Oh, I have a YouTube Blog BTW…
Thanks to working two jobs, living in three cities at once (Chicago, Champaign, & Streamwood), and struggling to become proficient in my two newest languages (French and Japanese) for my job. I hardly have time to be my creative, socially critical, technologically active self. So that’s why I haven’t been writing blogs often or checking my FB, well I limit my FB checking anyway, because I fully believe Facebook can (and is) easily used for evil or to drive yourself crazy. My tumblr stats are at 0 right now, but its all cool. Because all of this crazy running around transition stuff is going to pay off in a big way. I keep reading Jeremiah 29:11, yes I’m a Christian, no I’m not holier than thou. My faith just works for me, and yes I believe in Evolution and the Big Bang…I hope all your stereotypes don’t collapse at once…because I also refer to myself as human not as a race, I listen to indie rock, and I don’t speak in ebonics. UH OH.
Anyway, I have a YouTube channel, I mean who doesn’t these days? I thought I share it…that’s all. The videos are not interesting. I’m awkward. I’m boring. I just make them b/c I can and I have freedom of speech, and freedom to be hoplessly dorkish. Hopefully someday I’ll have interesting things to say and do for people to watch, and I also hope not to cut off my eyes in the video next time. Ciao!
Support is Needed!!!
Hey everyone! This November 20-22, I’ll be competing in the Miss Illinois USA pageant!!! I’m a finalist!! You can check out my YouTube Page to watch videos of me just talking about the process. I was recently Top 5 at the Miss Northern Sweeps Pageant which is a preliminary to Miss Illinois in the Miss America system. So I have experience to back me up at this upcoming competition. However, I need your help…
Each contestant is required to raise money to compete, at least $1100.00. So if you can help me out that would be great. The money goes to my stay at the Hyatt Regency McCormick place, as well as scholarship and prizes for the winning contestant. You can donate as much as you like and if you leave your name I will credit you as a supporter.
Check out my website to leave a Donation: http://sites.google.com/site/starshine13/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Dominica1
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DominicaStrong
Facebook: www.facebook.com/starshine13
Thanks in Advance!!!
Wanna Cry Tears of Joy? Read this:
David and Elizabeth are two people I’ve never met. But I sure do hope the best for them, and God bless, because their story is too cute for words. Ahh wedded bliss…
btw…read their story page…its so sweet.
Protected: Gidget the Remake a.k.a. Hairspray 2 or High School Musical Part More Than One is Too Many
Protected: Most Attractive Young Person I Have Platonic Feelings Toward…
Transformers Deux: Revenge of the Stereotypes + The Princess & Frog…OH NOES!!!
Skids & Mudflap, I have no clue which is which, ask an 11 year old.
Jive-talking twin Transformers raise race issues <—Here’s an article on the twin robots.
I know its a little late, and no one has been talking about the newest Transformers flick like I expected. But I guess that could be because the film wasn’t what anyone expected. I know I was hoping to be blown away by the robots, Megan Fox, and the plot. Megan was hot as usual, but not extra hot like I hoped. The plot was a little weak and felt lightly held together. The robots however, were funny, and probably the best part. (I still love you Megan, but the robots are something we must discuss) However, some people got upset. Someone is always going to get upset over something, right?
So, what’s wrong with the robots? They are insult to BLACK PEOPLE!!! That’s what!!!! LOL, well, to some black people I guess. Not me, but then again I’m devoted to being considered as an individual human being, not a color, so I no longer classify myself according to race. Anyway, some people, white and black are upset, claiming that the twin robots, Skids and Mudflap, are caricatures of black people.
So are they? When Jar-Jar Binks debuted in Star Wars a lot of people said the same thing about him as well. Well? What is it? Are these characters just comic relief? Or are they something more sinister? Duh Duh Duhhhhh……
Comic relief, that’s all they are. In the case of Jar Jar, terribly annoying comic distress that should have never been created, regardless of anything, as the character just takes away from Star Wars period. Skids and Mudflap are at least funny. I laughed, but I don’t agree that they are negative stereotypes of black people. First of all they are all alien robots, so if they have race then it makes more sense to categorize them by make and model than by the skin color of a species they are not related to. Still, one of my guy friends admitted that he envisioned ALL the robots as being black, including Optimus Prime. Not for any particular reason, he just did. That’s fine, I think as people when we see talking objects we do ascribe some human physical characteristics to them. Look at Beauty and the Beast and the talking furniture and stuff. Even though they were objects we still saw their human forms somehow through that.
