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Hi :)

Here is our group PowerPoint for Adventure in case it is useful for anyone's essay.

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Hello there! This might be a fun follow-up to the Procedural Rhetoric we were discussing today, especially the idea of OBJECTIVES affecting our reception of video games/books!

After taking a quick survey, you'll be told what sort of gaming style you have, and what motivations (both primary and secondary) drive it! Might be a cool way to think about how you approach video games, and also the type of games you prefer!

Here's a YouTube video that also discusses the Quantic Foundry's Gaming Motivations System! It explains the main motivations, some ideas behind quantifying gaming, and includes some graphs and charts. Science!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvjVP56r0BA&t=377s

Have a good week! :33
- Jess!

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The Quantic Lab is a gamer survey project run by long-time game researchers Nick Yee & Nic Ducheneaut. We combine social science and data science to understand the psychology of gaming. Take the Gamer Motivations Profile or the Board Game Motivations Profile to get a customized report of your gaming motivations.

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https://twitter.com/JohnSpiroSpero/status/1500155028547452931

Last term, someone (Sav?) was asking me why most of your markers instinctively distrust the passive voice. This tweet is possibly the most compact demonstration I could imagine! The passive voice is the think that allows the author to skirt a very, very important question: grown BY WHOM? Watch out for this in your own writing - 95% of the time, the passive voice is concealing something that should, in academic writing, be explicit.

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Beware of historical passive voice. 

“Was grown”

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Beware of historical passive voice. 

“Was grown” https://t.co/4m9uqVfdPH

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Beware of historical passive voice.

“Was grown” pic.twitter.com/4m9uqVfdPH
— John Kraljevich (@JohnSpiroSpero) March 5, 2022

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Beware of historical passive voice. 

“Was grown” https://t.co/4m9uqVfdPH

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Beware of historical passive voice. 

“Was grown” https://t.co/4m9uqVfdPH

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Beware of historical passive voice. 

“Was grown”

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We are planning on attending the seminar next week, so please come!

We can still have a great discussion as a group, so hopefully see you soon!

(Also someone should defo bring the Will cardboard cut out haha)

- From The Man with the Spider Arms <3

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Hi, I just thought I would let everyone know about SYP. It's a volunteer-run organisation which helps young people enter the publishing industry. It's a really valuable resource and I would defo recommend it for those who are looking to enter this industry.

I'm helping to run the London SYP Book Club this year. It's currently on zoom and everyone is welcome. It would be nice to see some familiar faces :)

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The Society of Young Publishers is a volunteer-run organisation supporting junior and aspiring publishing professionals across the UK and Ireland. We are open to anyone, of any age, interested in publishing or a related trade - or who is hoping to be soon. Run by a team of dedicated volunteers, our aim is to assist, inform and encourage anyone trying to break into the industry or progress within it.

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Welcome to the Society of Young Publishers - The Society of Young Publishers

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The Society of Young Publishers is a volunteer-run organisation supporting junior and aspiring publishing professionals across the UK and Ireland. We are open to anyone, of any age, interested in publishing or a related trade - or who is hoping to be soon.

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Romance and fantasy:

Fantasy and romance are commonly paired together - one of the most popular and prevalent sub-genres.

Outlander, The Princess Bride, Twilight, Vampire Diaries are some popular examples but can also be seen throughout mass published romance + fantasy texts

Often fantasy tropes result in toxic or problematic relationships - ‘ageless’ or ancient creatures like vampires, fairies, even gods with young human love interests, magic resulting in dubious consent + power dynamics

e.g. Twilight - Bella and Edward - incredibly problematic age gap, Edward is incredibly controlling and possessive, etc.

Often fantasy is targeted towards younger audiences so romanticised toxic relationships are more concerning

Tropes surrounding fantastical characters e.g. Edward fits the mysterious, brooding, handsome type. These tropes seem to justify some of the more problematic undertones of fantasy because Edward is different and ‘not like other guys’.

It is possible that this association with ‘feminine’ elements is part of why fantasy (esp. YA fantasy) is looked down on - notably those which are respected tend to be separate from that (LOTR + The Hobbit lack of a romantic focus)

Problematic tropes of the genre

Women characters are often sidelined, and male pov is very common in fantasy books. Women protagonists often have to rely on male characters to rescue them = problematic.

Although there are exceptions to this rule, e.g. in the Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon - This features a powerful woman heroine.

Due to frequent setting of fantasy in medieval-style settings, many tropes ‘justified’ as ‘historical accuracy’ including prevalence of and depiction of sexual assault + violence, adult/child relationships (particularly adult men + underage girls), lack of gender and racial diversity (esp. in positions of power), heteronormativity etc.

