Category: Discussion

What YA dystopian fiction doesn’t portray…

Dystopian fiction is designed to highlight societal and political shortcomings that could, if not corrected, lead to a less than ideal future. Historically aimed at a more mature audience, authors and filmmakers in recent years have nonetheless produced a number of books and film adaptations that target a young adult audience. These resulting materials have proven to show large profits and popularity at both book stores and box office.

While traditional dystopian fiction wouldn’t seem to appeal to the young adult demographic, many of the currently popular works, such as The Hunger Games trilogy, the Divergent series, the Maze Runner series, and others, utilize a protagonist who is close in age to the targeted audience in order to make him or her easier to relate to. Katniss, Tris, and Thomas are all described as being in the range of 16 or 17 years old, allowing an audience of similar age to, hopefully, feel a connection to them and to their challenges and struggles.

Unfortunately, while these novels contain plenty of references to what can happen when politics goes bad, there is a glaring hole in their reference to some of the very real problems in existence today, problems such as racism and sexism. I mean, these issues are not likely to miraculously disappear when some bigger global crisis comes along. And yet, that seems to be exactly what we’re expected to believe when either reading or watching these dystopian stories.

A dystopia is what occurs when the world falls to pieces and society’s very real problems are pushed to an extreme. This can be be portrayed in many ways: leading to some form of oppression such as mind control like that found in Divergent and Insurgent, which can both be streamed on Amazon or DTV, or through more direct and brutal means such as the yearly battle to the death in The Hunger Games. However, when society’s real world issues of racism and racial inequality are (at best) downplayed and (at worst) ignored, the risk is very real that entire segments of current society will ignore and/or condemn the books and films that Hollywood is hoping will draw them in.

Further, while these novels and films are offering up more in the way of female protagonists, the girls in question more often than not succeed due to their ability to act more like their male counterparts rather than less. They compete on the same level and without any mention of historical inequalities that have beleaguered them i.e. their assumed inferiority, or their being supposedly the weaker sex.

In the Divergent series in particular, we’re led to believe that the powers that be following a catastrophic global event of some sort set up a system where human beings are segregated and identified by faction only. And yet, even recent history has repeatedly shown that we as a people tend to divide along lines of both race and gender when hit with a crisis situation.

On the positive side, some of these novels do a fairly decent job of describing what could happen if, for example, our current environmental issues are left unchecked. This is particularly true for a series such as The Maze Runner, and is especially emphasized in The Scorch Trials, the second film to be adapted from the second novel in the trilogy and in which the Earth has become a desert wasteland. However, leaving out other equally important issues leaves the entire genre feeling a little incomplete.

If this particular subgenre of young adult fiction wishes to continue drawing in the widest audience possible, it’s time that the writers and filmmakers alike consider embracing more diversity within the material they present. Otherwise, they may find that both their popularity and their profits are short lived.

The Walking Dead has been a popular and well-known zombie phenomenon since its initial launch in 2011 and is still going strong with its sixth season set to premiere this fall. Its most known for its riveting and tough characters but the women of this hit show have long been a contentious subject among fans. Many have agreed that the female characters are often undermined by men and continuously step aside so that Rick or Daryl can have their time in the spotlight. But now that the show’s companion series Fear the Walking Dead has premiered, will it follow in its predecessor’s footsteps or take its female characters in a new direction?

Though women are prominent among the landscape of The Walking Dead, it has been often commented that their characters are one dimensional at best. Rick’s wife Lori was seen as a whiny, pushy, adulterous instigator who was as likely to cause trouble as help prevent it. Andrea was also argumentative and pushy, and, while she seemed to start off somewhat strong, lost most of her direction as her story progressed. Carol has been one of the few regular female characters on the show who has gone through a real period of growth and evolution. She started out a somewhat timid wife, married to an abusive man and desperate to keep her daughter safe. However, she ultimately lost both her husband and child. These losses changed her over time into a much darker, much sharper individual, until she became one of the most dangerous – and most interesting to watch – characters on the show.

 So far, Fear the Walking Dead has presented two possible female leads to rival those found on its parent series: Madison Clark and her daughter Alicia. Madison is a school counselor and administrator, a mother of two, a divorcee, and a girlfriend. Her actions show the caring and motherly aspects we expect but she comes across as a little unsure of her own feelings in regards to how she is doing as a parent. She also doesn’t necessarily listen when people tell her things she doesn’t want to hear, and doesn’t stay behind when people try to keep her safe. It looks like they’re setting her up to be something of a cross between Lori and Andrea from the original show, which might not be the best direction to take her, as they were not necessarily the most liked characters of The Walking Dead.