Still I don’t see the twins as stereotypes. Why? First of all why is it that speaking with poor grammar, ignorance, and making crude jokes is automatically associated with blackness and seen as a black type? There are plenty of people White, Latino, Asian that speak with the same mannerisms and patterns as Mudflap and Skids. So I am offended that people assume a connection between these characters actions and any one group of people. Similarly with the word Nigger. Nigger in the dictionary means ignorant. Yes, there are negative historical connotations between this word and those of African descent in this country. However, in order to move forward we should stop giving the word power by no longer seeing it as associated with Black. Rather it should only be associated with its first intended meaning, ignorance. And that is how I feel about that word. I have friends that use the word in front of me, white friends and black friends who use it amongst each other. Does it bother me? No. Because, yes I have ancestors who were African and ancestors who were slaves, but am I or them ignorant? No, so why should the word affect me? It doesn’t because I don’t associate it with myself or anyone I consider my own. Really, the sad part, the offensive part of all these things, the derogatory terms and stereotypes, is not within themselves. It’s in the fact that we still associate them with a specific group of people and assume that they represent in some way a part of that group’s culture. We need to realize that there are Mudflaps and Skids of all colors in real life. That using slang and listening to Hip-hop music is not something that only & all Black people do, and these characters if human could look like anyone. Same with the word Nigger. It means ignorant. There are ignorant people of all shades and backgrounds. Hey, in a sense we are all ignorant in some way, as none of us know everything.
Also Optimus said in the first Transformers that they learned our language and Culture through the World Wide Web. It looks to me like Mudflap and Skids took extra lessons on Kevin Federline not Black people.
On a similar note, Disney’s new animated feature to come out later this year, The Princess & the Frog is stirring some controversy. Disney thought it would be a good move to release a film with the first African-American princess during the term of America’s first African-American President. (Ugh I hate the term African-American…and Black neither are accurate, more on that another day) They assumed African-Americans would rally behind the film especially during this time. Well some people are upset and not showing the support Disney assumed.
It all started with names. The princess was originally named Maddy short for the French name Madeleine because the film is set in the French Quarter of New Orleans in the 1920s. People complained and called the name racially insensitive, that it was too close to “Mammy” a character made famous by Hattie McDaniel in Gone With the Wind, who is considered a stereotype. Plus the new princess was originally a maid, and this all together was seen as giving African-American’s a second class place in society. Personally I liked Maddy more than Tiana, the name they have now, Tiana sounds more like what people would assume to be a “Black” name than Maddy. I have a friend named Maddy, she’s one of the cutest girls I’ve ever known. Maybe that’s why I liked it, because the associations I have in my head are different and positive. (Again we need to stop associating certain things together.) I can see people getting upset over the Princess being a maid originally. Then again, Cinderella and Snow White were both housekeepers/maids in their films. So its not like she would have been the only Princess to have lower class beginnings. In fact it’s actually a frequently used theme through out literature: that the nobility/royalty of the hero/heroine is able to shine through their perceived social status (as in you know there is something special about them) & they are eventually given their rightful place at the head of society. The bible uses it in the stories of King Saul and King David, Shakespeare used it in many of his plays like A Winter’s tale for instance. Other Disney princesses had humble beginnings as well. Belle is just an inventor’s daughter for example and Mulan are not initially royalty. So assuming Disney was going to have this new princess rise to the top in the end, her beginnings don’t bother me. Our country is built on rags to riches stories. Personally I feel more connection to characters who start out at the bottom, being anointed by something higher, either God or a fairy godmother, they are chosen to rise and be successful. That’s who I am. I girl at the bottom who wants to reach the top. So I like stories like Cinderella & Beauty and the Beast. I think a lot of people can connect to that feeling. So the maid thing was no biggie to me.
