labingi

Happy Bilbo and Frodo's Birthday! (In the great crossover 'verse in my mind, Frodo is 96 this year, I think. My math is bad, but for reasons unlikely to become apparent right now, my reference point is he's 46 years older than me, so.)

In honor of this year's birthday, I thought I'd respond Tolkienesquely to a video I recently watched, LibraryofaViking's "What Modern Fantasy Gets Wrong (and why it matters)," which is interesting and nuanced, and, its clickbaity title notwithstanding, respectful toward fantasy old and new.



Specifically, I want to respond to the video's reference to R. F. Kuang's defense of fantasy (and SF?) being ideological. I have not seen/read her speech. I'm responding to this video's reference to it; folks familiar with the whole are welcome to add context. I gather that Kuang defends ideological fantasy against the common (often rightwing) critique that it's being ruined by being too "ideological" or "political" (i.e. "woke"). As characterized by LibraryofaViking, she argues that it is artistically valid to take an ideological stand and pursue it didactically in a genre novel.

The Problem I See with (Some) Modern "Ideological" SF&F

I agree ideological didacticism is valid (i.e. it should be publishable and socially allowable, and it can have good artistic quality—Jemisin, for me, is an example; I haven't read Kuang). Likewise, I agree the rightwing critique often has a subtext that the problem is not (entirely) being ideological but being leftwing. It's not just critiquing bad writing; it's critiquing values the critic doesn't agree with and casting this disagreement as a question of "writing quality." Side note: these aren't separate issues; values and artistic quality are entangled, but they are also not the same thing.

That said, as someone often annoyed by the didacticism of modern SF&F, for me, the problem is not that it's ideological; it's that it's simplistic. ( Read more... )

Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor was one of the books recced to me on DW recently, and I'm currently almost done with it. Let me start by saying that it was an excellent rec. It's everything I asked for, and it has completely served its purpose in diverting me from our real world; I have generally enjoyed reading it.

I don't especially warm to it as a novel, however, and I've been in an interesting and invigorating discussion of it with rocky41_7 on books. I ended up pretty much writing meta I'd planned to write in the comments over there, so I'll post it here too.

Context: rocky41_7 has been rereading the book with a newfound appreciation and feeling of now understanding why it is so beloved. Reasons why - and I agree all those things are there and are good - include a truly good/well-intentioned hero, realistic politics, realistic supporting characters, and breaking fantasy conventions. I find the book lacking in character development and plot/character arcs, however. Below (with a few, fairly minor spoilers), I explain why with some reference points to other stories, which may contain some very light spoilers.

My Reply to rocky41-7's reply to my reply to their post. ( Read more... )

In the great crossover 'verse in my head, this is the 45th anniversary of the Downfall of Sauron. I don't have any brilliant new thoughts on Middle-earth to share right now, but I appreciate that this day usually falls during my spring break, thus allowing me to celebrate it at home in Glen Ellen, which, being the land where I grew up, has always been Middle-earth to me, especially in the spring.

It's scary hot out for March right now, into the lower '80's F today, a reminder that the old world has gone, and, as our tenants pointed out, you never know what the weather is going to do from day to day. I will say this, though: I see real recovery from the fire. It feels like the first time the scars have looked significantly healed. Our two surviving legacy oaks, Drus and Maxima, who were surely dealt lethal blows in the fire (in 2017) both look surprisingly happy. Maxima has so much new growth it practically looks like a tree again. I don't know how this can be because neither of them have a square foot of healthy bark left anywhere, but they are still trucking along and the more power to them.

There's been a lot of rain this year, and the creeks are higher than I've seen them in a long time, which is always pleasant and welcome.

These are not specifically Middle-earth thoughts, but I think they are Middle-earthy. To have a keen eye for the land you love is very Middle-earthy thing.

The verdict: This story is written like fan fic by a high schooler. It’s amazing the production team let this get through. That said, it has some elements I really like and wish had a better show to breathe in. (Note: I’m skipping all accent marks out of fatigue.)

Overall Production:

The Good

Visual effects, music, costumes. Acting! These are good actors, and they deserve better material. In some cases, they are even very well cast, and they are acting the heck out of what little they’ve been given. In terms of story, the fleshing out of Sauron is generally good in my book.

The Bad

The writing overall. Especially toward the end, it’s paint-by-the-numbers. It’s full of lines like “I am the light.” “No, you are the darkness.” That’s not a quote, but it’s indicative of the basic pattern of stock lines and responses. It also does set-up and pay-off poorly, like introducing a nameless Elf who gets pep-talked along the lines of “I know you’ll do your best” and then dies doing their best one minute later.

The Hit and Miss

Directing and editing. Sometimes, it’s really good: good shots, creative angles, well paced, nice variety. Sometimes, it feels borderline amateur—like there’s a scene where Elendil’s daughter tells a soldier (paraphrased), “There’s nothing to see here. Move along,” and a second later follows up with (paraphrased), “Do I have to report you for insubordination?” The only insubordinate thing I saw was that, for a second, he slightly moved his head; there was no camera work or direction that indicated he was disobeying her. That sort of flub in basic craft, while rare overall, is surprisingly common in this most expensive show ever.

Note: some bits that seem like editing problems may be script problems, like lots of late-Game-of-Thrones “teleportation.” The show has a tendency to do something like, “So-and-So is coming,” and the very next cut, So-and-So is there. If you want to express either distance or tension, you could at least intercut with another scene between announcing someone is on the move and having them suddenly arrive.

