MakingFunOfStuff

Alternate title: My Generation is Obsessed with Trait Attribution The simplistic thing is to say my generation is obsessed with identity. I would say they're obsessed more with traits. This is more broad because it can include fictional personalities as well. For example, it's not a coincidence that my generation is the one that constantly creates original characters (called OCs, if you're out of touch). Almost everyone my age or younger says they're working on a story at some point, whether it be a book, a comic, or just in their head. I say "says" because for the most part, they're really not. They're just creating characters. And they d

There seems to be some confusion (from liberals and conservatives alike) about what girls are and aren’t. I’m not a feminist, but there is one thing that I think is actually sexist. It’s one issue I do have some sympathy for, and it’s that: The way girls are portrayed in media is extremely alienating and tedious and looking at our culture, I think it did cause a lot of problems. I’m bringing this up because it (1. Is bad writing (2. legitimately causes some problems in our culture. I mean that sometimes people believe the superficial stereotypes are girly instead of actual girly things and I’m sick of it.

Saying "it's just my style," is an excuse. It's a thought terminating cliche, which is completely meaningless and should be thrown in the trash. There are reasons we make choices. If you can't explain your reasons, you don't know what you're doing. There are rules in every type of art. Here are some examples: Drawing: color theory, composition, lighting, anatomy, perspective, etc. Writing: Grammar, structure, character development, etc. A real style either conforms to these rules or breaks them purposefully. Someone can't break rules purposefully if they don't understand them. It's obvious when an artist isn't achieving that for which they

Disclaimer: this isn't a fully edited essay. It's more of an unfinished compilation of notes. I have no conclusion on this topic, only observation. ----------------------------- You can contrast Tolkien and Tolstoy in a few useful ways. At the risk of exaggerating or simplifying it’s interesting to look at their differences as a contrast between: Humanism vs. Fantasy Universal vs. Particular Archetype vs. Stereotype Empathy vs. Sympathy The Tolstoyan narrator is very objective and does not give his opinion to be quirky or whimsical. Things are how they are. He is also very honest and does not skate around some mean parts of life.

This is a book I enjoy, but don't highly respect. I'm in a predicament. There seem to be two types of books these days. On one hand, there are the sort that are ethically and logically fulfilling, but fail to inspire for lack of character. On the other hand, we have those that aim to shock and impress us, but are all character, and have no foundation. Aristotle said that in a story pity is inspired by unmerited misfortune to a man like ourselves. On this note, I believe we ought to be able to relate to the situation; at the same time, I think we need something worth relating to. In my art class, the teacher makes us draw gestures before

or In Defense of the Word 'Cringey' This isn't a contradiction of the popular argument against bullying individual artists. It's an elaboration on why the issue is more complicated. Let's get passed the "live and let live" formalities, and admit some people have negative opinions. Not everybody agrees certain types of art are harmless. This is an explanation of why the sides exist, so we can get to the root of the matter and admit it's not about rainbow ponies. I don't support attacking individuals. I do support posting general criticism against specific trends or tropes. I believe in objectivity. This is a war of personal philosophies, n

Modern storytelling might be summed up as all bones and no meat. We fail to realize the reasons types of stories originated and are content to reproduce shells in long want of souls. We imitate mistakes for nostalgia's sake, but the time has come to stop and think about what we're not doing. The first step is to distinguish between different aspects of our stories, which are frequently blurred together and put under blanket terms. For instance when we describe a story as sarcastic we might be attributing that adjective to any aspect of the story, and not all sarcastic stories are the same. There's a difference between a story that has sarcas