Another name change was the title of the film from The Frog Princess to The Princess & the Frog. Some people were offended by the first AA princess being Froggy I guess. Still, it makes sense they changed it. I think the original tale is called The Princess & the Frog, but since Tiana turns into a frog herself in the movie Disney at first changed the words around. She still turns into a frog so she’s still a frog princess regardless.
Now there’s a problem with Prince Naveen. First off let me say this: When I saw the trailer I thought Prince Naveen was Creole. Meaning a person descendant of French and/or Spanish settlers, Native American, and African peoples. Plus he’s voiced by a Brazilian actor, Bruno Campos. However, Angela Bronner Helm from the website Black Voices said this: “…Disney obviously doesn’t think a black man is worthy of the title of prince. I guess Sasha and Malia and all the other little black girls out there should just shut up and be thankful to have something! Little black boys will have to wait another 20 years.” Wait, so Prince Naveen is not Black or even part? How, and did Disney say this? Because he doesn’t look white to me. I like the way he looks, because, well let me be honest…because unlike Princess Tiana he looks like me. Yeah, its all good that Disney is putting out a Princess of African descent. Sweet. But, uh I don’t look like her. And still the only princess I look like most is Jasmine. So when I saw Prince Naveen I thought “Hey! This is cool not only are they making a Black princess, but they made her prince represent another shade of Black too!! Finally they see we aren’t all brown.” There’s nothing wrong with brown, my sister is brown, my mom is brown. I am not, I’m tan or olive. My grandma is olive, her brother has blue eyes, and one of her cousins has sandy blonde hair. Yep. Black people come in all colors including blonde hair and blue eyed folks. Some of them even lied and passed for white back in the day, hey I would too if it saved my life. Heres a photo of Prince Naveen and one of myself, white… I don’t think so:
Me, little black me.
P. Naveen & P. Tiana, I don't see anyone white in this picture
So yeah, I disagree that Naveen is White, I guess I’m biased but I think he looks great. Oooh we’re even kinda smiling the same too with all our teeth out. I think its unfair for anyone to assume that all Black people can be represented by one shade of brown. I will never look like Tiana, Prince Naveen looks like me. So what, would I not be seen as Black by the world? I doubt it, I don’t think anyone is going to say I’m white. Also there are black men who look like Naveen. My friend Brian Tyson looks like him, and he’s loves being black more than anyone I know and his preferred shade of woman? Chocolate. I’d love to hear what he would say if someone told him he was white.
But even if Disney comes out and says: Prince Naveen is White, then what exactly is bad about that? Are we really going to sit here and say that it suddenly means we don’t think Black men are good enough? You’re kidding me right? How often in film and media have there been pairings of Black men and White women? A lot more than Black Women with White men. You can count the times you’ve seen that. Let’s see, there’s the film Something New and the new Star Trek film, oh and Guess Who with Ashton Kutcher. Yes I’m sure there are others, but more often in media and in real life you see Black men with White women than Black Women with White Men. Its still so rare in media and life that I’ve have black girls and white guys ask for my advice on it. A girl friend of mine flat out asked me “How do you get a white guy to like you? I would date one, but it seems so few men period think black women are attractive.” I was upset when she said this. Its like black women are viewed as lesser than and undesirable even by black men. I know this is getting less so as time goes forward, that the standard of beauty is getting wider and wider. However, still there’s this idea held by both groups (white & black) that Black women prefer Black men. It makes it difficult for either party to cross the line. Also its annoying when no one is too suprised to see a Black man and White women, but if I’m with a white guy I get harrassed. Not fair. The most outrageous time this happened I was out with a guy I liked, who was white, and some guys questioned me saying how could I do this to black men? I simply turned to the bar pointed out a black guy and white girl and said “The same way that guy is doing it to black women, so ask him first.” I date whoever I find attractive. If you’re cute and nice, that’s all I need to start getting to know you, ask anyone.
Also are we suddenly against interracial relationships? Can only Blacks love Blacks? I just don’t see the problem with Naveen if he is White, still I don’t agree that he is.