One of the biggest issues with fantasy (romance fantasy in particular), as a whole, is the prevalence of particular tropes which can make fantasy novels very predictable. E.g. enemies to lovers, love triangle, etc. - This is one of the reasons that fantasy is often overlooked as a genre.

Age and fantasy:

Fantasy is very popular in both children’s and YA fiction

Children’s fantasy can be enjoyed by adult readers but is typically ‘elevated’ above children’s literature to validate this adult enjoyment e.g. Harry Potter, His Dark Materials (Both released with ‘adult’ covers), or sold as nostalgic modern classics e.g. The Wizard of Oz, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia

YA fantasy is rarely even allowed these forms of elevation and tends to be dismissed, and actively mocked (e.g. Twilight, Vampire Diaries etc.)

Social perception of fantasy:

Fantasy occupies an interesting space in terms of high/low culture - compared to contemporary ‘non-genre’ fiction is still less respected as genre fiction but within genre, arguably more examples of fantasy classics or highbrow texts than horror, romance, sci-fi etc. - at least ‘pure fantasy’ e.g. LOTR, Alice in Wonderland, Chronicles of Narnia

Close links to children’s literature also complicates the idea of high/low culture because children’s texts can be elevated in nostalgia but YA is consistently disrespected and devalued

Fantasy’s very close links to romance could also link some of its unpopularity to this ‘feminine’ trope

Although fantasy is more popular now, especially with the dawn of more tv and movie adaptations of fantasy books. There’s still a stigma around fantasy reading as it’s viewed as childish or as something which has no literary worth.

Fantasy, in particular YA fantasy and romance fantasy, is often looked down upon.

Most mockery + judgement of fantasy tends to lean to jokes about supernatural/human relationships, ‘the chosen one’ trope, and other similar elements common in YA fantasy and fantasy romance.

The other jokes which often arise are about those hyper-detailed texts with maps, invented languages, and extreme levels of world-building and evokes ideas of nerdiness and over-investedness, linking to judgement of fans.

Links for references:

http://fantasy-faction.com/2013/fantasy-gender-stereotypes

Book recommendations:

His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman

Discovery of Witches series by Deborah Harkness

The Young Elites series by Marie Lu

Seraphina series by Rachel Hartman

- From the Man with the Spider Arms <3

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Hi everyone. Quick 3-minute Uses of Genre Bonus Activity: scan down this Books of the Year list. Don't think necessarily about the individual titles - think about the categories. What do they tell us - about the list, about the books, about the ecology of print?
-Will

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John le Carré’s final novel, the race to make a vaccine and the conclusion of the groundbreaking Noughts and Crosses series… Guardian critics pick 2021’s best fiction, politics, science, children’s books and more.

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We talked about how Let the Right One In doesn’t really fit what we typically think of as horror, as we normally consider horror as something that scares us and fills us with adrenaline (e.g. jumpscares) as opposed to gore and uncomfortable content. We found that the supernatural element made us less uncomfortable than the human threats within the novel (such as the character of Hakan), which made us think about how we have become desensitised to classic tropes in horror such as vampires and werewolves due to their recent prevalence in media in contexts that either humanise or satirise them. This is particularly seen in emerging genres like paranormal romance, and we thought it was interesting that Let the Right One In came out around a similar time to Twilight given how different their portrayals of vampires. Even so, we discussed how Eli was one of the more sympathetic characters in the book despite being a vampire and possibly again as a result of us finding the human horrors in the book more disturbing than the presence of supernatural creatures.

When thinking about Let the Right One In in comparison with the other horror short stories we read, we decided it was most comparable to Survivor Type as we found they gave us a similar reaction of being disturbed by the content, as opposed to the other two which felt closer to what our original idea of horror was. None of us would say we particularly enjoyed reading it, but the fact that none of us are horror fans in general and don’t have much experience reading horror literature may be a factor in why we didn’t enjoy it. We talked about the point from the lecture about the pleasure of horror and having our boundaries pushed, but for us we found that Let the Right One In pushed our boundaries too far to the point of discomfort as opposed to enjoying the challenge.

- Roy Hyphen Karl

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Spaghetti Westerns; Subverting the tropes of a typical Western

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Spaghetti Westerns; Subverting the tropes of a typical Western

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The term came about because it was cheaper to film movies in Italy than in the US → the roles would be played by Italian actors who were later dubbed by Americans.

Made popular in the mid to late 60s by Italian filmmakers such as Sergio Leone.

