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I've included the links to the source material of the formative assignment questions below in case this helps! Do come and speak to me in an office hour if you want to have a chat about the formative/summative assignments!

Mills and Boon quote: https://www.millsandboon.co.uk/np/How-to-write-historical-romance

Salon article: 'Who Owns Fandom?' http://www.salon.com/2000/12/13/fandom/

David Hartwell quote: In 'Age of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction' (first chapter)

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- Needs to be time/investment in text
- Include key lines from the text
- Captures the atmosphere of the book
- Accuracy
- Need to not compare it to the book - treat it as a separate entity
- Representative
- Attachment to source material
- Re-interpretation and increased representation
- Adaptation gives characters increased depth
-

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Miles explaining what being trans non-binary means to them.

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First, let’s just acknowledge the SCOPE of Romance. In no particular order, you’ve got your classics, the canon Romances: Austen, the Brontës and the other girls in the band. The romance that swallowed the entire YA market and took on the big screen: Twilight, The Fault In Our Stars, If I Stay. Commercial romance that most supermarkets dedicate an end-cap too, authors like: Giovanna Fletcher, Paige Toon, Danielle Steel. Then there’s the adult romance that’s still popular enough to be sold in 2 for £7 deals, but don’t quite ‘fit’ with the other commercial fiction like Me Before You or anything by Nicholas Sparks. Then you’ve got the erotica, with their black covers with random objects on the front like ribbons or bells. And then the Mills & Boon. Not only that but then there are SUB GENRES to add into the equation too, like Coming of Age Romance (in which Jane Eyre and anything by John Green comes together) Historical romance, etc. So, ‘Romance’ can mean different things to different people, but they all have that one unifying factor. The relationship between two people takes centre stage and their romance is, most likely, the last thing to be resolved.

So, what’s Outlander?

It’s not necessarily a case of x OR y. Gabaldon herself recognizes how many genres she’s crossing over (see lecture slides) and most interestingly, she doesn’t problematize this.

Time travel is a large part of what makes Outlander Outlander, but we should be hesitant to say ‘Yep, that’s definitely Fantasy’ because there are more things to consider, like the fact that the Romance between Jamie and Claire is one of the biggest conflicts and inextricably linked to the time travel. If there was no time travel there would be no Jamie and Claire, but if there wasn’t any Jamie and Claire then Claire would have ZERO conflict.

FEMINISM.

1.     Bechdel Test. Does it pass? There are two+ female characters and Geillis and Claire talk about things other than men, so yeah it does.

2.     Claire’s a bad-ass. She’s got the common sense not to accidentally reveal too much, she’s got the skills to survive in a time that’s not her own, she was a nurse during the war. She’s not overcome with emotions; her key priority is to survive.

3.     Claire is also a prisoner. Okay, so, she can only get so far by herself and is reliant on Jamie’s help in several moments, but let’s not forget that they each have their time coming to the rescue, so I’d say their scores are pretty even.

4.     THE BEATING SCENE, which is undeniably horrific and it’s not surprising that it puts quite a few readers off, but we have to take Cultural Relativism into account. For more on this, I’m going to direct you here: https://youtu.be/FA6AkbVel1Q (I would highly recommend you watch the video because it brings up some very interesting things on rape culture too!)

Feelings towards Claire vs. Feelings towards Jamie

Generally, we agreed that Claire’s likeable for all of the reasons mentioned in point two above. She’s pragmatic, but potentially not explored well. Her emotional reactions are not highlighted, which may stop us from getting close to her character. She’s conveniently given all of the skills she needs to survive in the world before she even arrives, resulting in a lack of character development, because we don’t get to see her go from struggling with naivety to being the most intelligent person in the room. She’s the latter from the very beginning (but only a room that Geillis isn’t in.)

Jamie, however, is given so much room for emotions, with Gabaldon exploring his psyche after the assault continually after the first book. Which begs the question: is the narrative manipulated to make us like/feel closer to Jamie?

(We'll add more when we've looked at the Mills & Boon!)

- Mum's Net.

