On subversion

I wasn't going to use this space for commentary, but I think I'm going to break my own rules a bit. h/t to @jimfear138 for his related post that left me enraged:

https://steemit.com/blog/@jimfear138/the-attempted-murder-of-sword-and-sorcery

Subversion, in and of itself, isn't necessarily a bad thing. It can result in some clever and innovative work, especially when it comes to humor (for example, Catch 22 was incredibly subversive). The trouble often comes in what the writer chooses to subvert, and how often. The first person to tell a story from the perspective of the monster is a genius. The hundredth just likes monsters.

The most troubling subversion involves the denigration of heroism, and it is becoming so common that it is almost the dominant trope in speculative fiction. Let's look at the most recent Star Wars film, mostly because it did this so atrociously:

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spoilers ahead

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The most disappointing aspect of TLJ, for myself, was the utter meaninglessness of many attempts at heroism. Poe turns his lone fighter into the guns of a capital ship! Boss move, total hero material. No payoff. Oh, sure, the bombing run succeeds, but Poe's daring and the deaths of all of the bomber pilots are rendered meaningless, and Poe is put in his place by a woman who, in her time, was saved from Hoth by a similar combination of heroic rear guard sacrifice and crazy piloting. Finn and Rose infiltrate the First Order command ship! No payoff. Zero. Had the entire subplot never happened, the outcome would have been the same. Rey dives into the den of the Dark Side! Aaaaaaaaaand....meh? It's a mirror? Poe and Finn jump into some rust bucket speeders to engage a legion of walkers! No payoff. Finn tries to make the heroic sacrifice to save his friends! Thwarted. Luke is going to take on the entire First Order with a laser sword! lol, no he isn't, but he's going to keel over afterwards anyway.

The only sacrifice that is allowed to succeed in a meaningful way is an unnecessary one (assuming basic autopilot could be rigged on a rebel cruiser) that opens huge plot holes and makes one wonder why hyperspace mass drivers aren't a thing. The entire movie just left me feeling empty. "Let the past die, kill it if you have to" was the theme, but it seemed to be more like "lol, nothing matters."

Well, when you subvert heroism, you're left with an empty story. There's no one to cheer for, and no reason to attempt great deeds. The hero's journey exists for a reason: the craving for meaningful struggle and heroism exists across cultures, and when you try to subvert that, you're leaving that craving unfulfilled. The #PulpRev and #Superversive movements are, in part, a pushback against this kind of hollow storytelling, and I'm happy to do my part to bring fun, heroic struggle back to speculative fiction.