matt0044
Well-Known Member
The recent discussion in regards to subversion and shocking the audience has taken an interesting turn. It’s never been anything new as gritty reboots like Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman have been dressed down for striving for what they saw as “realistic” at the expense of the story as well as the characters. Trope Talk made an excellent video all about it:
However, that was more in regards to how being overly dark and bleak in its tone at the expense of how their source material tended to be more light-hearted or, at the very least, a balance of both. The criticisms have often been about how DC has been so keen on making Batman do what he does because he’s “cracked” and “damaged” rather than having a genuinely good heart.
Now, with Game of Thrones dropping the ball big time as of recently, it has become a rallying point for how writers are flagrantly throwing out the rules of basic storytelling for the sake of a “flash-in-the-pan” shock for the audience. A moment that wears off and comes apart at the seams the second that one puts any basic thought into analyzing it. And far from it for me to disagree with this.
To grant some amount of sympathy (to those who aren’t totally jerks at least), there always has been this amount of unspoken peer pressure put on writers to try innovating on storytelling. Not fall into the same old, predictable plotlines we’ve seen on repeat. Not just from the “snobbish” critics but also the audience where the regular Joe might say things like, “Eh, it wasn’t anything special…”
For amateurs, there’s a burning need to burst onto the scene with the next big thing or get swept away in the tide of new content being pumped out almost every other day. For the more experienced, there’s a growing fear of losing your touch if you can’t challenge yourself to think outside the box. The word “predictable” sends the message of, “What makes you worth anybody’s time?”
And that’s not even getting into certain big name franchises that are aware that sticking to the status quo or a certain formula is detrimental to their longevity. Unfortunately, many of these writers and (most especially) their producers have it in their head that subversion involved flipping the switch from “boring writing” to “spectacular storytelling” within just one second’s thought. No more, no less.
However, any writer worth their salt will tell you that it’s NEVER that simple. Rules are meant to be broken but that only WHEN you know how to break them and if you should break them. Innovate but don’t rush into something you haven’t fully thought through first. Subvert expectations but don’t do it for the audience. Do it because you thought it over on how it’d work for your own story.
Writing is hard. Full stop. There are no shortcuts. That said, what I said earlier still applies in how a lot of us kind of let this culture of “ugh, so predictable and boring” grow unnoticed. It’s the natural evolution of the “realism” craze of the 2010s and all we can do is, at the very least, get a conversation truly started.
However, that was more in regards to how being overly dark and bleak in its tone at the expense of how their source material tended to be more light-hearted or, at the very least, a balance of both. The criticisms have often been about how DC has been so keen on making Batman do what he does because he’s “cracked” and “damaged” rather than having a genuinely good heart.
Now, with Game of Thrones dropping the ball big time as of recently, it has become a rallying point for how writers are flagrantly throwing out the rules of basic storytelling for the sake of a “flash-in-the-pan” shock for the audience. A moment that wears off and comes apart at the seams the second that one puts any basic thought into analyzing it. And far from it for me to disagree with this.
To grant some amount of sympathy (to those who aren’t totally jerks at least), there always has been this amount of unspoken peer pressure put on writers to try innovating on storytelling. Not fall into the same old, predictable plotlines we’ve seen on repeat. Not just from the “snobbish” critics but also the audience where the regular Joe might say things like, “Eh, it wasn’t anything special…”
For amateurs, there’s a burning need to burst onto the scene with the next big thing or get swept away in the tide of new content being pumped out almost every other day. For the more experienced, there’s a growing fear of losing your touch if you can’t challenge yourself to think outside the box. The word “predictable” sends the message of, “What makes you worth anybody’s time?”
And that’s not even getting into certain big name franchises that are aware that sticking to the status quo or a certain formula is detrimental to their longevity. Unfortunately, many of these writers and (most especially) their producers have it in their head that subversion involved flipping the switch from “boring writing” to “spectacular storytelling” within just one second’s thought. No more, no less.
However, any writer worth their salt will tell you that it’s NEVER that simple. Rules are meant to be broken but that only WHEN you know how to break them and if you should break them. Innovate but don’t rush into something you haven’t fully thought through first. Subvert expectations but don’t do it for the audience. Do it because you thought it over on how it’d work for your own story.
Writing is hard. Full stop. There are no shortcuts. That said, what I said earlier still applies in how a lot of us kind of let this culture of “ugh, so predictable and boring” grow unnoticed. It’s the natural evolution of the “realism” craze of the 2010s and all we can do is, at the very least, get a conversation truly started.