One of the last critisisms I found comes from William Blackburn “…story is set in New Orleans, the setting of one of the most devastating tragedies to beset a black community” he felt the choice of this setting was insensitive according to wikipedia. WTF? So now only Black people live in New Orleans. The whole situation was tragic for everyone, black and white, who lived there. Luckily this story is set in 1920 and not 2005. So we can see some of New Orleans’ rich history even if it is in cartoon form. How much more should or can Disney change about this movie? How much are people going to ask them to apologize for? What sorta movie do people want to see? Two chocolate colored people, not in New Orleans, with names like Jai’breon and Shontecia? Although I doubt in 1920 those names even existed. Everyone back then had old people names like Arthur and Mildred, you can look on SSA.com its true. Black people are not all brown, they have boring old names like Mildred too, some were chambermaids in the homes of rich whites in the 1920 because unfortunately there were less opportunites for us then, my great-grandparents where share croppers in Mississippi, so to me if they had kept Princess Tiana, Princess Maddy the Chambermaid it would have been ok. If they wanted to change the story then I think they should have picked a real life affluent black family’s story from the 1920s to pull from and shown contrast to the typical struggle of blacks we see typically. I guess you could argue that Disney could have remade a different fairy tale where no one turns in to an animal, and filled in the princess with brown ink, and the kingdom would be difficult to place like the Kingdoms in Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella, a kingdom somewhere far away and distant and non-existent. I think Disney trying to be uber sensitive instead of telling a story may make this movie suck, and take any magic and joy out of it. Also Naveen is not White!!!!!! If anything his name sounds Middle-Eastern like the actor Naveen Andrews from LOST…aka the best show ever to exist.
Oh Yeah…That’s Why I Don’t Watch TV.
Because there’s NOTHING good on. Kings, on NBC is being cancelled. How come when an original breath of fresh air, different, thought provoking show comes on…it dies? LOST is really lucky to be on the air, and its really the only thing on Television that I’ve been able to consistantly enjoy. Kings was a retake on the story of David from the Bible. It was really cool regardless of you religion or lack there of. Because it took this ancient series of events and placed them here in our time. It was really novel how they handled the themes and issues set forth in such an old text and made it current for today’s audience. Besides there is a LOT of DRAMA in the Bible, and David has a lot going on in his life. From being the youngest son of a shepard (in the show a war veteran/farmer), to being anointed as a king by your country’s most recognized religious leader/prophet, then serving at the right hand side of the current King Saul, to being a war hero, saving the king’s son, Jonathan, who you then begin a very interesting intimate relationship with, to running from King Saul b/c he wants to kill you, then finally…finally becoming king yourself. Yeah…I’m sure there’s no action there…None. So I’m sad. A really cool show was shut down. For what? So NBC could make room for their new show: Get Me Out of Here I’m a Celebrity, starring Spencer and Heidi and other people I don’t care about? Crap. Kings isn’t the first tragic casualty of Television. Pushing Daisy’s and The Black Donnelly’s were two really clever shows that were also ended. So what does that mean? Have Americans become too simple minded to endure entire seasons of entertainment that require them to think, or be witty, or have too much creativity. Have we dumbed ourselves down so much by reality television, that they only shows we can stand for long periods of time are The Hills, I Love Money, and whatever the name of that stupid show to date Ray-J was? I’m scared. Now I’m wondering if people even realize that the names of the characters from LOST have philisophical meaning or if everyone watches the show thinking that its a reality TV version of Gilligan’s Island and that’s the only reason its still around. Isn’t anyone else sick of Reality TV, Law & Cop shows, over the top teen dramas, or Sex & the City wannabes? Can’t someone do anything original? LOST only has one more season left!!!! We’re running out of time! Pretty soon all I’ll have left is Jeopardy, the Misadventures of FlapJack, and the CareerBuilder.com commercial from the SuperBowl!!! Can we get Christopher and Jonathan Nolan to do something!?! Hey, I’ll even do something, or my brother, or the kid that wrote and directed the 20 min short film I was in last semester…anyone!!! Just not another, Bachelor, 90210, or One Tree Hill…
Speaking of The Bachelor/Bachelorette, PLEASE ABC!!!! There are awesome single non-white people out there!!!!! PLEASE FIND THEM!!!! I’m soooo sick of feeling like “Only white people can find love on primetime TV” Not that I ever watched the Bachelor…but that could be because its sooooo boring and racist!!! Just saying, I mean geez Asian, or someone with tan I’ll take anything at this point.
