Wednesday, March 12, 2008
My God/Goddess Complex
I watched the Disney movie, Hercules, yesterday. I enjoy the movie; in fact, I enjoy most Disney movies. But, too often my enjoyment is lessened by my annoyance at how much they differ from their originals. So, characteristically, my movie watching was peppered with much harrumphing over how far Disney diverged from mythology in order to pacify our monogamy loving society. (Of course, the only company I had in my movie watching was my one year old and he was, predictably, unmoved by my rant.)
It was frustrating, though. Zeus professed his love for Hercules repeatedly and was shown cuddling Hera to him as if they were a happy married couple. Apparently philandering, jealousy, and pettiness are a little more than the Disney movie, rated-G audience could tolerate. I’d imagine most parents wouldn’t wish to deal with the resultant questions from the real myths - “Mama, did Zeus really pretend to be Alcmene’s husband in order to have sex with her so she could have his son, Hercules?”
I find all this so upsetting because there is value to the morals (or lack thereof) and themes in mythology. One of the things I like most about the Greek myths is that the majority of the gods have complete disregard for the struggles of the humans their actions affect. For example, as referenced above, Zeus visits Alcmene, Hercules’ mortal mother, while her husband is away disguised as her husband. Upon discovering that Zeus got this chick pregnant, his wife, Hera, in a jealous fit, decides to make Hercules’ birth difficult by delaying his delivery and making the poor girl suffer through a long, life-threatening ordeal.
Why wasn’t she pissed at Zeus, I ask? Why weren’t his clothes, bowling trophies, and electronic equipment strewn along the side of Mt. Olympus? Instead of taking her anger out on the real cause, she goes off and harasses Alcmene who was just as much deceived in the whole mess as Hera was.
Well, because like so many myths, this story teaches us wee mortals that sometimes life isn’t fair and we just have to power through and suck it up. In myths, it is usually the character who continues to struggle and persevere in the face of great odds that is rewarded by the gods.
Now, you ask, what does this horrible flashback to high school English have to do with romance writing?
Well, we as the writers are the gods.
Oh, I’m not propagating philandering, jealousy, or other such pettiness and wrong-doing. I’m saying we have to have complete disregard for our characters feelings. We have to make their lives miserable and drag them through ordeal after ordeal. Because at the end, if they keep struggling against all the obstacles we horribly put in front of them, they will be deserving of the happily ever after we have planned.
I’m about to write the first of a few big black moments in my WIP. It’s where my hero discovers that my heroine has been hiding the fact that she’s a witch. Not so bad, except that he finds out because she uses magic to save them from a fire that begins while they are occupied in a rather compromising situation, after which they are discovered in a state of dishabille. So, now he’s going to be forced to marry a girl who’s lied to him for weeks, who is different from everyone else, and who has made no effort to hide her need for a wealthy husband. And, well, she loves
him and now he has a bunch of reasons to distrust her.
In a nod to my more “let’s all just get along” tendencies, I’m balking. It’s going to be sad and heart-wrenching and I’m probably going to cry. And, I’ll feel stupid, I think, because they are just fake people.
But, I have to be their god and make them earn their HEA.
I’m hardening my heart, people… and preparing to rip theirs out.
Have you written any of these black moment scenes? If so, what advice do you have in the execution of character torture? Any ways to make it less painful? Or, if that doesn’t strike your fancy, how about Disney movies. What are your favorites and am I the only one who rages against misrepresentation of original stories?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Books by the Crew
42 comments:
Sleeping Beauty is my all time favorite Disney movie. I love when she's dancing in the ballroom and the Fairy Godmothers keep changing her gown color. Or when Aurora is singing in the forrest and the Prince happens upon her.
And are you kidding? I love black moments. I live for ripping someone's heart out. You must excute in the slowest possible fashion. Draw out the suffering. Maximize the pain. And when they think it's just too much for them to bear, you shove the knife in just a little deeper before you rip it out and stitch them back up. Put a band-aid on them. And send them on their way. Band-aids and duct tape fix everything.
And I loved history in school. I took almost every class you could take. Learning about Greek and Roman Gods were my favorite topics. Eeegads, they got themselves into so much soap operary stuff that I couldn't believe it half the time.
To this day I have never watched Pocahontas for this exact reason. They just played way too fast and loose with that one. *harumph*
I'm getting better at twisting my characters up. When I first started this book, I had them on the verge of consumating the relationship around chapter three and at that point, there was no reason for them not to live HEA. LOL! Yeah, had to start over.
I've written a little black moment in a drabble for the EJ/JQ Bulletin Board once and that was tough. I've written other small black moments that have made me cry. When I write the really big one, which I can totally see in my mind, I'm going to bawl.
