So, I've been thinking about why I like the things that the I like. This started because @jasonalmenas on Twitter asked which was a better movie: Fight Club or Donnie Darko. (Fight Club, of course!) This got me thinking about literature in general for some reason (yes, movies are literature; so are many video games). There are definite literary themes and devices that are in common between all of the literature that I like the most, and I have decided to explore and discuss that here tonight!
To begin, let's look at literary theory. I studied literary theory and comparative literature during my last semesters of college, which became a requirement of all Language & Literature Department students during my Junior year. At the time, I felt these classes were going to be a waste, since I was studying a language, not literature. But as I was taking the classes, I started to realize that the ability to view literature through different "lenses" was actually very fun and useful, especially considering all the different types of literature that I regularly consume. Looking to my future as a video game designer, I am incredibly grateful for that curriculum change!
In my Comparative World Literature class, the professor would pair a piece of literature with a specific school of literary theory to teach us not only the ideas of that school, but also how to apply those principals to whatever we were reading/watching/listening to in class at the time. For example, we listened to the song "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M. in class, and then examined it during a class discussion from the viewpoint of the New Criticism school of literary theory. We also read a poem, and wrote about it as a Deconstructionist, with various other projects like this throughout the semester.
The last project was the best though. We watched the pilot episode of Firefly and had to write an analysis from our own perspective, using whichever school or schools most matched how we viewed literature. This was perfect because I didn't have one particular school that I identified with, but had been taking bits and pieces from everything to heart. Also, that was the first time I had seen Firefly, but it is a show that was right up my alley, making it even easier to enjoy and excel at the project!
Here's what I came up with as a result of that final project (besides the A): My literary school of thought relies heavily on division, and the breakdown of that division. My final project looked specifically at dichotomies and deconstruction of dichotomies in Firefly. For example, one of the biggest dichotomies across all literature is Good/Evil. Typically, the listener/viewer/reader is meant to identify most with the Good side of that division through the main character(s) and the conflicts that arise. In Firefly however, that division of Good/Evil is not very clear, and the crew of the Firefly ship could be seen as the bad guys because they are continually breaking the laws and subverting the main authority that isn't wholly Evil or wholly Good. Even the captain is commonly referred to by a shortened version of his name, "Mal," which means "bad" in Latin (read: malware, malnourished, maladjusted). This is a large part of why I love Firefly, and the more this literary theme is present in a work of literature, the more that I tend to like it!
As I was thinking about Fight Club tonight, I started to realize that it also utilizes the breakdown of division device throughout the movie. The characters of The Narrator and Tyler Durden are personifications of the concepts of Order and Chaos, respectively. I cannot think of a stronger epitome of the breakdown of that dichotomy than the revelation **spoiler** that these two characters are actually one. This helps explain why Fight Club is easily in my top 5 movies of all time.
Now, I would like to invite all of you to think about literature that you enjoy with a more critical, analytic eye. You don't (and shouldn't) only use my school of thought, but rather do some research and develop one of your own! And share it, like I have done with you today! Literature is good, and intelligent conversation makes it even better! This applies double for video games. If we want video games to evolve and grow into a more viable form of art and literature, it is up to us, the gamers, to think and talk about games as if they are art and literature!
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It has been a while since I updated my Sonic list, so I figured it is about time to do just that! Sadly, only two more games get crossed off today. I'm playing Sonic 4: Episode 2 now though, and should be crossing it off soon!
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