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Genre is fluid. Star wars is arguably the most famous science fiction story, but is about a wizard meeting another wizard and offering their staff to him – surely this is fantasy? We, first, need to correctly define science fiction to correctly assign a text to the genre. Our own world (which we comprehend) is subverted in a scientific way, or we see evidence of an ‘other’ world which is scientifically advanced.

How do we define science fiction?

Science is a non-negotiable characteristic of science fiction - the clue is in the name. Science often takes the form of some kind of advanced technology (must be advanced for the time in which it is set), and often the disastrous effects of this technology.

The following aspects are present very often, but are negotiable:

Aliens

Exploration/curiosity (not necessarily with an intended destination – focus on journey)

Space

Future

Invasion of some sort

Suppression/distrust of technology

Element of fantasy (if there is no fantastical element then we are left with a CSI style / medical procedural)

Moulders of science fiction:

Hugo Gurnsback is responsible for collating ‘scientifiction’ stories (all already published, and including Poe, Verne and HG Wells) – he realised that this was a genre that needed recognition. This collation came in the form of a pulp magazine ‘Amazing Stories’, first published in 1926.

Darko Suvin makes science fiction more revered academically.Suvin invents ‘cognitive estrangement’ - there is something about the world you are seeing in the text, something different, that by stretching your imagination around, estranges you from this reality and allows you to see it with a new clarity. Also invents the ‘novum’ the primary element in a work of science fiction by which the work is shown to exist in a different world than that of the reader.” - Jeff Prucher, ed., Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction

Vox day is a figurehead of an objection to diversity in sci-fi writing, masked as ‘holding on to tradition’. ‘Sad and Arabid Puppies Movement’ corrupted the votes in the Hugo prize to try and eliminate black, gay, disabled, women science fiction writers etc, in favour of honouring white men.

Some writers – like Torgerson – write to entertain and make money rather than to educate, this is a bad use of science fiction.

There was never a real golden age of science fiction, as it has always been a negotiation over what it should be, and this is likely to continue to be true as technology grows and changes.

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Advanced technology
Aliens?
Space?
Future
Invasion of some sort
Suppression/distrust of technology
Curiosity to explore

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Andrew Marr's 12 rules of fantasy fiction:

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Andrew Marr's 12 rules of fantasy fiction:

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1. Build a world
2. Draw a map
3. Step through a portal into a magical land
4. Magic makes the world go round
5. Send your heroes on a quest
6. Reader owns the fantasy world
7. Every generation needs its own wizard
8. Fantasy as the right of children
9. Bridge the generations
10. Create your own gods
11. Mirror the real world
12. Winter is always coming

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These are both great summaries of the discussions we have been having in the seminar, thanks to the Elucidated Brethren and Tequila Mockingbird for such detailed and provocative overviews! These will hopefully be really useful summaries to look over when thinking about how you want to approach your assignments.

Thanks also to Brooklyn for her tip last week about the BBC documentary series Sleuths, Spies and Sorcerer's. It is a series presented by Andrew Marr and each week he looks at a different popular genre - so far he has looked at Detective fiction and Fantasy - it's so nice of the BBC to provide a companion to our module! The fantasy episode in particular was really interesting and echoed a lot of what Phillipa said in her lecture. It's well worth a watch. Link here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p040pv1g?suggid=p040pv1g

Happy reading week - looking forward to discussing The Wizard of Earthsea in week 7!
Shantel

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These are both

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Detective Fiction - Genre and Fluidity of Society

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Detective Fiction - Genre and Fluidity of Society

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By Tequila Mockingbird

Expectations for crime fiction

When people pick up a detective novel or start watching a crime drama, they go in with expectations. For example, they expect competence and professionalism from the investigator, relative incompetence from the police force, and someone in the role of The Watson, whom the audience may identify or compete with. The audience trusts the genius investigator to be just, morally correct, and to abide by the law for as much as investigation allows. The deviation from these expectations may be refreshing, such as in the case of The Fallen Curtain, where the story explores the crime as it unfolds as well as the thought processes of the perpetrator, Richard, and no actual investigation or arrest takes place. Instead, the psychology of the perpetrator is explored and the moral judgement of this character is left to the readers.On the other hand, deviation may frustrate, such as in the case of Not Provan, when the investigator’s prejudiced viewpoint against Provan with his ‘guilty before proving innocent’ mentality makes him not only unprofessional but also an extremely unlikable character.

