silas-lehnsherr

[silas-lehnsherr]

I think the Hunger Games series sits in a similar literary position to The Lord of the Rings, as a piece of literature (by a Catholic author) that sparked a whole new subgenre and then gets blamed for flaws that exist in the copycat books and aren’t actually part of the original.

Like, despite what parodies might say, Katniss is nowhere near the stereotypical “unqualified teenager chosen to lead a rebellion for no good reason”.  The entire point is that she’s not leading the rebellion. She’s a traumatized teenager who has emotional reactions to the horrors in her society, and is constantly being reined in by more experienced adults who have to tell her, “No, this is not how you fight the government, you are going to get people killed.” She’s not the upstart teenager showing the brainless adults what to do–she’s a teenager being manipulated by smarter and more experienced adults. She has no power in the rebellion except as a useful piece of propaganda, and the entire trilogy is her straining against that role. It’s much more realistic and far more nuanced than anyone who dismisses it as “stereotypical YA dystopian” gives it credit for.

And the misconceptions don’t end there. The Hunger Games has no “stereotypical YA love triangle”–yes, there are two potential love interests, but the romance is so not the point. There’s a war going on! Katniss has more important things to worry about than boys! The romance was never about her choosing between two hot boys–it’s about choosing between two diametrically opposed worldviews. Will she choose anger and war, or compassion and peace? Of course a trilogy filled with the horrors of war ends with her marriage to the peace-loving Peeta. Unlike some of the YA dystopian copycats, the romance here is part of the message, not just something to pacify readers who expect “hot love triangles” in their YA. 

The worldbuilding in the Hunger Games trilogy is simplistic and not realistic, but unlike some of her imitators, Collins does this because she has something to say, not because she’s cobbling together a grim and gritty dystopia that’s “similar to the Hunger Games”. The worldbuilding has an allegorical function, kept simple so we can see beyond it to what Collins is really saying–and it’s nothing so comforting as “we need to fight the evil people who are ruining society”. The Capitol’s not just the powerful, greedy bad guys–the Capitol is us, First World America, living in luxury while we ignore the problems of the rest of the world, and thinking of other nations largely in terms of what resources we can get from them. This simplistic world is a sparsely set stage that lets us explore the larger themes about exploitation and war and the horrors people will commit for the sake of their bread and circuses, meant to make us think deeper about what separates a hero from a villain.

There’s a reason these books became a literary phenomenon. There’s a reason that dozens upon dozens of authors attempted to imitate them. But these imitators can’t capture that same genius, largely because they’re trying to imitate the trappings of another book, and failing to capture the larger and more meaningful message underneath. Make a copy of a copy of a copy, and you’ll wind up with something far removed from the original masterpiece. But we shouldn’t make the mistake of blaming those flaws on the original work.

[silas-lehnsherr]

#gilmore girls #gilmore girls fic #my fic #rory gilmore #jess mariano #rory x jess #jess x rory #literati

[silas-lehnsherr]

And then he still comes over anyway.

Rory thanking her boyfriend for not being mad at her for wanting to spend a night alone is genuinely such a terrible sign. All she wanted to do is have a night in and do laundry, and her boyfriend thinks his a "saint" for allowing her to do that???

#gilmore girls #anti dean forester

[silas-lehnsherr]

We bought our new sweet kitten a harness for walks. We had her try it on to get her comfortable with it and I’m not sure she loved it. 

(Source)

[silas-lehnsherr]

[silas-lehnsherr]

Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.

#dominic monaghan #billy boyd

[silas-lehnsherr]

I fell in love with Jess the minute she walked through the door

#ness #nick miller #jess day #jessica day #nick and jess #nick x jess #jess x nick #new girl #jessica miller

[silas-lehnsherr]

[silas-lehnsherr]

The one on the left isn’t even trying. Definitely the inferior loaf.

Spot the difference

[silas-lehnsherr]

“The paradox of conservatism is they want being normal to be punk. They want to rebel against authority while being the ones in power. They want to be rugged individuals and they think everyone should be the same as them. They want to overcome adversity while staying in the majority.” -@innuendostudios on twitter

[silas-lehnsherr]

I have been saving this since last year. Happy Earth Day everyone.

[silas-lehnsherr]

Whatever. whatever. pathology (2008) the haters hate me cus they ain't me movie of all time that also says all medical students have something deeply wrong with them. and Milo ventimiglia is very beautiful in it.

#pathology #i love this movie #milo ventimiglia

[silas-lehnsherr]

The fact that Microsoft Word has to be a subscription is upsetting. I already paid for it why do I have to pay again

[silas-lehnsherr]

[silas-lehnsherr]

[silas-lehnsherr]

zayn doesn’t even ‘go ghost’ bc ‘ghost’ is his resting state. he just like. flickers in and out of this realm and we’re lucky if we spot him. 

#facts #zaynie #zayn #zayn malik #ghost is his natural state

[silas-lehnsherr]

I usually read the summary to see if it catches my eye.

Another AO3 thing I’m curious about, how do yall decide if something is good enough to read? Usually I follow a rule of 1 kudos for every 10 hits. One because it’s easy math and two it’s yet to fail me. Thoughts? Do you just go for it and pray it’s good?