Quel Horreur!
Wednesday, 3. December 2008, 01:27:15
I've never really gotten into the whole horror genre thing--I did read The Shining--and The Silence of The Lambs, which is horror masquerading as a police procedural or vicey versey, but now I'm considering the "horror as self-referential humor" thing. Overall, though, horror doesn't do much for me. It's all psychotic main characters far too obsessed with their own bodily functions, and bloody guts, and irony with all the grace and elegance of a Louisville Slugger.
The problem for me is that horror is hard to take seriously in this world of ours, when reality has the potential of sucking as hard as it does--though not necessarily for me, soft white middle-class slothful American that I am. I drive to work when it rains or gets too cold; I have plenty to eat, if I remember to stop by the grocery, and I seldom if ever truly suffer. Compare and contrast that, say, with folks residing right now in Mogadishu, for instance--or Rwanda in the 1990s, or Leningrad in the Second World War, or Spain in the 1930s. I've--so far--never had to fight for food, or face down the barrel of a gun held by some sneering child soldier, or had my legs chopped off with a machete because I'm of the wrong tribe. THAT's horror, boyos. Send me your legions of slimy undead tentacled thingamawhats, or aliens with stainless steel teeth and acid blood; I bite my thumb at you. Nothing, no NOTHING thought up by any author or screenwriter or producer could ever match the real nastiness, the black bottomless evil we humans manage to sling at one another every single day. And yet, still we go on.
Mind blowing, isn't it?
However, if you couch horror in a blackest black sort of humor way, I kind of get it, if I squint in earnest and turn my head sideways and all. Say Shaun of the Dead funny, or Evil Dead, or Army of Darkness--and I'm right there, brotha!
Also, on another note, I'm up to 56,000 words, but that'll change once I start taking a hacksaw to the wibbly bits. Oh snap! More horror! Plus, it's not done yet, even though I've unceremoniously killed off two characters--one with a fountain pen. Woo!
And New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is the tool of the debbil. Delicious, delicious tool.
That is all.
The problem for me is that horror is hard to take seriously in this world of ours, when reality has the potential of sucking as hard as it does--though not necessarily for me, soft white middle-class slothful American that I am. I drive to work when it rains or gets too cold; I have plenty to eat, if I remember to stop by the grocery, and I seldom if ever truly suffer. Compare and contrast that, say, with folks residing right now in Mogadishu, for instance--or Rwanda in the 1990s, or Leningrad in the Second World War, or Spain in the 1930s. I've--so far--never had to fight for food, or face down the barrel of a gun held by some sneering child soldier, or had my legs chopped off with a machete because I'm of the wrong tribe. THAT's horror, boyos. Send me your legions of slimy undead tentacled thingamawhats, or aliens with stainless steel teeth and acid blood; I bite my thumb at you. Nothing, no NOTHING thought up by any author or screenwriter or producer could ever match the real nastiness, the black bottomless evil we humans manage to sling at one another every single day. And yet, still we go on.
Mind blowing, isn't it?
However, if you couch horror in a blackest black sort of humor way, I kind of get it, if I squint in earnest and turn my head sideways and all. Say Shaun of the Dead funny, or Evil Dead, or Army of Darkness--and I'm right there, brotha!
Also, on another note, I'm up to 56,000 words, but that'll change once I start taking a hacksaw to the wibbly bits. Oh snap! More horror! Plus, it's not done yet, even though I've unceremoniously killed off two characters--one with a fountain pen. Woo!
And New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is the tool of the debbil. Delicious, delicious tool.
That is all.
WIDGETIZE
Matthew # 3. December 2008, 02:10
I wonder if you'd consider finding someone else to wield the hacksaw? I don't know how you go about finding a someone else, but I do know that I make a lousy self-editor. I both under edit (copy) and over edit (content). Just a thought. Another thought is that 56,000 words is a shitload of words. That's in the neighborhood of 150-170 pages, right? Wow.
Eric # 3. December 2008, 05:33
"Misery" how could you not mention "Misery" or "It" or any of the Stephen King Short stories.
Don't you have some really fine Washington State wines that are more local than New Zealand? seems to me saves some money and you could probably get more.
Mel # 3. December 2008, 07:21
Misery is representative of the humans doing nasty things to other humans. I guess it's the supernatural horror I don't get so much, since we're scary enough on our own. "It" pretty much is the reason a whole generation of kids grew up loathing clowns...
56,000 words is a shitload of words. If I can shape it up enough to where an editor will actually look it over twice, I'm sure they'll do some hacking, too.
On the upside, it is winding down. Maybe not by the end of the year, but pretty darn close. It doesn't qualify for that NaNoWriMo thing, but then again I wasn't trying for that, either.
I'd just like it to be entertaining and addictive, so people will want to read more. Sheesh! Is that too much to ask?
Heh.
Matthew # 3. December 2008, 12:56
People read horror voraciously, but I don't get it. I'd read mystery and hard-boiled detective fiction if it wouldn't interfere with work and family. I'm sure you'll find a loyal following who cannot put you down.
Mel # 3. December 2008, 15:24
Hard boiled detective mysteries are awesome. And there might be more Mac, when I get through with this...
Matthew # 3. December 2008, 15:33
I loved The Gun Club, but they are no more. Jeffery Lee Pierce died in 1996.
Chthoniid # 8. December 2008, 22:34
Horror, who knows. I read Lovecraft, I liked Poe. Now I don't read any of it at all.
Perhaps it's just a chance for people to move beyond the vanilla and humdrum, marking of time that is life. It opens up a world where the mundane and ordinary can be terrifying. Vicarious excitement and all that. An accessible world of something adrenaline pumping- for people whose lives are too comfortable.
All in idle rumination of course...
Mel # 8. December 2008, 22:48
I totally get why you don't read any of it--sounds to me like you're DOING things, instead of reading about them!
Eric # 9. December 2008, 04:54
Now of course, when the dollar does go up in value again, this might mean that those self same NZ wines will be cheaper than what I have over here.
Ohh to have a 35,000 wine bottle cellar, I only have 10-12 in stock at any time. so it usually means I am rotating what I drink.
Mel # 9. December 2008, 05:56
Chthoniid # 9. December 2008, 06:02
Should be time to start ordering big time again
Chthoniid # 9. December 2008, 06:48
Originally posted by mlynnjohnson:
Hmm, there have been a few moments where things could have gone completely pear shaped
Hard to elaborate without getting all confessional though, and blogs don't suit this sort of thing. A lot of horror fiction really doesn't map to the things that really can keep you up at night.
Matthew # 9. December 2008, 13:17
Oh, blogs suit that sort of thing perfectly. It's quite cathartic, honest (not that I'd know myself, of course)! Give it a shot - you're among friends.
Eric # 10. December 2008, 08:47
Sounds like the game Half-Life.