Exploration of gender in An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

Written in the midst of second wave feminism,  P.D. James’s book ostensibly seeks to make a case for women’s competence in a traditionally male-dominated field. Cordelia executes her job better than the policemen. The expectation of the female murder weapon is played with - Leaming uses a gun rather than the stereotypical poison. The role of the victim - traditionally adopted by a female - is a young man who has been put in extremely emasculating circumstances after his murder. Female solidarity against various male authorities prevails in the end.

However, the portrayal of strong femininity is far from perfect. Cordelia herself displays internalised misogyny upon her internal judgment of Isabelle (though she defends her in front of a man). She does not come across as a particularly capable detective, and her competence only seems to finally shine through when faking Sir Ronald’s suicide. Her moral ambiguity, susceptibility to emotions, and the basis of female solidarity being rooted in crime shed a rather negative light on femininity. While the portrayal of a woman who is influenced by emotion is not problematic per se, there is a burden on a female author writing the rare female detective protagonist for the character to be portrayed more ‘positively’...or at least less morally flexible.
The question of how Cordelia’s emotionally motivated decision-making is perceived by an audience expecting a headstrong, hard-headed female detective is an interesting one. In many ways, the disappointment experienced by those anticipating a stereotypically masculine (i.e. emotionless and perfectly rational) detective is symptomatic of a wider problem in how gender is portrayed in literature, and, indeed, in how society as a whole understands and perceives gender. The stereotypical male detective, entirely rational and unaffected by emotion, is unrealistic; on the whole, human beings - irrespective of gender - do not actually behave in this way. However, audiences seem to forget that this bizarre stereotype does not exist in reality, and thus perceive James’s far more realistic portrayal of an emotionally affected detective as an affront to the depiction of female characters in crime fiction. It is pertinent to consider how this aspect of Cordelia’s character would be perceived if she was a male detective; it is likely that James would be praised for disposing of the aforementioned stereotype in favour of a more relatable, realistic character. That audiences do not have this intuition when the character is a woman speaks to the continuing influence of sexist ideologies on our interpretations of literature.

Likability of characters and the reading experience

There is also the question of Cordelia’s overall character, a figure most unfavourable amongst many readers; but, must a character be likeable in order to create an enjoyable experience for the reader? One may argue that the investigator protagonist must be likable if the audience is to support the moral decisions they make, especially since Cordelia’s biggest moral decision involves conspiring to get away with murder. Yet, it must be taken into account that the judgement of Cordelia as an unlikable character may stem from internalized bias against women. Women who are cold and detached or women protagonists who are less capable are more unlikeable than men who have the same traits. The trope of the clueless, bumbling protagonist is not unfamiliar, yet these traits we find endearing or amusing in a male protagonist invite harsh criticism upon on a female one. The descriptions of Cordelia’s more emotionally driven actions, such as walking around Cambridge, assimilating the victim’s life by living it, etc., is actually a rather realistic depiction of a young woman in her early twenties recently bereaved of her mentor trying to complete an assignment to the best of her ability. This realism may appeal to some readers; they may argue that in reality, some people are more affable than others, and such can be the case for any protagonist. The likability of the detective may not affect how the crime and investigation proceed - and these are the main elements of crime fiction.

