Making Humor Work

Tags

brian jacques, c.s. lewis, captain america: the first avenger, creative writing, cressida cowell, editing, harping on an eyesore syndrome, how to train your dragon, humor, john flanagan, kung fu panda, looney tunes: back in action, marvel, marvel superheroes, nanowrimo, nanowrimo 2014, national novel writing month, oocs, out of character syndrome, perelandra, ranger's apprentice, redwall, spontaneous expedient character defamation syndrome, star wars, story dynamics, the avengers, the chronicles of narnia, the lego movie, the space trilogy, who framed roger rabbit, writing

I know, I know, it’s been forever. :-S Sorry about the long hiatus. I really have no excuse.

On to the post…

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I don’t like some animated movies.

Yeah, I know. BIG surprise. But seriously, I don’t. Why?

Because the humor doesn’t work. Well, at least not for me. (My dad tends to laugh in these movies, so maybe it’s really a subjective thing…? Anyway, I don’t find them awfully funny.) Who Framed Roger Rabbit is probably the best example of this. The humor doesn’t work. (And who among us wasn’t completely mentally scarred by that stupid movie in early childhood, anyway?!) It’s a mixture of slapstick, poking fun at the characters, and innuendo. Even without the innuendo, to me it would be offensive. I much prefer the wry humor Halt uses in the Ranger’s Apprentice books. And the fun word-play and occasional mild slapstick that appears in the Redwall books.

When a movie does that, I like to call it Harping On An Eyesore Syndrome.

Some movies are, to me, a mix of playful and painful. Normally the ones that are the least painful also have the most heart, probably because they’re the ones that the filmmakers either 1) actually love or 2) know what they’re doing with.

In Kung Fu Panda, I found myself actually laughing at some of the gags, though some of them still got a blank stare from me. Brave and Tangled, the same, though I think Tangled really takes itself a bit too seriously. (Come on, Disney! You can’t have it both ways. Either keep your trademark irreverent humor, or make a “serious movie”.) Cars… do not even get me started on this movie.

The Lego Movie? I thought it would be totally stupid, but win.

How To Train Your Dragon? Absolute win.

Loony Tunes: Back in Action? Okay movie. Not my favorite. It was a blatant rip-off of spy movies and Indiana Jones, but unlike The Lego Movie, it didn’t click. I think it was trying to do too much.

Prince of Egypt? Okay, some of the humor slipped up, but mostly it was good.

So, why does some humor work but other humor doesn’t?

I think that there are a number of factors.

First of all, does the movie have “heart”? What do I mean by this? Well, in my opinion, I think this means are the characters really relatable? They can’t be just punching bags (unlike Jar Jar Binks… seriously, guys, the reason you and/or other people hate on him? It’s because he has no character development. He’s a talking, walking cardboard-or-rubber-or-both stand-up. And yes, that was pun intended.)

This leads well into my first point. The humor must be acknowledged by the characters. They must reply realistically to it, whether it’s in hurt, gamely taking the hit, or pretending not to respond while inwardly being cut deeply by the jab, even if it wasn’t intended to be insulting.

Secondly, if the humor helps to acknowledge a point of the plot, so much the better. It helps it mesh better with the rest of the story, and doesn’t poke out like an eyesore.

Some of the humor in movies like Kung Fu Panda and Captain America: The First Avenger is like this. It acknowledges the pure sucking-ness of the main character before they become awesome. However, it should never be overdone, because then instead of being humorous, the result is laughable. They make too light of a matter that’s all too serious for the main character and lose the audience while they’re at it. (The First Avenger did a marvelous job using this type of humor; it made us want to both laugh and cry at the same time. Perfection.)

Thirdly, humor can be a character’s lifeline. Rather than going stark raving insane… um, was that an unintentional Avengers pun? Never mind. Anyway. Rather than losing it, entirely and permanently, they can deal with it by making a joke. Some of these jokes are sad, but some can be pretty darn witty. (The First Avenger again. Also How To Train Your Dragon–though that’s more sarcasm than actual humor–and Kung Fu Panda, which also made me want to cry in parts.)

