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*glares sternly at you* @dragon-snapper I’ll put up with you melting chairs and phone, but people, especially elves, is a definite NO!!!! Got it???
@ethryndal I suggest getting fire proof clothing… dragons can be a bit unpredictable.@bluejay That sounds really interesting! I hope we are able to find it.
@dragon-snapper Both, actually. I have a strange memory.
@bluejay I’m going to assume that Elven cloaks are fireproof as well as everything else. 🙂INTJ ➸Your friendly neighborhood mastermind. ➸https://thesarcasticelf.wordpress.com/
@dragon-snapper Now it’s my turn to apologize for not replying… *apologizes* It’s been like a month, right? See that’s how bad I procrastinate. My only excuse is designing my newly launched blog (click here to see it) so that it doesn’t look horrid. Oh, and check it out and tell me if it looks horrid. So I’ll write a really long post to make up for it all. Okay . . . here goes.
So I understand your viewpoint and I’m asking you to change it. I’m trying to . . . I’ll get to that later. Anyway, romances are normally part of films for younger people probably because of the relatability of it all. Almost everyone (and especially teens) has felt the feeling of romance, so it’s highly relatable. On another more realistic level, love is universal. Family and friendship count as love. So even romance is understand by the one who has never felt it.
Romance draws and captures the mind because of the reader-character bond. Romance has a certain risk to it (mainly the risk of being rejected) which plays well to the reader since the reader empathizes with the character and has (potentially) felt the same way. That’s why romance works better than action (in most cases). People have experienced romance. They haven’t experienced a touch of death. Combined with a reader-character bond, you can play it to your advantage. The bond is also strengthened by the whole falling in love thing. When a character begins to like another character immensely, the reader will like that character too (because of the reader-character bond). Then your reader really empathizes with two characters. And that’s a plus.
Romance also has a high potential for conflict. The reason why love triangles are so popular is because of the conflict factor. You have three people at odds with each other because they don’t want to be. The conflict is especially high between the two leads because they like each other, but are against each other because of the other person. With that comes the problem: the love triangle has only so many things that can happen. In order, for something to be original you have to switch up/combine settings and characters and even the premise.
Even without the love triangle the conflict can be sky high. If the two leads are both going for the same (or separate) goals, their relationship can get scratched as they try to get those goals. This also plays well with the two greatest qualities ever: forgiveness and sacrifice. Because of those multiple goals (a good relationship vs. whatever your protag is going for) you may have to sacrifice one of those goals. Also, the chance for forgiveness plays well with the sacrifice because the other person might hate the choice the other makes.
Romance is also great ground for great characters. Romance can create and bring up the emotional baggage a great character has. Riding the conflict wave, the genre is great for showing a character more fully. Because only great conflict can show true character. Put someone on the hot seat and you’ll see who they really are. Combine that with a reader-character bond, and you have a stronger story. It’s better to bond with a fully realizes character than a half-cooked one, correct?
Now I’m not telling you to like the genre. You can still hate it, but you shouldn’t reject it. There are to many great stories in this genre. Think Casablanca, Romeo & Juliet, Pride & Prejudice. These are stories that do the romance genre justice! And in order to learn craft, I like to immerse myself in every broad genre (notice the word broad because some minor genres are really messed up). That’s why I read sci-fi even though I’m prejudiced against anything in space. I try to see Westerns even though I think they’re severely limited. And I try to understand horror even though it can be real creepy. However, every genre has something useful to learn. Sci-fi is great for it’s immersive quality. Westerns are great for their conflict-rife setting. Horror is awesome for understanding great (and horrible) villains. And that’s only what I’ve noticed. There’s so much more to be learned! Basically what I’m saying is this: Don’t love the genre. Understand it.
Part two (musicals) coming soon
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
@dragon-snapper Musicals
For me, I’d classify musicals in a genre of their own. In the same way that it’s normal for the fantastical to appear in fantasy and the bizarre to appear in horror, in musicals it’s normal for people to sing and dance spontaneously. That’s something that actual critics (as in the ones who get paid to criticize) need to realize. Musicals are a separate genre in the same way that superhero movies are in a separate genre. Many who are critical of musicals can’t identify with the genre and that’s why they think musicals are bad.
