So short-sighted.
I need to rant. Not on RL stuff, thankfully.
But, uh, this.
No need to read the whole thread, just the beginning bit. (It is pretty amusing, though.) And now I shall copy-paste (then edit) most of what I've said (occasionally with what prompted it.) Because it sums up what I'd say anyways.
They have turned a completely legitimate debate into an argument about Twilight, when really, there are many examples of folklore gone hideously wrong in modern literature.
I'll use two of the most abused myths as examples - faeries and vampires.
There is a limit to that sort of mutation. You don't make faeries nice and cuddly; you don't make vampires kind, I-won't-kill-you magical shiny creatures. You know why? Because they completely go against the original myths and ruin the point of using them in the first place. You can alter some things - reactions to sunlight, death by wooden stake vs. silver, ability to be invisible (referring to the Fae there), etc., etc.
But when the original vampire myth was that of a dead husband's spirit sucking the life out of his widow and the such, you do not make them sparkly vegans. When the earlier Fey Folk myths revolve around either (and there's so many variations on this one that's impossible to choose a perfectly accurate, relevant example) gods that remained on earth or cruel, malicious faeries that will hurt you given the chance... you don't turn them into things that fall in love in an instant or refuse to harm humans!
If a writer so needs creatures to fit those needs, they can just create their own. It's not too terribly hard to be original in that area, really. But polluting the folklore as heavily as mainstream fantasy does... it really takes all of the fun out of the mythology.
Regardless, the thing is, people get passionate about things they like. I love folklore and mythology, so when people really twist things beyond recognition, yeah, it bothers me! It shows that they weren't creative enough to work with what they were given - in this case, set myths that, while they already have some variations based on location and culture, are still set myths. Writers can employ some creative license - no one here is saying you can't modify things a bit. And I know this firsthand - I'm a writer as well as an avid reader, and I don't allow myself to be a hypocrite. But when a book's use of lore gets atrociously out of control, that's where the problem starts.
There's nothing wrong with criticizing a book or series because of how it has used folklore. It's an opinion, after all. What you keep saying is people should keep that particular opinion to themselves because you think it's stupid, which is stupid in and of itself. And also shows your refusal to open your mind to other viewpoints - why not try researching the mythology behind books? It's really incredibly interesting stuff!
These are myths that evolved with cultures, and here some authors are, taking them and using them as they please, and now hardly anybody knows the original myths. (When I say evolved with culture, I mean slowly, as new religions, rulers, and the like moved through the land. Not the sudden changes presented by some modern fantasy literature.)
That's what's wrong with it. The original knowledge is being lost in favor of the more mainstream, cleaned-up versions. And that's pretty sad.
And then someone said this: "There's a difference between tweaking the lore and bastardizing it to the point of utter stupidity, barely recognizable as what it's supposed to be if not for the label. xD
Would you call a flying rainbow moose a Pegasus?"
And I laughed my ass off.
Back on a more serious note:
"i'm not saying that stephanie meyer's vampires represent the true archetypal vampire i'm just saying that pretty soon it might if a majority of the people start to believe so as a result of her books and their popularity, it might become the new vampire archetype years down the line."
My response: "Which is what we're so damn worried about!"
...and it just goes on from there. Damn formatting.
Uhhh... yeah. It's something I get pretty intense about. (I'm Candycoated Toxins, obviously. xD)
On a totally unrelated side note: FREAKING LACK OF MONEY. I REALLY NEED t.A.T.u.'s HAPPY SMILES!
But, uh, this.
No need to read the whole thread, just the beginning bit. (It is pretty amusing, though.) And now I shall copy-paste (then edit) most of what I've said (occasionally with what prompted it.) Because it sums up what I'd say anyways.
They have turned a completely legitimate debate into an argument about Twilight, when really, there are many examples of folklore gone hideously wrong in modern literature.
I'll use two of the most abused myths as examples - faeries and vampires.
There is a limit to that sort of mutation. You don't make faeries nice and cuddly; you don't make vampires kind, I-won't-kill-you magical shiny creatures. You know why? Because they completely go against the original myths and ruin the point of using them in the first place. You can alter some things - reactions to sunlight, death by wooden stake vs. silver, ability to be invisible (referring to the Fae there), etc., etc.
But when the original vampire myth was that of a dead husband's spirit sucking the life out of his widow and the such, you do not make them sparkly vegans. When the earlier Fey Folk myths revolve around either (and there's so many variations on this one that's impossible to choose a perfectly accurate, relevant example) gods that remained on earth or cruel, malicious faeries that will hurt you given the chance... you don't turn them into things that fall in love in an instant or refuse to harm humans!
If a writer so needs creatures to fit those needs, they can just create their own. It's not too terribly hard to be original in that area, really. But polluting the folklore as heavily as mainstream fantasy does... it really takes all of the fun out of the mythology.
Regardless, the thing is, people get passionate about things they like. I love folklore and mythology, so when people really twist things beyond recognition, yeah, it bothers me! It shows that they weren't creative enough to work with what they were given - in this case, set myths that, while they already have some variations based on location and culture, are still set myths. Writers can employ some creative license - no one here is saying you can't modify things a bit. And I know this firsthand - I'm a writer as well as an avid reader, and I don't allow myself to be a hypocrite. But when a book's use of lore gets atrociously out of control, that's where the problem starts.
There's nothing wrong with criticizing a book or series because of how it has used folklore. It's an opinion, after all. What you keep saying is people should keep that particular opinion to themselves because you think it's stupid, which is stupid in and of itself. And also shows your refusal to open your mind to other viewpoints - why not try researching the mythology behind books? It's really incredibly interesting stuff!
These are myths that evolved with cultures, and here some authors are, taking them and using them as they please, and now hardly anybody knows the original myths. (When I say evolved with culture, I mean slowly, as new religions, rulers, and the like moved through the land. Not the sudden changes presented by some modern fantasy literature.)
That's what's wrong with it. The original knowledge is being lost in favor of the more mainstream, cleaned-up versions. And that's pretty sad.
And then someone said this: "There's a difference between tweaking the lore and bastardizing it to the point of utter stupidity, barely recognizable as what it's supposed to be if not for the label. xD
Would you call a flying rainbow moose a Pegasus?"
And I laughed my ass off.
Back on a more serious note:
"i'm not saying that stephanie meyer's vampires represent the true archetypal vampire i'm just saying that pretty soon it might if a majority of the people start to believe so as a result of her books and their popularity, it might become the new vampire archetype years down the line."
My response: "Which is what we're so damn worried about!"
...and it just goes on from there. Damn formatting.
Uhhh... yeah. It's something I get pretty intense about. (I'm Candycoated Toxins, obviously. xD)
On a totally unrelated side note: FREAKING LACK OF MONEY. I REALLY NEED t.A.T.u.'s HAPPY SMILES!