How have contemporary writers repositioned the term “Otherness” in literature? In Toni Morrison’s article “The Color Fetish,” she describes how modernists like William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway employed colorism and racial stereotypes when writing their characters. How do contemporary black writers portray their characters, as celebrating the “Other” and perhaps manipulating the Jim Crow caricatures. Consider, for example, Octavia Butler’s characters in the novel Kindred, Toni Morrison’s characters in her short story Recitatif, and many others.
Would really like to read this. Susan Willis's Specifying and Bell Hooks, Black looks are brilliant source material for an article like this. Highly Recommend 😬 – Lousands4 years ago
People who live with mental illnesses spend their lives in a state of heightened anxiety and stress, and if they’re creative, this often comes through in their work. Arguably some of the greatest contributions to horror, particularly in literature, were written by people with really severe mental health problems, among them Edgar Allan Poe, HP Lovecraft, and Caitlin Kiernan. Even works made by artists who don’t want their mental illness to be so obvious can be darker than they first appear. For instance, many of the deep cuts of the famous rock star Jon Bon Jovi, who struggles with depression, are much more disturbing than the songs that made him a household name. So, are all mentally-ill creatives fated to create dark, creepy, or depressing content? What specific aspects of a creator’s mental illness might inform the darker aspects of their work? Are there any mentally-ill artists whose art remains entirely untouched by their illness?
This is a super interesting idea. I'd also be interested in how we prognosticate mentally ill creators and whether we should attribute that to how they write, particularly with horror, which is fraught with messy portrayals of mentally ill people. I think about this especially about EAP and HPL. I don't know what Kiernan's mental health issues are, but she tends to be able to represent mentally ill characters very well. But because EAP and HPL were never formally diagnosed, it can be hard to attribute that label and therefore the extent to which it influenced their work. HPL's severe neurosis and illnesses could be attributed to his mother convincing him he was sick (psychosomatic) and emotionally abusing him, anxiety, some have suggested he was autistic, some combo, etc. His anxieties do seem to come through on the page, but I'd also suggest his philosophical thoughts on mechanical materialism also influence the bleakness of his work. – Emily Deibler4 years ago
I think this needs perhaps a psychologists perspective. Not all mentally troubled people focus on darker work. There are notable exceptions such as Robin Williams, Owen Wilson and Stephen Fry for instance that have excelled in comedic endeavours. It would be interesting to look at what makes certain individuals create the façade of happiness and what allows other to really embrace their troubles. – AshleyStevens4 years ago
The conflation of Poe with his work is extremely problematic. Poe is not his narrators. Nor was he clinically mentally ill. There is no clear record of that. Poe had a difficult life and his reputation was damaged by the jealous editor Rufus Griswold, who was not even one fragment the writer or critic that Poe was. – rockandrollbob4 years ago
It also seems a bit problematic to not only lump every single artist or creative that has any form of mental illness under one umbrella but your thesis that they are only capable of creating works of art that is disturbing is somewhat offensive. To say that someone suffering from mental illness can only create art that is worrying seems diminutive to an entire section of society.
Vincent van Gogh was clearly disturbed and yet created beautiful painting such as The Starry Night or Almond Blossoms.
You need to rework this whole idea or at least remove "always" from the title.
I'm sure this is coming from a place of genuine intrigue but please be considerate of the community in which this represents. – FarPlanet4 years ago
This is a challenging topic to discuss, but that's what makes it so very intriguing. As FarPlanet stated, it can be problematic with generalization if not written/discussed carefully. With that being said, I'd like to offer up my own thoughts on the matter.
As someone who struggles with mental illnesses and is studying to be a psychologist, I think the writing CAN be more disturbing, but it is nowhere near always. From where I stand, a handful of mentally ill artists/writers write with a specific emotional depth that many people don't feel for themselves. Sometimes, the depths can be scary... Take psychological thrillers, for example. The mind is a scary place, and the ways in which it can be manipulated are far more terrifying.
I would love to write extensively about this topic. I like that it can be approached by the audience, artists/writers themselves in addition to psychologists.
It might be a good idea to first isolate the root question here before naming well-known artists/writers in order to keep the discussion open and relevant so as not to rub anyone the wrong way. – Abie Dee4 years ago
Everyone knows C.S. Lewis as the writer of the Chronicles of Narnia series, as well as (to a lesser extent) The Screwtape Letters. However, he’s written a lot of other works too–both fiction and nonfiction–that don’t get as much attention. Throughout his body of work, what recurring patterns and themes emerge? How have they changed over time? Is there anything he wrote that doesn’t get the attention it deserves?
An article exploring the development and effect of significant pieces of Utopian literature and why Dystopian literature is more popular and widespread than its positive cousin. Is there something in our modern day psychological make-up that makes us define the ideal world negatively rather than positively?
