Allan Batchelder's Blog: Immortal Treachery, page 10
June 15, 2014
Why Do We Love Violence and Gore?
What is our fascination with violence and gore? I’m not a sociologist, psychologist, archeologist or any other kind of ologist, but I can clearly see that violence has been our collective swizzle stick going back to Homer and perhaps earlier.
Was it really necessary for Oedipus to gouge his eyes out? I mean, couldn’t he have just said a half million Hail Athena’s and called it good? The Romans, of course, you know all about: steeped in violence, from the Emperors to the Plebeians. They invented “torture porn,” (and you thought it was the “Saw” franchise) whilst toasting Christians to a light golden-brown or feeding them in convenient, meal-sized portions to the lions. And don’t even get me started on Seneca.
In Shakespeare’s day, death was a door-to-door salesman, selling something nobody wanted but was nevertheless obliged to purchase, at out-of-this-world (literally) prices. Life expectancy was about ten minutes after baptism, and the bard himself lost many a child and sibling to the plague, poor sanitation, or Warwickshire’s Got Talent. Despite this, people showed up in droves for public executions, which included all manner of barbaric rituals, from drawing and quarterings to hangings and beheadings. It just didn’t feel like Jolly Olde London without a few heads rotting away on the bridge. Gruesome spectacle? Read ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore or The Revenger’s Tragedy.
And on and on, up through the French Revolution, where it was a far, far better neck they chopped than they’d ever chopped before, up through World Wars I and II, in which we explored evermore fiendish ways of killing larger and larger amounts of people, in more and more painful ways, for less and less reason. It almost seemed as if we did these things to sell newspapers and magazines, because nothing makes a headline like violence and gore. Think I’m kidding? I’m sure you can find a disturbing image – or ten – at CNN.com, if you search hard enough.
Which brings us to today: violent videogames, television shows, movies, books. And I’m as susceptible to the Grand Guignol as anyone. I loves me some Game of Thrones and Vikings (Bloody Eagle, anyone?). What I don’t love, however, is the way people act like this violence is new or revolutionary in some way. Come on, people, read a book – preferably a history book.
Why do we love violence? I don’t know. But I’d sure as hell rather read about it than experience it.
Was it really necessary for Oedipus to gouge his eyes out? I mean, couldn’t he have just said a half million Hail Athena’s and called it good? The Romans, of course, you know all about: steeped in violence, from the Emperors to the Plebeians. They invented “torture porn,” (and you thought it was the “Saw” franchise) whilst toasting Christians to a light golden-brown or feeding them in convenient, meal-sized portions to the lions. And don’t even get me started on Seneca.
In Shakespeare’s day, death was a door-to-door salesman, selling something nobody wanted but was nevertheless obliged to purchase, at out-of-this-world (literally) prices. Life expectancy was about ten minutes after baptism, and the bard himself lost many a child and sibling to the plague, poor sanitation, or Warwickshire’s Got Talent. Despite this, people showed up in droves for public executions, which included all manner of barbaric rituals, from drawing and quarterings to hangings and beheadings. It just didn’t feel like Jolly Olde London without a few heads rotting away on the bridge. Gruesome spectacle? Read ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore or The Revenger’s Tragedy.
And on and on, up through the French Revolution, where it was a far, far better neck they chopped than they’d ever chopped before, up through World Wars I and II, in which we explored evermore fiendish ways of killing larger and larger amounts of people, in more and more painful ways, for less and less reason. It almost seemed as if we did these things to sell newspapers and magazines, because nothing makes a headline like violence and gore. Think I’m kidding? I’m sure you can find a disturbing image – or ten – at CNN.com, if you search hard enough.
Which brings us to today: violent videogames, television shows, movies, books. And I’m as susceptible to the Grand Guignol as anyone. I loves me some Game of Thrones and Vikings (Bloody Eagle, anyone?). What I don’t love, however, is the way people act like this violence is new or revolutionary in some way. Come on, people, read a book – preferably a history book.
Why do we love violence? I don’t know. But I’d sure as hell rather read about it than experience it.
May 18, 2014
Conflict
For the longest time, it seemed that characters in epic fantasy were either entirely good or entirely bad, with no room whatsoever for ambiguity. Well, it was fantasy, after all. In the real world, of course, very few of us are one or the other. For those of us paradoxically craving more reality in our fantasy, craving more ambiguity, the arrival of authors like Glen Cook, George R. R. Martin, Steven Erikson, Joe Abercrombie, and Tad Williams et al has been glorious. Now we have characters to whose contradictory moods and motives we can relate!
It’s been said that there are three types of dramatic conflict: Man vs. Man, Man vs. the Environment, and Man vs. Self. A really good yarn will have all three. An example of Man vs. Man would be the old western shoot out, the samurai battle, or the jousting tournament. A character struggling against an avalanche, a blizzard or a wildfire would be Man vs. the Environment. To me, the most interesting struggle has always been Man vs. Self. From Oedipus to Hamlet, and from Sydney Carton to Tyrion Lannister, Man vs. Self gives us all a scenario we can easily recognize and with which we can all empathize.
I hope and believe you’ll find every kind of struggle and conflict in Immortal Treachery, and I’d love to chat about your questions or observations.
It’s been said that there are three types of dramatic conflict: Man vs. Man, Man vs. the Environment, and Man vs. Self. A really good yarn will have all three. An example of Man vs. Man would be the old western shoot out, the samurai battle, or the jousting tournament. A character struggling against an avalanche, a blizzard or a wildfire would be Man vs. the Environment. To me, the most interesting struggle has always been Man vs. Self. From Oedipus to Hamlet, and from Sydney Carton to Tyrion Lannister, Man vs. Self gives us all a scenario we can easily recognize and with which we can all empathize.
I hope and believe you’ll find every kind of struggle and conflict in Immortal Treachery, and I’d love to chat about your questions or observations.
April 8, 2014
Book Two on sale!
The second book of Immortal Treachery, As Flies to Wanton Boys, is on sale for 99 cents for Kindle, until April 14th, 2014. Check it out on Amazon!
February 9, 2013
Where to find my book...
Even with the tutorial, I'm having trouble figuring some of this out. So, here's the link to my book:
Steel,Blood and Fire
Steel,Blood and Fire
Immortal Treachery
If you're dying for more information on my series, or related topics (swordplay, archeological finds, medieval war, etc.), please visit:
www.immortaltreachery.com
Twitter: @TarmunVykers
Or https://www.fa ...more
www.immortaltreachery.com
Twitter: @TarmunVykers
Or https://www.fa ...more
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