05-23-2019, 10:10 AM | #61 | |
o saeclum infacetum
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05-23-2019, 03:21 PM | #62 |
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That is a very interesting insight. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is certainly an astonishing Expressionist film that plays with themes such as madness, perception, illusion and reality. Here’s an interesting comment on its visual style.
“. . . painted back cloths, dominated by curves and cubes, deliberately distorted perspectives and furniture unnaturally elongated. The effect was to disorientate the viewer. . .” Jeffrey Richards, “The Cabinet of Dr Caligari” in Movies of the Silent Years, edited by Ann Lloyd p.90, London, Orbis, 1985 It does sound rather Lovecraftian though I don’t know if Lovecraft himself ever saw the film. Considering his tastes for that sort of thing in his reading and his obsession with things alien, it wouldn’t surprise me if he did and was influenced by it. Last edited by fantasyfan; 05-23-2019 at 03:37 PM. |
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05-24-2019, 12:26 AM | #63 |
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05-24-2019, 01:48 AM | #64 | ||
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I had a bit of trouble shaking Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett out of my head when I first read this (also targetted at younger readers) ... now I will probably have the reverse problem when I next re-read the Pratchett book. One problem in looking for links to other works is that the setting itself both inspires and limits the associated imagery. As a result many authors will seem to borrow from one another when it may be just a shared/common background being exposed. Which isn't to say there are not some deliberate links. |
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05-24-2019, 07:43 AM | #65 |
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Another is the odd names given to the ghouls. I LOL when one was called the thirty-third president! That would be Harry Truman. 😀
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05-24-2019, 07:48 AM | #66 |
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05-24-2019, 08:15 AM | #67 | |
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OT: I have a niece whose initials are SAP. Sigh. Her parents battled over her name and that was the best they could do. |
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05-24-2019, 09:57 AM | #68 | |
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05-24-2019, 11:00 AM | #69 |
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Bod seemed to be much more attached to Silas than to the Owenses for almost all of the book--the "parents" practically disappeared for long stretches, even when Bod was still quite young. At least that was my impression when reading; I no longer have a copy to check.
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05-24-2019, 06:23 PM | #70 |
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I think Silas was important because he was a link with the outside world, and of course he knew a great deal, having been around for a very long time. Bod didn’t have adventures with his parents, but they were a safe place to go to atthe end of the day (or night).
Reverting back to Kipling, Mowgli spends a lot of time with Bagheera, but he went back to see his wolf parents and mourned for them when they died. |
05-24-2019, 06:50 PM | #71 |
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I do think Silas had to be a shout-out to Buffy; did vampires who repented and worked on the side of good exist before Buffy? I certainly hope Gaiman wasn't alluding to the sparkly Twilight vamps!
Silas, of course, is also a hook in any sequel as we know nothing about his backstory. |
05-24-2019, 07:23 PM | #72 | |
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05-24-2019, 07:27 PM | #73 | |
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05-24-2019, 07:32 PM | #74 |
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Ambiguous vampires have been around for a while - Ann Rice's vampires spring to mind. (I see Catlady beat me to it but posting anyway.) Redeemed bad-people of various sorts have been around for a very long time - various parables in the bible spring to mind (eg: the prodigal son). Redemption and atonement is a fairly common theme in fiction. So I don't see Buffy - but then I only ever saw the movie, not the series.
But, yes, Silas and the whole Honour Guard thing seems like a possible hook for a future story. But only maybe. Gaiman has made quite a habit of alluding to large backstories and then never (yet) coming back to them. It's quite refreshing compared to many other authors that create the one world and continue to exploit just that one for their career. |
05-25-2019, 06:32 PM | #75 |
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I agree. I love Gaiman’s extraordinary imagination, and you never know what he is going to do next. Each book is a new experience.
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