What are we saying when we claim the book we are reading is a "guilty pleasure"? Why do we assume we should feel ashamed for our choice of literature? Are we presuming that all literature can be qualitatively measured? Why should we, even with a tongue-in-cheek intent, associate reading with guilt of any kind? It can be argued that when applied to food there can be at least metrics for what define "good" and "bad" (even if it amounts to the same thing: unnecessary and self-inflicted shame). Who are we assuming judges us for books that we think we should not be reading?
Actually a really interesting topic that spans literature and psychology. It would be interesting to also look at the division of categories - women vs men, different age groups, cultural divisions (for instance reading 'The Satanic Verses' in India is a very different 'guilty pleasure' to reading a Mills & Boons in America), even looking at the period changes as different popular culture texts have been adopted into mainstream society. – SaraiMW7 years ago
From my experience, a lot of 'guilty pleasures' are books that are marketed towards women, and because of this they're seen as inherently inferior to works that are aimed at a mixed audience. While, generally, these books are no less worthwhile than their counterparts, because of the stigma surrounding them people attempt to justify their enjoyment of them as a 'guilty pleasure' to avoid having to get into a lengthy discussion of why they should be allowed to enjoy them without ridicule. – jessicalea7 years ago
Very interesting idea! You could use works on the production fo taste such as Bourdieu's "Distinction" and consider the role of age, gender, race, sexuality, and other axes in defining what's a "legitimate" pleasure and what's a "guilty" pleasure. Maybe also consider the role of shame in the idea of guilty pleasure – rmostafa7 years ago
"Guilty Pleasure" as reading something that doesn't fit what we might usually read. Reading a romantic novel if it is rare for someone to do. It might it open up a new world to explore regarding how we develop different perspectives. In this regarding, guilty pleasure serves a purpose, not just something we read because we needed to read something. – Joseph Cernik6 years ago
I guess it's similar to when you like something but all your friends don't like it, so you either watch or read it secretly, like you're almost ashamed of liking it and don't want your friends to know you have a differing opinion. Or when you're expected to not like something, like an adult liking Barbie movies for example, or a man liking otome games. Not saying they can't, anyone can like anything. – TaylorKirb6 years ago
I personally am not exactly a believer in the idea of a "guilty pleasure." If something gives one a sense of pleasure, no ill feelings coming from it, then why feel guilty? I do suppose it comes mostly from how most popular circles perceived a piece of media that garners that term. If others in a majority are bound to call something bad or not the usual level of quality, it can make one feel somewhat lesser for being in the camp that sees merit. But they're the ones who should be the most vocal about it as well. – berryplusbears6 years ago
I personally never understood the notion of "guilty pleasures." If you enjoy a piece of media, then you shouldn't feel guilty about it. If I don't like a piece of work then I won't enjoy it, that's it. Like berryplusbears mentioned, I think it's from various media communities and how they may perceive other works that may not fit their specific criteria for what makes something good but still enjoy it. If you ask me, that's just expanding your tastes, but I guess it also helps some people justify liking certain things for themselves. – ImperatorSage6 years ago
While gothic literature and horror are separate genres, the two share a connection in inducing similar emotions of fear and thus often overlap with each other. Explore both genres in relation to each other, such as the genres' similarities and differences. How has earlier gothic literature novels influenced later works of horror?
Some gothic literature works that an be focused on is The Castle of Otranto, Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Mysteries of Udolpho. The popularity of Stephen King's works in both literature and film in addition to the great amount of praise Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House received can also be other points of interest for this topic.