But I'm still looking forward to it. LOL! Isn't that weird?!
Great blog, Marnee. I'm afraid I don't know that much about mythology but I know those gods/goddesses got up to lots of no good. Great place to find inspiration for our stories.
Good grief. I'm glad I'm not in one of your books Sin. I should hate to have my heart torn out and stitched together again.....though I'm sure that you do it very nicely *g*
Sirens are my favourite mythical creatures and I could swear that there are still a few around today. When I try to meditate I use Kundalini or Shivah as a mantra and invariably see siren like creatures in my mind's eye, spiralling between the Chakras, making me spin. Not exactly relaxing but it makes me feel a lot better.
I do have modern day sirens in some of my attempts at writing, and they are all goddesses. For some reason the Gods don't seem to make it into my writing. I know from Terri's 'Hotty' posts that you ladies love the Gods so there is perhaps divine symmetry here...or perhaps not *g*
Loved this Blog Marnee!
I love disney and typically prefer their rearranging of the facts. I guess that's because I like to visit the rose colored, bubble covered,nothing bad ever happens escapist world of disney. Life is too dreary to never escape.
Now as to black moments in my writing yes I have one or two but need many more. It was you Marnee(thank you , thank you, thank you) who so helpfully pointed me in that direction. So now Alec and Chelsea are to have a few more doors slammed in their faces before they can embrace one another and waltz off into the wild blue yander.
I'm finding it's fun to rip hearts out as Sin so eloquently said in her post above.
Great blog!!
I have one book that's pretty much all black moments, LOL. We'll see how it fares if I ever get the synopsis written.
I'm another mythology lover. Poor Hera! She did have a lot to put up with. One of my students said after the class had talked about Zeus's affairs, "I wouldn't mind doing a little Zeusing around." I used his line in a poem later. :)
I have written only one black moment--and several dark gray ones.
But the black moment was lovely to write; the words just poured out. I just felt that they were exactly the right words. I love those writing moments when I feel like a conduit.
Q, like I said, I prefer duct tape and band-aids, the number one fix all. My sewing skills lack a lot to be desired.
Morning everyone!!
Sin - I love Disney's Sleeping Beauty too, I think it's my favorite. The fairies in that are so adorable. I think my Lotty is kinda a mix of them. But, again a huge divergence from the real story, in which Sleeping Beauty isn't awakened by a kiss, but instead by birthing twins. Oye.
And I know you love up on those black moments. I'll have to have you read when I'm done, make sure I've tortured them appropriately. *sigh*
Ter - Oh!! Pocahontas was another one. Cripes, if anybody reads a history book they can see how off that is. And though I know I've said before I wouldn't cry when I hurt their feelings, I keep thinking about what I'm going to have them say and it makes me so sad.
:(
Q - I love the idea of the Sirens. And I have heard of Shiva, he's a pretty sexual Hindu god, right? I admit to being ignorant of Kundalini. But, your meditations do sound like fun! :)
Kelly - I'm so glad I could help you to torment your characters. LOL! And I definitely think the Disney versions make for nicer dreams at night.
Maggie - Was it hard writing all those black moments? Good luck with the synopsis!!
Janga - I feel for Hera too, though her expressions of her hurt and anger can get a little frustrating. I just wanted a scene of her standing on the steps to the temple on Mt. Olympus and saying, "And I'm Keeping the HOUSE!!"
Don't lessen the rip out... tear them to shreds, they've got to earn their endings... you are too nice...lol
Love beauty and the beast.
advice? no I don't really have any. I do have one book that's one black moment after another...
What's the worst that can happen to your characters? Not my advice here, btw. Do it, and redeem them after it. It builds strong character.
Tiff - Rip and shred, got it. *stern voice to myself* this is no time for being nice.... LOL!!
Great blog!! *LOL* Favorite Disney black moment? OMG, when the Beast dies. I was sobbing in the theater when that happened.
Well, I've only written two manuscripts--but I have to say Lucifer's black moment is my favorite. In this version/draft, Elizabeth (the heroine) dies, just as Lucifer realizes he loves her; and she goes to Heaven (where, obviously, he's separated from her). The black moment where she dies in his arms and Lucifer falls apart was one of my favorite scenes; as was the funeral scene after where he's drinking--and he just completely loses it.
On the whole, an awful book, very badly done...but I still love those scenes. *LOL* Melodrama at its finest.
Apparently I have a huge God complex. I like to torture the devil.
"Apparently I have a huge God complex. I like to torture the devil."
Hellion, I am still chuckling over this line. You are a treasure!
