This is brilliant, and should be required reading for all geeks
Especially those who write.
My favorite part was this, near the end, especially the last line (which may be the launching point for a blogpost later today, depending on whether or not I can make it more coherent than it currently is):
I suppose some people might equate what I’m saying with blind reverence for tropes. Some might say I’m willfully ignoring the uglier aspects of those tropes–the damsels in distress, the irredeemable evils, the men in white hats who aren’t very interesting. Some might say I’m disregarding the whole reason we started subverting and deconstructing them.
I don’t agree with that. I can see where it might seem like that, but I don’t agree.
Because I’m not advocating regurgitation. I’m not advocating that we copy or mimic. I’m not advocating that people just continue on upholding the tropes and leave them on pedestals behind velvet ropes.
Rather, I’m advocating that we play with them. Let’s find out what made us fall in love with them, rather than finding out why we shouldn’t be in love with them. Let’s flesh them out. Let’s build on top of them. Let’s take the parts we like from them and smooth over the parts we hate. Let’s see where they go and carry them to new conclusions.
Let’s have fun. Let’s be okay with writing fun.