Mood:
cheekyNow Playing: "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who
Topic: Copyright-Infringementish
I always do a little background reading when I'm writing (although, truth be told, I tend to read much, much more when I don't write), and our good friend Joseph Campbell has come foremost into my mind lately...
...ever heard of his Monomyth hypothesis?
Yeah, pretty basic stuff, right? And, like most topics in a Psychology 101 class, anyone could probably figure this particular trend out by themselves, even with a raging concussion.
Anyway, here's Campbell's take regarding almost every single 'Hero's Quest' in literary and mythological history:
"A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man."
...really? Is that really the push-to-shove, bare-bones summary of almost every high-fantasy/adventure quest story ever written?
Yeah... it is...
Is that the push-to-shove, bare-bones summary of the plot to The Adventure of Link?
Yeah... it is...
So, is that the push-to-shove, bare bones summary of the plot to my adaptation of the game: "Link's Adventure"?
Yeah... ish... and no...
Any time you've got a story burning a hole in your head (pardon the rather graphic analogy...) it's usually a fine thing. All the better if, at least by your own reckoning, you can possibly add something to the genre. "Link's Adventure" is a high-fantasy questing adventure story- at its foundation, at least- but with a (somewhat macabre) twist that I like to think can compliment the conventions: in my story Link's quest doesn't just provide him with the 'victory' he needs to grant a 'boon' to his princess back home, but it also serves the dual-purpose of exposing a few... uh... 'things'... about himself that he is forced to take to heart upon his return home. Bottom line? This story does end well, but it does not end happily.
...don't wanna really give anything away at this fairly early juncture, mind you, but even though I haven't come near the end of the story yet I already have one of the screenplay's last lines firmly entrenched in my head. Link says this in response to a certain "running line" that has appeared several times in the scrip so far. His final reply, given at the end of the story, goes like this:
"I'm not a hero... I'm just a knight."
There's a difference, you know. Heroes are pillars of chivalry; they can always be counted on to save the day for anyone in need.
And knights? They can be counted on to save their charges' backsides...
...and they can, and will, do whatever is necessary to do that. They can, if need be, run right over a bystander or two in order to do that. 'Heroicism' and 'Devotion' are nowhere near to being equivalent as descriptive terms go...
...and what does it take to learn that lesson? I dunno, exactly, but the journey to learn that lesson would certainly be one hell of an 'adventure' in itself, wouldn't you think?