I love Disney's The Little Mermaid, but it always disturbed me that that story was Disneyfied so much. (Even more so than Pocahontas. *LOL* Okay, so mermaids *don't* exist and Pocahontas was an actual historical figure. Whatever.) In the original Mermaid tale, she's turned back into sea foam because she's unable to win the Prince's love--which has this myriad of gripping and dark truths at its core: 1.) Unrequited love is just that...unrequited; 2.) Changing yourself to win another person's heart is the surest way to lose them; and 3.) Not being content in your own stratosphere is the surest way to unhappiness.
(I think a LOT of fairy tales had this moral code. A sort of "how not to behave or this will happen" storytelling, about not reaching too far above your station in life, not wanting what you're not supposed to have...)
LOL about torturing the devil! That's hilarious. The ultimate God complex. :)
I like the real Little Mermaid story better than the Disney one, actually.... I'm so morbid. LOL!
Ok cripes! The thing ate my comment! Suffice to say: The true story of The Little Mermaid always creeped me out. I can't really believe my first grade teacher told us that story. But ,now, as an adult I like the morals Hellion pointed out.
Pocahontas did bug me. I mean I loved the story of a young native american girl singing with antellopes and to the wind and marrying a pioneer, but there was no need for her to have a historicallly accurate name when nothing else was. Was Mary plastered on the front of the box just not compelling enough for disney?lol. Plus wasn't John Smith pretty old? And wasn't Pocahontas 15?*Shudders*.
On a side note: My nieces still tell me from time to time that Pocahontas married John Smith*sigh*. Guess they didn't see the sequel*g*
And Beauty and the Beast is on my top five favorite movies of all time list!!
I love the part where the french made broom says to the candlestick, when they're kissing behind the curtain: "No Lumiere I've been burned by you before."lol.
Lumiere, what a player. :)
I love Cogsworth too. Those household items sure do have lovely singing voices.
Kelly - that is one of my favorite lines in that movie as well. Reminds me of Maurice Chevallier (sp?) in GiGi. I can't hear Lumiere talk and not want to hear him sing "Thank Heaven for Little Girls." LOL!
I have to say I'm not as uncomfortable with Black Moments as I used to be. I kind of feel good writing them, because being the God of the story, I know I'm going to be making it all better soon. I like really awful Black Moments because as Tiff said it makes the HEA that much more satisfying.
Don't get me started on Disney. The guy was really whacked, IMHO. Not that I don't love some of his stuff but I don't think it's all that appropriate for kids. Talk about dysfunction. I'm thinking there's maybe 1 or 2 healthy functioning nuclear families among his many movies. Beauty & The Beast and Cinderella rank right up as my favorites.
That being said wish me bonvoyage cause I'm heading to "the happiest #$%^&@ place on earth" (as the DH likes to whisper in my ear while we're there)! It's funny cause I do think nobody does fantasy and happy, happy better than Disney... I just don't think it's really reflected in the movies he's produced.
Irish - I think you're right about how making them awful makes the end so much better. Maybe I like angst more than I thought!
And you're going to Disney right now? Or soon?
*LOL* Irish! Disney didn't invent the fairy tales, which are as dysfunctional as it gets. Even more dysfunctional than Disney was willing to do. Though admittedly, as much as I adore Sleeping Beauty, there is something a little warped about sleeping until some guy comes to rescue you from your *yawn* boring life. (Exactly what kind of example is that?) Not to mention the whole kinky sex meaning of being sexually awakened by "true love's kiss".
But I think fortunately most kids aren't as hung up on the dysfunction as adults are, who by the time we've reached majority, are dysfunctional ourselves and focus more on what wrong with this picture than being happy in the moment (as kids seem to do.)
Come now, Irish, you just need to put the FUN back in dysfunctional! *cheerleader jump and pom-pom wave*
(And I'd be totally excited about going to DisneyWorld. You know what ride I'd spend my three days standing in line for.)
I know it's a strange day when the Captain pulls out the pom poms. LOL!
Irish - my kiddo is going to be at Disney World in the next couple of weeks. But, alas, I won't be there. *grumble grumble* She's going with her dad and the *others*. LOL! Not that I mind that she's going to Disney World for the first time and I don't get to be there and that I've never been EVER!
You know, I'm fine with it. LOL!
And I HATE that someone always has to die in Disney movies. Or they're dead when the movie starts. Why?!
Marnee - we'll be there over spring break! I'm very excited!
Hellion - I know, I know. It's on my Excel spreadsheet under Magic Kingdom must rides! I hear they've re-vamped the ride to add Jack Sparrow. So I can't wait to see what they've done to it. I'll take a pix for you!
