But, you know, romance readers and writers are as batshit as the best of 'em. The batshit is found in all walks of life. (And can be cleaned off with the Hose of Reality.)
Well, if we followed the recipe...should be cake. A demon-violence-free-zone cake.
Lorne ,'Why We Fight'
The Minearverse 5: Closer to the Earth, Further from the Ax
[NAFDA] "There will be an occasional happy, so that it might be crushed under the boot of the writer." From Zorro to Angel (including Wonderfalls, The Inside and Drive), this is where Buffistas come to anoint themselves in the bloodbath.
Betsy HP - Aug 15, 2006 1:04:45 pm PDT #821 of 10001
If I only had a brain...
ChiKat - Aug 15, 2006 1:04:46 pm PDT #822 of 10001
That man was going to shank me. Over an omelette. Two eggs and a slice of government cheese. Is that what my life is worth?
I don't like to refer to it as genre, because there are all sorts of genres, and it confuses me.
Me, too, Cindy.
I do like the term "speculative fiction." That seems to encompass what I think of when I think "sci-fi." Which, of course, is more than just sci-fi in my own little brain.
Jessica - Aug 15, 2006 2:01:21 pm PDT #823 of 10001
If I want to become a cloud of bats, does each bat need a separate vaccination?
While I'm not opposed to the term "speculative fiction," I don't see how it's any narrower than "genre," really. All fiction is speculative, that's why it's fiction.
Cashmere - Aug 15, 2006 2:20:35 pm PDT #824 of 10001
Now tagless for your comfort.
It's the same reason DH despises the term "character actor"--all parts are characters and actors are portraying them.
Betsy HP - Aug 15, 2006 3:33:27 pm PDT #825 of 10001
If I only had a brain...
You need some term for "person who isn't usually the hero" -- people like Denholm Elliott or Helen Broderick that you're always pleased to see but who are never the star.
Cashmere - Aug 15, 2006 3:35:13 pm PDT #826 of 10001
Now tagless for your comfort.
That's what I tell him, Betsy--but he just says that it's just a way of saying "ugly actor."
Strega - Aug 15, 2006 3:53:47 pm PDT #827 of 10001
Cindy, heh, it actually took me a second to figure out what you meant. Which proves the point! Anyway, yes, I find that confusing, too.
Jessica, I think the issue isn't that genre is too general a description, exactly, it's that it's not a description at all. It just means "type" not a particular type. So when something is described as a "genre show," my first reaction is, "Okay... which genre is it?" And then it takes me a second to realize what they mean.
It's like using "music" to only mean "punk rock." And I think I've typed "genre" enough now that it's lost all meaning. Genre genre genre.
Topic!Cindy - Aug 15, 2006 4:30:30 pm PDT #828 of 10001
What is even happening?
So when something is described as a "genre show," my first reaction is, "Okay... which genre is it?" And then it takes me a second to realize what they mean.Exactly, and I know plenty of people outside of fandom (and some within) that will use "genre" for material from another genre.
Possibly something from the Ringwald oevre.
Sorry. Nervous Buffy-tic. Hopefully Teppy will see that, and laugh.
Polter-Cow - Aug 15, 2006 4:47:46 pm PDT #829 of 10001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
Genre genre genre.
My soon-to-be-boss is named Jonra. It amuses me.
§ ita § - Aug 15, 2006 7:53:48 pm PDT #830 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
I think the issue isn't that genre is too general a description, exactly, it's that it's not a description at all. It just means "type" not a particular type. So when something is described as a "genre show," my first reaction is, "Okay... which genre is it?" And then it takes me a second to realize what they mean.
It is a description the moment the people using it (by producing or consuming) agree on what it means. I don't usually come down anti-prescriptivist, but I've never heard anyone use "genre show" to mean anything other than sff. So, when someone uses it, that's what I assume it means.
Oh, it may be dumb at the root, but I've never had a problem decoding it.