Twisted Utopian Visions

[vovat]

Recently, bethje was telling me how she doesn't like books, TV shows, and such where everything was too easy for the characters. I can see her point, but my favorite series of books (which, for the benefit of anyone who might be looking at my journal for the first time, is the Oz series) is one where things are often REALLY easy for the main characters. Early on in the series, Ozma and her friends are given access to a Magic Belt that can transform or transport just about anyone or anything, a Magic Picture that can show whatever it's asked to show [1], and a Book of Records that records almost everything that's going on in the world. Later on, the Wizard of Oz learns a magic word that can accomplish any transformation; and new royal treasures include three emerald necklaces that grant wishes, and a silver hammer that summons a powerful elf who has to obey the summoner. Add to that the facts that no one can die [2] and there's no money [3], and it seems like pretty much any challenge can be easily overcome. I guess a lot of series tend to get this way over time. In order for villains to accomplish anything, they usually have to steal the kindgom's main magic (as Ugu does in The Lost Princess of Oz, as does the Wizard of Wutz in Handy Mandy in Oz), have equally powerful magic of their own, or rely on a fortuitous coincidence. Indeed, most of the time, both the villain's initial success AND eventual defeat are based on unlikely coincidences. Nonetheless, I greatly enjoy the series, and I think part of it is the escapism factor, which is to say that I like reading about a place where everything usually works out. That's not to say that that's ALL I enjoy reading, but Oz is more of a place I wish were real than other imaginary countries.

Speaking of Oz, I've solved two of the sudoku-style puzzles that were in the most recent Oziana, but the third one continues to confound me. The thing is, the letters on the bottom row are supposed to spell out an Oz term, and I've already figured THAT out. (Really, it just amounts to a simple word scramble, made even simpler by the fact that some of the letters are already filled in.) Would it be cheating to write in the letters at the bottom and work from there? Probably. I'm not totally sure it would help that much, either.

And for something totally (and I do mean TOTALLY) unrelated to Oz, Beth and I watched Boogie Nights last night, and I thought it was a very well-made movie. I'm not quite sure of the film's message, but it seems to be saying that a life in the porno business might or might not work out for you, but doing drugs never will. Ah, people in the seventies and their cocaine addictions. It's a good thing we've progressed past that in our modern society. Oh, wait...

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have medium extroversion. You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party. Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences. But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have medium agreeableness. You're generally a friendly and trusting person. But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism. You get along well with others, as long as they play fair. Neuroticism: You have high neuroticism. It's easy for you to feel shaken, worried, or depressed. You often worry, and your worries prevent you from living life fully. You tend to be emotionally reactive and moody. Your either flying very high or feeling very low. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

You Should Get a PhD in Liberal Arts (like political science, literature, or philosophy)

You're a great thinker and a true philosopher. You'd make a talented professor or writer.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

And in closing, I had a dream last night that involved a display of puppies outside some mansion, fireworks being set off indoors, the Three Little Pigs, and learning about automobile assembly at what was supposed to be my library job. Talk about a hodge-podge of material! {g}

EDIT: As a correction to the first sentence, it's just that Beth doesn't like it when things are too easy IN books and such, not that she doesn't like said books and such THEMSELVES.

[1] This also brings in another interesting factor in fiction, that being that, once someone is defined as being one of the good characters, the readers will often root for them even if they do things they wouldn't approve of in real life. Bush's domestic spying program is small potatoes compared to what Ozma can do. Since Ozma is presented as a good, just, and nearly universally loved ruler, she can get away with a lot. It does make me wonder whether there's any kind of Ozian Civil Liberties Union that disapproves of the Magic Picture and other devices that are constantly employed by their government. And whether or not Ozma is actually as good a ruler as L. Frank Baum was always claiming has been the subject of several essays.
[2] As it usually seems to be stated, the rule is that no one can die, but it IS possible to be "totally destroyed." Exactly what constitutes such destruction is usually left vague, probably intentionally so. Being eaten, torn to pieces, and blown up are generally presented as being just as fatal in Oz as anywhere else. There's a lot of gray area with other means of death and/or destruction, though.
[3] Baum, who'd had a lot of financial trouble throughout his life, introduced this rule in The Road to Oz, and expanded upon it in The Emerald City of Oz. He wasn't always totally consistent with it, though, and later authors often ignored it entirely.

Comments

[loz]

I think I prefer watching shows and films where things are easy for the characters. I figure, since things really aren't easy in real life - it's nice to think they're easy in fiction.

Those Oz books sound really quite complicated the more you talk about them.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Well, I AM talking about forty different books, so there's bound to be some complication after that many volumes. Some people only accept the ones written by Baum himself, but that's not how I roll.

[onib.livejournal.com]

I used to be in an online writing group where everyone would contribute part of an ongoing story. You generally focused on your own character and made sure not to contradict anyone else. One of my rl friends used to write with me in them and Amy & I would complain sometimes because his desire to continually improve his character would lead to the character basically being godlike before very long (e.g. what started as a bumbling thief turned into a lost Atlantian prince with powerful mystical artifacts who was trained as a pinpoint-accurate assassin).

I see similar desires in published works to give characters powers or items that make challenges much easier for them. In my opinion, this is fine for the end of a book or series, but it makes new stories not nearly as interesting. For instance, I loved Aspirin's Myth Series. However, each book ended with some fortuitous event in which Skeeve got more and more powerful (at least in the power structure of the world if not his own abilities). The early books were wonderful, but by book 6 or 7, I found myself very uninterested - not because I no longer cared about the characters, but because there was no true conflict. Any challenge could have been easily solved.

In this way, I also dislike when characters have it easy. I want to see someone rise to a challenge and overcome it, not flip a switch or make a wish to remove all obstacles.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I guess there's often a desire to give your favorite characters more power and such. That, and it's fun to make up new powers or items. I think that, sometimes, the authors just don't think about the consequences of such things.

[colleenanne.livejournal.com]

I don't think it would be cheating to do the bottom row first, I think that's how you're supposed to solve those puzzles, process of elimination, etc. But I've never played the text kind.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Well, I eventually figured it out without filling in the bottom row first. I'm not even sure it would have helped me much if I had.