Yet more random thoughts

[seriousfic]

Why are all urban fantasy heroes private investigators of some sort? Why not a wedding planner? Sounds easy, but imagine having to cater the wedding of a werewolf and a vampire. You just know trying to host a werewolf pack and a vampire coven in the same reception would be high-larious.

And the plots come up with themselves. Imagine an elf who wants to marry a Tam Lin-type character, or a gay vampire marriage. You think homophobia is bad now, imagine how it would be with vampires who were born when homosexuality was considered a satanic plot.

Plus, gay vampire marriage is fun to say. In fact, I think it'd make a good title.

Gay Vampire Marriage!

Comments

[runa27.livejournal.com]

Doesn't mean it can't be done well, or that it can't still be entertaining.

I mean, just because Harry Dresden roughly fits a long-used archetype since roughly the 1930s or '40s, does not make the books any less enjoyable to me. It's the actual plots and writing that counts, not how OMG ORIGINAL the premise is if you're summing it up in a single sentence. Remember: "original" is not the same thing as "good". I'm pretty sure the sparkling vampires of a certain series quite succinctly summarize this point. ;)

This is particularly true when you realize that at their core, almost every story concept and character concept that COULD have been done, already has been... generally for thousands of years. What you describe as supposedly "original" in the main post even has a name if you ignore only the fantastical aspect of it: "slice of life". And that's been done for at LEAST a few centuries, probably longer. The only difference is that now you want to add fantasy elements... just like Buffy really just took the concept of a Chosen One and swapped the usual gender role on it, just like urban fantasy in general is just urban fiction with fantasy elements, just like Firefly is just a Western in space, just like antiheroes and flawed heroes date back at least to the Epic of Gilgamesh... oh, you get the idea, I'm sure. There is nothing new under the sun, trust me; all modern stories are just variants of old story types, all of the "original" ones or ones that seem to have sprung up in the 18th or 19th or 20th or 21st centuries, really at heart, just a mashup of then-popular concepts with ones from stories and legends that have been enjoyed for millenia. Sorry, but being that I love stories, folklore, history, thus have an idea of how technically repetitive it all is when you get right down to it... can't help but feel that that simple fact means that judging it on a one-line description that happens to OMG SOUND VAGUELY CLICHE = somewhat ridiculous.

After all, again I point out that the only part of the summary of Twilight that inherently tells you it will be irredeemably awful, would be the "and the vampires sparkle in the sun, except it's not treated as a gag" bit. Which arguably is the least "cliche" (copied) aspect of the entire series. ;)

Keep in mind, cliches become cliches only because they are somehow popular; and things that are popular only become so because a lot of people decided they liked them. At some point in the past, every cliche surely seemed completely original, or failing that, at least true to the emotional experience or fantasies of human beings. Can you really blame writers for wanting to write something of a type that they and their readers happen to like? Because... if so, I imagine you'll have quite a bit of trouble finding much entertainment that meets your extraordinarily high standards. ;)

[shanejayell.livejournal.com]

*thumbs up*

Seconded. Also, nice to see another Dresden files fan. :)

[seriousfic.livejournal.com]

I'm just saying that, within the field of urban fantasy, paranormal investigators have been done to death. Now that's not a problem if you define urban fantasy as something like "paranormal noir" in the broader field of sci-fi/fantasy, but if you want it to cover everything from Neil Gaiman to Mr. Miracle, then I start wondering how many writers genuinely have something to say and how many are just trying to be the next LKH. I'm not trying to be Garth Ennis with superheroes, I'm just scratching my chin and wondering why no one wants to do anything different. Of course, I also wonder why every Doctor Who episode has to come around to some alien monster making trouble... it doesn't stop me from enjoying them when they're well-done.

Of course, I could be a little bitter based on just how much UF sets up a paranormal investigator, then spends most or all of the book's running time on his or her personal life/problems/vendettas. I mean, so long as you're not using their job to impact the story, why not make them something outside the norm? I'd be much more interested in seeing the host of a cooking show (fine, "for werewolves") deal with an exorcism than a highly skilled "magical Navy SEAL".