[PREV - DUMAS]    [TOP]

MUTATION

                                      February  2, 2005
An interesting aspect of
popular series fiction         (as opposed to
is that it changes through      serious fiction)
the gradual accumulation
of small innovations.
                             TWISTING_SHADOWS
   A new work is
   usually intended to
   be only a minor
   variation on the old...

In contrast, in the world
of high art, it often                Odd exception: in the
seems that an author is              graphics art world,
expected to produce a new            an artist is expected
work that will be a break            to crank out a large
with history, a totally              number of variations on
new creation, a thing unto           a theme, re-working the
itself.                              same basic idea.

In the Literary realm,                   Though there's a more
it's defnitely frowned                   extreme example:
upon to "write the same                  architects, expected to
novel" over and over with                be members of a "school".
only minor changes, but
in popular fiction that's                    That weird criticism
precisely what is                            of Gaudi: one man
rewarded.                                    trying to do the work
                                             of a generation.
   Even worse in Literary
   literature would be using
   someone else's work as a
   precise template for your                    BETWEEN_SOUL_AND_FATE
   work.

   But this is precisely how
   popular fiction works...

   Evolution, not revolution.

   Novelty produced only
   gradually, without
   direct emphasis on            GHOSTS_OF_THE_SHADOW
   the need to be new...



   We might use the "X-Men" as an
   example of slowly mutating art...

      BRAND_X


                                            Interesting thing about
                                            "mutate"... it's an
                                            inherently passive verb.

                                                   You don't go out
                                                   and mutate something.

                                                      It just happens.

                                                  UNINTENDED



--------
[NEXT - NOVELTY_AGAIN]