On subversion

in blog •  7 years ago 

I wasn't going to use this space for commentary, but I think I'm going to break my own rules a bit. h/t to @jimfear138 for his related post that left me enraged:

https://steemit.com/blog/@jimfear138/the-attempted-murder-of-sword-and-sorcery

Subversion, in and of itself, isn't necessarily a bad thing. It can result in some clever and innovative work, especially when it comes to humor (for example, Catch 22 was incredibly subversive). The trouble often comes in what the writer chooses to subvert, and how often. The first person to tell a story from the perspective of the monster is a genius. The hundredth just likes monsters.

The most troubling subversion involves the denigration of heroism, and it is becoming so common that it is almost the dominant trope in speculative fiction. Let's look at the most recent Star Wars film, mostly because it did this so atrociously:


spoilers ahead


The most disappointing aspect of TLJ, for myself, was the utter meaninglessness of many attempts at heroism. Poe turns his lone fighter into the guns of a capital ship! Boss move, total hero material. No payoff. Oh, sure, the bombing run succeeds, but Poe's daring and the deaths of all of the bomber pilots are rendered meaningless, and Poe is put in his place by a woman who, in her time, was saved from Hoth by a similar combination of heroic rear guard sacrifice and crazy piloting. Finn and Rose infiltrate the First Order command ship! No payoff. Zero. Had the entire subplot never happened, the outcome would have been the same. Rey dives into the den of the Dark Side! Aaaaaaaaaand....meh? It's a mirror? Poe and Finn jump into some rust bucket speeders to engage a legion of walkers! No payoff. Finn tries to make the heroic sacrifice to save his friends! Thwarted. Luke is going to take on the entire First Order with a laser sword! lol, no he isn't, but he's going to keel over afterwards anyway.

The only sacrifice that is allowed to succeed in a meaningful way is an unnecessary one (assuming basic autopilot could be rigged on a rebel cruiser) that opens huge plot holes and makes one wonder why hyperspace mass drivers aren't a thing. The entire movie just left me feeling empty. "Let the past die, kill it if you have to" was the theme, but it seemed to be more like "lol, nothing matters."

Well, when you subvert heroism, you're left with an empty story. There's no one to cheer for, and no reason to attempt great deeds. The hero's journey exists for a reason: the craving for meaningful struggle and heroism exists across cultures, and when you try to subvert that, you're leaving that craving unfulfilled. The #PulpRev and #Superversive movements are, in part, a pushback against this kind of hollow storytelling, and I'm happy to do my part to bring fun, heroic struggle back to speculative fiction.

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  ·  7 years ago (edited)

Spot-on about the pointless, pointless dreck that was the entirety of TLJ. I've never been a Star Wars man myself, but I could feel the disrespect radiating off of every second.

No matter. Together, we will bring glory back to the stars!

Moreover, subversion just isn't fun anymore. I want stories about real heroes like Beowulf, Jason & The Argonauts, Odysseus, Conan, John Carter, Bran Mak Morn, and the rest. I want heroism to be treated seriously, because it should be a serious matter.
This subversive junk is just boring at this point. Like Tom Simon said, at a certain point there's nothing left to subvert. These people hit bedrock a long time ago.
It's beyond time to start building new towers, cities, kingdoms.

I'm ok if people want to subvert the Tolkien / Vance archetypes. Musket fantasy, for example, can be a fun shift in the usual fantasy tone and atmosphere. But the story still has to come first, message fiction (whether subversive or not) is just plodding and dull. Ask Ayn Rand.

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