through the eyes of a kid. That alone has some heavy weight to it already.

I’m pretty blogged out as for now.

Kudos to Gary. I have read his stuff he has posted on his own blog and I really think it’s noteworthy for other writers to read. He has a great voice and style, and I will say from what I have already read he is not afraid to take his own unique stylist approach towards writing. Check him out

http://onthewickertable.blogspot.com/

A rant.

On Sundays you can find me cracking steel chairs over wrestler’s heads in a local independent wrestling organization I co-own called Kings of Brutal Wrestling. Sporadically you can find me hunting down leads of local paranormal activity in the surrounding Mid Michigan area in hopes of finding my Michigan Paranormal Investigators (M.P.I.) next investigation. Did I mention I am a super senior at Saginaw Valley State University? Needless to say I spend a lot of nights writing essays and digging through mounds of notes or burying my nose deep into Malory’s writings. Yet despite all of these amazing and important aspects of my life there is one thing that I always make sure I have ample time for, Writing. So I have deiced to open my first blog with this quick introduction of who I am, and then go into a extremely long blurb about something’s that have always bothered me about “writers”.

Writing is my first love; it’s my therapeutic release from this crazy and often time depressing world in which we all commonly share. I have been writing forever. I’m twenty-five and I have finished my first novel “The Deity Chronicles: Journals of Bennett Kingsly” and am currently self publishing it to a decent amount of success through word of mouth. I spent four years writing it, and to this day I am still mastering and perfecting its every written word.

I’ve study this art form for three plus years. To say I have learned a lot about writing is nothing short of an understatement. If you think you’re a writer because you have taken an intro creative writing course (or even an intermediate class for that matter) then you’re in for a rude awakening. I won’t lie, I thought the same. I thought I was above the majority of those in these classes (which honestly I was). Countless times I have been greeted from my peers with praise outside of class, boasting at my skills with dialogue or my ability to clearly depict a specific scene. I was honored, flattered, even a little humbled. I grew cocky; I felt that there was nothing left to know about writing. I realized now I was a big fish in a small pond, clichéd intended.

Let me give one important piece of advice for anyone thinking about going into a creative writing as a major. Realize that the more you grow as a writer and the higher level of classes you will be enrolling in, that there is a much larger picture you’re missing out on. I don’t know how many people I have seen in advanced level writing courses that come into the workshop with generic unintuitive clichéd pieces of work. They fail to take into account the literary theories presented, they think they have mastered the basics concepts like dialogue, momentum, conflict, all of which are important yes, but have nothing to truly do with these courses… they call it “creative” writing for a purpose people.

Here is one main thing I have come to notice. There is always this struggle with these “upper” courses that boil down to two factions, The Elitists versus the Popular Culture. Elitists strive for the knowledge, study the literary theories; they strive to write for a higher purpose, manipulating writing for a reason; whether a statement or an act of artistic intent. Pop writers write what they like to read, what they see on television, what they expect when they go to a flick. They are not “high art”. So help me if you write a vampire short story about love or a fucking werewolf piece following all the stereotypes we’ve already read with Anne Rice, then fuck you.

Why would anyone want to read your crappy version when they can read someone who has already mastered it and made millions from it? I’m not saying you can’t write a vampire tale -I do however- think it would be very hard to. Here comes that artistic merit, that concept of creativity. Make it different so that we are not reading that clichéd bull shit. Leave that for those intermediate classes. You may even be praised for your pretty use of language. I don’t care how good of a writer you are, if you don’t present us something that’s at least fresh, then your barking up the wrong tree.

Here’s the problem. These poppers (that’s what I’m dubbing them) hold this hatred for the elitist who tell them straight up that there stories suck. They’re not saying they suck as writers (at least not always), but that the ‘story’ told sucks. There is a big difference; you should never get the two confused. Poppers get this chip on their shoulders and often times will pull away from the class, unwilling to take in this wealth of knowledge they are paying for. They write off the literary readings that are meant stimulate them into thinking about the higher order of concerns. Readings that are meant to make them question the knowledge of not just writing and art, but of life itself. Let’s face it, all great pieces of work reflect some form of life; if not then what merit does it hold? If the concept of Deus-Ex-Machina or Jean Baudrillard's ideals of Simulacra doesn’t interest the shit out of you, then perhaps you should be rethink yourself as a writer.

You should never, eeeever, limit your knowledge on a subject. Why would you turn your back on theory? Yes they are often times extremely hard to read, but once you open yourself up to the ideas and concepts you will find yourself in a whole new world of understanding. Once you learn to read under different lenses, whether its capitalism, post-structuralism, or Marxism, you will learn to manipulate them into your own writings consciously.

I’m not saying I’m an elitist by any means. I am saying that I am striving to become one. We all should.