Finally, sometimes the characters will just make a joke unintentionally, or crack one on the aside, to keep a plot moving, so the audience doesn’t get bored. (The First Avenger. Par excellence.) My absolute favorite line in Perelandra is when Dr. Ransom slips up:

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, here goes–I mean, Amen!

So, bottom line?

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1. Humor can help keep characters sane.

2. Humor meshes well if it’s used to acknowledge something (as in lampshading a plot oversight and making it into a joke) in most cases, but don’t overdo it. (Cars. ‘Nough said.)

3. Do not poke fun at your main characters for no reason, or you may end up sacrificing character development and making your entire book into a bad joke.

4. Absolutely no spontaneous expedient character defamation or out of character syndrome. Because that is not funny. Most of the time, not even in what is referred to as “crackfic.”

5. Some characters are just pretty darn funny (like Halt, Major Montgomery, Bucky, Cap, Arven, Gobber, Gonff, Edmund Pevensie, Dr. Elwin Ransom, and Sir Percy Blakeney) without even trying.

So, that’s my post on humor and how to and how not to use it. Good luck, Nanoers. 😉

Thanks for reading, God bless, and have a great day. 😀

Frozen: What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Tags

absent parent syndrome, aps, c.s. lewis, characters, controversy, courageous, creativity, disney, frozen, morality, oocs, out of character syndrome, spontaneous expedient character defamation syndrome, star wars, story dynamics, veggietales, writing

In which Erin delivers her totally-not-offensive run-down of the hit movie…

Okay, I fibbed. This will probably be offensive, though it’s not intended to be. It just depends on how the readers take it. (Please don’t be offended, readers mine. I’m just trying to be totally honest with you.)

A couple of weeks ago, I saw Disney’s hit movie Frozen. Those of you who are fairly conversant with me will remember how I said that I was very upset because I missed out on the “experience” of Frozen, per se; I had received so many spoilers (from generally well-meaning quarters, but also from trolls [not the small round rolling love experts, but the mean Internet entities,]) that by the time I saw the movie, there was nothing left to spoil. Sure, the movie was a good movie, but I would have enjoyed it a whole chunk more if I hadn’t had it spoiled for me.

That much said, even though I love a few things about the movie, there were a few things that bother me. But just to be polite, I’ll mention the things I loved about Frozen first.

• It’s about two sisters, their relationship, and family.
• It involves the sisters becoming closer and their familial bonds becoming tighter (though not quite a la Courageous, which by the way is a fantastic movie and you should REALLY SEE IT if you get the chance!)
• It’s the first Disney movie to be honest about early mornings. (Check out Anna’s bed-head!)
• It’s the first Disney movie to give young women the message that the first guy to catch their eye may not always be Mr. Right.
• Eight words: “You can’t just marry someone you just met!”
  “Wait, what?!” Disney’s actually telling someone to wait for the banns?! *LE GASP!*
• Anna actually believes in true love. (You’d be surprised how many Disney “heroines” say they do, but their actions say otherwise…) And FYI, true love is not love at first sight. It’s the kind of love that grows on you, that steps forward and says “I love this person even though they are horrible and egotistic and snappy in the mornings” and sends you swooning to the floor and sweeps you off your feet. It’s the sort of love that is a decision that becomes a miracle. It doesn’t have to be between spouses or lovers. Siblings can find it too. To quote the Veggietales (which is TOTALLY more quotable than Disney!) movie Duke and the Great Pie War, “True love’s the kind of love that puts others first.” (I love Duke and the Great Pie War too–not only was it the story of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz with the spotlight on Boaz, which we don’t really see that much, but it had a story featuring baby Moses and ten-year-old Miriam back to back with it. Pure gold.)
• Though Anna and Elsa have their falling-outs, they still make up in the end. (It was fear, not anger, that drove Elsa away.)
• Anna is the true hero of Frozen. Let me say that again: Anna is the true hero of Frozen.
  When I heard the songs from the movie (completely out of context), Elsa sounded like a selfish, pettish little pest, while Anna sounded like the naive, sweet person (the classic Disney princess stereotype.) And when I saw the movie, I could identify with Elsa’s angst, but I completely fell in love with Anna. Though it was hard to respect her when she fell in love with Hans, her off-balance moments and spunky, eager, cheerful demeanor more than made up for that. (Get the idea I love Anna much?) Also, Anna is a Christ figure. Like Christ, she has to suffer for her sister’s sins even though she is entirely innocent (except if you want to blame her for being deceived by Hans, who is a much better actor than even Palpatine, really, so you people who love Anakin Skywalker and want to make excuses for him… YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE if you hate Anna over her naivety.) Also like Christ, she ends up saving her sister’s life, upon which Elsa, like Peter, begins to sob… over her “denial” of Anna and their wasted time. Sorry, Elsa. Your ice powers may be visually stunning, but your kid sister TOTALLY has you beat on this count.