I guess the focus of an article is how selected modern horror is connected, or has been influenced, by gothic literature. How can make it an interesting article. – Joseph Cernik6 years ago
Gothic Literature relies on horror and terror, as elements to evoke a supernatural environment in the setting. Horror is what contracts the soul, that the recipient feels dreaded by its presence, and terror expands the soul and awakens the faculties of imagination. I am paraphrasing from Ann Radcliff's "On the Supernatural in Poetry". You can refer to it if you wish to understand the workings and the distinction between horror and terror in gothic literature. I guess you can work your articles on these lines and find the influences in modern cinematic horror. I cannot really comment much as i did not watch The Haunting of Hill House – Azira101phale6 years ago
You have to trace the origins of Gothic horror novels and their influence on every horror film ever made back to The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. This novella is the social construct for almost all haunted house movies and how a house can possess its inhabitants. The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix took several plot lines and elements of Gothic horror from James horror novella. So, to conclude, one must study The Turn of the Screw if you really want to reveal the nexus between Gothic literature and the modern day horror film. – latracey6 years ago
Explore the way directors like Peter Jackson or Rob Zombie have made remakes of films that inspired them in the past (like King Kong and Halloween respectively), and discuss what might happen if this became as prevalent of a trend in literature. What if Stephen King rewrote The Lord of the Rings? Or Chuck Palahniuk rewrote The Great Gatsby? Why do film directors get this creative urge while authors seemingly don't?
This has a relationship to Seth Grahame-Smith and his books on Abraham Lincoln and Pride and Prejudice both confronting zombies. – Joseph Cernik6 years ago
I guess many authors don't like their characters being re-written in a fashion they do wish to. This is one of the reason why many authors kill their characters before they are being incarnated in someone else's novel. Though it's a heart-wrenching move for the fans of the franchise, but it's a necessary evil to be executed so that the character is not re-written posthumously, after the writer's death. You can of course buy the copyright from the original writer. There is an author by the name of Tilly Bagshawe, who bought the copyright from Sidney Sheldon and has apparently written sequels to his books – Azira101phale6 years ago
Perhaps the fact that more passion goes in to writing a novel due to creating images with words and therefore more work is done to create these images. Whereas, with development in technology and the ability to visualize images there is always room for improvement with films. – Indigo Jones6 years ago
This would be an interesting thought piece, for sure. I think books have the advantage of allowing readers to make their own movies in their heads, so we don't need or want remakes as much. Each director can have his/her own vision for how a movie should look, sound, etc., and each one is free to portray that vision.
This doesn't cover plots, though. If Stephen King rewrote The Lord of the Rings, it might end with Frodo cowering in a corner muttering "my precious" as Sam stands over him tearfully. As I said, an interesting thought piece. I would definitely enjoy reading this. – noahspud6 years ago
It is not as silly as it sounds. Victorian historical romances are exactly as they titled, they are romance stories set in Victorian England, but are written by modern authors and tend to feature modern sensibilities, such as the right to choices, agency for women, the right to work, but still have aspects of the period such as passivity, manners and gender responsibilities. Urban fantasy are stories set in distinctly urban locales that incorporate the presence of supernatural forces. They also tend to feature strong female leads, moralistic messages and evoke the essence of city life.
The Victorian era was actually the period of the emergence of city literature, with great works by Charles Dickens that captured the new industrial London. It was a period too when superstitious beliefs and the beginning of science-fiction with Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' and Robert Louis Stevenson's novella 'Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.' It was a period that saw much of its literature immersed into the urban. This is a central concern of urban fantasy, and with the suggested supernatural interactions into the city that highlight the anxiety and fear present in the modern city, as captured beautifully in Bram Stoker's 'Dracula,' it is unsurprising that contemporary authors are still so captivated with using this as a setting.
As such a new mash-up genre has emerged that is not yet named but is basically 'Historical Victorian Urban Fantasy Romance' genre – terrible name but a descriptive working title. Key authors in this field have been C. J. Archer with her series 'Glass and Steele,' and 'The Ministry of Curiosities.' Both feature strong female leads that must navigate through the streets of London on a series of adventures, with magics and supernatural forces surrounding them. Another is Colleen Gleason's series 'The Gardella Vampire Hunters,' which focuses on Victoria, the most recent hunter called to hunt the vampires of London and Europe.
This new genre deserves further discussion and a closer examination.
