Filed under: Alzheimer's, Buffy, Firefly, General Musings, Joss Whedon, Science Fiction, Serenity, Writing stuff
I watch almost no TV these days. Frankly, I’ve watched very little TV in the last decade. Yes, I know that this is the ‘new golden age’ of TV, with the many diverse and creative outlets, brilliant writers, et cetera. Sorry – it doesn’t fit in with my lifestyle. Now, don’t misunderstand me – I do sit in front of the TV set almost every evening these days. It’s one way we can help to make sure that my mother-in-law has companionship and gets through her dinner OK (she, like many people with Alzheimer’s, has a tendency to ‘sundown’ and lose what little mental acuity she has in the evening. So she needs more help.) But we watch something we have on DVD (or get from NetFlix).
So, it is usually only after a show has gotten established and I hear enough good things about it from friends that I am willing to put it in my queue to watch. And that’s how it has come to pass that I haven’t seen any of Firefly or Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Yes, I know that I am an uncultured lout. Sue me.
Anyway, because of the love that a number of my friends have for Joss Whedon’s work, I did get the DVD of Serenity a few weeks back. Watched it, thought “Well, it’s OK.” But didn’t really see what the big deal was – decent SF, but nothing to go crazy over. Maybe it was my mood.
My friends said that I should give it another chance, dig around in some of the bonus material on the DVD. Last night I did that. And I think what made a difference for me was watching the stuff with Whedon himself, talking about what he went through in having the series cancelled and then setting out to make the movie. It all gelled when he said “I am a fan” – meaning that he is a fan of the genre in general, and wanted to produce something that other fans would recognize and appreciate.
I watched the movie again after that. Huh. OK, this time I picked up on a lot of the stuff he did which was an homage to other works which had come before. The nitty-gritty setting of the ship echoing Alien. The rain, soundtrack and violence of Blade Runner. I could go on. Stuff that I at first attributed to just some film-maker lifting without respect from earlier movies.
And dimly, I started to understand why his work is so popular. Every artist steals from others. There are few truly original ideas out there. But to choose your source material wisely, and integrate it to say something new and interesting – that takes talent. To have that talent, to exercise it, and to do so out of a love of the craft and the history of your art is rare.
I think it is time for me to put Firefly in my queue. Then maybe even Buffy.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Feedback, General Musings, Press, Promotion, Writing stuff
I’m tired.
This stems in large part from the fact that the person for whom I am a care-giver (see this post) has a bit of a cold/flu bug, and so needs more care and attention. As a result, I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, and I’m guessing that tonight won’t be a lot better.
So I don’t have a lot of energy. Not for blogging, not for writing, not for doing conservation work. Which creates a certain symmetry with the fact that right now I am largely just waiting for things to happen: waiting to hear back from any of the current crop of agents I’ve contacted, waiting to hear about that article in the newspaper, waiting to get feedback from anyone who is reading/has read the novel. Hits to the site have slowed to just a hundred or so a day, and downloads of the full novel are slowly climbing towards 1900. Everything is on hold, waiting, waiting…
Jim Downey
I just got some more nice comments in this post from someone who finished reading the book, and who mentioned that he wants to see more.
That’s a rush. But it is difficult for me just right now to be able to do much fiction writing, at least on the scope of a novel, though I do a fair amount of posting on various blogs. Why? Because at present I’m a full-time care-giver for someone with Alzheimer’s (my mother-in-law), and not only does that suck up a lot of time and energy, it means that every other night I don’t really get to sleep much. My wife and I take turns being “on-call” to help her each night, and we have to listen to a baby monitor all night in order to make sure that she’s safe, et cetera. It’s simply exhausting. And while I can do many things at present, being able to juggle the necessary components for a full-size novel just seems to be beyond me.
We’re trying to make arrangements to have someone in to help care for MMIL a few nights a week. If this works out I hope my energy level rises, and my ability to concentrate improves sufficiently such that I can get back to the new book (which is a prequel to Communion). We’ll see.
Jim Downey
Communion Of Dreams 