Wicked is a novel I've been re-reading lately. While not sci-fi, its revisionism makes it worth mentioning on this blog. Basically, Wicked is a retelling of the Wizard of Oz, from the Witch's point of view. Many of the racist subtexts that Baum put in to the original novel are brought out by Wicked's author, Gregory Maguire. Basically, the novel is a meditation (God I hate that word) on the nature of evil. Maguire's Elphaba struggles to recconcile herself to various views of what evil is, none suiting her. Maguire quite perceptively points out the Ben Kenobi truism that "Evil is evil from a certain point of view" I don't know that I entirely agree with that truism (or agree with it at all), but Maguire offers an excellent analysis of how an entirely good person can be labeled, literally, a Wicked Witch, by her society. Wicked is at times a heartbreaking read, simply because you feel so much sympathy for the characters, particularly Elphie, yet you know how the story is going to end. I wish U.S. copyright laws were looser, as I hear that the Russians have already written several excellent revisionist fantasy novels about the Lord of the Rings. Anyone else know of any good revisionist fantasy or sci-fi?
Note: By the way, revisionist fantasy has nothing to do with revisionist Holocaust denial, for those who might be inclined to make that mistake. Two entirely seperate genres, the latter being worthless except for historical analysis.
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Beowulf and Grendel and Mists of Avalon. I kind of see it as apologetics. I have not read Wicked, but in some cases it seems that the authors need a reason for the characters to be evil. I don't like this line of thinking. Usually the "good guy" does something bad that makes a good character evil or seem evil. I think some things, people, and characters are evil for the sake of bein evil. More often than not, this is the type of evil I like reading about.
ReplyDeleteThis may have to do with the fact that I believe as Conrad said that humans have a heart of darkness. We have to make concious efforts to not be evil. This is made easier by religious and societal morals and ethics, but the desire for evil is always there.
John: I haven't read any revisionist works, but I do like the idea generally speaking.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see a revisionist GI JOE with COBRA as an international anarchist/socialist organization and the cartoon as capitalist/militarist propaganda.
Of course I'd love it as I consider myself an anarchist/socialist. Obviously capitalists would not dig it.
Budd: Your position on revision makes sense within your general framework. I like revisionism because I have a different view of humanity. I think people are relatively blank with social and antisocial impulses all mixed up. A person's life experience shapes character. It's not an accident that almost every serial killer was very severely abused as a child. But I'm areligious which explains my POV to some extent.