I had a phone call from my youngest sister today. She was hunting for a gift idea for our mother who has a birthday on Friday.
My Mum is a book-aholic. She consumes vast amounts of literature, be it the classics, stories from the forties up to the present day. The library, as you can imagine, is quite substantial – and that doesn’t include my own books that she raids for something ‘different’.
She also enjoys movies; films that limit the bad language and ‘adult’ scenes. If all goes well, she’ll have all the Harry Potter movies on DVD rather than video and Rene Zellweger in Miss Potter (a lovely movie, I thought, even though it’s not really my bag).
So, anyway. I suggested to S. that The Chronicles of Narnia might be nice. She’s read the books and thoroughly enjoyed the movie (disregarding Epic Movie, of course).
S. said, and I quote: “Nah, that’s a kids movie. I thought something more adult would be better, like a bodice ripper, fluffy socks and chocolates.”
Me: “Oh, hey, I’ve just bought Ice Age 2, it’s a real giggle!”
S.: “Mmmm…”
And I got what she meant. See, I don’t have children and she thinks I have these movies - The Incredibles, Sinbad, Shrek, Shrek 2, Monsters Inc. and so on, for the nieces and nephews. So I can interact with them, enjoy their company because it’s the only connection I can have with the kids. And yeah, insulting is one word I thought. I won’t mention the others.
And as for getting my mother a ‘bodice ripper’… I had to roll my eyes. The idea of ‘penny dreadfuls’ has long been a misnomer. Romantic fiction has evolved since the fifties and sixties and now encompass some serious concepts that relate more to today’s woman than the restrictions of yesteryear.
Can you imagine what Nora Roberts, or Alison Kent, or Lisa Gardner, or Tami Hoag would say at being referred to as ‘bodice ripper’ writers, or the uselessness of the genre? Shudder away!
The evolution of genre writing is a reflection of our society and none more so than romance writing. Gone are the days of the helpless female, the stereotypical secretary falling in love with her boss, or the kidnapped virgin by a Greek tycoon who’s only doing all those cruel things because he loves her. And if you think I’m kidding, read some of the tripe from the seventies!
It’s indicative to how hard it is for romance writers to gain respectability from other genre writers, and yet, if those naysayers actually read some of the modern works, I’m sure they’d change their mind. It is, after all, the fastest growing genre in publishing today, and has been since the sixties.
All those book sales can’t be wrong.
I think I’m gonna have a chat with my youngest sibling.
6 comments:
"Bodice ripper"? Heh, I can only imagine how they'd react. It's sad and hard to believe that romance writers have so little respect. Everytime I look at the bestseller lists, I always find a Daniel Steele, or a Nora Roberts, or someone of the same genre.
Something similar happened when I asked a girl at my school what she was reading. She said a romance. I replied, "Really?" I was intrigued. I wanted to know who she was reading. She followed up quickly with "It's not the trashy stuff. It's just a nice little romance, an inspirational one." I tried to imagine what she meant by trashy. *shrug* I really respect romance writers. Well, more like, I respect writers in general. How many other people can spend an entire day having a conversation in there head with someone who's not there?
Wow. Sorry that something like that came from your sibling, but I think writers of any genre deserve respect. It's no easy job to create entire worlds or stories with believable and lovable characters. And those movies - The Incredibles and Sinbad - are wonderful!
I found that funny, because I've faced the same prejudices as a lover of anime. Good luck with your sister's conversion ;)
Jason, you're right. Anyone who can write a book deserves respect and I've never understood why people describe some of them as 'trashy'. What does that actually mean?
Bri, my sister equates being a grown up with grown up things, not comic books (she's never read any of my X-men), or kids movies. And playing with kids, she's more than a little patronising. Don't get me wrong, I love my sister, but sometimes I just wanna.... and.... and then....
Merylf, there no way I'd let any of my nieces or nephews under the age of sixteen watch my anime. Certainly not Immortal or Ghost in the Shell or Ninja Scroll or some of the others I have. For me, Anime is for grown ups, with violence, bad language, adult concepts and some truly twisted thinking. And that's why I love it!
I mean, Evangelion was simply brilliant, even the ending, which some people thought a... hmm, best not get me started.
Oh my gosh, Evangelion was an absolute rush from beginning to end. I would love to be able to capture the feelings I had at the end of each episode, when you're on the edge of your seat and then...Fly me to the moon, and let me play, among the stars.... I will never forget it.
But there are some anime films suitable for kids - Studio Ghibli movies are always kid safe, without being in any way patronising or pulling punches.
You obviously didn't get what I meant. I love a good 'bodice ripper' lots of action and romance. I wanted mum to enjoy the same. I sometimes think the Barbra Cartlands of the world have done a diservice to the genre. And I watch the cartoons with my boys And enjoy them. As you can see from the different romance genres under different prints the romance genre is huge. I wanted mum to read something with life and passion of todays standards not the seventies. Was it wrong of me to want something like that for her?
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