Oh, Terri, that really sucks! It really doesn't matter, though. You'll get there with her again and it's just as fun the second and third time, trust me! She'll be more excited cause she'll be showing you around!
OMG! Disney World revamped the ride to add Jack Sparrow?? Sounds like I'm headed to Disney.lol.
I know, Irish. That's what makes me feel better. It's not like Disney World is going anywhere and since it gets better every year, I know we'll get our turn.
Why does the parent always die?
Hero's Journey. The hero is always an orphan or orphaned at the start of the story. Signifies an end to innocence...and the fact he must make the ultimate journey alone. (It's why the old-mentor guy always kicks it right before the hero faces the CRISIS.) That's just storytelling. That's just a rule.
Kelly, they have a Carribean themed hotel there...I'm guessing that's near the ride. So if you need someone to stand in line with you and look like a biggest fool than you...drop me a line.
Besides I've always wanted the mouse ears.
But this is Disney! Why do they have to follow that rule?! They didn't follow that rule in The Incredibles and it was great. They didn't follow it in Toy Story or Monsters Inc. or Cars. And they were great movies.
Gah! It just annoys me. LOL! Even if it's a *rule*.
I'm in my element when I'm writing a black moment, and the more heartache, the better. I be viewed as a sick individual, but I get a high in causing angst in my character's lives. If I reread a scene and it has the right amount of sting to it, I have an awe moment.
I love to use all five senses when writing emotion. I draw it out and milk it for all it's worth. I find it makes the HEA, and resolution that much sweeter.
One of my biggest pet peeves is books made into movies that don't resemble the original story. It angers me, especially if I really enjoyed the book. I know they have so much allotted time to act out the plot, but they should at least get it close.
Marnee wait until Ford starts watching cartoons and you see the message and lack of morals in the characters. Warning, you'll be shocked.
And by the way, I love the premise of your black moment. It rocks Babe.
The stories you're complaining about are stories Disney did NOT invent. Every example you listed are non-fairy tales. Fairy tales follow the story-telling code, and the code is the parent is dead because it's a symbolic step for the hero to no longer be innocent.
And not in every Disney flick are the parents dead. Sleeping Beauty--we still have the parents. Lion King--obviously dead parents--but that structure was so completely Hero's Journey it wasn't even funny. At least they didn't kill the sidekicks like they usually do. If you want to tell a story according to the Hero's Journey, that's the rule.
If Cinderella's father hadn't died, leaving her to whims of her stepsisters and stepmother, would she have been a spoiled brat like the rest--or would she still be good and pure? IF she'd had a father, would she have still danced with the prince that night and run off? (Clearly due to her abandonment issues.) IF she still had her father, still danced with the prince, then still married him to live HEA--why would any of us care? No one cares about heroines/heroes who don't suffer before they get their rewards. We want our characters to earn them.
Lisa--*LOL*--does this mean you can't watch Looney Toons now without going, "That's so wrong!!"
H,
No it means I can't watch the new age cartoons like Fairy Odd Parents, and Nickelodeon...
I love Looney Toons! They just don't make then like that anymore:)
I love Looney Toons. Warped, but hysterical.
Irish - have fun over spring break!! You'll have to get your pic taken with Jack and send it to the cap'n. She'll drool with jealousy.
Ter - I love all the Pixar movies! I think the Incredibles is my favorite. The characters are sooo well written.
Lis - I am not looking forward to some of the cartoons I see. Spongebob horrifies me.
And thanks hon! I hope my black moment (it's really just a dark grey moment) turns out well.
:)
Hellion - what you are talking about with the parents dying, that's what I was trying to say about making them work for their HEA, but of course, you were more lucid than me. :)
Late chimer here. Why do I always miss the great discussions?!? Some of you know how big of a fan I am of Disney.
My all time favorite Disney movie is Beauty and the Beast, followed by Peter Pan. There are a lot of others that I like.
As for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, Captain Jack Sparrow is in three places, and the replicas are AMAZING! So lifelike! I could imagine Hellion getting kicked out of Disney World for trying to steal one. LOL! If they had a replica of Will Turner, I would be right beside Hellion.
I would seriously be willing to pay double just to be there when Hellion rides this thing. LOL! And if we manage to do the Harry Potter park and this one within days, her head might actually explode!
Good lord, let's not even talk about how excited I am about the Harry Potter park.
Is this Harry Potter Park a reality or are you guys just playing a what if game?
Oh, it's real all right. Very real. LOL!
http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/
Oh Irish! It's going to be the most magical place on Earth. :) I can't wait!
Post a Comment