Love in the Genres Part 2-Love Lost and Found

The most moving of all love stories involve conflict, tragedy and/or angst.  It is not enough that our heroes and heroines fall in love; they have to suffer for it, lose it, and then find it again to make a story satisfying for their audience.  We want to see them happy and sad, joyful and in tears; we want to experience their love with them through a full gamut of emotions.  Are we living vicariously through our favorite fictional characters? Probably.  Do we feel the least bit guilty?  Definitely not.

Perhaps one of the most unlikely pairings in the history of movies was of two children who fell in love in one instant, and in the next were separated.  The girl left her entire world behind and came to find the boy when they both grew up.  In Splash, Allen and Madison were meant to be together; never mind that Allen was a human who was afraid of the water since his near-drowning, and that Madison was actually a mermaid.  Allen predictably freaked when he learned the truth, but in the end was ready to risk everything for the woman who held his heart.  He rescued her from being a science experiment, and then cast off his fear of the water and followed Madison to a happily ever after.

The center of the original Star Wars trilogy developed the love story of Princess Leia and Han Solo, who were just on the verge of realizing their feelings for one another when they were captured on Bespin.  Darth Vader’s cruel order to send Han into suspended animation finally prompted Leia to admit what was in her heart.  Han’s iconic answer, “I know” was either an example of his general cocky attitude or acknowledgement of a sentiment he was not ready to share, depending on who you asked.  Either way, we had to wait until the third movie and Han to be unfrozen for the couple to be reunited.  Han’s near death changed him for the better, and led him to put Leia’s feelings above his own, even if that meant she preferred Luke.  Of course, that’s not how the story ended, but his willingness to sacrifice made the difference in their relationship.

The first time I saw The Princess Bride I was still in high school.  I loved everything about it, but most of all I loved the onscreen romance between Wesley and Buttercup.  Wesley was the perfect romantic hero-strong, brave, and completely devoted to his lady love.  Every teenaged girl wanted to be Buttercup, or at least have someone half so in love with her.  Then, Wesley’s ship was attacked by pirates, and Buttercup was devastated.  We no longer envied her, but we felt her loss as if it were her own.  When Buttercup was forced to marry the cruel prince, but was kidnapped by a pirate, we didn’t know quite how to feel, until the pirate turned out to be Wesley in disguise.  He explained everything to Buttercup with a simple “Death cannot stop true love; it can only delay it a little.”  Oh, to have that kind of devotion!

While we shamelessly and with rapt attention watch our favorite fictional characters suffer for romance, who among us wants to experience that sort of upheaval in our own lives?  It is one thing to see it on the screen or read it in a book, but quite another entity entirely to experience it for ourselves.  May all those out there find nothing but perfect romance on this day dedicated to love, without the accompanying trials of angst, loss and emotional baggage.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Amy

Love in the Genres-Fantasy Couples

There’s something incredibly profound and absolutely terrifying about loving, and being loved.  Love grants us our greatest heights and deepest lows, and can be simultaneously our strength and a weakness.  The same emotional upheaval applies to our favorite fictional characters.  Any well-designed literary or movie creation with the capacity for emotions can be at risk of meeting their perfect match-the one being that holds the power to complete or destroy them.  And when they succumb, the fallout can be epic.

From the times of ancient gods and myths one recurring them is of the deity who falls helplessly in love with a mortal.  Modern interpretations of this classic theme have included a number of popular storylines and characters, each replete with obstacles and consequences the lucky or unlucky couple will have to face.  That beings from vastly different backgrounds strive to have a relationship should give us hope, or encouragement, but mostly we just like to watch them angst and love.

The immortal elf, Arwen, fell in love with a mortal, Aragorn, in the epic Lord of the Rings.  Aragorn was not an ordinary man, he was destined to be a king, but Arwen lived centuries on Earth with the chance to travel to another realm and continue living forever.  To realize her love for Aragorn, though, meant staying in a world filled with strife and encroaching evil, and giving up her immortality.  Aragorn tried to persuade her to leave, but Arwen insisted on staying with him, even knowing she would far outlive him in the end.  They ultimately were married and established as king and queen in Middle Earth.

An immortal of a different type, Edward Cullen, was smitten with a mortal Bella Swan in the Twilight series.  Edward was not strictly speaking a god, but instead a vampire with god-like powers.  His family quickly welcomed Bella into the arms, but doing so put her in danger, and Edward tried to leave Bella behind for her own safety.  Once again it took the stubborn human to make the love connection work, and ultimately Bella joined the clan as one of them.  Theirs was a different type of happily-ever-after, but in the end, they were together, so they were happy.

When Thor met Jane Foster in the Marvel movie Thor, he was not looking for a relationship.  He had literally had his world taken from him, along with his powers.  Temporarily forced to be human, he learned humility and found a respect for the humans of the earth realm, but overall found he could not deny a great attraction to one feisty, beautiful scientist.  He gave his heart to her, even knowing he had to leave to save the universe, and then suffered the tragedy when he was unable to return.  While Jane pined for Thor, not knowing his fate, at least until the next movie, Thor had the guardian of Asgard, Heimdall, to watch Jane for him.  The ultimate fate of these two lovers has yet to be revealed.