One reason why I like musicals is just because of the musical element. You see, the one advantage that music has over story is its universal nature. When anyone hears a certain type of music they feel something no matter their background or culture. Of course their background/culture can affect their perception of the music, however, the music still incites the general emotional response in every listener. Story doesn’t have that advantage. Story is affected by a person’s history much more than music is. That’s because story is dependent on the harmony between the audience and the storyteller’s worldview. The theme of a story (aka what the story is trying to communicate) is dependent on what the audience’s worldview is (not just the storyteller’s). However, music taps into the nature of the audience. It doesn’t depend on the person’s viewpoint. To put it simply: babies dance to music, but they can’t understand a drama. 🙂
Because of the ubiquitous nature of music, they can incite an emotional response a lot better than traditional films. Films depend on soundtracks for the musical element while musicals can bring the music to the forefront. You hear the music more fully and can identify what the character is singing about better. Combine the power of music with the fact that the songs (or the best ones) are normally placed on major turning points in the film and BAM! You get one great movie. Think Phatom of the Opera.
I also love the way that musicals can use the music for more effective subtext. Like you got a musical theme for this character (played in minor). They sing it when they’re normally sad/hopeless. As the movie progresses the song, which has identified them throughout the movie, slowly fades away and is replaced with a song that has the same musical DNA but is in the major key and is overall happier. That is a musical progression that also symbolizes the character’s journey. Or you could simply use it to bring back memories. A theme song for a character in her innocence can be sung at the end (after all their hardships which has turned her harsh) which harks back to a time when she wasn’t so tainted by the world. Or you could pair themes. A song about ambition could share the musical DNA with the character’s theme. A song about love could share the same musical DNA as another character’s theme. Paint your characters however you want, but the audience subconsciously sees that one is ambitious and the other is looking for love. This can also work as a foreshadowing device. As you can see, I think this is one of the strongest aspects of musicals.
Musicals are able to help the audience remember the movie more. I mean, come on, you even remember songs that you hate. And if you make a song very earwormy, that can make the audience remember the movie better which impacts them more. That’s why the success of most musicals vary depending on the music. Create great music and combine it with a great story and you got a winner. Combine a great story with poor music and you may fail.
So as with romances, I’m not asking you to change your preferences. Just understand the genre.
Postscript on backlash: Yeah, I do this too sometimes. Anyways, I’ve been following the awards season in Hollywood and what has been really fascinating to me is the backlash against La La Land. Now I haven’t seen the movie, but I understand that it is a musical romance and that it is the overall favorite. It tied the Academy Awards record for most nominations by a single film (14) and had a record breaking seven wins at the Golden Globes. Obviously, this movie is not mediocre.
However, there are people who have this viewpoint. They say that it’s racist (white-savior cliche), sexist (the girl isn’t as fully developed about the guy), and a bad musical (the leads aren’t professional dancers or singers). Now I can’t judge those people (because I haven’t seen the movie), but what’s interesting is that those scathing reviews came out almost a month after the movie was in theaters. The movie debuted at the Venice Film Festival (in August) to universal praise. It was released in theaters in December. The bad reviews came three weeks after. So why the delay in harsh reviews? The answer: backlash.
There’s a certain pride in putting something down, right? I loved hating Frozen (if you know what I mean). It’s so much better to be on the attacking side and the defending side. The pride of berating something is rooted deeply in our sinful human nature. And then there’s the skepticism. When there’s something universally praised we usually think, “Something can’t be that good, can it?” So we nitpick. Focus on the few flaws. Enlarge them. Then launch an attack. That’s the mental process behind backlash. It’s a rebellion against the commonnly held belief.
And it’s sort of trendy, right? I mean it’s pretty cool to be in the small group of people who are wiser than everyone else. “I see the flaws that everyone is blind to. I’m more refined.” It’s great, right? Or maybe not. So before you criticize something, wonder if it is actually bad or if you’re just participating in the trendy backlash. I mean, maybe Frozen wasn’t that bad after all . . .