From Russia With Love, Let’s Do the Time Warp Again, or Terminators v. Trekkies
Yesterday, I was blessed enough to see Terminator Salvation. I’ve only recently as an adult been able to watch all of the Terminator movies (My mom didn’t let me see them as a kid or rent them (the first came out years before I was born) I don’t blame her, the Machines still freak me out; not to mention I’m very impressionable. Unlike my younger sibs, my sister for example watched The Exorcist at the age of 7 alone, at night. Nothing scares my sister, nothing.) but for a late comer to this franchise I was still really excited to see the latest installment, and overall I’m fascinated by the ideas and concepts in the Terminator series. I have to say aesthetically the film was beautiful. Sure it was dark, grey, a little washed, but somehow even with the roughness of the characters, their clothing, and their environment there was something sleek, modern, and elegant about the picture. For me that was great because as a lover of mainly action and comedy films, you don’t see such a nice combination of grit and beauty often. Now, I know a lot of women love Christian Bale because…well because he’s Christian Bale, but I’ve never been attracted to him myself, he’s just too off putting for some reason. Maybe it’s the roles I’ve seen him in over the years like the Machinist, American Psycho, and even the past two Batman films. He just scares me. And the now INFAMOUS recording of his rant on the Terminator set doesn’t help. Still I look at Bale and really enjoy his work as an artist. He’s right to be very private, and I enjoy examining him and his work as an actor. I really don’t care about his personal life. Salvation really made me see Bale’s talent. I already knew he was dedicated and good, but this did for me.
Bryce Dallas Howard was too easy to overlook. I didn’t understand why she was there. I mean I knew why, and who she was playing, but she could have just been a random medic and nothing would have suffered. The love between her character and Bale’s was pale in comparison to the interesting chemistry between Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) and Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood). Still, while Salvation was great. It could have pushed even more. Especially with these four characters. There could have been a delicate and interesting contrast and comparison played between these two couples, and the humanity that surfaces in each, and perhaps a lesson learned…speaking of lessons.
John sucks. John Connor, that is. Ok, I’m sorry he doesn’t suck. Still this loop of fate he’s stuck in got a little irritating at the end. I know Connor is supposed to be this hero, this prophesied solution. But that could be because of this loop that he himself has created and is working so hard to preserve. What is freaking point of this fatalistic loop? What good will come out it? I need to see that in order to believe in John Connor. Still, what if…I mean what if we didn’t make him the hero? I mean what if he really isn’t the answer? What if they killed their real answer when they killed Marcus Wright? I think Marcus Wright, was someone to be examined. A creation which could have unlocked themes and discussions that were only briefly flickered at in the film. I mean hello!! He was a man and a machine! There could have been some great symbolism and questions raised there. Not to mention he was born in 1975 (he states this to Connor while chained up in Connor’s resistance camp) which means in 2018 he would have been 43, but he looks about 28. (If being half machine keeps me looking 21 I’ll take it.) Which again is why I think the movie could have pushed further. I dunno…my sister and brother say I think too much too hard.
Anyway. Kyle Reese and Star (his supercute, pooh bear of a little girl best friend) were absolutely adorable. I could have done a Brangelina and adopted both of them. Except the actor playing Kyle Reese is about my age. And man is that kid, Anton Yelchin, having one of the BEST SUMMERS of his life!!!! Which leads me to, DRUMROLL please….STAR TREK!!!!
Yelchin, is also a prominent character in Star Trek, he plays Pavel Chekov, the 17 year old Russian kid who sits next to Harold…uh I mean Hikaru Sulu (John Cho) the pilot, and does stuff like randomly touch that really cool glass screen and talk into it for the captain, even though he’s harder to understand than anyone else that could have done the announcements, like maybe the captain himself. So Anton Yelchin, who is from Russia, is one lucky, lucky guy. Two big summer films at the age of 20! That’s pretty sweet.
