FifthView
Vala
I'm a big fan of stylized violence and of absurdity. I've watched the two Kill Bill movies multiple times and will undoubtedly watch them many more if I don't drop dead tomorrow. I thought Deadpool was great fun every time I watched it. I'm a huge fan of The Boys also. Invincible is also great fun. I think The Boys and Invincible are better satire than Deadpool. (Kill Bill was not satire but rather something else, akin to the glorification of—not violence, but the love of over-the-top violence.) I have a large library of DvDs and Blu-rays that would show how much I love this sort of thing, heh. I haven't even started listing anime series.
In these cases, I think the visual medium is a huge help. I know I have occasionally encountered something similar in a novel and enjoyed it—but not so often and not so easily. (I mean the level, frequency and incidence of violence those movies and shows utilize.)
I could more easily pinpoint specific violent actions and events from novels that gave me pretty much the same feeling I get from seeing the violence used in those examples from the cinema and television, even if not the same style of violence.
I'm a fan of The 36th Chamber of Shaolin effect: When a character slowly levels up, I see or at least sense this happening, and then BOOM! the character displays masterful killing or destructive skills.
Sure, important character development will seem meaningful. Masterfully, brilliantly killing the bad guy will be meaningful if everything leading up to that has prepared us for the payoff.
But Kill Bill definitely prepared us. Should I say, conditioned us? Our ability to love The Bride or Deadpool allows us to feel as if the absurd over-the-top violence is quite meaningful in context. The Boys' nearly X-rated level of violence is important to the story it is telling, but I wonder if most viewers have stopped seeing it as satire at this point.
I think the problem is this: Defining what is meaningful in a forum thread is almost a fool's game. You can design a story with a general idea of who the audience will be and construct the story in a way that will make what happens in it meaningful; then someone you never imagined in your audience will encounter your carefully spun cotton candy and hate it. Or, love it. Who knows?
Today the trailer for Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey dropped. This feels germane.
In these cases, I think the visual medium is a huge help. I know I have occasionally encountered something similar in a novel and enjoyed it—but not so often and not so easily. (I mean the level, frequency and incidence of violence those movies and shows utilize.)
I could more easily pinpoint specific violent actions and events from novels that gave me pretty much the same feeling I get from seeing the violence used in those examples from the cinema and television, even if not the same style of violence.
I'm a fan of The 36th Chamber of Shaolin effect: When a character slowly levels up, I see or at least sense this happening, and then BOOM! the character displays masterful killing or destructive skills.
Sure, important character development will seem meaningful. Masterfully, brilliantly killing the bad guy will be meaningful if everything leading up to that has prepared us for the payoff.
But Kill Bill definitely prepared us. Should I say, conditioned us? Our ability to love The Bride or Deadpool allows us to feel as if the absurd over-the-top violence is quite meaningful in context. The Boys' nearly X-rated level of violence is important to the story it is telling, but I wonder if most viewers have stopped seeing it as satire at this point.
I think the problem is this: Defining what is meaningful in a forum thread is almost a fool's game. You can design a story with a general idea of who the audience will be and construct the story in a way that will make what happens in it meaningful; then someone you never imagined in your audience will encounter your carefully spun cotton candy and hate it. Or, love it. Who knows?
Today the trailer for Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey dropped. This feels germane.