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Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.
- Christina Rossetti
Popular literature has always denoted what society is running towards ... and from.
Take Horror.
Take Horror.
Horror Fiction authors and films have to appeal to the public interest,
so the horror within their story has to reflect society’s current view of what is fearful.
Consequently from this you can understand the context from when it was written.
So if books begin to write more about the perverse nature of man, does this indicate a more perverse society?
In another genere, great Crime fiction offers what no sociology text can provide,
To feel the living, breathing essence of New Orleans, both pre- and
post-Katrina,
check out the Dave Robicheaux series by James Lee Burke.
In like manner, Rock Music remains the most democratic of mass media—
the only one in which voices from the margins of society can still be heard out loud.
It does not so much influence society as reflect it.
Take our current movie fascination with the Superhero --
What is a hero?
There are many views on that.
Part of the definition
would contain the thought
that a hero embodies what is best in ourselves,
rising above what we feel is the worst in us all.
I believe CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER reflects the quandry of the common man
in today's society --
trying to fit into a world that no longer seems to believe in anything much beyond power and self-interest.
It is the classic story of the Child learning that Adulthood was a tarnished dream after all.
It is telling that every hero that enters into public consciousness has experienced
significant trauma in his or her life that has practically defined them,
a trauma that serves to motivate them in their lives as superheroes
(Batman and Spider-Man serve, of course. as the perfect examples),
traumas to which they are, and will always be, unable to reconcile themselves or fully resolve.
traumas to which they are, and will always be, unable to reconcile themselves or fully resolve.
But though both Batman and Spider-Man will, out of necessity, never be able to reconcile
their respective traumas, they do, in fact, manage to live with them ...
As must we all -- and perhaps that is our fascination with superheroes:
that they do well what the rest of us struggle through day by day.
What do you think?
What makes a hero?
Does our literature, our entertainments
reflect who we are?
Is the emphasis on Lust rather than Love
in 50 SHADES OF GRAY symbolic
of what is felt
throughout our society?
A book like Fifty Shades can also indicate that there are many in society today who are unsure about their sexuality or their frustration with it.
ReplyDeleteI consider literature a commentary or viewpoint on society. Our stories can and do reflect our principles, but it usually takes an outside eye to see it.
New Orleans may be a strong part of your brand. When I've showcased your books, I get many searches using 'New Orleans stories' as a keyword.
Hope the blood courier is driving
OOps, ...is driving safely on his deliveries. Lazy fingers.
ReplyDeleteWhile we don't (often) see the wind, we do see its work. Big and small.
ReplyDeleteFor want of a better term 'fashionable' literature/entertainment/music are a reflection of society. However there is always the 'outsiders' view as well. And one of the benefits of self publishing is that we can more easily hear from them. Which I love. And often prefer.
I love that Rossetti poem. I've been reading a lot about wind in poems, etc., since it's a major theme in a novel I'm working on.
ReplyDeleteAs for literature and society, I think sometimes it is a reflection of what's out there. And sometimes as you mentioned with Captain America it's who we'd like to be.
D.G.:
ReplyDeleteLOL. This blood courier is driving lots and doing it as safely as the crazy drivers will let me! :-)
I think you are right: New Orleans is certainly a draw in its own right!
eLEPHANT'S CHILD:
Did you know that soldiers on the front in WWI read Jane Austin to surround their minds if but for a moment what England had once been like. Jannites they were called.
Self=publishers mostly are a great bunch and unique. Thanks for liking us! :-)
Connie:
I have my Samuel McCord quote Rossetti to his beloved Meilori aboard the cursed Demeter in ADRIFT IN THE TIME STREAM.
I know both Samuel and Victor are extensions of who I would like to be. :-)
Hi Roland - glad to read you're up and about and couriering again ..
ReplyDeleteMost people are self-interested sadly .. though thankfully there are others who think and relate beyond themselves.
Heroes - someone who helps others and leads, accepts their weaknesses, and knows their faults ...
I love the quote by Rossetti on the wind - it's always there, quiet at times, stunning at others ..
Cheers Hilary