Began to bloom at a point where the western genre was starting to decline in popularity.

Often incorporated left-leaning political ideologies into their plots → it wasn't enough for a western to be just a form of escapist entertainment; they had to offer something more if they wanted to stand the test of time.

Often seen as a deconstruction/critique of popular westerns:

While the leads of most westerns were known for unquestionably being the heroes of their tales, the protagonists of spaghetti westerns were often morally grey and would perform extremely questionable acts of violence → similar to revisionist westerns.

While most western heroes acted out of a sense of righteousness and for the good of others, the actions of characters in spaghetti westerns were often driven by greed and/or self-preservation e.g. the plot of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly revolves around the characters trying to uncover a stash of Confederate gold → motivated by selfish wants rather than a desire to come to the aid of those in need.

Native American tribes would be portrayed as victims of discrimination rather than evil foes to fight against → shows a more nuanced approach to the genre.

Clint Eastwood's famous character in the Dollars Trilogy can be interpreted as a critique of the traditional 'mysterious cowboy with a hidden past' → the character is literally referred to as "The Man With No Name"; the epitome of the mysterious cowboy with a dark past.

Additionally, the title itself "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" can be interpreted as a direct reference to the range of characters that one would find in a spaghetti western; it would be almost impossible to class any one character as a "hero" or "villain",  everyone is varying shades of good, bad and ugly.

Key examples:

The Dollars Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly) (1964-69, dir. Sergio Leone)

Django (1966, dir. Sergio Corbucci)

Once Upon a Time in the West (C'era una volta il West) (1968, dir. Sergio Leone)

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Masculinity:

Traditional masculinity is glorified in Westworld, and it’s an essential component of Western World itself.

“Westworld allows its male visitors to live out a hyper-masculine fantasy. The theme park appears to address just two supposedly masculine desires – sex and aggression – as though no others exist.” https://www.thehaughtyculturist.com/films/westworld-1973-explained/

“Western World is a life of lawless violence, a society of guns and action.” (from the video advertising westworld in the movie)

Guns are a huge part of the appeal and experience of Western World and gun violence is massively glorified; when one of the robots mocks Peter, John immediately encourages Peter to “kill him”.

While there are instances of violence in Brokeback Mountain— Ennis punching Jack, Ennis grabbing Alma’s wrist, Jack’s father— it isn’t idealised like in Westworld. The most significant examples of violence, Jack’s (likely) murder and the murder of Earl, are treated with an appropriate sense of horror.

Homosexuality and masculinity are not mutually exclusive in Brokeback Mountain; they coexist. Jack and Ennis are also allowed to be sensitive (“the runt inside Jack’s coat, for he loved a little dog”) whereas in Westworld Peter’s sensitivity is treated as a weakness he has to overcome.

(Worth noting that Brokeback Mountain was written by a woman!)

Idealisation:

Westworld itself is portrayed (in the movie) as an idealised utopia— “Here it is possible to relive the excitement and stresses of pioneer life to the fullest.”

This links to how Westerns in general tend to be nostalgic, idealising the past.

In Brokeback Mountain, nature is very important but other aspects of the story related to Westerns aren’t idealised at all; for example, Jack and Ennis’s ranch work is just a part of their lifestyle and both of them want to escape (“he was crazy to be somewhere, anywhere, else than Lightning Flat” & “I’m stuck with what I got, caught in my own loop. Can’t get out of it.”)

However, nostalgia as a general theme is present throughout Brokeback Mountain!

Physicality

“Physical sensations are the bedrock of the experience Westerns afford.” (from West of Everything: the Inner Life of Westerns)

There’s strong imagery, and sensory imagery specifically, throughout Brokeback Mountain: “Dawn came glassy-orange, stained from below by a gelatinous band of pale green. The sooty bulk of the mountain paled slowly until it was the same color as the smoke from Ennis’s breakfast fire. The cold air sweetened, banded pebbles and crumbs of soil cast sudden pencil-long shadows, and the rearing lodgepole pines below them massed in slabs of somber malachite.”

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- Brokeback mountain offers a new perspective of the western, showing the proximity between male friendships and homosexuality.
- We see the internal conflict between the two main characters and the struggle to maintain the life and standards that "normative" society perpetuates.
- The two protagonists present an alternative view of the western, going against the traditional perception of masculinity which is valued and upheld in western-America, still to this day.
- 'Brokeback Mountain', the film (2005) and the book (1997), has largely been reduced to a homosexual stereotype, being branded 'just a gay cowboy story', whereas in reality it is a story which encapsulates the conflict between desire and adhering to societal duty - a love story between two people, not just a gay stereotype.
- The film was snubbed at the 2006 Oscars, upsetting many who perceived the Academy as playing it safe (i.e. straight)

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Relevant guardian article!
- Will

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Overloaded: is there simply too much culture?