Now for the things I didn’t like.

• Absent parents/parents with bad philosophy. Why does Disney (all of popular culture, in fact) have this vicious tendency to pick on parents?! GAH. They deserve our respect for what they do for us! This is just so annoying.
• Teenaged rebel princesses. BOTH of them. (Not only historically inaccurate, but
• Also, there is the fact that there may be a more insidious message to the absent/bad parenthood dynamic. “Conceal, don’t feel”? This sounds eerily similar to the statements anti-Christian propaganda attributes (often falsely) to Christianity. (Yes, I called it propaganda. Live with it.) People think that Christians want to tie people down, to force down their “natural impulses” and live a perverted, repressed life. No. That is not what Christianity is at all. Read C.S. Lewis, for heaven’s sake! He argues it totally better than I ever could. Moving on…
• Song lyrics.
  GAH. This is the number one thing that disturbs me about this movie.While I loved “Frozen Heart” (OHMYGOODNESS IT JUST FORESHADOWED THE WHOLE MOVIE IN ONE SONG I LOVE YOU BRILLIANT WRITERS!!!), and the sweetness of “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” and the adorable “In Summer” (and Olaf was a marvelous foil without being ridiculous, by the way! Also, he was more than just a plot device! He made a place for himself, and he is the sweetest thing!), “Let it Go”, which is probably the one most popular song from the film, had a part that had me torn between being disturbed and feeling sick. Here it is:

• that perfect girl is gone

• No right, no wrong, no rules for me; I’m free!

• SINCE WHEN DOES DISNEY CHANNEL JOHN LENNON?! (yes, I am aware of the pun. *pokes Disney Channel with a stick* die, you…)
• Does anyone else see the problem with this? Apparently, it’s a bad thing to try to be perfect (though having a “perfect image” is, actually, a problem, in my opinion), rules are also bad, and the second line just reeks of moral relativism. (Yes, I do have a problem with that! There is absolute right and wrong!)
  Poor Disney. They have the same problem with lyrics and/or lines that Revenge of the Sith did: “Only a Sith deals in absolutes”? There’s a cringe-worthy rhetorical trap right there, and it totally ripped-off Obi-Wan, whose tenure as a Jedi and a character was otherwise absolutely shining. Of course Obi-Wan Kenobi believes in absolute right and wrong! Look at his actions, for the love of the Force!!! He has been wronged too many times in his life to believe that there is no such thing as moral absolutes (since he doesn’t have the throw-up-your-hands victim mentality that would be the only other option in this, I believe that this is safe to assume.) Seriously, Star Wars would be better served if we clipped this line entirely and put subtitles on it instead, claimed the audio was broken, and attributed that what Obi-Wan really said was “I am not your enemy, Anakin.” That speaks better to both the audience and the character. (In fact, when I eventually do see the movie, I will be mentally substituting that for the sickening rhetorical and out-of-character trap that we see above.) The line that was used can’t help but jar, and it ruins the pacing of the scene, making Obi-Wan seem to preach when it seems more in line for him to say something personal which brings a moral conclusion (leading by example, anyone?) to the character as well.
  (Most fans agree–sometimes Lucas doesn’t really know what’s best for the franchise.)

