Mad Swede
Auror
"Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one."
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A quote from the late Sir Terry Pratchett...
- Thread starter Mad Swede
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Karlin
Inkling
Ook!
Queshire
Istar
How political am I allowed to get with this conversation? 0.o
TheCrystallineEntity
Istar
One of my favourite quotes of his. 
Wrensul
Dreamer
Having one's power and/or basic world view challenged is icky.
And too. A portion of sOcIeTY just loves an easy archetype to follow.
I'm not sure I'm qualified to say how big that portion is without seeming like a worse snob.
It's safer to rely on predictable drama and plot structure. Black and white views of bad vs. good. You still get some kind of a rollercoaster while using less energy. Maybe in many cases there's less interest in the depth of a story and people are seeking more physical gratifications.
And who am I to blame people for wanting to turn their brains off?
Maybe people just haven't been trained to be more individualistic. Maybe the desire to look deeper into issues is inherent or not.
I'm not completely immune to my expectations, either. Trying to think of an example. . .
Why in certain situations I might go "that seemed too out of proportion for this story". Or my taste.
Luv u Terry Parachute, mwah.
And too. A portion of sOcIeTY just loves an easy archetype to follow.
I'm not sure I'm qualified to say how big that portion is without seeming like a worse snob.
It's safer to rely on predictable drama and plot structure. Black and white views of bad vs. good. You still get some kind of a rollercoaster while using less energy. Maybe in many cases there's less interest in the depth of a story and people are seeking more physical gratifications.
And who am I to blame people for wanting to turn their brains off?
Maybe people just haven't been trained to be more individualistic. Maybe the desire to look deeper into issues is inherent or not.
I'm not completely immune to my expectations, either. Trying to think of an example. . .
Why in certain situations I might go "that seemed too out of proportion for this story". Or my taste.
Luv u Terry Parachute, mwah.
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>Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one.
Too facile for my taste. Seems to me all stories require imagination, both to create them and to read them. Moreover, and worse, is the second clause, because it's dismissive of others without being very explicit about who those others are. People without imagination? Show me one and I'll show you their gravestone.
What Pratchett is saying between the lines (interesting concept for a one-liner) is that we special folk have imaginations and those other people don't (and we all know who we are and who they are, don't we). Or, alternatively, if my stories upset you, well then you just don't have imagination.
I know he's well-regarded, but I've yet to finish any of his books. Hard to imagine, I know.
Too facile for my taste. Seems to me all stories require imagination, both to create them and to read them. Moreover, and worse, is the second clause, because it's dismissive of others without being very explicit about who those others are. People without imagination? Show me one and I'll show you their gravestone.
What Pratchett is saying between the lines (interesting concept for a one-liner) is that we special folk have imaginations and those other people don't (and we all know who we are and who they are, don't we). Or, alternatively, if my stories upset you, well then you just don't have imagination.
I know he's well-regarded, but I've yet to finish any of his books. Hard to imagine, I know.
Queshire
Istar
I don't know. A 'lack of imagination' strikes me as an accurate enough description for those people that'd rather bitch about a work based only on a trailer rather than, ya know, give it a shot on its own merits.
- Thread starter
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Mad Swede
Auror
Or worse still, bitch about books they haven't read and don't intend to read because they think they're a "middlebrow cult of the popular", to quote art and literary critic Jonathan Jones. That same critic dismissed the Discworld books and wrote that "In the real world, as opposed to the Discworld, people have complexities, contradictions. A whole art form has evolved to explore them. Itās called the novel."
Sadly, that sort of attitude, that fantasy stories aren't serious literature, is still all too common among the literary "elite". I see it here in Sweden. That somehow "good" literature should describe living life in all its unpredictability, humour, longing, grimness, exhilaration and shame. And when I see and hear comments along those lines I find myself wondering what people like that read. If we as authors are not using our imagination to write stories, then what are we basing our stories on? Where do attitides like that leave a novel like Jane Austen's Mansfield Park? There's an inherent contradiction which I can't get my head around.
To me that sort of criticism illustrates the point Pratchett made in that quote. Yes, we can talk about the sort of fiction or art or music we like and find worthwhile. What we shouldn't do is dismiss the tastes of others without even making an attempt to understand or experience them. That's the very least that's expected of a critic. Especially when the author being criticised has written complex novels which make some very serious points about people and society whilst setting the books in a fantasy world (anyone who thinks Pratchett's novels aren't like that needs to read Night Watch, Snuff and Nation).