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With so much film, TV, music, books, streaming, games and podcasts easily available and vying for our attention, how can we absorb it all? And should we even try, asks Anne Helen Petersen

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Misogyny and colonialism: The building blocks of The Western 

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Misogyny and colonialism: The building blocks of The Western 

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The Western is commonly known as a genre written by men for men. As discussed in the lecture, many of our first encounters with the genre came through paternal figures and older male generations. The genre was so dominant in the mid-twentieth century that it birthed playground games ,such as Cowboys vs Indians, highlighting it’s strong permeation to younger generations from older figures. This permeation can still be seen in the modern world, with children’s films revisioning the genre by using the same tropes diluted and modernised for a younger audience, for example, the Pixar Films: Toy Story (1995), A Bugs Life (1998), Cars(2006). All three of these are films you would not automatically associate with The Western genre, but engage with the tropes. To look more closely, Cars (2006) is set in Radiator Springs, a fictional town in Arizona (the American West), where the protagonist, Lightning McQueen, is a lone, arguably selfish figure who enters the town and, in the end, restores economic hope and learns from his experience, therefore developing as a character. This conforms to the binary ideas of the genre, like civilisation vs lawlessness and prosperity vs ruin. Interestingly, Pixar can often be seen, especially during our childhood, as the brother of Disney, it’s target audience often appearing to be young boys. Therefore, it still can be argued to be a male genre.

Because it is generally written by men and for men, the genre often facilitates a male gaze, this has led to poor representation of women, in which they are limited to sexual or maternal roles. The sexism is so entrenched within the genre and its tropes that even with modern revisionings, it is hard to defy this. The genre is so male dominated that female focussed stories, such as Little House on the Prairie are not automatically associated with the genre, even if they align with several tropes. This reinforces the idea that femininity typically has no place in The Western. This brought us to discuss how we see Western in a similar light to Romance, stereotypically, Western is a genre for men and Romance a genre for Women. This possibly suggests something about what society believes the true desires of men and women are.

When talking about the genre, the stand off between Cowboys and ‘Indians’ raises issues of colonialism. When referring to Indians, the genre is actually referring to Native Americans and as the genre glorifies the Cowboy, the white saviour, it therefore antagonises and demonises, the enemy, the Native Americans. This aids the colonial message of Western America, othering Native Americans. The Western, often seen as the American Myth, almost rewrites its history and story of finding America, placing themselves as the valiant hero’s claiming land and bringing law and civilisation to ‘savagery’. The genre is charged with American patriotism, a concept often fuelled by racism and colonialism.

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Here's the article I mentioned in this morning's session!
https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/memoires/2019-v11-n1-memoires05099/1066945ar.pdf
Thanks again for a really nuanced discussion this morning, I really valued everyone's contributions!
- Will

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For part two of our discussions, we chose some quotes from Let Us Dream to provoke further discussion:

"Because while she hadn’t needed his help, the taste of his food and the slant of his frown served as a counterbalance as she sauntered onto the floor, helping to pull her shoulders back and her head high..."  p.56

From politics to friends, power dynamics are prevalent throughout the novella, and Bertha and Amir's romance is no exception. It's interesting to see how this influences the novella's romance: how it plays out, how we perceive it, etc.

You could consider the following points:

the idea of balance/supporting each other vs 'saving the heroine'. Are the characters treated as equals to each other, or is someone trying to get the higher ground? Is the dynamic stagnant, or does it shift? What happens?

the effect of other power dynamics on the romance, such as gender (a woman's experience vs a man's), business (Bertha as Amir's boss), social status (Bertha as a cabaret owner and her standing in society; Amir as an undocumented immigrant); you might notice that these power dynamics cause a lot of the problems that hold back Bertha and Amir's union!

how does this romance dynamic compare to the ones we see in Mills&Boon?

...reminding Bertha that if she didn’t constantly lay down the path for how people, men especially, treated her, they’d see her as the path itself and walk right over her. [...] She pursed her lips and made a show of stepping closer to him, walking a circle around him and inspecting him like a cow at the market—the same way she’d been inspected by men with promises of work when she’d shown up in New York, ready to put her past behind her and start fresh. [...] This was her joint; she was the boss now and any man who worked for her would respect that. p.17

"...he tried to push away the image that had lodged in his mind during their kiss and refused to budge. Bertha, sweat-damp and happy, holding a brown baby who had his eyes and her nose. Men weren’t supposed to imagine such things, na?"  p. 66

Another thing we noticed was the subversion of stereotypical gendered characteristics. For example, Bertha seems to have rather 'masculine' characteristics ('Boss Bertha'). Amir's quote from above--thinking about making a family--may usually be considered 'feminine' subject matter. How does this affect the romance created between them?

