Writing to Reflect

In the comments to my post about the decline of American comics, JD Cowan weighs in on the two-headed snake of message fic and postmodernism that is poisoning pop culture.

Postmodernism is a labyrinth of fun-house mirrors. No matter where you look, you see yourself distorted and in the center of it all. It’s all about how special you are. 

It’s the same issue with message fic. It’s not about the story, the ideas, or the characters, but about what the very special message is. It’s no longer about the audience at that point.

It might be an issue of creating to connect versus creating to reflect.

Or I might be spewing nonsense because it’s late. Who knows?

“Pop Will Eat Itself” really was the most prophetic band name ever. Modern pop culture is filled with remakes, reboots, re-imaginings, and relaunches. Maybe if they would stop looking in a fun-house mirror all the time they might get a clue.

Authors work for the readers. Those who write to reflect their own ideology or false images of themselves inevitably end up in the same unenviable position as the declining Big Five publishers.

The lesson to authors, aspiring and established: write to connect; not to reflect.

Unlike the Morlocks who whisper to readers with forked tongues, I observably practice what I preach.

@BrianNiemeier