04-28-2011, 08:47 PM
I've been thinking recently about the murder mystery genre of fiction. Can it, in its purest form, ever produce intellectually and emotionally challenging art? I loved them as a child but now whenever I read or watch a whodunit - victim(s), killer, closed circle of suspects - I can't help but feel underwhelmed. Watching the horror film Scream, about a masked murderer who stalks teenagers in a small town, again, I kept wanting to learn more about the families and friends of the various knife fodder, to get inside their heads and truly understand the feelings such violence creates, so that in the end the simple fact of who was behind the mask didn't matter anymore (I already knew, but still, they didn't interest me).
And if such a story does establish characters of some psychological complexity the plot becomes an afterthought, as I'm more interested in their thoughts and feelings than solving the puzzle.
What are your thoughts?
And if such a story does establish characters of some psychological complexity the plot becomes an afterthought, as I'm more interested in their thoughts and feelings than solving the puzzle.
What are your thoughts?
"We believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges." - Gene Wolfe