There are countless other-world romances, some with happy endings, some not, and I plan to address a number of these in the month of February in celebration of one of my favorite holidays, Valentine’s Day.  Please check in again as next week I will have the next installment in this month-long blog series.

Thanks for your support,

Amy

Advent of Superheroines

As I sat at my laptop this evening preparing this post, I paused to think about all that we as fans have to look forward to this coming year.  A number of science fiction and fantasy series are coming to theaters, and the possibilities for new books, new comics, and new merchandise are endless.  Batman vs. Superman comes to mind as one epic movie to see, but more importantly this movie will feature my own childhood hero, Wonder Woman, in her first appearance on the big screen.

I grew up watching Linda Carter in her colorful costume, had the Underoos and the lunch box; but her presence was short lived, and I was otherwise disappointed in the lack of female action heroes.  There were others in comics, such as Batgirl, Supergirl, and Isis, but none of these had quite the same impact.

Wonder Woman was a hero in her own right.  She didn’t rely on the help of a male hero; rather she looked out for and often rescued Steven Trevor.  She was kind, smart, and completely independent, all while wearing gorgeous costumes.  She took pride in being a woman; after all, she was Princess of the all-female society The Amazons.  In a word, she was a perfect role model for a little girl who wanted to be a girl and yet stand on her own two feet.

The upcoming movie features the Amazon Princess, played by Gal Gadot, as she joins forces with Superman and Batman, something she has done before only in comics, followed by the release of her own movie in 2017.

For a female fan of female action heroes, there have been very few movies devoted to these women at this point.  Supergirl had her own movie in the 1980s, which was moderately successful, and now her character graces the small screen each week.

However, the closest thing we have had in a long time to a major female action movie character is the Black Widow in the Avengers series, played by Scarlett Johansson.  Her character has appeared in four movies to date, but has yet to be featured in a movie of her own.   Will we see a Black Widow movie?  Only time will tell, as that franchise continues to be popular with fans of all ages and genders.

Meanwhile, we have to take our female heroes where we can find them, usually fighting alongside the men.  At least they have gorgeous guys to look at while saving the world.

Crossovers-Guilty Little Pleasures

Who among fans of science fiction and fantasy hasn’t indulged in, or at least fantasized about, a crossover between our favorite characters/universes/series?  Under what circumstances could our favorites meet and interact?  Could they work together, forge friendships, fall in love?  Who would win in a fight?

Fortunately, writers of TV shows, comic books, cartoons, and movies seem to be just as interested as fans in the “what ifs”.  For this reason, crossovers have existed for as long as media has been around.  Take for example the crossover between Adam West’s Batman and The Green Hornet.  Granted, these two shows are vastly different from later incarnations, but the fact remains that intermingling the casts of two popular shows heightened the excitement for audiences and left them longing for more.

Movie producers and writers have used crossovers to varying effects, from mixing characters from completely different universes for the purpose of epic battles, such as with Alien vs. Predator or Freddie vs. Jason, or to allow characters from the same universe to join forces, such as The Avengers, which combined the stars of Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Thor.

Television producers and writers have likewise combined the characters from various shows, like the recent two-part collaboration between the casts of Bones and Sleepy Hollow, where the main characters of each visited each other on their home turf and conducted joint investigations into murder and the supernatural.

For those avid fans who have yet to find their perfect crossover done by the professionals, check out your favorite site of fanfiction.  There are plenty of aspiring writers out there who share their vision and imagination, and devote pages to their favorite combinations of characters in either canon or completely original situations.

What are your thoughts on crossovers? Do you enjoy them, or hate the deviation from canon?  Is there a particular one you would love to see?

Please send me your comments.  I would love to see them and share them with other readers.

Amy

Anatomy of: A Supernatural Story

Long before Stephanie Meyers brought us Twilight, many people were fascinated by “creatures of the night.”  The legends surrounding these beings have been around for centuries, and have evolved over time.  Unexplained events, rumors, and just good old storytelling have contributed to the legends, and Hollywood has run with them.

When I set out to write my story “The Road Ahead is Dark,” I wasn’t necessarily planning to add such a creature.  I began with a recurring dream based on a place I often travelled when I lived in Jefferson City, Tennessee, 30 minutes from Sevierville and the entrance to The Great Smoky Mountains.  There was a road leading through nearby Dandridge that wound upward into the foothills, away from civilization, surrounded by trees on both sides.  At the time it was a two-lane highway, though that may have changed: I haven’t been back in a while.

The road was really lovely; a perfect example of the scenery of the area, until one morning in late October when I had reason to travel it while in a deep fog.  The road, isolated as it was, had no lights along it, and with visibility limited to the next curve, seemed to continue indefinitely.   This road made an impression on me, which I realized sometime later when I began to dream about it.  In my dream, the road never ended, never varied, and it was this sense of traveling in a never-ending circle that I wanted to include in my story.

I began the story with the main character travelling an isolated road, unsure if she is awake or dreaming, and continued with the events that led her to be in this situation.  Herein lay the supernatural element, and what could be more appropriate than a loved one who may or may not be a newly made supernatural creature.  The transformation in itself is left vague, because the central theme was to be on the main character/potential victim, and whether she was awake, dreaming, or had simply lost her mind.  I hate giving everything away, so I’ll simply leave that part for readers to make their own decisions, as I post “The Road Ahead is Dark” publically in the near future.