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PPS Frozen was actually really bad 😛I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
A theme song for a character in her innocence can be sung at the end (after all their hardships which has turned her harsh) which harks back to a time when she wasn’t so tainted by the world.
@Mark-Kamibaya I see what you did there… 😉Glad somebody noticed 🙂 I’ll try to get to your thread about love triangles. Haven’t read anything on there yet, but I noticed there were a lot of people who posted so it should be great.
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
@mark-kamibaya
Well, I’ll try to understand both point of views. I do see how it can be good in a way. Otherwise the movie would be an utter failure, whatever it is. Still, I can’t stand these modern love triangles.
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Yes, Frozen was bad. 😛☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
@dragon-snapper Great!
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
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This thread died . . . but I want it to live again! From now on, this thread is about the favorite (or not so favorite) movies you’ve recently seen be it in a theater or in your home. Basically, movie reviews!!! If you want to rave about an awesome movie you’ve seen or want to warn others to stay away from a certain movie, then here’s the place to do it. Just take each movie review with a grain (or a fourth of a grain) of salt. Everybody’s standards are slightly different, though I believe that we are all Christians wanting to glorify God in everything we do. And that includes watching movies.
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
So for starters can someone do a rogue one review? Haven’t seen it and I want to know what you all think.
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
Favourite movies: The Lord of the Rings trilogy (most accurate movies based off books, despite not being able to fit everything.
Least favourite: Frozen (‘Let it Go’ killed me) and the Star Wars prequels (horrible).
@mark-kamibaya Rogue One was actually really good. I won’t spoil anything (although it’s probably quite obvious who dies…). K2SO is definitely the funniest, most sarcastic droid ever to appear in Star Wars – my new favourite character."Not all who wander are lost."
Wild Australian. INXJ.@anyone
I’ll do some reviews!
I don’t think anyone has reviewed the movie Minions yet. All I have to say about it is…it shouldn’t even be a movie. The beginning was okay, but then you wonder where the original plot went and the main characters are far more annoying than they are amusing. My advice: don’t waste your time watching it. The Despicable Me movies are so much more entertaining and they actually have interesting characters.Another of the worst movies I’ve seen in a very long while (I apologize for the negative reviews, but these are just my opinions) is The Secret Life of Pets. Granted, I did not watch the entire movie simply because I felt like vomiting. The characters were very bland and everything moved so quickly that half the time you had no idea what was happening. My advice: DON’T WATCH IT.
Now for a positive review. I recently saw Miracles from Heaven. I was very impressed. It was so powerful and moving. I cried multiple times. WATCH IT.
AND….I am very excited for Beauty and the Beast! It has an awesome cast and looks very well done. Cannot wait to see it. 🙂
K, I’m done.
A dreamer who believes in the impossible...and dragons. (INFJ-T)
@mark-kambiaya
Sorry, I haven’t seen Rogue One yet, either. I don’t have a lot of favorite movies, so I’ll be watching this thread for recommendations.So movies. One that comes to mind is How to Train Your Dragon. I just love this because of Hiccup and Toothless’s relationship. It is interesting that Hiccup doesn’t undergo any major change (flat character arc) as he’s the mediator between humans and dragons. And as I think about it, Astrid represents all of the Vikings. She’s got that fight-kill thickheaded personality, and rejects Hiccup. But she still goes further in rejecting him when everyone else finally accepts him, which makes her transformed view even better. And it goes to show something that’s missing in a lot of movies nowadays: Everyone was wrong, not just the adults. The teen girl had messed up ideas too.
And I just keep listening to the soundtrack. Personally, it’s my favorite soundtrack ever as a whole, with LotR coming close behind.
As for an older one: Life is Beautiful.
It’s an Italian movie with English subtitles, and one of the few movies that has made me cry. A witty, fast-talking Jewish man falls in love with and marries a girl he met. A few years later, during WWII, he, his little boy, and his wife are taken to a concentration camp. He keeps his boy from getting killed with the other children, and shields him from the terrors of the camp by keeping an optimistic sense of humor and working out ingenious ways to hide his son. It has amazing character development and has you laughing and crying throughout.Read to explore worlds, write to create them.
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