Okay, there’s my rants on why Frozen (and Star Wars too) is flawed. Please don’t send me hate mail for ruining your childhood fantasy/favorite movie for you. (MWAHAHAHA–ahem. 😛 )

Thanks for reading, have a great day, and may God bless you! 🙂

Casualties of the Fandom: Character Distortion

Tags

characters, disney, insanity, j.r.r. tolkien, long rants, lord of the rings, oocs, out of character syndrome, spontaneous expedient character defamation syndrome, star wars, story dynamics, writing

Ironic how many of my posts begin with discussions with either Professor V.J. Duke, Liam, Head Phil, or Rosalie… No? Nobody even noticed?! That’s kind of… *shrugs* Ah, well.

Anyway, I was talking with… well, any or all of the above… and with Eric, and also with Iris (the other big one in my blogging inspiration life), at some point, probably… Well, actually, I have probably discussed this with everyone I’ve ever met who shared a fandom with me… And the one big topic (well, problem) of fandoms (other than outside characters or whether Han shot first) is character distortion, or, even worse, character assassination (to which, we fear, Obi-Wan may fall victim in time, or from which he may have an abominably narrow escape, now that Star Wars belongs to Disney… *ominous music starts playing* Yes, I’m a Disney fan only when I’m kicking and screaming. Got a problem with that? :-P).

Now, that is not to say that outside or original characters are actually a problem, per se–it’s only when they go to the Sue Side that they get really bad. Or if they’re underdeveloped. Never mind that, though. (Also, I believe that Han really did shoot first. :-P)

To get onto the real topic of this post, I’m addressing out-of-character syndrome. OOCS, for short, is a very serious condition that really affects an author more than a character. This often happens when a fanfiction writer dislikes a character so strongly that they don’t bother to make them true to themselves, or worse–when they really see such-and-such a character as the way they portray them.

Then, there is the gap (sometimes slight, sometimes very significant) between a character as they are in the canon, and a character as they are in the fanon (yes! Erin is finally learning fan-speak! yaaaaay!). A good example is Mace Windu.

Seriously, why does everyone hate Windu? He’s cool!

In the Star Wars movies, Windu is the man with reservations and mad skills with a lightsaber. However, in the fanon, he seems more repressive and colder, and is often presented as the chief antagonist of Anakin (and sometimes Obi-Wan) within the Jedi Order, despite the fact that Anakin is comfortable enough with him to confess to him in Revenge of the Sith that Palpatine is, in fact, Sidious, and that he takes almost a fatherly attitude toward Obi-Wan in the movies. Also, there is the added evidence that, in the Clone Wars TV series, Obi-Wan actually dares to sass back to him after Windu inadvertently sets off a trap: “You certainly stepped in it this time!” (Many’s the time I’ve wanted to do a fan-dub of this scene, but changing Obi-Wan’s line to “You certainly put your foot in it this time!” I thought it would be funnier… *notices Obi-Wan looking over her shoulder* Whoops, sorry, off topic… *blushes*)

What in the name of the sweet ever-living Force?!

Yeah, you got that right.

I can only assume that the fans mistook Windu’s hardcore and occasionally almost harsh ways for dislike of other people, even though there is good evidence that they weren’t.

Another example would have to be Elrond. In the movies (recurring theme here!) he is repressive and stern, even grumpy. I can only assume that they mistook his impressiveness in the books for grumpiness.

You see, in the books, Elrond was a wise, hospitable half-Elf who had a cameo in The Hobbit. In The Lord of the Rings, he made a huge comeback and was given a bigger part. Stern Elrond may be, but humorless he certainly is not; when taking Frodo to see Bilbo, he even goes so far as to tease Bilbo, saying, “Awake, little master!” when Bilbo was not really asleep. Believe it or not, he actually smiles at his council, and though he does want Aragorn to reclaim his inheritance before seeking Arwen’s hand, this story line is not as relevant to the movie due to a difference that I will discuss in a minute. Arwen and Aragorn’s separation was entirely due to an agreement between them, not due to jealous father’s intervention.

Now, for that divide of realities I mentioned a moment before.

Elrond wanted Aragorn to reclaim his patrimony before returning to court Arwen. However, in the books this wasn’t really an issue because, unlike in the movie, before the story even began Aragorn had foreseen what he would have to do and knew that he was going to return to Gondor. He didn’t have quite the same lack of self-worth in the books, though he still felt ashamed of Isildur. It made for a great source of angst, sure, but was it actually necessary? (Though it is kind of hard to imagine the movies without it… oh, I feel like such a traitor now…) Believe it or not, they actually knew where they were going from the very start. They had more foresight than in the movie! MWAHAHAHAHAHAH!

