Happy 30th Birthday, Star Wars!
May. 25th, 2007 02:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Hooray! I don't have too much to say other than I'm obviously glad that the first movie got made all those years ago (and being in the middle of reading The Making of Star Wars, I'm well reminded that its successful making was far from a sure thing). I wasn't quite born in 1977, so I can't offer memories of its first appearing in theaters or anything. But I was born right in the middle of the whole original craze, and I remember that everyone knew what Star Wars was, and could reference Vader and Artoo and Chewbacca without batting an eye. What a great and lasting contribution to our culture. Also, it's just good old fun. I can enjoy it on an intelluctual level and explore all the deep meanings, but my two-year-old can imitate Vader's breathing and shout out characters' names with great gusto. Its appeal is so universal. Again, hooray for Star Wars!
So I read a journal entry the other day about the absence of Queens and Mothers in fantasy, how the Warrior Maiden pretty much disappears as soon as she gets older or has children, which is really a shame. I pondered this for a while, and then realized with some satisfaction that the first novel of my original series flies directly in the face of this stereotype. My main female character, as soon as she is introduced, is just discovering that she's pregnant. She spends the book dealing with her pregnancy (and a sinister person who is trying to steal her baby before birth) and comes out a much stronger, self-assured character as she arrives into motherhood. She's not defined merely by being the mother or wife, but nor do those roles diminish what she is. I'm really rather proud of what I've done with her, at least in the first book. The later books focus on her child, which means she does often get shunted to the background. That's probably why I'm not as pleased with the later books. Ah well. I also blast apart some other stereotypes - the woman who is traveling along with the male main character does not become his love interest, and is defined by other traits of an entirely non-romantic sort. Of course I realize that these cliches show up so much because they work, and if I deliberately avoid everything that's been done before, it'll come off as bizarre and almost parody-ish. I still use plenty of the typical conventions, but hopefully in a fresh way. I just need to get that kick in the pants to go ahead and submit that first book. I could keep revising it endlessly and never be fully satisfied. It doesn't have to be the Next Great Fantasy Novel; it's okay if it's just a fun, likable book! That's what I keep telling myself...
So I read a journal entry the other day about the absence of Queens and Mothers in fantasy, how the Warrior Maiden pretty much disappears as soon as she gets older or has children, which is really a shame. I pondered this for a while, and then realized with some satisfaction that the first novel of my original series flies directly in the face of this stereotype. My main female character, as soon as she is introduced, is just discovering that she's pregnant. She spends the book dealing with her pregnancy (and a sinister person who is trying to steal her baby before birth) and comes out a much stronger, self-assured character as she arrives into motherhood. She's not defined merely by being the mother or wife, but nor do those roles diminish what she is. I'm really rather proud of what I've done with her, at least in the first book. The later books focus on her child, which means she does often get shunted to the background. That's probably why I'm not as pleased with the later books. Ah well. I also blast apart some other stereotypes - the woman who is traveling along with the male main character does not become his love interest, and is defined by other traits of an entirely non-romantic sort. Of course I realize that these cliches show up so much because they work, and if I deliberately avoid everything that's been done before, it'll come off as bizarre and almost parody-ish. I still use plenty of the typical conventions, but hopefully in a fresh way. I just need to get that kick in the pants to go ahead and submit that first book. I could keep revising it endlessly and never be fully satisfied. It doesn't have to be the Next Great Fantasy Novel; it's okay if it's just a fun, likable book! That's what I keep telling myself...