You could consider the following points:

with a female adopting 'masculine' characteristics and a male adopting 'feminine' characteristics, is one subversion more appealing/societally palatable than the other? Are there any double standards regarding these subversions, either in the text or during your reading experience?

are any of these subverted stereotypical characteristics in Bertha and Amir sacrificed/compromised during the course of their romance? Are they allowed to express characteristics usually stereotyped with their gender? What is the effect? A sense of shame, vulnerability, liberation?

How do these subverted characteristics in characters compare to the Mills&Boon romances - and do consider Mills&Boon books set in different time periods (eg. historical romances vs modern romances)!

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"Women helped each other in ways small and large every day, without thinking, and that was what kept them going even when the world came up with new and exciting ways to crush them." (p.164).

Romance and Politics:

We discussed how Cole's utilisation of political topics woven into the fabric of the romance novella (more on this further down) allow for a more thought - provoking plot to the stories that many consider "trashy".

Cole's plot involves issues of racism, life as an undocumented immigrant, police corruption, sexism, women's suffrage, the disillusionment of the political system and life as a former prostitute. These issues are not something we would consider being frequently incorporated into the stories of the Mills and Boon publishers in week 5.

From our discussions in week 5 we are anticipating something much less provoking in terms of its political themes. In the Mills and Boon stories, a speed boat accident was much more plausible than the accounts of a woman of colour in 1917 Harlem.
But why is this? Is this because we have been conditioned to understand romance as an "inferior" genre that cannot comment or involve political issues into its plot? As Krentz wrote "Society felt free to sit in judgement" of romance novels and novellas. So Cole is breaking the norm of what themes that are included in a romance novella but she does not stray for from the essential elements of romance. There is still the meeting, barrier and attraction along with other elements of a romance novel.

On the other hand, this is a historical romance so we could consider comparing this next to the historical romances of Mills and Boon.
Also, this novella's lovers are both BIPOC (black, indigenous, and other people of colour) and this is also something we should consider when talking about the romance genre fiction that is often overflowing with white characters.

The Novella
Looking back at our discussions in the seminars about the differences between a novel, novella and short story. Many reviewers consider this book a novella, however with this I have found some reviewers saying this is a detriment to Cole's writing saying the the novella forces Cole's writing too be brief. From your reading of the 'Let us Dream' do you feel it would have been better suited to a novel format or is Cole's choice as a novella correct?

Also if you enjoyed this novella then people have suggested looking at this as well:
Books to give you hope: The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson | Race | The Guardian

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Thinking back, I tried to recall some of the migrations that took place within America that I had learned about:

- The Gold Rush
- The Dustbowl Migration

Somewhere along the lines, my teachers forgot to mention the approximately six million people that left the Jim Crow South during 1915-1975, in search of a "kinder mistress", and that they summoned up the courage, and risked their lives to drive cross-country, illegally hop trains, and save for months to secure a train ticket headed to Los Angeles...more

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Thinking back, I tried to recall some of the migrations that took place within America that I had learned about: - The Gold Rush- The Dustbowl Migration Somewhere along the lines, my teachers forgot to mention the approximately six million people that left the Jim Crow South during 1915-1975, in search of a "kinder mistress", and that they summoned up the courage, and risked their lives to drive cross-country, illegally hop trains, and save for months to secure a train ticket headed to Los Angeles...more

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'Soft-porn culture: Punishing the liberated woman' - Ann Douglas

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'Soft-porn culture: Punishing the liberated woman' - Ann Douglas

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Soft-porn culture: Punishing the liberated woman - ProQuest (pp.25-29)
I found this article after it was referenced in some film reading I was doing and I thought it was really interesting in its positioning of romance and specifically Harlequin/Mills & Boon romance as a form of soft-core female-targeted porn. I thought it was relevant and might interest some others so I'm sharing the link and a few key quotes I picked out (w my emphasis). I found it particularly interesting as my Mills & Boon was originally published in 1981 so it really mirrors a lot of what Douglas is saying in this article although I do feel that she condemns the reader a little more than necessary.