Her daughter Alicia isn’t as developed as she could be at this stage of the game. She has the makings of a bitter and angsty teenager who’s constantly disappointed in her family. In the first episode of the series, Alicia seems to spend half her dialogue reiterating how desperate she is to get away from home. Although it seems that she’s ultimately a smart kid and the “good” child of the family, it’s hard to find her likeable when she spends so much time hating everything that surrounds her.

While other female characters have made appearances in Fear the Walking Dead, only time will tell if they were important enough to the series to be brought back for more screentime – and if that screen time will show them to be more than one dimensional. Even Madison and Alicia still have that to prove after the first episode. Maddie has shown us little but her tough-as-nails, wanting-to-take-charge attitude (except for a brief show of insecurity over her missing drug-addicted son), and Alicia has predominantly just acted like a regular teenager. The show may seem to believe it is female character friendly, but it doesn’t even pass the Bechdel Test. It may
have two women characters talking to each other, but all of the interactions so far seem to have been centered around men, instead of focusing on any other issue.

Fear the Walking Dead may not have had the most promising start when it comes to female characters, but that doesn’t mean the potential isn’t there to see that change. Maddie could find her softer side, Alicia could drop the teen angst act, and the few other women introduced briefly could play a much bigger role in the story to come. Both shows are available on AMC through cable TV, so make sure you don’t miss any more of the zombie fun and character developments. Only time and more episodes will prove if this series will follow in The Walking Dead‘s footsteps or not.

There were a plethora of amazing panels featuring authors from around the globe at Brisbane Writers Festival 2015. True to my bad work-schedule-luck, the final day was the only day that I was able to see any of them.

It turns out that that was all sorts of okay because on Sunday there was a panel called Ancient Myths, Modern Tales.

Reimagined myths and folklore have always been popular but more and more people seem to breathing new life into the old stories. This year alone I have read books strongly inspired by Irish myth, the tale of Scheherazade, Briar Rose, Greek mythology, faerie folklore, and Christian mythology. The popularity of shows like Once Upon a Time and Grimm, and films like Maleficent, Cinderella and Snow White and the Huntsman make it clear that our collective imagination has locked on to these mythic and folkloric tales. On the Ancient Myths, Modern Tales panel, three writers discuss why this might be, and how the old stories contribute to their own writing.

The panel was moderated by the remarkable Angela Slatter, a Brisbane author who is no stranger to the folkloric tales and makes fantastic use of elements of them in her short story collections Sourdough and Other Stories and Bitterwood Bible. It was a disappointment that Angela herself wasn’t discussing the impact of ancient myths on current tales as her books are richly inspired by lore while retaining their own distinct essence. As a moderator, however, she could not be faulted. Her questions were thoughtful and precise, generating some enthralling discussion.

The authors on the panel, Holly Black, Kelly Link, and Sjón, all had fascinating ideas about how and why the epic myths have stayed with us as a society for so long; and each of them had some lesser known bits of lore or mythology to share.

Each had their own views on the topics touched on, but there were a few points that everyone agreed on. The biggest of these is that the old tales are being retold in every story, movie or show created. When the hero seems to die in action movies and is revived by someone mourning them, we accept this because we are conditioned to accept that the kiss of true love restores life. The myths are fused so closely to current tales that it’s easy for writers to dip into them for inspiration without even realising it.

Even further than that, though, is the idea that the reason myths and lore keep showing up in current creative trends is that they are based on reality and reality has not much changed from the time of those tales. The ancient Greeks would build shrines in the hopes of pacifying Poseidon and now, almost 3000 years later, we are still at the mercy of the ocean whether it means from tsunami or from the rising sea levels. The tale of Hansel and Gretel was based off times of hardship when there was no food for the parents let alone children. While this is not a problem the western world is facing, it is still a major issue facing so many people in the world. The myths and legends tapped into real issues people faced, and there are echoes of that in our stories as the major issues have not faded.

It is evident from so many of the books and films emerging that the tales that regaled our ancestors still hold power over us. Ancient Myths, Modern Tales gave me some insight as to why, as well as a few new myths to think about.