Yelchin is not the only thing these movies have in common though. Time travel is another. However, a big difference is that instead of running in a circle of destiny, like John Connor does in Terminator, Star Trek creates a whole new history. This was a clever turn taken by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman. Why was it so smart? Think about it…I HATE Star Trek!!!! But I loved this movie. Rebooting the franchise with fresh actors and adding time-travel liberates the film and future films that may come (I hope so) from having to deal with continuity with the old films and series (which I never watched because I hated them.) So new people, like me, can enjoy this film, and those familiar with the old stuff can enjoy it as well.
What did I like most about Star Trek? The cool technology? The action? The Set Design? NO! Kirk and Spock duh. Chris Pine was initially my favorite. He’s really cute, even if he is dumb enough to fool around with Audrina from the Hills, and he did a good job being boyishly cocky in the film and hot, and funny, and hot…oh and good looking. Then…well then. I noticed Spock. Now I usually do go for the All-American types. So Kirk made sense. But Spock threw me for a loop (not a never ending John Connor loop, just a regular one) and seeing Star Trek a second time yesterday solidified his attractiveness. I think its the all emotions buried beneath the surface thing that does it for me. Its like a challenge because if you can get him to show any sort of emotion…you’ve won most of the battle…of making him your new…uh first mate, yeah. I wasn’t think bf or anything. Anyway, both movies were worth seeing (not like the The Spirit, or Revolutionary Road, or Twilight, or He’s Just Not That Into You…DO NOT SEE THOSE!!!! I’m WARNING YOU!!! Unless you like wasting precious hours of life that will NEVER return!!!)
Lastly. I cannot forget to pay tribute to Nyota Uhura, played by the beautiful Zoë Saldaña. It was AWESOME to watch one of the first major black characters in such a great position. She was hott, and it was HOTTER that both Kirk and Spock wanted her. Plus she didn’t fall into that annoying token black person area. You know how in some movies the black girl either can’t speak proper English, had to have a hard life, repeats how much she “has to keep it real”, or have an attitude, or be the mothering figure that “takes care her babies” or gives advice, or isn’t attractive to anyone. Yeah, It was great to see Uhura as just an intelligent, hot, strong character and not a caricature of some outdated stereotype.
An Answer to Your Question
So a very nice reader wrote on my entries about Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Series. She asked me a question:
Hey, just saying, that an unknown author wrote a better book than Stephenie Meyer. It was about vampires and it had humor, action, and adventure. Plus it had some of the vampire legends like fangs and no sparkling. Please email me back with your opinion of what should be in a vampire book. 
So I emailed her back and here’s what I said:
Hello,
You asked on my blog at wordpress.com what I think should be in a vampire novel. First I think there are certain elements all novels need to be good regardless of what genre they fall into. Character development and Plot development are key factors. Now, you can strike a balance between the two or you lean towards one more than the other. Some literary and graphic novels are very character driven and the plot takes the back seat. One example of this the graphic novel The Watchmen it was recently made into a not so great movie. However, the grapic novel is a masterpiece. The reason the movie was so bad is that the director tried to make the plot the major point instead of focusing on the characters like the comic does. If you choose to go this route you have to create complete, well rounded people. No one is one sided, no one is just good or bad. We’re all multifaceted and have many motives that may lead to a single goal. If you want to your book to be more about plot or what’s going on around the characters make sure that your plot is strong. Personally I feel this is more difficult than creating a character. You have to continually ask yourself why is this happening? Does this make sense? Is there anyother way these problems can be solved? What are the conficts? etc. Also with a plot driven novel, you still cannot slack on developing the characters, which is what Steph Meyers did. Her books focus more on the drama and plot, but her writing is poor because her characters are flat. I mean can you name one interest Bella has besides Edward? No. Personally the most interesting characters in the Twilight series are Alice and Jasper, and their backstory. So there’s double work with a plot driven novel you still have to have solid characters and a STRONG plot. But with a Character driven novel a weaker plot can still be successful. The plot in the Watchmen is very weak, well its very simple and a little washy, but since the focus is on the people involved its still brilliant.
I’m sorry this email is so long.
