I don’t doubt it.
It appeals to more
than just the romantic mush and bullcrap that Twilight contains: there’s
substance that we can apply to the modern world contained within the story. A
dictatorial nation has come to dominate the United States. And isn’t that a fun
idea? Divide everyone up after their resistance falls, keep them in line, and
bam, dictatorship. The world is surprisingly believable, and crafted well
enough, though oftentimes I feel as though I’m not getting all the details.
Take the Capitol, for example. A huge freaking city that sprawls and has
futuristic technology just flourishing everywhere. But as a reader, we’re
hardly given a glimpse of this. There is an excuse: because Katniss is always
trapped by the constraints of the system. But this cannot explain the lack of
resolution when there are scenes that could be extremely detailed, and
incredibly beautiful.
When Katniss and Peeta are riding in their carriages, I got
the idea of what was happening. All eyes were on them, there was little
attention paid to anyone else. But I was simply told that. There were minor
demonstrations and maneuvers to make me believe – the fact that the crowd was
screaming, the nature of cameras and the comments by the overseers. To me, it
still felt like there just wasn’t enough definition.
I’d like to compare this to when I’m devising a situation
for my dungeons and dragons players to experience. My writing motto is, ‘show,
don’t tell,’ and I do just that when I place them in a new realm. I go to any
length to explain the details.
There’s a marked difference between:
“You see two prongs that extend out into the water, forming
a bay filled with many ships. The docks are beaten and worn due to their age:
it seems as though they could be centuries old.”
and,
“The water laps on either side of the land’s extended arms,
glistening in the bright sunlight. The air clings to your skin and makes you
feel like you’re half breathing, half drowning due to its saturation. As you
glance out into the bay, you see what is easily identifiable as an entire fleet
of imperial ships, their trademark white and red sails glistening in the
sunlight, no doubt recently painted with the blood of fresh victims. The reek
of death crawls up and into your being, and sends a chill down your spine.
Examining the docks, you see that they’ve been around for
centuries. The older sections are made from Elderwood no doubt crafted by Elves
before they set sail across the Wide Sea. The ‘newer’ sections are made of
retained steel, resistant to rust but still not indestructible. They are beaten
by the waves and covered in barnacles. The bustle of the bay is dying down as
the sun is setting and the Imperial sailors are in the Tavern District.”
Sorry, sunk into a trance there.
Anyway, the contrast here is easy to notice in the Hunger
Games as well. There are scenes where not enough is present to flesh the world
out…
No comments:
Post a Comment