So maybe what Sir Terry Pratchett was criticising was literary snobbery and elitism disguised as criticism?
Sadly, that sort of attitude, that fantasy stories aren't serious literature, is still all too common among the literary "elite". I see it here in Sweden. That somehow "good" literature should describe living life in all its unpredictability, humour, longing, grimness, exhilaration and shame. And when I see and hear comments along those lines I find myself wondering what people like that read. If we as authors are not using our imagination to write stories, then what are we basing our stories on? Where do attitides like that leave a novel like Jane Austen's Mansfield Park? There's an inherent contradiction which I can't get my head around.
To me that sort of criticism illustrates the point Pratchett made in that quote. Yes, we can talk about the sort of fiction or art or music we like and find worthwhile. What we shouldn't do is dismiss the tastes of others without even making an attempt to understand or experience them. That's the very least that's expected of a critic. Especially when the author being criticised has written complex novels which make some very serious points about people and society whilst setting the books in a fantasy world (anyone who thinks Pratchett's novels aren't like that needs to read Night Watch, Snuff and Nation).
So maybe what Sir Terry Pratchett was criticising was literary snobbery and elitism disguised as criticism?
pmmg
Myth Weaver
Despite his stories, Niel Gaimon called Mr. Prachet, not funny, but angry... The quote seems to fit.
Its easy to think others, or even some nameless masses, dont have some capability, but its rare I meet those who actually fit that mold. Everyone is someone, and has a way of thinking. I would discount such a comment. In fact, while its clever, I will dismiss it in the way it is dismissing others.
Its easy to think others, or even some nameless masses, dont have some capability, but its rare I meet those who actually fit that mold. Everyone is someone, and has a way of thinking. I would discount such a comment. In fact, while its clever, I will dismiss it in the way it is dismissing others.
Wrensul
Dreamer
Coming back like the gremlin I am.
I think the quote can apply to any side of an argument.
We are all beholden to our own worldviews. I have known many people, including family members and neighbors, who are deeply unwilling to reconsider theirs. To repeat sentiments in this thread, people will refuse to read a book because of one strangerās review, dismiss a film after a one-minute trailer, or make sweeping judgments without seriously engaging with the thing they oppose.
I have seen many people pursue their own goals with little willingness to entertain anything that complicates them. Iām a victim of such circumstances and the cause, whether I realized so or not.
I am wary of what I feel is an increasing number of people with immoderate agendas taking drastic measures. In my opinion, they donāt have the imaginations to step outside of their worldviews.
They would be upset by certain genres or concepts they consider against their intentions.
They may have the imaginations, sinister (or more mildly just determined) to make big things happen.
The quote resonates with me because in my opinion, it is speaking about rigidity. I read āwithout imaginationā as referring to a failure, or refusal, to imagine beyond oneās existing assumptions.
It is indeed angry and dismissive of some vague group. But I believe the gentle disagreement is warranted. I am thankful for it.
It would not need to be said in a world of equality and compassion.
I think the quote can apply to any side of an argument.
We are all beholden to our own worldviews. I have known many people, including family members and neighbors, who are deeply unwilling to reconsider theirs. To repeat sentiments in this thread, people will refuse to read a book because of one strangerās review, dismiss a film after a one-minute trailer, or make sweeping judgments without seriously engaging with the thing they oppose.
I have seen many people pursue their own goals with little willingness to entertain anything that complicates them. Iām a victim of such circumstances and the cause, whether I realized so or not.
I am wary of what I feel is an increasing number of people with immoderate agendas taking drastic measures. In my opinion, they donāt have the imaginations to step outside of their worldviews.
They would be upset by certain genres or concepts they consider against their intentions.
They may have the imaginations, sinister (or more mildly just determined) to make big things happen.
The quote resonates with me because in my opinion, it is speaking about rigidity. I read āwithout imaginationā as referring to a failure, or refusal, to imagine beyond oneās existing assumptions.
It is indeed angry and dismissive of some vague group. But I believe the gentle disagreement is warranted. I am thankful for it.
It would not need to be said in a world of equality and compassion.
The Dark One
Auror
Way too much of a vague generalisation for me.
Where's his evidence?
I would have thought that we novelists (presumably with imagination) can only thrive in a world where the majority have less imagination and want access to our stories.
Insolent Lad
Archmage
As much of Pratchett's writing, I think this should be taken as a tongue in cheek exaggeration. That doesn't mean there's no validity to it.