Spoilers for plot stuff follow.( Read more... )

Happy Downfall of Sauron Day! In the LOTR-verse in my head, this is anniversary 44 if I do my math aright.

In universe I actually inhabit, I’m in the home stretch of completing my book on relationship cutoff, Being Cut. In honor of ramping up for publication, I’m going to use this DS Day post to address a question that comes up repeatedly in this book, the question of friendship. Warning for references to relationship cutoff. Also spoilers for LOTR.

We have a strong cultural belief that friend cutoff isn’t a big deal, because friendship isn’t a big deal. I can’t count the times I’ve heard variations of “What’s the big deal? Most friendships end,” “Friendship isn’t a commitment,” “Friendship isn’t a serious relationship,” “Friendship is just based on whether it’s working for each person.”

Some friendships are like that, yes. We often use the word to mean “person I share a hobby with” or “amicable coworker I don’t really talk to outside of work” or “kid I played with twenty years ago.” But my book focuses on serious relationships, and capital “F” Friendship is serious.

Whenever I hear friendship dismissed in this way, the first place my mind goes is The Lord of the Rings. That book understands Friendship. For example (note: I’m vacation without my LOTR so I’m going to para-quote from memory), as Merry remarks to Frodo, “You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin to the bitter end, but you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone and go off without a word. We’re your friends...” Two of them are his cousins, too, but they are with him because they’re his friends. When Frodo calls Sam, “friend of friends,” he’s talking about going off to die together.

Or consider when Frodo tells Faramir and crew that Boromir was his friend. Now, he’s with people who are not necessarily his allies and is having to be strategic in what he says, but there’s strategic and then there’s lying, and that is not a lie, even though his last experience of Boromir is being physically attacked by him. Our pop-psychology today would probably call that a toxic relationship and dismiss Boromir as a “garbage person” who deserves nothing but dismissal and avoidance. And Frodo is avoiding him, yes, but within a very particular context that Frodo, as Ringbearer, understands perfectly well. Boromir was still his friend, and had he lived, I do not doubt they would have fairly quickly mended their fences. That doesn’t mean that no scar would remain, but there’s a difference between a scarred relationship and a destroyed one. Their friendship was not and would not have been destroyed. That is what true friendship is.

I don’t say that no serious friendship should ever end, just as I’d never say that no couple should ever get divorced. I don’t mean cutoff is never the best answer. I do mean that real friendship matters, like marriage matters. It is committed and loyal and willing to endure some hard times. It is at least as selfless as it is selfish; it does not stop at a facile assessment of “what’s working,” and, as a concept, it deserves much better than our current society gives it.

Happy DS Day! May your friends stick to you through thick and thin.

Happy Downfall of Sauron Day! This is the 43rd anniversary in the great crossover 'verse in my head. I'm quite sure it's also the first DS Day I have experienced on which it has snowed, yes, snow in Portland, March 25. This year I'm missing my trip to California, which is usually a DS Day ritual. This leaves me feeling a bit disconnected and slightly incoherent.

One thing of recent Tolkien interest to me was watching a YouTube compilation of his video interviews, in which, among other things, he asserted that for daily purposes, English food was the best. This stuck with me because it's not very often one hears that. I have been thinking of Tolkien recently, though, while pondering local food movements. I think local cuisine for a temperate region would be very much like he describes the hobbits eating. Imagine no sugar, coffee, or chocolate, yet hobbits manage to feast just fine. Gives us all hope.

As of ep. 6, I think Adar may now be my favorite character in The Rings of Power. He's well written, well acted, and well directed, and I think his storyline is an example of how to extrapolate on a canon in challenging, "updated" ways without disrespecting it. ( spoilers follow )

I have too many thoughts about The Rings of Power and the loudest are ones are negative (because I'm one of those persnickety fans). But all that negativity won't help. For one thing, I'm sure the showrunners are already living in semi-fear for their lives over social media backlash. I don't want to stoke that, even a little. For another, they are doing a good job in many ways. For a third, I don't know how anyone could produce good art in a major franchise with a giant budget in a social media cesspit where everything is a massive marketing exercise in trying to please the majority while not getting threatened by a minority. Finally, Even die-hard fans can't agree on what TRoP should look like: Often, things I can't stand others are fine with; things I'm fine with others can't stand. So it goes. So…

Because I have to say something, here's a quick "like/don't like" list. (I won't say "good/bad" because views are so divergent.) Light spoilers behind the cut. ( Read more... )

A significant attack of neuralgia has knocked me largely off screens and spared everyone who sees my DW from a several-thousand-word-long exegesis on The Rings of Power. I will offer just a few thoughts instead.

* I liked episode 2 much more than episode 1.

* The acting is very good. I put this partly down to impressive directing as well.

* I appreciate that the script (for the most part) is willing to use more old-fashioned words and syntax. Occasional modernisms like "That's not an option" ring a tin bell for me, but they're few.

* I really like the original characters, and I suspect my favorite bits of the show are likely to be those that focus on original characters or original + canon, while the canon + canon scenes are more likely to irritate me due to how far afield they are from the source material. (Given that apparently a condition of the sale of rights was sticking with canon in major points, I'm astounded at how very far afield some of this feels.)( Cut for length--no significant spoilers )

Happy Bilbo and Frodo's birthday. We got donuts to celebrate in a truly hobbitish fashion. Beyond that, there hasn't been any time for Middle-earthy reflection, alas. It's the first week of teaching and going to back to F2F teaching at two schools with all the Covid protocols is hitting me like a tone of bricks. But the donuts are welcome. I may even have second donut in the true hobbitish fashion.