Published (and written) in 1980

specifically refers to Harlequin romance (owners of and North American distributors of Mills & Boon) as a ‘subset of soft porn’ p.26

‘The timing of the Harlequins’ prodigious success has coincided exactly with the appearance and spread of the women’s movement, and much of its increasingly anti-feminist content reflects this symbiotic relationship’ p.26

‘As in male weepies and hard porn, female identities are obligingly so much tinder in the crucible in which male ego is to be reforged.’

‘Harlequins focus on one aspect of female experience, courtship: not courtship in the Jane Austen style with its intricate processes of choice, but coupling in the wary primitive modes of animal mating.’

‘The Harlequins last their stipulated 180-odd pages because the main protagonists are locked in a duel of sexual stupidity. Both are emotional illiterates. He is usually too angry, she too scared, to say anything honest about how they feel.’

‘The Harlequin girl must love the Harlequin man no matter how viciously he treats her; he can despise and abuse her (and other women) on the grounds that one woman once ill-treated him.’

‘In this totally anti-feminist world, the Harlequin heroine is fighting for the status of an exception; she neither wins nor wants the vindication of her sex: clearly a lost cause.’

‘She [our heroine] vibrates helplessly to the hero’s punitive mood swings: his hostile silences punctuated by sardonic put-downs and devouring, punishing kisses leave blood on her lips and awe for male authority in her heart’

‘The Harlequins are porn softened to fit the needs of female emotionality.’ p.27

‘Female, not male, consciousness is the most satisfactory repository and register for the forced acknowledgement of male power. The Harlequin heroines initially resist domination, but so do the hard-core heroines. Breaking down female antagonism is half the fun.’

‘Like hard-core porn and the male weepies, Harlequins are dramas of dependency.’ p.28

‘in soft porn, hard porn, and male weepies alike, the male ego is preferred, protected, stabilized. In the world of shifting sexual identities in current films, female strength must be siphoned to the male or shown run amok’

Harlequins ‘concerned exclusively with the defloration and marriage of young girls’ are read by ‘“normal,” active women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s’ which Douglas proposes ‘provokes [...] serious concern for their women readers. How can they tolerate or require so extraordinary a disjuncture between their lives and their fantasies?’

‘the women who couldn’t thrill to male nudity in Playgirl are enjoying the titillation of seeing themselves, not necessarily as they are, but as some men would like to see them: illogical, innocent, magnetized by male sexuality and brutality. It is a frightening measure of the still patriarchal quality of our culture that many women of all ages co-sponsor male fantasies about themselves and enjoy peep-shows into masculine myths about their sexuality as the surest means of self-induced excitation.’

Hope this is interesting!
- Martha

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ROMANCE

We talked about our initial reactions to our Mills & Boon books (eye-rolling, finding it quite cliché, a bit silly etc), and we discussed why we felt this way:

We’re reading through a scholarly lens, reading in different ways to that of reading for enjoyment and possibly looking out for certain structures or archetypes.

It is generally looked down on as a genre, we likely had some preconceived opinions towards the genre as a whole before reading the novels.

When discussing the different subgenres of our books, we noticed that a couple of them were historical romances - why the historical romance?

In the lecture, the happy ending that is a key component of the romance novel was described as a form of power.

A way of fighting back against the constraints against women in the historical periods of the books and giving power back to them.

Lots of the social issues brought to light in the novels were consistent across the different texts we read, despite them being set hundreds of years apart.

Again, giving power back to women and reclaiming the past.

Amplifies the sense of escapism, another key feature of the romance novel.

The use of an entirely different time and place, with reviews suggesting readers enjoy the historical elements as much as the romance.

The success of historical romance television series e.g. Bridgerton.

What we found interesting after reading the books:

One of the books included a male perspective

We felt this was quite unusual for this genre – typically, we expect a female perspective, perhaps to make it more identifiable for the largely female audience.

We questioned whether a male point of view would made it more ‘respectable’ as a genre?

Being able to read something and not feel a sense of guilt about it not being 'feminist enough'.

We felt this responsibility is often placed on women, and these books felt like a ‘safe space’ to indulge yourself.

These books also had lots of excellent reviews and were very well rated, alluding to their massive audience – we found this quite surprising, and it led into a discussion about how people read texts differently, and respond in different ways.

- APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING

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These are some of our thoughts on Binti and how it relates to our sci-fi conversations
What we found interesting in Binti

Seems to suggest one type of sci-fi (academic, world-building, exploratory, single character focus) before the sudden violence which suggests a different trajectory (violent, war-based, large-scale) before cycling back around to the academic, coming-of-age, nonviolent plot originally suggested

Unlike many others this story allows the negotiations to succeed thus further violence is averted in the narrative

Has clear allusions to and metaphors for current social issues - resists classification of genre (and sci-fi specifically) as purely escapist or disconnected from reality

Could also be read as a coming-of-age or YA story - questions about the intersection, (re)defining, and classification of genre

The Himba are a real people found in Namibia whose cultural traditions include the use of otjize, wearing anklets, and other elements written into Binti’s home life

Including these real people and traditions roots the story in Earth but also makes a statement on what elements of current culture will last into the distant future

Complexities of science fiction genre - afrofuturism

Afrofuturism: “a movement in literature, music, art, etc., featuring futuristic or science fiction themes which incorporate elements of black history and culture.” (oxford dictionary definition)

Examples: binti, black panther.

Binti is very much focused on cultural pride and empowerment.

Since science fiction is relatively new compared to other literary genres, it is still in development, and is one of the genres branching out to birth more genres including afrofuturism.

Social/racial issues

This science fiction novel draws inspiration from the author’s own struggles as a black woman and through Binti she explores the complexities of race, religion and culture and their intersectionality.

The poignant divide between Binti, and others makes the reader think about how we can affect positive change in our own society also.

We had varying opinions on the impact of the ending of the novel:

Some argued that the ending failed to represent an authentic ending by focusing on such an optimistic message, which doesn’t reflect the reality of our world.

Whereas others argued that Binti still remained an outcast in the university alongside the meduse Okwu despite the progress made. They continued to be regarded ‘as a fascinating exotic human’ and ‘Okwu as a dangerous threat’.

The question of whether Okorafor purposefully created an optimistic ending which is meant to inspire change and advocate for a more democratic, just society is a question which still remains. - Whether or not science fiction’s purpose is to inspire change in the real world by referring to futuristic possibilities is to be decided...

Whilst the book evidently referred to racial and social problems within our own society, it cannot be said to be an accurate representation of our own world and literal allegory. The diverse (alien/species) board from Oomza university deciding what would happen to the stinger, fails to be an accurate representation of the majority of university boards and other institutions which are predominantly white males.

However, the social problems which this book tackles cannot be denied. The stinger placed on display, despite the important cultural significance and honorary role which it has for the Meduse, is incredibly poignant within the book. Worryingly, the display of precious and sacred items from other cultures is still very much a problem today. This problem is seen in real life, with the Pitts River Museum (which is part of the University of Oxford) who until 2020 displayed shrunken heads as well as other human remains to the public. This perpetuated racist stereotypes and has now been removed due to the ethical implications.

https://artreview.com/oxford-pitt-rivers-museum-removes-shrunken-heads-from-display/

https://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/shrunken-heads

- The Man with Spider Arms

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8ZUTtsA3Tw

Hi everyone,

Relating to the discussion on science fiction from the seminar, I found this this short video of Michael J. Fox talking about what makes a great sci-fi story. Hope it's useful!

- Simone.

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Michael J. Fox Talks About Science Fiction

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We discussed our initial impressions of horror as a genre, following the lecture and the readings of both the three short stories and Let the Right One In:

Whilst reading the short stories, we were surprised to discover that they were not horror stories in the traditional sense (with monsters or masked psychopaths with knives hunting down the main characters), but instead took a more psychological approach to the concept of horror.

Stories that featured real-life horrors were often scarier than the ones that featured dangerous supernatural entities → possibly because it's easier to understand the shock that comes from seeing something that could actually happen, rather than something that we know isn't real.

The way you interpret a horror story can vary wildly depending on your mental state → if you are dealing with severe mental issues, a story that features psychological abuse inflicted upon the main character is going to have a greater effect on you than if you did not deal with these issues.

Interesting that when we think of vampires, for many people, one of the first things that come to mind is Twilight → links to how many fictional vampires are often sexualised/presented as being romantic, dating all the way back to Dracula.

Horror stories in education:

Many of the "horror" texts that we have studied at school and uni so far have prominently featured ghosts (e.g. The Turn of the Screw, The Haunting at Hill House, The Woman in Black to name a few).

Interesting how books that feature ghosts are considered “high-brow literature” while books that feature supernatural creatures (e.g. vampires and werewolves) are considered to be either exploitative trash or "made for teenage girls", and are therefore "not literature".

Could potentially be linked to the success of the Twilight saga, which in the eyes of certain readers/audiences, turned stories about vampires and werewolves into "something made for girls", therefore putting them off reading other stories about vampires.

Could also be linked to their association with the Victorian era, a time that produced many literary classics.