Good topic! One thing to touch on is the overlap between the Utopian & dystopian; most dystopias are the final evolution of a preconceived utopia that has invariably warped over time. – majorlariviere5 years ago
I think we are, socially and individually, more curious in dystopia; more interested in the 'bad' re imaginings of the world rather than the 'good.' With the peak of technology, we are constantly wondering 'what could go wrong?". I remember one of the screenwriters for Black Mirror was saying that the inspiration for one of the episodes was the assemblage of the 'robot dog' and 'what if that was chasing me?' I think that dystopia serves as a kind of a reminder, to us, especially in a world where we have become more lazy than ever, that not everything that is beneficial is 'good.' – SpookyDuet5 years ago
I don't think it's the dystopia we are interested in as much as the evolution of the dystopia. We like seeing a dystopia transform into a utopia, its more relatable. No one lives a perfect life and therefore utopias are not relatable. On the other hand, a dystopia is, and it is our constant yearning to make our lives better that makes us relate to the evolution of dystopian fantasy. – promptlyby125 years ago
Possibly because, with human nature, utopia is impossible while dystopia is inevitable and that makes it familiar and therefore, more popular. Narratives set in a “perfect world” tend to feature protagonists that seek and promote imperfection because human nature is flawed and readers identify with those traits of individuality. Plus, dystopian literature makes a more adventurous plot. – lykacali4 years ago
The interesting part of dystopias and utopias is the thin line between both, usually having something to do with wealth or free will. Can you have a utopia if the free will to hurt others is still there? Can you have a utopia if there is still poverty in the world? – kerrybaps4 years ago
The interesting thing about dystopias in my opinion is the tangible possibilities that certain things begin to apply in our daily reality and we feel that in some way, what they showed us was a recipe to be followed by governments, for example, that they see effectiveness in those methods. I think for example about China's social credit and I see a positive control to negative possibilities – Saikon4 years ago
This is a wonderful topic! I agree that Utopias tend to somehow become dystopias because "Utopia" is impossible in human nature and thus something in our human nature is removed or distorted. Dystopia is always something that gets the audience to ponder and think. It reminds the audience of true humanity and the pain felt when it is removed. I think Utopia does a similar effect, but is harder to craft in a way. I agree to other people's comments that Utopia is harder to relate to. We all can relate to pains shown in dystopias. I think in a way Utopia can be just as scary because with out hardships and sadness, how can we truly appreciate joy and happiness. What is perfection if there is nothing to compare it to? – birdienumnum174 years ago
Ooooh interesting I have written a little bit about this in my most recent article A Life measured: The parasitic nature of capitalist dystopia. It's close to being published here. I think it's a really interesting topic and one that resides in our understanding of dystopia as we live it everyday. There is a really interesting article in National Geographic this month too, which depicts the world 70 years from now, the dystopia and utopia. I think as long as we live in this capitalist state of servitude there will always be dystopias. Lets hope the best thing to come out of our present dystopia (Covid-19) will be a cleaner environment and better distribution of wealth where key workers are respected and paid a respectable wage for what they do. This is one id really like to take if I had a tiny bit more time, if it's still floating around next month il snap it up. :-D – Lousands4 years ago
Something that might factor into why utopias are less common in storytelling than dystopias may be that stories are built on conflict and utopias, by their nature, have no conflict, while dystopias are defined by conflict. – JosephB4 years ago
There has been a surge in new and upcoming book releases being retellings of old stories, whether they be classics (for example, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley) or fairy tales (like Beauty and the Beast). What does this suggest about society at the moment, if literature is a reflection of our current state of mind? Are these retellings to do with nostalgia or a need to bring the past to the modern age? Do authors succeed in doing so?
Examine artists who have taken successful careers from internet niches (E.L. James, Kris Straub, etc.) and how they pivoted from this success to a more mainstream kind of fame. E.L. James took a Twilight fanfiction and turned it into a successful novel trilogy with barely any edits. Kris Straub turned his Candle Cove creepypasta into a successful Syfy original series. What goes into the process of bringing the internet into line with traditional media?
It might also be interesting to discuss the Slender Man movies, mainly the Sony one. It did moderately well financially but was critically panned. How do we define success when it comes to transitioning internet content to more traditional forms? Financial success, creative integrity, heavy reliance on the source material, or some combination of all of these? – Emily Deibler4 years ago
An interesting topic to explore could be the trend of YouTube creators writing books. Many are often very heavily criticised. Many of these people, perhaps, would never have considered writing before finding Internet fame. What is it about the medium of books? Is it easy to break into? Is it widely popular? Is it something about the physicality of books? Is the trend just that, a trend, people seeing others being successful so doing it too? – leersens4 years ago
Analyse the history and evolution of the Mills and Boon romance novels. How the content and cover art changed throughout the years.
Mills and Boon romance novels have been around for so many years, maybe like 50 or 100. You can analyze how they evolved over the years in terms of their covers (illustrations on the covers) as well as the stories themselves. For example, more recent versions have more explicit language. – nsafwat4 years ago
Analyse how female protagonists are represented as the hero in YA novels. It could be interesting to include an examination of the extent by which these female protagonists rely on the male characters and how they differ from male protagonists depicted as the hero in other novels. An interesting take on this topic could also include how these female characters reflect the women of today.
Great topic. I'd be interested in reading essays on this topic, There are so many YA stories, of course, that it wouldn't be fair to pick just two -- one with a female protagonist, the other with a male protagonist -- and make overly general claims based on just that one examination. – JamesBKelley5 years ago
Great topic! I think JamesBKelley makes a great point, since there are *many* great YA female protagonists, and the YA genre is so large now. Maybe adding an additional specification would help focus the comparison -- perhaps comparing female protagonists in the top ten bestselling YA novels in your country, or comparing an older series with a newer one. – Eden5 years ago
Yeah, it could also be a chance to compare good and bad YA female leads. (Bella, anyone?) – OkaNaimo08195 years ago
