Essay title: What's the story you ( Zesty / the artist ) want to read?
Once again, this prompt was challenging enough that I had to discuss it with multiple people and read several books, articles, and watch videos to find any semblance of an answer! Here’s what I’ve got:
I originally tackled this by focusing on the stories I appreciate the most, including: the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” series, the Dragon Prince, Pixar’s The Incredibles, and Better Call Saul. Although this is not an exhaustive list, those properties remain as some of my most favorite stories and some of the strongest bodies of work I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing. I’ll write a small blurb about each (and purposefully avoid going down rabbitholes not only for the sake of brevity but also to force myself to synthesize my favorite aspects of each. Spoiler warning from here on out!
Avatar: I’ve yet to meet someone who doesn’t like it (at least the first, original series). For context, the only stories in the series I’ll be referring to here are Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra, The Rise of Kyoshi, The Shadow of Kyoshi, and the Dawn of Yangchen. These stories are simultaneously about underdogs who possess amazing feats of strength and/or wisdom but are ultimately incomplete until they struggle with and overcome internal forces: Aang has to grapple with guilt, shame, grief, attachment, and more in order to not just prioritize his goal of saving the world but also not lose himself in the process. Katara overcomes grief and anguish, ultimately realizing that revenge doesn’t heal wounds. Sokka uses feelings of inadequacy to fuel his own ingenuity, creativity, and leadership, and learns to respect those he can learn from, overcoming his pigheadedness. The list can go on and on and on as this series is full of amazing people who do amazing things, and I haven’t even touched on some of the best examples yet. I recommend experiencing this series for yourself if you haven’t already, and again if you have. Paired with levity that doesn’t deflate and superpowers that don’t overshadow, it shines as an amazing example of worldbuilding where the characters still remain the subject and gears that turn the story.
Aaaand I was GONNA write about the other series I listed, but I’m now realizing what most of the stories I like are about: “strong-on-the-outside”s contending with the “not-yet-on-the-inside”s. The worldbuilding setpieces can be a nice way to accentuate those powers, but perhaps isn’t necessary. It’s interesting to read stories about people who have power but still have yet to hone it or don’t yet know when/if they should use it: I suppose these stories then typically revolve around themes of self-confidence or morality (right vs. wrong vs. the gray area between), and more.
Oddly enough, or perhaps not, that realization will help me transition immediately into the other topic I discussed/read about over the past few weeks: “wish fulfillment.” Somehow I’d only heard it for the first time in a video essay about Drake&Josh and iCarly and then subsequently saw it in an article or something a few days later (I apologize, I don’t have access to either source now but will update if I locate them). The video essay posited that a lot of Nickelodeon’s sitcoms showed kids getting what they want and more: look at the bedrooms Drake, Josh, and Carly have (not to mention Carly’s recording studio!!!). Even Zoey101 had an almost futuristic campus with beachlike weather and engaging student life/community. The video-essayist argued these shows had an element of living in a sort of “utopia,” free of poverty, danger, or consequence. I wonder the role what we outlined in the paragraph previous could play in regards to this “wish fulfillment” idea, how interconnected they are or have to be. And quite frankly, what role they play in my continuing of writing Swirl&Cake2 (yes, I’ve still got that going on in the background but had to push it aside to give myself time to grieve after my father’s passing, and then subsequently to give me time to take and complete commissions to pay the bills!). I’m going to think harder about these things in my own time but leave them here for y’all and myself until then.
…and suddenly I’m having to revisit this month’s prompt a THIRD time to address my most recent thought on the matter - who would’ve thunk it? After speaking with a loved one about what Swirl’s “superpower” would be (just a particularly strong trait of his), it was suggested to me that Swirl doesn’t do much in the comic except overthink – and coincidentally, that got me thinking! “What is TOO much thinking?” So I did a little googling and came across an article or two that helped me find a strategy to combat overthinking, and in the past couple days since I found it, it’s helped a lot. A lot a lot. I hope it can help you too. Thank you as always for reading, and I hope this little stream of consciousness was engaging for you.