If you've read just about anything I've written since the age of 17 I think it should be fairly apparent to you that I have a problem with Joseph W Campbell and the Hero's Journey
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Re: BullshitjasonfranksJanuary 27 2009, 05:23:21 UTC
I guess I haven't made it clear what I'm actually complaining about. That essay I wrote is a bit on the antagonistic side and I expected to provoke a bit of reaction, but I guess what I was trying to say got lost in there somewhere.
I'm tired of hearing about the monomyth. Great, a lot of fiction fits the mould. A lot of fiction doesn't. But building a story by checking off the boxes, by completing the 'attributes of a hero' matrix, that just leads to bad writing. That's what I'm complaining about.
What is a hero? Ok, you're right, I do use the term in a derogatory way more often than I should. I do, however, think that a hero needs to knowingly act for the good of others, regardless of his deeper motivations. If he acts to further himself without regard for others or out of malice he is a villain. If you lose that distinction we're at 'protagonist' and 'antagonist' and I prefer to keep them distinct.
I want to be able to say, about a given work, "the protagonist is a hero" (John McClain in DIE HARD) or "the protagonist is a villain" (Michael Corleone in THE GODFATHER). In most fiction it's going to be the former, and that's fine and dandy--but it's not a necessary quality.
I find villains more interesting, but I have nothing against heroes. My real problem is with bad writing.
I guess I haven't made it clear what I'm actually complaining about. That essay I wrote is a bit on the antagonistic side and I expected to provoke a bit of reaction, but I guess what I was trying to say got lost in there somewhere.
I'm tired of hearing about the monomyth. Great, a lot of fiction fits the mould. A lot of fiction doesn't. But building a story by checking off the boxes, by completing the 'attributes of a hero' matrix, that just leads to bad writing. That's what I'm complaining about.
What is a hero? Ok, you're right, I do use the term in a derogatory way more often than I should. I do, however, think that a hero needs to knowingly act for the good of others, regardless of his deeper motivations. If he acts to further himself without regard for others or out of malice he is a villain. If you lose that distinction we're at 'protagonist' and 'antagonist' and I prefer to keep them distinct.
I want to be able to say, about a given work, "the protagonist is a hero" (John McClain in DIE HARD) or "the protagonist is a villain" (Michael Corleone in THE GODFATHER). In most fiction it's going to be the former, and that's fine and dandy--but it's not a necessary quality.
I find villains more interesting, but I have nothing against heroes. My real problem is with bad writing.
-- JF
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