lucyviolets

lucyviolets

Renaissance literature enthusiast; often found in pursuit of the perfect cup of tea.

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Latest Articles

Latest Topics

7

'Missing Mother' and Other Tropes: Examining a fantasy protagonist's backstory

This article seeks to pinpoint and discuss re-used/well-worn tropes in literature surrounding the issue of family and the background/ongoing story of a fantasy literary protagonist! What exactly is it about the tropes that fuels a protagonist's backstory – that makes it interesting? Why are these tropes used time and again (i.e. Dead Parents, Wicked Stepmother, Death by Childbirth); and in your opinion, are they useful, or too well-worn? Are there any notable exceptions where family either doesn't play a huge role (i.e. they're not mentioned), or they do, and are treated much as part of the protagonist's current story line as their past reason for doing things/giving them angst and trauma?

(It could be worth looking at TV Tropes and other websites for names of particular 'tropes' to discuss and explore).

  • Great idea. The absent parent, especially the absent mother, ties into a fear we all have about what it would be like if no one cared about you. Having no parents or a cruel stepmother means we immediately sympathise with the central character. It can be more interesting if there is a twist in this trope though. In The Hunger Games Katniss's father dies and her mother becomes lost in her grief for some time. Katniss is forced to become the adult at a very early age. As a result her relationship with her mother is strained because she wasn't there when she needed her. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,however, the children are evacuated to the country and barely mention their parents. – SarahPhilip 6 years ago
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  • You could explore more about latinamerican writers, such as Roberto Bolaño, Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortazar. – Pedroaft 6 years ago
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"Going Viral": Internet Fame and Influence.

For the past few years, the phrase 'going viral' has been shown, to a increasingly greater extent, to shape what we might see and hear in the media – for better, or worse. Snapchat stories, vines, Youtube videos, memes, etc. gain attention and become news, earning their 'stars' perhaps longer than five minutes of fame, and instead spawning television appearances, or merchandise, for example.

How much is this a sign of the ongoing pace of what we consume as media on the internet, and how much of it can be controlled? Does this have any good, or detrimental effects (e.g. using examples, is there anything very good, or very bad, that has happened from a particular video/article/picture, going viral?)?

  • This is definitely a current, relevant topic that can be widely explored. Some good aspects would be viral causes that help a charitable organization or raise awareness of a certain issue, the 2014 ice bucket challenge to raise ALS awareness and funds for The ALS Association, for example. A downside that is slightly less specific is how the pressure to 'go viral' effects the quality of content that people and content creators churn out. As a writer who has looked into freelance opportunities, there is no shortage of online publications that demand writers who are able to produce 'attention-grabbing' articles with vague titles to pique the curiosity of bored internet users. The actually quality of the writing is secondary to the amount of clicks an article can attract. Sites are clogged with slideshow articles with clickbaity titles to bump up ad revenue. More of a comment on the decent of online writing content and journalism I suppose, but a topic that could be relevant while exploring the 'going viral' aspect of modern online culture. – Analot 7 years ago
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Star Trek: Discovery - Decent or Dud?

An analysis of the newest addition to the Star Trek franchise. Does the 2017 update to beloved 80/90s spin-offs like DS9 and Voyager really pack the same punch? Or is possible that older TV shows and their newer instalments are want to be affected by nostalgia and fans, as much as they are by new script and plot?

  • I think this is a relevant discussion to have, although it would be a little tricky as there is so much conjecture even between the original series. It will be interesting to look at how each series actually was received and how the new version relates to that also. As a show that has had a series of iterations and significant changes, I think in a way fans would be more accepting of the "newness" of the Discovery series, however, whether it is meeting the same needs in its contemporary target audience could be a different discussion. – SaraiMW 7 years ago
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  • I think I this discussion would be further relevant when the series completes and the whole can be viewed. – alexpaulsen 7 years ago
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Space Opera: Sci-Fi or Soap Opera?

