A friend whose sensibility I admire and opinion I trust recommended the recent box office smash hit Obsession. In describing the film, being careful not to give up any spoilers, he used the phrase, ‘It’s about toxic masculinity’. And that got me thinking, because a story is always ‘about’ something.
What’s it All About?
In my post on 1st June, I posited that, technically speaking, the one nonnegotiable ingredient of a story is that its characters undergo change. In a later post, I suggested this technical attribute implies what stories are for, in that they help us understand, amongst other things, that while learning and growing is very hard for humans, it is, nevertheless, possible.
But a story does more than tell us change is achievable, it shows us how, taking into account particular character flaws, hardships and obstacles. When a believable character struggles and changes as a result, (or fails to change in the case of a tragedy, such as Obsession,) consumers of that character’s story understand human nature a little better. Stories show us their working. If we extrapolate out this idea, there has to be more than one requisite ingredient to storytelling. The author of every story is showing us how specific personalities achieve transformation. Therefore, each author must hold opinions on their characters. In unfolding their protagonists’ stories, every creator is telling us why they hold the beliefs they do. Creator perspective is where subtext comes from, such as the subtext my friend perceived whilst watching Obsession.
Mikhail Bakhtin
Massively reducing here, but the great Soviet literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin described a novel as two consciousnesses. There is the consciousness of the protagonist, and then there is the consciousness of the author. The author reveals their opinion of their protagonist through the thoughts and actions that leading character has in response to the situations the writer places them in.
Subtext
The views of the creator are present in all sorts of subtle and overt ways in every story, told through whatever medium. Is that why stories by AI feel flat? AI doesn’t have its own opinions, (or not any that it shares.) Its stories are constructed of memes, tropes that are super popular. AI doesn’t think about why particular themes are loved or enduring. Referring to my most recent blog post, if AI one day independently tells a story, without being prompted, I wonder if that story will contain its opinion of us. Until that day, I’m sticking with my original premise that stories ‘written’ by AI aren’t really stories, because they don’t fulfill the evolutionary purposes of fiction.
Toxic Masculinity
Is the film Obsession about toxic masculinity? Yes, and many things besides, but I was much too terrified to think about any of that. You know how when you’re lying in the dark and the coat in the corner looks like a person, even though you know it’s a coat? Well, in Obsession, it’s a person! It’s definitely a person!
Writing Prompt
Option one: A Parachute Jump Instructor – PJI, (on this planet or another,) is readying their troops to jump out of a plane. Before writing the scene, decide for yourself as the author whether you like this character or not. Don’t try to show your opinion. Write just knowing it. Later, after a couple of weeks, read what you have written, to discern, out of interest, whether that opinion comes through. There is no right or wrong here. This is an exercise in exploring subtlety and just seeing what turns up.
Option two: A teacher is taking school kids on an outing to a boring museum. As above, before writing the scene, decide for yourself as the author whether you like this character or not. Don’t try to show your opinion. Write just knowing it. Later, after a couple of weeks, read what you have written, to discern, out of interest, whether that opinion comes through. There is no right or wrong here. This is an exercise in exploring subtlety and just seeing what turns up.
I hope you enjoy it and I will post another writing prompt on the 1st of next month.
Gail Owen 