Thanks for bringing up this idea! I saw this movie "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies", another of such mash up fiction. I absolutely enjoyed the film. It's interesting to see how such Victorian canonical texts constituting primed-up characters are usually mashed up with supernatural creatures. Also, you have strong female leads taking the front pitch against the invasion of supernatural creatures, so you have a feminist undertone to it. – Azira101phale6 years ago
Analyse and inform why there is such a success in the main characters who are usually supposed to be the "good" guys, but it tends to be better when they have their own flaws as well. Old fiction books and television shows tended to portray the "perfect" protagonist with all virtues. Now, there seems to be more success when it's not always black or white ("bad" vs. "good")
Can you give some examples please? – SaraiMW6 years ago
Maybe its because the perfect protagonist doesn't provide any tension. In order to generate obstacles, and having a character who is perfect won't provide this. – vmainella6 years ago
Rick from Rick and Morty is a good example of this. Despite his negative qualities he and at times abusive treatment of his family he truly cares about them. In a lot of ways that is one the reasons why he is the Rickest Rick because he has not completely stopped caring about his family. – Blackcat1306 years ago
In general, all characters have flaws - even the characters that are deemed as "good" guys. Well developed characters just have more development as a whole and thus more development to their flaws. Some examples to multidimensional protagonists are Deadpool and Batman - both characters have defining traits that make them heroic and flawed. For this topic, it would help having an example of a "black and white" protagonist to compare or juxtapose against a "gray" protagonist. – jay6 years ago
Fine idea, but it needs a sharper thesis. Compare modern day villains to older, mustache twirly ones? There was a good video essay on Wisecrack about this recently, about the need for morally complex villians in a more morally complex age. Article should at least touch on the 90's antihero architype. Major problem is idea is too general, needs either a modern focus or a historical focus. – ecoriell16 years ago
I am very interested in writing about how punk rock and literature intersect. I feel like both are mediums where its artists continually question the answer. I think about literary characters that are punk rock. For me the brooding indignation of Byron's manfred is very punk rock because he tries to forge his own path despite the offered help of others. Expatriates like Hemingway's Fredric Henry don't just blindly follow orders or fight for the sake of fighting, but question why there is fighting to begin with.
Don't forget to either consider this through the lens of an applied reading, ie. applying the emerged concepts of 'punk rock' to previous literature; or perhaps more interestingly look at where 'punk rock' has drawn its themes and characteristics from previous authors/artists that challenged social norms.
But yes I agree this could be a lot of fun. – SaraiMW6 years ago
You definitely need a definition of "punk rock" here to frame your discussion: are you discussing music? Punk style? Punk ideology (how would you delineate this?)? Maybe bleed into cyberpunk? Either way, fun stuff! – Heather Lambert6 years ago
Analyse Brandon Sanderson's laws of magic and talk about their growing popularity among modern fantasy literature. Contrast his laws of magic with other stories that feature magic (Harry Potter, LOTR, the Inheritance Cycle) and consider the pros and cons of having a "hard" or "soft" system of magic.
Boredom is invariably portrayed in both film and literature as something that is painful or to be avoided at all costs. Are there any positive portrayals of boredom? What is it about boredom that hurts us so much? Is there something useful in being bored and, if so, how would that be portrayed and made entertaining to a reader or cinema goer?
Hmm, this is an interesting topic that is not typically discussed. When describing the term boredom, you need to provide a working definition to avoid is misconception as melancholy, depression, etc. I think this is a pretty interesting topic...I hope someone does take this! You have provided some insight, but also enough room for vast expansion and explication of a "mood" not discussed in a manner isolated from a possible state of depression, grief, mood disorder, etc.
– danielle5776 years ago
Good points. Thanks. I definitely had in mind something distinct from mental states of depression, grief, etc., I think whoever took on this article would have to navigate both carefully and sensitively the conflation of boredom with depictions of melancholy. Then again, would these types of depiction be all that different? I'm not sure. Maybe there's something to explore there. Personally, I would lean toward exploring positive representations of boredom. The only person I've read that approaches this is David Foster Wallace in 'The Pale King'. – JM6 years ago
Just reading this makes me realize that I've seen people act bored in a movie or TV show and not really thought about it. How it matters to the development of a story might be interesting or even if there have been changes in how it is presented over time. – Joseph Cernik6 years ago