Initially coined as an insult, the term 'Space Opera' has now become synonymous with melodramatic space adventure: books written as colourful and dramatic pieces of literature which largely explore the human condition and entertain the question of where humanity might fit among other, fictional races in the stars. To what extent is this insinuation that Space Opera might not be as high-brow compared to other books in the wider Science Fiction genre, correct? Is Space Opera the so-called 'Soap' of the Science Fiction genre, or is it more than its title would suggest? Indeed, would you agree with the negative connotations that imply this subgenre is a 'lesser' form of sci-fi, outworn and tacky? Or is it merely a different, and more interesting, strand of Science Fiction that is less concerned with the intricacies of actual science? Probably worth discussing some of the more popular, and well known, Space Opera books and series and explaining why they might be so popular (as some examples, see: Douglas Adams' 'Hitchhikers Guide', Frank Herbert's 'Dune', Orson Scott-Cards 'Ender's Game', Kevin J. Anderson's 'Saga of the Seven Suns').

  • Lucy, I separated my corrections by line, rather than commas, but they were "squished" together when traveling through cyberspace. Sorry about that. – Tigey 8 years ago
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  • It would be a good idea to go in further detail on the characteristics that define a space opera, and what distinguishes it from other sci-fi book. – thelordofmoo 8 years ago
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Latest Comments

lucyviolets

I adore how you’ve done a neat walk-through and dissection of this genre. A really interesting read 🙂

Science-Fiction: Defining a Sprawling Genre.
lucyviolets

As a self professed video game nerd (especially for RPG’s like Dragon Age) I found your take on this interesting! You are right about the quality of video games improving in terms of their depth (I mean, think about all of the lore available in games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age?!). Great writing, in my opinion, is crucial to choice based games like that.

An in-depth and well argued article!

Autism to Artistic Integrity: Do Video Games Need Good Plotting?
lucyviolets

This is an incredibly well-researched, detailed, and thought provoking article! Thank you for writing it!

How Trump Won: Heroes, Villains and Surviving the Apocalypse
lucyviolets

This was a really interesting article! I’m glad that streaming sites, like Netflix, are more common. Yet, as you’ve mentioned with the ‘releasing all of the episodes’ habit it has, it’d be intriguing to see what positive or negative impact that has on viewers (as often, the appeal of shows, is to be hooked in and wait for interesting plot to develop, rather than rush straight through).

Netflix and Impact
lucyviolets

I really enjoyed reading this article! As a fan of Austen re-tellings, in whatever form they come in, your insight into PPZ gave me much to think about (and I agree with you!). The focus on the zombies as a symbol for the ‘economic anxieties of Austen’s historical era’ was a nice, thought-provoking touch, and I would have been interested to see how you could have explored this more.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Is Jane Austen Rolling in Her Grave?
lucyviolets

Having only ever looked at homosocial relationships/bonding in Shakespeare (in his comedies, to be more precise), seeing how it appears in Marlowe’s work is fascinating! Great article.

Homosocial Bonding in Marlowe’s Hero and Leander
lucyviolets

Having studied Tolkein’s LOTR during my undergrad, this article was brilliant to read! I definitely found the use of songs in his three books most interesting, and I’m so glad this is something you explained in this article.

The Origins of Middle-Earth: Gods, Poems, and Dragons
lucyviolets

As an avid fan of KPop, including groups like 2NE1, BigBang, Block B and BTS, reading this article made me so happy! You made an interesting point about the money spent on the videos definitely being of worth, given the amount of views these videos get, especially given how influential Youtube is for a musician’s career now. I wonder that given KPop music is perhaps influenced, and adapts, to the wider trends in Western music too (i.e in 2011, there was a lot of dubstep used!) this might be another factor as to why Western audiences might engage with it/find it catchy? Fabulous article, and a great read.

K-Pop on YouTube: How the Platform Has Made it Global