Let the Right One In:

Features certain tropes found in other vampire stories; someone who is perceived as strange or is ostracised by the community is discovered to be a vampire and said vampire bonds with a human.

A subversion of the traditional vampire story; while many stories that feature vampires (e.g. Dracula, Twilight, Interview with the Vampire), in which the vampiric characters are overtly sexualised, Eli does not fit into this category, as she is presented as a 200-year-old vampire stuck in the body of a 12-year-old → Eli is instead sexualised by her paedophilic guardian.

What is the real horror in Let The Right One In?:

Despite featuring a vampire, a well-known staple of the horror genre, Eli is not the most horrific thing about this novel → the horror comes from the psychological toll both she and Oskar endure due to their abusive home lives and feelings of loneliness.

In both the 2008 Swedish adaptation and the American remake Let Me In (2010), Eli's (or Abby in the American reamke) sexual abuse is significantly downplayed and is implied rather than explicitly shown. While this serves to make the story less horrific; it also somewhat defeats the point of the story → the true horror of the novel comes from the psychological abuse that Oskar and Eli face, so downplaying that reduces the film to simply another vampire story in which the horror comes from the goriness of Eli's kills rather than the psychological torturing of the main characters.

This also presents an interesting debate on what is acceptable to show in a film vs. in a book → books can often get away with extremely graphic imagery, as the viewer can interpret it however they choose, whilst in a film, this imagery is decided for them; the viewer cannot 'soften the blow' for themselves.

Could also link to the fact that the author is Swedish → Scandinavian stories are well known for being uncompromisingly bleak and depressing, and having extremely graphic violence, both physical and sexual (e.g. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Snowman).

- APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING.

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Just wanted to write on here how much I valued that discussion in class about how we distinguish between two genres which - remember - are often shelved together ("Science Fiction and Fantasy" in bookshops). Keep reflecting on how different students were drawing and redrawing that line - using temporality, equipment, perspective, aesthetic, social emphasis...

One extremely intellectual video which might help with this (thanks again to Simone for bringing up JP) is this vision of Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler just really enjoying nature.

If you've got more relevant thoughts, links, or videos after today's session, stick them on here!
--Will

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SCI-FI AND INCLUSIVITY

We discussed how strange it is that science fiction tends to exclude certain demographics (women, people of colour, etc), given the facts that:

1) sci-fi itself is mostly excluded from the canon of capital-l Literature, and is often considered socially unacceptable or weird

2) a significant amount of sci-fi stories involve symbolism about prejudice, and messages about fairness and equality which is… ironic… (e.g. people complaining about the X-Men franchise being inclusive/diverse/”too political” when mutants have always been an obvious allegory for real-life minority groups and discrimination is a central theme)

Inclusive stories with thoughtful representation are still rare, and even in media with diversity, characters are often given narratives that are focused solely on the discrimination they face.

A positive example of inclusive storytelling is Octavia Butler’s science fiction novel, Parable of the Sower, which features a Black female protagonist and a commentary on the effects of global warming!

SCI-FI AND SOCIETY

As discussed in the lecture, cognitive estrangement is when science fiction uses unfamiliar/otherworldly/fantastical elements in a story to discuss and challenge issues in the real world and provide social commentary.

This is arguably demonstrated in Naomi Kritzer’s “Cat Pictures Please”. Written from the perspective of a (fictional) artificial intelligence, the story exaggerates the capabilities of AI while also considering how much information about ourselves is available on the Internet— in real life, right now!— and where this could lead in the future as technology advances. On a smaller, more personal scale, it also calls into question our selfish and self-destructive tendencies by forcing us to look at our actions from an objective, inhuman point of view.

WHAT COUNTS AS SCI-FI?

In the lecture we discussed the ambiguity surrounding the definitions of science fiction. Films such as Gravity were initially regarded as sci-fi despite having a thorough basis in realism. We felt this was reflected in one of the readings for this week, ‘The Sentinel’.

The short story detailed the everyday workings of a team on the moon, an otherworldly experience, however focused on the mundane details of their life, cooking, working, etc. It is only at the end that the integration of the ‘other’ is exposed, making the story fit into the basic definitions of science fiction.

— Opium Dante and his Banker Brother-in-Law <3

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A cultural reset.

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Hello everyone! This is a page to which any member of the class can add anything at any time. An afterthought following seminar discussion, a cool link, image, or video, or summaries of study group conversations. The more we post on here, the better for everyone, but one group has to post on here each week, and in week 2 it's Opium Dante and his Banker Brother-in-Law. Remember that posts will be anonymous unless you sign them! --Will