Changes in social attitude

Nowadays, people are not so much scandalized by crime as they as fascinated by it. Our tastes in crime fiction have changed over time - while once fans of crime fiction may have preferred the detached comfort and domesticity of the cozy mysteries, gore is the current popular demand. As people are trusted to understand the separation between fiction and reality, there is more allowance for people to discuss what they’re intrigued by. A person can freely converse about their love for the 2013-2015 TV series Hannibal without being accused of being involved with cannibalism in real life. There is also an increase in interest for the psychological exploration behind crimes; investigation in crime fiction now goes beyond the physicality of ‘whodunit’ and ‘howdunit’ - convincing descriptions and in-depth examination of the murderer’s motivations and state of mind are similarly looked for by the audience. Our fascination with crime and horror may stem from the urge to test our own moral compass in response to crime. As modern crime fiction encourages the audience to put themselves in the shoes of the murderer, they’re forced to asked themselves: given they were in a similar situation, would they have made the same decisions? Or, how far could someone’s interest in crime go, before they go too far and actually partake in crime?

Genre and social anxieties

Genre is a reflection of social anxiety. In Not Provan, Provan has no actual motive to commit the assault except for his poor, parentless background. This reflects a more conservative view of orphans in poverty being criminally inclined. In P.D. James’s novel, ‘An Unsuitable Job for a Woman’, a phrase that occurs multiple times throughout the novel, is one that many women in male-dominated fields in the 70s may be familiar with. The phrase itself demonstrate the male anxiety over the shift in power dynamics between the male population and women taking up respectable jobs - roles requiring high intelligence or strong mental capacity that women were previously considered too inferior to fill.

Conclusion

We used to expect a standard formula from Crime novels, the most well known set-up being “he’s a…, she’s a…, together they fight crime. (One example generated by www.theyfightcrime.net/ : ‘he’s a time travelling Stormtrooper with uncontrollable Jazz hands, she’s a drug-addicted Paleontologist on a tiny horse, together they fight crime’ - a concept I’m sure we can all agree would make a fabulous novel). But some authors have strayed from the original tropes and foundations of the fiction, leaving the audience of Crime divided. Some crave a comfortable Christie murder to get lost in, or a ‘middle-class’ Midsummer Murders episode on itv; others however enjoy more modern twists - the unexpected ways justice is carried out, the less competent detectives, and so on. Who can say which is any better or worse than the other - it all remains a mystery.

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How books reflect our culture but also affect our culture...

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How books reflect our culture but also affect our culture...

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By the The Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night

Harry Potter. Twilight. Game of Thrones. The Hunger Games. Fifty Shades of Grey. Do we believe that these books will be canonised by future generations? How many of these are going to define our popular culture and fiction?

Franco Moretti theorised a formula to decide how you distinguish which detective novels would become popular and which would just fade into obscurity. The conclusion: we can’t tell what will make a bestseller. It’s too hard to predict what is going to become the next fad. Something could be a fad today, and cannon tomorrow.

What does it take for a novel to become canon? We believe that it does not necessarily say so much about the piece of literature, as it does about our evolving times and culture. Genres are changing rapidly; looking back Edgar Allan Poe’s The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar, considered as the first example of science fiction, it reflected the beginning of modernising times. The definition of genre depends on the writers’ and readers’ context. If we read The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar today, would we automatically assume it is science fiction in the same way as Childhood’s End for example? Poe presented the story as a real case, thus elevating its horror, and this technique has been employed throughout literature since such as in Dracula. It has also been used in films, especially horror films, such as The Blair Witch Project

A novel becomes canon when people start writing critically about it, it enters the curriculums in schools and universities, and you can expect somebody familiar with literature to have heard, if not read, the novel; it is part of our culture.

We don’t dismiss popular fiction just because some people believe it is lowly and a fad.

What are the different readerships of popular fiction?

David Glover and Scott McCracken in their introduction to Popular Fiction described two types of readerships: a) the readers who consistently return to the same genre, no matter whether it is a bestseller or not, and could also be referred to as ‘fans’ who are, as Kingsly Amis would say, addicted. B) The readers who stick to bestsellers across a variety of genres.

The first type of readers are more likely to be involved in fan fiction, conventions and have an online presence. On the other hand, the second type of readers are more likely to engage in casual reading of whatever sits in the charts, perhaps influenced by multi media and film adaptations.

Genres are fluid and evolving, there is no way of predicting what will be popular or canon for future generations.