Reviewing for All-Ages

[dragonsong12]

Lately I’ve really been consumed with anger…about a lot of things. I don’t really like being angry, despite the fact that I do it a lot, so I thought that to take my mind off of all the things I hate, I might have some fun talking about things I like. Thus I decided to do a series of reviews talking about the various “all-ages” comics that I pick

Comments

[guendolen_sama]

You make a couple points here that honestly, a lot of people forget. First off, "mature" content does not automatically make a story "better." So often anymore, it feels like authors want to stick it in to be "edgy" or show how "serious" they are or whatever. It's sort of like with modern fiction, and how it seems like so often, you have to be "gritty" or plain old depressing to be taken seriously; it's like people are afraid of happy endings, and if things are positive it's automatically "fluff" and not to be taken seriously. Mature stuff is all well and good, if it works in the story. I mean, I was heartily impressed with "Watchmen," and it was pretty darn gritty. But people forget that you can still tell a good story without that. If the story calls for it, fine. But if not, don't shoehorn it in. Granted, this goes into other areas, too. For instance, I was really glad that Pixar didn't feel obligated to try to give Merida a boyfriend in "Brave." (Yeah, I got to see it a month or so ago, and I LOVED it.) There really

[jeb1981]

Well said!

[dragonsong12]

Agreed with Jeb

[guendolen_sama]

Exactly! There's no shame in simply being fun. You don't have to be "deep" or dark or whatever. You can even be thought-provoking and powerful without being grim. Again, I cite "Brave." I found that to be extremely powerful on an emotional level. It managed it without being gruesomely tragic. Sometimes a story calls for it, but if not it shouldn't be forced. Like you said, I hope the success of these more recent ventures proves that sheer fun can be good, too. Another thing MLP does is not just to show that feminine is not automatically bad, but that there's so many different ways to be a girl. Girls are not cookie-cutter and all mad about boys and make-up and pretty sparkly things. We have one character who's like that, and she's shown in a positive light (she has her flaws, but all the main cast does, which I'm glad of), but we see a whole bunch of different personalities. They're not all one-note cookie cutters. Girls are people too, not archetypes, and this displays that quite nicely. I only hope more people start

[rudelad737]

Ahhh, this is what I have missed about LJ. Content. Substantial content.

[dragonsong12]

Haha, yay! I'm glad you enjoyed reading it! I'm hoping to do one of these once a week, but on no set schedule, just as the inspiration moves me, or as I need a break from real world shenanigans. I'm not sure how long I'll do it, I have quite a few of these things, haha!

[dragonsong12]

This is a truly excellent point! Kids aren't always going to get the little things that make a work "good" or "bad", what they'll internalize is the basic ideas of the art they see/hear/read, and they'll come away with pretty much just the good stuff in the case of a book like this one. It appeals to the things that a lot of kids like too, having a bit of a fantasy/magical/storybook element, but at the same time is grounded in reality, based on real places and cultures. And that's really neat!
Some good food for thought on what the impact of these things can have on a kid other than the usual "moral life lessons" so many kids stories try to be about. It doesn't have to always be strictly "good" as long as it can make them interested and want to go further.

Also, Ogopogo is just fun to say. Ogopogo. Ogopogo.