When you figure out how you’re gonna balance your characters and plot, then your major issues, themes, motifs and other literary devices usually fall into place. For example I’m writing a book (a trilogy really), and yes it has vampires but that’s a secret that you wouldn’t know until you read to the end of the first novel, anyway in my book I have very strong plot with very strong and intricate characters. Eris is a college aged girl, she’s of mixed race, she’s catholic, she has specific interests and talents. Tristan is her long lost childhood best friend. He’s white, from a very wealthy upper east side NYC family, his mother is racist and very religious also catholic. Tristan is forced by his mother to stay away from Eris and they lose touch at age 13 & after his mother’s death becomes agnostic. While at college Tristan learns that Eris has been kidnapped and eventually learns of her death. Already just from a brief look at only 2 of my characters and just a small snippet of my plot major issues and themes have surfaced. Race/Racism and Religion are the two most obvious, but there’s a lot more going on in the book that I haven’t put down, so other issues and themes arise like Aging/Death, Sexuality, Gender Roles, Class/Status, and Family
When it comes to other lit. devices like motifs, allusions, symbolism that all depends on your style. I love to layer meanings, and have clues that point to several different ideas or things at once. The Watchmen does this too, the little smiley face with the blood means a lot of things!!! Other writers prefer to be more straight forward. This may depend on your audience as well. If you’re writing for teens you may not want to get too complicated or let’s say if you were writing a politcally charged novel you might want to code things so they point to what you really mean, but also to something else to avoid offending others or being accused of slander. I have a lot of symbolism, allusions, motifs, etc. Example: Eris is the greek goddess of strife and my main character is surrounded by confict. Tristan’s name is linked to the French word Triste which means sad. Ryn another character of mine means Dragon. Also Eris is my character’s name after she changes it. Her real name is different (not giving it away) but her last name is Leigh, pronounced Lee. and her Middle name is Annabella. This an allusion to Edgar Allen Poe’s poem Annabelle Lee, which fits my story perfectly.
So I know that’s a long email, but I hope it helps!!! And thank you for reading my blog and commenting.
~Starshine
Oh, One more thing specific to Vampire Novels…sorry I forgot this.
I think in a vampire novel YOU need to create exactly what you think a vampire should be. Yes, you should research and look back on Vampire legend and folklore, but ultimately what you want to see in a vampire is what counts. My vampires are created in a very special way, and have different strengths and weaknesses than vampries created by Anne Rice, Steph Meyer, and even those that you hear about in European legend. I’ve focused on Catholic religion, and Eastern European folklore to help create my Vampires, but if you want them to fly they can or melt at will they can as long as you can back up why they can do these things. Unless your book is for young kids, who may be content with not having a why, you need to support why and maybe how your vampires are the way they are because there is already so much information on vampires out there; no Teen, Young Adult, or Adult is going to believe your vampires can melt just because you want them to. My vampires enjoy food, small amounts of it at least. I decided this because in most vampire folklore the senses of vampires are enhanced; they can see better, smell better, & are more aware of their surroundings than humans. So why would their taste be left out? So I added that and explain why. Also you mentioned humor and adventure. My book pulls alot from Gothic literature so my themes and settings are darker, but I put in some humor just so the book is palettable or easier to swallow without being depressing. So if you want vampires that go on an Indiana Jones like adventure then that’s fine, but again its all about supporting why things are happening.
~Starshine
So that’s what I sent to that commenter. I’m sorry I haven’t been writing lately I just graduated from college, and before that I was really busy. I was researching Grad Schools, Planning my Birthday/Grad party, and sadly my PawPaw (my grandpa who I miss so much) passed away which took up emotions and motivation to focus on other things. I love to hear from the few who read my blog. So thanks for checking out my page, Starshine at WordPress.com and plese continue leaving comments.
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Another Question Answered, All In A New Moon
Hey, so Anne left a question to my post “Breaking Dawn: Not Really Worth It”: I would love for you to express your point of view on this one. Why is it that every time someone writes a book about vamps they mention Twilight to compare it to?