…Ahem. 😛

These are my two biggest pet peeves when it comes to character distortion. The other pet peeve (bad Obi-Wan fanfiction) I will not even start on, else I’ll drive everyone away, I fear. Normally Obi-Wan isn’t so out of character (unless we run into one of those horrid Obi-Wan haters who misunderstand his motivations and actions at every turn…), but he normally takes a smaller part, which makes it just feel sort of wrong, since Obi-Wan should be taking a larger part and it does not make sense if he doesn’t, since it’s slightly out of character for him not to be in the middle of things. He can’t just leave things be, y’know?

Oh, and then there’s Anakin. He lends himself well to humor or heartlessness or idiotic blind jealousy very well. No offense, Anakin. But you were the one with “Most likely to get drunk and end up in a tree” in your yearbook.

Before I finish, there’s something to be said for humor–or crack, as some incarnations are known. (Crack is the version that’s not meant to be taken seriously at all.) Slight out-of-character-ness is to be expected, and here, it’s not taboo. The key is to be just funny enough without weirding your readers out. 😉 However, in my opinion, the best funny stories are the ones where everyone is in character, and humorous things just keep happening. 😉

What character distortions plague you the most? Who do you feel is consistently portrayed as being out-of-character in the fanon you adore?

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

TCWT: The One Thing I Wish I’d Known…

Tags

lord of the rings, oocs, out of character syndrome, selay'uu (sort of), star wars, story dynamics, teens can write too blog chain, writer, writer trouble, writing

when I started writing… back in the days when I still had braces and those cute round glasses (now I have the fashionable squarish ones–grrr…) when I was nineish-eleven-thirteen….

Like my friend Rosalie, I have a whole bunch of things which I wish I’d known. Not least among them that, over time, I’d be turning out stuff which occasions people (rather rudely) reading over my shoulders (yes, even both shoulders sometimes!) as I write. *scowls at the culprits* Yes, I’m talking about you… 😛

But the one big one for me would have to be that I wish I knew, firstly, how much editing it would take, and secondly, how very addictive it would prove. But more than being just addictive, it has also been very rewarding.

Other than that, there’s mostly a lot of editing. And then there are the days when nothing seems to work, and… well, coffee. No, tea. And I haven’t actually finished a mug of hot cocoa in one sitting in what feels like years. Awk-ward!

Suffice it to say, there will be horrible, horrible days when nothing seems to work and you just want to tear your hair, but all in all, it’s very rewarding. And finishing a novel–to the conclusion–may be an unreal feeling, but it’s also euphoric.

What was I talking about, again?

Oh, and check in at other peopleses’ blogs. They has insights, my precious.

NO! GET OUT, Gollum! You’re not wanted here! OBI-WAN, HELP!!!

Sorry, dark day in the mind palace… (If you recognize that quote I will love you forever)

5th – http://unikkelyfe.wordpress.com/

6th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/

7th – http://nasrielsfanfics.wordpress.com/

8th – http://miriamjoywrites.com/

9th – http://lillianmwoodall.wordpress.com/

10th – http://www.brookeharrison.com/

11th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/

12th – https://erinkenobi2893.wordpress.com/

13th – http://theweirdystation.blogspot.com/

14th – http://taratherese.wordpress.com/

15th – http://sammitalk.wordpress.com/

16th – http://eighthundredninety.blogspot.com/

17th – http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/

18th – http://novelexemplar.wordpress.com/

19th – http://thelonglifeofalifelongfangirl.wordpress.com/

20th – https://butterfliesoftheimagination.wordpress.com/

21st – http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com/

22nd – http://roomble.wordpress.com/

23rd – http://thependanttrilogy.wordpress.com/

24th – http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ – The topic for August’s blog chain will be announced. We hope.

Are you still here?! Wow. *tackles Gollum and leaves him tied up to the ugly bench that mars our backyard’s beauty* Thanks for reading, and God Bless!