I ask you this because my Twilight obsess friends burned my copy of my novels that had vampires in it.I feel like one cannot write about vampires because of Meyer any more. ~Anne
My Answer starts with this: Money. Meyer’s books grabbed the attention of a lot of young American readers, and what do young people have a lot of? Disposable income. The media picked up on the buzz that was going around and dollar signs filled their eye sockets. What now? Get some hot young actors for the film version so we can reel in more teen followers, and lets ride this train for as long as we can.
You see Meyer’s book isn’t that great, but it has a lot of fans. DEVOTED fans. Putting her book in the spotlight. This book is in the forefront of everyone’s minds, especially those people who are not usual followers of vampire fiction, suddenly vampires are in vogue right now and a lot of people are just now hopping on the bandwagon. Twilight is their first taste in a genre that has been a round since the late 1800’s. Therefore whenever another book about vamps is talked about or publicized the majority of people reach for Twilight to compare to because its what most people are currently familiar with. For them this vampire thing is a fad, even though authors have been writing about vamps for 150+ years. So that’s why everyone’s using Twilight as a comparison: Everyone knows about it.
An answer to your other question, I do think people can still write about vampires. In fact people are currently publishing books about vampires. Those books may be getting a boost right now thanks to Meyer. Those who are actually interested vampires will use Meyer’s work as a jumping off point to delve deeper into the other vampire stories that are out there and this will keep the genre alive. The same thing sorta happened in the 90’s when Anne Rice’s books were made into a movie. Anyone remember Interview with a Vampire? Movies like Blade, and Underworld also did the same thing. They revive interest in the fascination with vamps. The difference with Meyer is that her book was more youthful, its also simpler and targeted to a wider audience than Rice’s books which are so highly crafted they appeal to a smaller (though still big) group of people and they’re too adult because most media is geared to those between the ages of 13-24 where most of the money is made. If you’ve read or seen Interview then you might understand what I mean. It’s heavy to watch. Brad Pitt’s character is struggling with his vampirism and humanity, he loses everything close to him, and now he has to live forever alone. Its pretty deep stuff, and most 16 year olds don’t want to read 300+ pages or spend 2.5 hours on that. The movie came out when I was really really young, and I didn’t even watch it until last year when my then boyfriend, who was also older than me, made me after I told him I was writing a book with vampires. It’s a good movie, but its not fast paced or fun. It fits in with other standards of the gothic vampire genre like Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which is unique in its style and being the first of many. I think Meyer’s biggest accomplishment was lightening up the genre. She doesn’t add anything to it, but she does make it a little less stuffy and got a lot of young people reading it.
So bottom line is: People can, and should keep writing about vampires if that’s what they really want to do. Thing is this: They shouldn’t expect to be next Meyer (nor should they want to be), instead they should write their story and be true to themselves with it. However, if they do want to stand out then they should be aware that in order to do so they may have to market their work in a unique way. Me, well my book deals with major issues and uses vampires as symbolism for the human condition. Also I don’t make any mention of vampires for a while, hopefully the reader wouldn’t know it had anything to do vamps until way into the novel. Vampires are not the main point you could trade them out for say Werewolves, witches or heck even lepers! I chose vamps for aesthetic reasons. Lastly, I’m not publishing the book in my real name. So anyone I know that picks up the book wouldn’t be able to say: “Hey she said she was writing a book about vampires!” I’m marketing the book as a look at religion, crime, and racism. So obviously I think people can still write about vampires. Now you just have to be careful how you do it.
So last thing since we’re already near the topic. New Moon is coming out November 20, 2009. Super. Can’t you just feel my excitement. (sarcasm). Anyway. I heard a rumor that Gaspard Ulliel a.k.a my one true love, was going to have a part in the movie. I thought: Oh so they’re finally realizing their mistake casting unattractive Robert Pattinson. Instead I heard they were thinking of using him as Alec. First off its false folks. Gaspard knows he’s too much to play opposite Dakota Fanning (who I like a lot, but she’s like 15 and he’s 24…ehhh they’re not really blonde twins either) . Anyway ET put out 15 (really 14 secs) of the trailer. And http://www.newmoonmovie.org put up the vid on YouTube. So Here it is, all rights reserved by Summit: