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popcultureliterary · 6 years

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Verbal and Situational Irony: Putting the Funny in Futurama

Narratives of all types, from books to cartoons, utilize multiple literary devices in order to craft engaging experiences for their audience. Today, we’re taking a look at one of these literary devices, irony, and we’re using Matt Groening’s Futurama to do it!

Why Futurama? Comedy shows offer many great examples of irony, often taking advantage of this literary device in order to produce hilarious or unexpected outcomes. Futurama is especially good at using it, and even talks about it by name in the episode “The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings.”

What is Irony?

You’ll often see irony defined as a situation where the outcome is the opposite of what was expected, or as a difference between expectation and reality. I personally have never found these particular descriptors to be overly helpful. The Oxford English Dictionary offers a fairly comprehensive definition:

“A state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what was or might be expected; an outcome cruelly, humorously, or strangely at odds with assumptions or expectations.”

The OED also offers wording that calls it a type of “feigned ignorance,” if that helps you get a better grasp on this slippery definition.

Authors and creators use this device in order to add layers of meaning and interest to their work. It is especially useful for creating humorous situations, emphasizing truths, or implying contempt for a situation, concept, or person. Irony also creates situations in the work that make the audience think and use their imagination in order to understand the truth. Sure, the creator of a particular work could come out and say what they actually mean without using it, but that wouldn’t be as fun for the audience.

There are a few different types to familiarize yourself with, the three most common being verbal, situational, and dramatic irony. These three literary devices are similar, while also managing to be fairly distinct from one another. Remembering the differences is where it gets tricky for many people. Today, we’re tackling verbal and situational, but keep an eye out in the near future for a post about the dramatic type!

Verbal Irony: Saying What You Don’t Mean

The Encyclopedia Britannica offers an excellent definition of verbal irony, calling it wording where “the real meaning is concealed or contradicted by the literal meanings of the words.”

Bender also offers a fine definition in this video: https://youtu.be/-x0vMpFMQF4 (which you can find at the bottom of this post!)

Verbal irony is when someone says one thing, but they really mean something else. The “something else” is usually the opposite of the literal meaning of the words used. If I say that my friend’s hands are as warm as frozen lake water, I’m using irony to let you know that my friend’s hands are freezing cold (bonus example: they probably don’t need to see a doctor about that, it’s a completely normal temperature for human hands). As you might have guessed from the(se) example(s), this literary device can take many forms, from things like metaphors and similes to statements.

What About Sarcasm?

Earlier, I mentioned that irony is often used to imply contempt, which really comes into play for sarcasm. Sarcasm tends to be a point of division for many people, however. While some people consider sarcasm to be a form of irony because it is language that means the opposite of its literal definition, others argue that it isn’t related. You’ll have to make up your own mind on where you think sarcasm belongs.

Situational Irony

A situation where you expected (or desired) one outcome, and an opposite one resulted is an example of situational irony. It is a reversal of expectations, in a way. As mentioned before, Futurama does an excellent job of using it to pull off memorable gags. Just think about all of the times that Leela suddenly goes from fighting for a good cause to fighting against that cause, or the times when her good intentions result in an outcome that is opposite to what she was aiming for. (Think about the time she tries to save the Popplers and ends up on the menu herself, or that time she made a “save the fox” sign and then tried to murder the fox with said sign after the little furball wrecked her hand-crafted sign.)

In “The Deep South,” we see another example when Dr. Zoidberg finally gets a home of his own. The Planet Express crew is trapped at the bottom of the ocean, but things are finally looking up for Dr. Zoidberg (Hooray for Zoidberg)! Unfortunately, his triumph is short lived. His home mysteriously burns down despite being under water. Of course, an underwater home burning down is the opposite of what anybody might have anticipated.

The episode “In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela” offers an example using Zap Branigan. Throughout the whole series, Zap tries his hardest to entice Leela to his bedroom. His efforts are generally always fruitless because Leela has no interest in the captain who is as misogynistic as he is unqualified. When he manages to trick Leela into believing they’re the last humans in the universe, he finally almost succeeds in seducing her before she catches on.

As Zap’s plans fall apart, the V-GINY spacecraft arrives and threatens to destroy the planet unless they consummate what it believes is a relationship based on love. At this moment, Leela begrudgingly accepts, but Zap suddenly develops stage fright despite getting what he’s always after. Given what we know about Zap Branigan, we as the audience would have expected an opposite outcome, where Leela says no and Zap is ready and willing to do what he must to protect the planet.

Let’s once more give a nod to the episode “The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings” to see a few other fine examples.

When the Robot Devil grows tired of watching Fry’s opera, he leaps up onto the stage and exclaimed “You can’t just make the characters say how they feel!” It is apparent that in addition to disliking being made a mockery on the stage, Robot Devil holds a fine appreciation for the arts and might tell Fry a thing or two about how to write a play. That is the expectation, at least, but then the Robot Devil follows up his statement with “That makes me feel angry!” His outburst demonstrates situational irony because the audience likely didn’t expect him to express how he feels after saying that characters shouldn’t do that.

My favorite example from the whole episode occurs near the beginning. As Fry and Bender wait for the Robot Devil’s massive wheel of misfortune to finish spinning and tell Fry what poor robot he will get hands from, there are many hints that Fry will receive Bender’s hands. Audiences familiar with this type of scenario might assume that Bender and Fry will switch hands because that’s usually what happens when this type of plot plays out. The expectation is further solidified by the verbal and visual hints dropped throughout the scene.

Unfortunately for the Robot Devil, an ironic twist leads to him switching hands with Fry instead. Frustrated with the whole outcome, he shouts about the irony of the situation, to which bender responds “that’s not ironic, it’s just coincidental.” Bender’s line here adds multiple layers to the irony that’s just been dropped.

Bender is both correct and mistaken when he says it is just coincidence. From a narrative perspective, Bender is wrong. The situation is absolutely a reversal of the expectations built by the episode and other stories following similar plots. The audience likely expect Bender and Fry to swap hands, and the results are the opposite of what is anticipated.

In what way is Bender right, you might ask. Let’s imagine being in Bender and Fry’s shoes. The pair have no expectations about the outcome of the Robot Devil’s wheel because they are unaware of the narrative techniques and hints telling the audience what to expect. They don’t have any expectations, so the outcome isn’t ironic in any way for them, and comes off as mere coincidence. This detail might say something about the Robot Devil’s awareness of how their narrative-driven universe works. (For audience members who didn’t pick up on the hints about Fry receiving Bender’s hands, or who thought that Fry would receive the Robot Devil’s hands due to the title of the episode, this scene might not come across as ironic either).

That’s Not Ironic, It’s Just Mean!

Keep in mind that irony isn’t just the occurrence of something unfortunate as the result of something else. It is important to remember that situational irony is specifically a situation where there is a reversal of expectation, and the result of a situation is the opposite of what was expected.

Let’s take a look at an example from “30% Iron Chef,” where Bender tries to turn his horrible cooking skills into something noteworthy. While on his quest, Bender meets an elderly hobo who used to be a well-known TV chef. Bender makes a meal for this man that ends up killing him.

If this was all there was to the scene, this would not be an example of irony at all. It’s just a depressing outcome of a situation. There is no reversal of expectations to be had here, other than the expectation that eating food won’t usually kill people.

There is irony to be found in the scene, however, when you add in the details that I left out! Prior to the deadly meal, the elderly ex-chef trains Bender on how to be a better chef. Usually, a lengthy montage like this brings about improvement in the trained skill, which leads audience members to expect this type of change to occur. The fact that Bender’s skills don’t improve at all (and might even have gone backwards) is a reversal of what we would ordinarily expect. The hobo’s death is not ironic on its own, but it is ironic that even after all of that training from an experienced and confident teacher, Bender’s food is deadly.

I Was Being Ironic

People often use irony in the real world as well. It is most often used in order to prove a point or make a bold statement. If someone wrote a song about how horrible music is, their song would be purposefully ironic because they used music to make their statement. Likewise, someone who creates an infographic about how worthless infographics are is purposefully using irony to make their point.

Take a Breather

Irony enhances narratives so that creators and authors can express comedy, contrast reality and expectation, or make memorable statements about what they believe to be true. It’s a useful tool, and does a lot to engage the audience and make them think about the intended meaning.

Today, we looked at two common types: verbal and situational. These forms appear often in narratives, but they can also be used in real life. These aren’t the only types of irony that you’ll need to know, however. Keep an eye out for a future post talking about a third type: dramatic irony.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for other resources to help you gain a stronger understanding of this literary device, I’d like to point you in the direction of a clever infographic by The Oatmeal.

Do you have a favorite example of irony from Futurama or other pop culture works? Share them in the comments! You can also connect on Twitter at @Popliterary, or send a message.

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#futurama #irony #what is irony #literary device #english language arts #ironic #english class help #cartoon

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popcultureliterary · 6 years

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Symbolism Saturday: A Journey to Family

Welcome to another Symbolism Saturday! Today, let's take a look at a symbol from the Jim Henson film Labyrinth! Sarah makes no secret of her disdain for her new baby brother, an addition to her family life that's really thrown a wrench into her activities and personal identity. When the Goblin King comes and takes the baby away, Sarah has to journey through a huge labyrinth to get him back. The labyrinth represents her process toward accepting her new family member as part of her life and overcoming the struggles she is having in coping with this change. By the time she overcomes the labyrinth, she is able to accept her new baby brother as a positive part of her life.

#Labyrinth #jim henson #Symbolism Saturday #Symbolism #Literary Symbolism #Movie Symbolism #What is symbolism #english language arts #movie #english class help #literary device

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popcultureliterary · 6 years

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Pop Culture Based on Novels Part 4: The Brave Little Toaster

November is drawing to a close. For those participating in this year’s National Novel Writing Month challenge, this final week is often a huge push as everyone tries to close out their November goals. Hopefully everyone is satisfied with their progress and finishes the month with a bang! At the very least, you should feel proud of yourself for making the effort to set type to page.

In solidarity with those of you taking on this challenge, we’re spending the month taking a look at pop culture narratives based on novels. Last week, we covered the popular TV crime drama, Bones, which came to a satisfying conclusion earlier this year. Today, we’re discussing a pop culture work that has been around since my own childhood, one which I never would never have guessed was based on a novel: The Brave Little Toaster.

A Hard Sell

The 1987 film The Brave Little Toaster was based on a novella written by Thomas M. Disch titled The Brave Little Toaster: A Bedtime Story for Small Appliances, published in 1980. When he first approached publishers with his idea, they were reluctant to publish the story. In an interview with Strange Horizons, Disch states that the publishing companies believed that the notion of talking appliances was simply too farfetched for children to enjoy. Disch found their concerns to be ridiculous, considering the number of talking animal stories on the market. He persisted, and after publishing the story in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, he finally managed to get Doubleday to take up the publication through a five-novel contract that they had with him. By then, the film was already being worked on.

Disch was a skilled writer who produced both poetry and prose during his lifetime. His works include The Genocides (his first novel, published in 1965), The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of (winner of both the Hugo and Locus awards), and a sequel to The Brave Little Toaster, The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars, among other works. Disch was also part of the collaborative minds behind the 1987 text-adventure Amnesia released by Electronic Arts. He passed away in 2008, the result of suicide that may have been related to the passing of his partner of three decades, Charles Naylor, in 2005. Although Disch is gone, he lives on through his works.

The Death of a Flower

Near the end of my high school days, I decided to rewatch a few childhood favorites with my younger brother before I left for college. One of the films on the list was The Brave Little Toaster. I remembered it containing a large number of dark themes for a kid’s movie, and was intrigued to see how I felt about it as an adult. The darkest scene was the horrifying junkyard scene where broken down cars sing about their lives before being smashed down by a crusher. Thinking of this scene in particular, we decided to amuse ourselves by counting how many characters in the movie died. By the time we passed 20, the game stopped being as funny.

One of the characters that I remember counting during our morbid game occurred toward the beginning of the movie. The appliances find themselves in a meadow, where they run into some trouble with the local wildlife and get separated. While trying to find the other appliances, Toaster stumbles upon a flower growing alone in a single ray of sunshine. Upon seeing its own reflection in the toaster’s shiny surface, the flower falls in love with its new false companion and tries to get the toaster to stay with it in the clearing. Toaster, feeling uncomfortable and needing to find the other appliances, brushes the flower off and retreats from the clearing. After losing its companion, the flower is seen wilting, seemingly unable to continue living after discovering how lonely it had been. The scene stood out to me due to the symbolism of a flower (often symbolic of innocence) dying after falling in love (with itself?).

I was surprised to learn that this same flower shows up in the novel. In the book, it is a daisy that speaks in verse. When she sees herself in Toaster’s reflection, she imagines the reflection is a male flower and falls in love. I haven’t read the novel myself, so I don’t know if this scene ends with the flower’s death.

Gender Discussions

A notable difference between the book and the movie revolves around gender. In film, it is often difficult to create characters with no genders due to voice acting. Voice actors typically have distinctly gendered voices, and the characters they voice often take on those genders even if the connection is unintended. The same goes for the Brave Little Toaster film. The appliances have distinct genders and pronouns in the film due to the constraints of voice acting.

The novel is not limited by these same constraints. The appliances have no genders in the novel. This is highlighted by a scene that doesn’t make it into the film in its entirety. Fans of the film might remember a scene where Blanket is blown away from the group by a terrible storm after setting up as their tent for the night. After an exhausting night, the appliances find Blanket in a tree and work together to bring him back down. The scene plays out a bit differently in the novel.

When Blanket blows away in the storm, it is a pair of squirrels that find it named Harold and Marjorie. The squirrels help rescue Blanket, and get a chance to meet the rest of the appliances as well. Upon discovering that the appliances have no gender, the squirrels are baffled by the concept. A discussion about having no gender is an interesting concept to find in a kid’s book from the 80’s, but it is not a surprise for Disch’s works. The Poetry Foundation notes that Disch’s work was often known for containing “gender-bending conceits”.

Surprising Moments from the Film

As with any film adaptation of a print-based work, the novel and movie differ significantly from one another. The basic plot, however, is relatively the same: the appliances find themselves separated from their Master and set out to find him so that they can continue to serve him. Their adventures take many twists and turns along the way. I don’t know about the book, but the film offers many startling moments that you won’t find in children’s movies today. Here are a few of my favorites:

Aneurysm. In the beginning of the film, the appliances get into an argument with a grumpy old air conditioner. The oldtimer tells the appliances that they shouldn’t try to find the Master, and continues to berate them with unnecessarily unkind words. When they stand up to the AC-unit, it flies into a rage that causes it to overheat and explode. The appliances feel bad for the now dead unit, but move on with their journey.

The Junkyard scene. This is perhaps one of the most memorable scenes in the film due to its terrifying and dark nature. As mentioned earlier, this scene takes place in a junkyard and features a number of cars singing about their amazing lives before being crushed to death by a scrap machine (you get to watch them as they are crushed). The vehicles all know what is coming, and an unlucky few of them located close to the scrap machine find themselves constantly sprayed by the crushed remnants of their fellow anthropomorphic automobiles. To add darkness to the scene, the cars also sing about how worthless they are. Looking back, I feel like this scene was where a significant portion of my brother’s and my death list came from.

Boobs. I don’t know why I noticed this image the last time that I watched the old static-ridden VHS my family has owned since the 90′s. The picture appears for only a second or two when the Rabbit-ears TV set tries desperately to capture the attention of the Master and his girlfriend. The man in the box rips several photos out of a filing cabinet while ranting about how amazing the junkyard is for used appliances. One of his photos (the one on the top of the stack) features a nude woman with star-shaped pasties over her nipples. In more recent editions, a bikini or bra was added to the photograph.

Sacrifice. In the end of the film, the Master finds himself on a collision-course with the scrap machine that previously spent an entire scene crushing terrified automobiles. He’s trapped, and a crushing seems inevitable until Toaster throws itself into the crusher’s gears in order to save him. It is smashed and twisted between the gears, but ultimately stops the machine and saves the Master, seemingly at the cost of its own life.

The above moments aren’t all of the dark moments in The Brave Little Toaster, and I can’t yet say whether or not the novella carries similarly dark themes. Given that Disch is also known for works that offer dark views of the future, it is possible that his novella contains similarly dark themes. Given this intriguing mystery, I know what I’m reading next.

Do you have a favorite novel that you’d love to see adapted into another medium, or know of any that have already received adaptations? Leave a shout-out in the comments! You can also connect on Twitter at @Popliterary, or send a message.

Be sure to check out my home Wordpress page for bonus content!

And as always, if you have a literary device you want to know more about, or a game, comic, show, or movie that you want to see make an appearance on the blog, leave a shout-out in the comments!

#Brave little toaster #novel #book #literature #lgbtq+#lgbtq+ literature #lgbtq literature #Thomas Disch #cartoon #movie #book adaptation #nanowrimo #national novel writing month

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popcultureliterary · 6 years

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Symbolism Saturday: Chiefs and Roots

It's Symbolism Saturday! There are cases when symbols that appear in a story are explained at least once, but then the meaning of the symbol is never repeated. The writer relies on the audience to remember what that symbol means. Take this symbol from the movie Moana. We are told that the stack of rocks symbolizes all of the chiefs of Moana's people. When they become chief, they lay a rock on the pile to symbolize that their leadership will further elevate the island. When Moana's turn to place her rock comes, she leaves a sea shell on the stack to represent herself without explanation. Audience members understand this is a symbol of her becoming a chief, but can also see this as a symbol of change. Unlike the rocks, Moana's shell can't really be stacked on top of. Her contribution to the stack symbolizes her efforts to return her people to their native voyaging roots.

#Moana #Moana Symbolism #Disney #Disney symbolism #movie symbolism #symbolism saturday #what is symbolism #literary symbolism #english language arts #english class help #literary device

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popcultureliterary · 6 years

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Pop Culture Based on Novels Part 3: Bones

November is halfway through. For those of you participating in this year’s National Novel Writing Month challenge, you’re halfway there! Hopefully everyone is satisfied with their progress so far. At the very least, you should feel proud of yourself for making the effort to try.

In solidarity with those of you taking on this monumental challenge, we’re taking a look at pop culture narratives based on novels this month. So far, we’ve talked about an epic anime and a classic video game, and today we’re tackling the popular TV crime drama, Bones.

The Anthropologist on the Set

Bones follows the typical formula for crime drama, taking place both in a forensics lab and on the streets as the characters work together to search for clues and confront criminals. The series is based loosely on the life and writings of physical anthropologist Dr. Kathy Reichs, who also serves as a producer for the show.

Just like Dr. Hideaki Sena, who’s work we discussed earlier this month, Dr. Reichs is far more than just a prolific writer and TV producer. She is a well known forensic anthropologist with years of experience both in the field and in academia. Aside from completing her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in physical anthropology, her impressive credentials include teaching at numerous universities, assisting in high profile exhumations, and testifying in criminal tribunals.

Dr. Reichs has published 19 novels in her Temperance Brennan series (which Bones is loosely based on), with a 20th anticipated in 2018. She has also published several novelas, one stand-alone novel, and co-wrote the Virals series.

The Bones in the Book

The TV series is only loosely based on Dr. Reichs’ works, but many similarities can be seen between the two. One similarity regarding one of the central protagonists comes also as a fun nod to the life and novels that inspired the series. Lead character Dr. Temperance Brennan is named after the protagonist of Dr. Reichs’ books. The two characters are quite different, however, because the TV Brennan is based more on Dr. Reichs than on the novel character.

As another fun nod to Dr. Reichs, several subplots reveal that Brennan writes crime novels based on her life when she’s not solving mysteries. The protagonist in Brennan’s novels is named Kathy Reichs.

Aside from differences between the the main characters’ personalities, fans of either series might notice that the lab location is also different between the novels and TV show. The physical location of the lab is different, but so is the feeling of the lab. Bones features a highly dramatized lab that easily creates excitement for TV audiences and often explains visually what would be boring or take too long to explain verbally. The novels are able to feature a more realistic lab that better reflects where a forensic anthropologist might work.

Despite their differences, the heart of both the novels and their TV counterpart are strikingly similar. Both offer the same great character development and sense of humor, and neither compromise on that heart-thumping action that draws people to crime fiction.

Thanks to their similarities where it matters, fans of the TV show would enjoy the novels, and vice-versa without growing bored or seeing the same stories rehashed from one to the other. Considering that the TV series aired its final episode in March of this year, fans hungry for more might want to pick up a book and start reading.

Be sure to check out my home blog over on Wordpress for bonus content!

And as always, if you have a literary device you want to know more about, or a game, comic, show, or movie that you want to see make an appearance on the blog, leave a shout-out in the comments!

#nanowrimo #national novel writing month #bones #kathy reichs #book adaptation #novel adaptation #literature #book

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popcultureliterary · 6 years

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Throwback Thursday Feature: Mirrors in Wandering Son: Navigating Visual Gender Norms [OWLS July Blog Tour: Mirrors]

Welcome to this month’s Throwback Thursday Feature! When I first started my Wordpress site, I branched out to post that content on Tumblr in order to make it more available to people who might benefit from it. I decided that I would only post any bonus content on the Wordpress site. I intended to share shout-outs for those bonus posts on Tumblr, but I fell far behind on Tumblr. To share those posts now, I’m doing these monthly features to highlight (in no particular order) a bonus post from the Wordpress site.

This throwback was part of a series of posts for the OWLS blogging group discussing mirrors in pop culture. For my contribution, I chose to write about mirror symbolism in the anime Wandering Son. You can catch the original post here!

#anime #wandering son #mirror symbolism #symbolism #theme #throwback thursday

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popcultureliterary · 6 years

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An interesting bit of symbolism!

How Abandoned and Eroding Victorian Mansions of the Gilded Age Came to Symbolize Impending Doom

#symbolism #pop culture #abandoned #victorian mansion #literary symbolism

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popcultureliterary · 6 years

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Symbolism Saturday: Innocent and Free Birds

It's Symbolism Saturday! Birds often symbolize freedom, though certain birds can symbolize specific things. Take doves, for example. These birds often symbolize peace, innocence, and purity. Knowing both of these symbolic meanings, we can interpret the birds that Pazu keeps in the anime film Castle in the Sky as symbolizing his (and eventually Shita's) innocence and freedom. When he releases them, it can be interpreted as them losing their freedom, innocence, or both due to the impending danger they're fleeing from.

Now, keep in mind that symbolism is not universal. Because this is a Japanese film, I wanted to point out that these images might actually have different symbolic meaning in Japan. If you're familiar with Japanese symbolism and want to share some thoughts on this, please do!

#symbolsim saturday #symbolism #what is symbolism #literary symbolism #bird symbolism #anime #anime symbolism #castle in the sky #laputa #miyazaki #movie symbolism #movie #english class help #english language arts #literary device

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popcultureliterary · 6 years

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Pop Culture Based on Novels Part 2: Parasite Eve

The first full week of November has come to a close, which means that everyone participating in National Novel Writing Month has made it halfway through their NaNo challenge. The idea of the challenge is to pump out a novel by the end of November, or to at least to have a higher page count than your friends.

In solidarity with those of you taking on this monumental challenge this year, we’re taking a look at pop culture narratives based on novels. Last week, we talked about The Heroic Legend of Arslan. This week, settle in for another fine example of Japanese literature, and a favorite of survival horror gaming, Parasite Eve.

Gaming: The Sequel

The popular action survival horror game Parasite Eve (1998) takes place in New York (Manhattan specifically). The narrative follows NYPD officer Aya Brea as she chases after a creature called Eve. If Aya fails, Eve will eliminate human life, causing humanity to spontaneously combust by manipulating their mitochondria.

The game came out as a sequel to the novel Parasite Eve written by Dr. Hideaki Sena (who, time of publication, had not yet completed his Ph.D.) and released in 1995. Despite being a sequel to his work, Dr. Sena didn’t know much about the game’s plot until after its release. The novel came out during a time when horror titles were gaining popularity in Japan, and may have had strong influence in the genre’s popularity enjoying rapid growth.

Dr. Sena’s novel follows the story of a scientist who, following a car accident, tries to save his brain-dead wife using technology. He soon finds that his efforts to modify mitochondria in order to save the woman he loves are not his to control. His efforts quickly take a bad turn when a super-powerful being named Eve, hosted inside of his wife’s mitochondria, makes an appearance.

Eve’s mitochondria-based powers come as no surprise when considering the author’s background in science. Dr. Sena has a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and is an award-winning novelist. He has written many works since his successful debut with Parasite Eve, including Brain Valley, The Heart’s Time Machine!, and Descartes’ Sealed Room. Today, he gives lectures on both microbiology and genre fiction (Randomhouse).

Other Adaptations

The novel sparked not only the popular game sequel (which itself had two game sequels: Parasite Eve II and The Third Birthday), but also a movie and two manga adaptations. One of the manga is based on the novel, while the other came out as an adaptation of the game.

Fans of the game series might enjoy taking a look at not only the original novel, but also the manga and film adaptations. Each retelling of the story offers something new.

Do you have a favorite novel that you’d love to see adapted into another medium, or know of any that have already received adaptations? Last week, Jonathan of Cantrip gave a shout-out to another Japanese novel when talking about Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, which “could be seen as an adaptation of the film Battle Royale, which is adapted from the novel of the same title.”

If you have one you’d like to share, leave a shout-out in the comments! You can also connect on Twitter at @Popliterary, or send a message.

Don’t forget to check out my home blog on Wordpress for bonus content!

And as always, if you have a literary device you want to know more about, or a game, comic, show, or movie that you want to see make an appearance on the blog, leave a shout-out in the comments!

#parasite eve #novel adaptation #book #japanese literature #gaming #nanowrimo #national novel writing month #Hideaki Sena

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popcultureliterary · 6 years

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Pop Culture Based on Novels Part 1: The Heroic Legend of Arslan

November is National Novel Writing Month, a 30-day challenge that many aspiring writers partake in every year. The idea of the challenge is to pump out a novel by the end of the month, or to at least to have a higher page count than your friends who gave up halfway through. I myself have tried this challenge, and it is difficult. To all of you participating in this year’s NaNo, I tip my hat to you.

In the spirit of cheering on the writers fighting to reach their daily word count goals, we’ll be touching on pop culture narratives this month that are based on novels. Every artist, writer, and developer has their own personal styles and projects. Every now and then, they’re inspired to create their own version of other people’s work as well, reproducing it with their own experiences and style and creating a new way for others to experience and enjoy the work in new mediums.

First up is the 2015 anime The Heroic Legend of Arslan (アルスラーン戦記Arslan Senki), directed by Noriyuki Abe and written by Makoto Uezu.

An Ongoing Epic

The Heroic Legend of Arslanis a historic fantasy with a focus on war tactics that tells the story of prince Arslan and his quest to reclaim his country. In the beginning, Arslan finds himself displaced and in danger when a neighboring nation invades his home and seizes control of his father’s throne. With the help of his loyal servant and friend, Daryun, as well as a handful of other allies, the prince fights to reclaim his homeland.

The narrative has several recurring themes, including betrayal, the harmful human impacts of slavery, fair treatment of individuals, and religious zealotry. The series also brings into question issues concerning the extent to which a person’s loyalty belongs to a bloodline versus how much that loyalty belongs to a specific individual.

Magic exists in the series’s world as well, though it plays a much smaller role in the beginning. Magic operates in a limited capacity throughout the series, making it less prominent than it is in many other fantasy works. Later in the novels, more magical fantasy elements begin to appear.

Dr. Yoshiki Tanaka began publishing the series in 1986, and his project found a large fanbase that has encouraged its continued run. The story is loosely based on the Persian epic Amir Arsalan. After publishing the 15th volume of the series in 2015, Dr. Tanaka announced that the next book would be the last. In August 2017, it was announced that the manuscript was complete and had moved on to the next stop on its journey to publication. After more than three decades of production, the Arslan series will come to a close. The final novel is anticipated in December of this year.

The 2015 Anime Adaptation

Like a number of Dr. Tanaka’s greatest works, Arslan has been adapted into anime form. An anime adaptation, based on a manga adaptation by Hiromu Arakawa (adaptation-ception!), aired in 2015, with a second season in 2016. Arakawa is well known as the brilliant mind behind Full Metal Alchemist, Hero Tales, and Silver Spoon. Fans of her work might enjoy reading her manga version of Dr. Tanaka’s novels.

This 33 episode anime follows Arslan and his loyal followers as he loses his home and mounts efforts to reclaim his throne. Like most movie and television versions of novels, the anime doesn’t cover everything from the books. It does, however, follow the general plot of the first half of the series fairly well. Fans of the anime might lose out on some major plot points, but they still get to enjoy the main story.

Other Adaptations

Due to its high popularity, the 2015 anime adaptation isn’t the only one to hit the market. From 1991-1996, Chisato Nakamura created a 13 volume manga of the unfinished work. After catching up with Dr. Tanaka’s progress on the novels, Nakamura concluded the manga with an original ending. Nakamura’s work inspired an OVA adaptation as well.

In 1993, a video game adaptation was released for Sega’s Mega-CD system. The game was designed as a companion piece for the OVA. A second game came out in Japan in 2015 for the PS3 and PS4, which follows the plot of the first season of the anime adaptation of Arakawa’s manga (an adaptation of an adaptation of an adaptation).

Whether you get your hands on the original novels or any of their many adaptations (or adaptation of adaptations), Arslan Senki is an epic work that captures the imagination. Both the original author and the creative minds behind the adaptations do a fine job of painting a vivid narrative for fans to enjoy. It is impressive that Dr Tanaka’s novels have been adapted so many times. Few authors get to enjoy such diverse forms of publication.

Don’t forget to check out Pop Culture Literary’s Wordpress Blog for bonus content!

And as always, if you have a literary device you want to know more about, or a game, comic, show, or movie that you want to see make an appearance on the blog, leave a shout-out in the comments!

#nanowrimo #national novel writing month #book adaptation #anime #japanese literature #arslan #arslan senki #the heroic legend of arslan #yoshiki tanaka #hiromu arakawa

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popcultureliterary · 6 years

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Symbolism Saturday: Uncertain Fog

It's Symbolism Saturday, and in the spirit of the season, let's take a look at an example of symbolism from a movie that often gets pulled out this time of year. Weather conditions are often used for their symbolism. For example, fog is often used to symbolize uncertainty or a lack of clarity. Looking at it this way, the fog in The Nightmare Before Christmas that forms after Sally pours a potion in the town well is more than a convenient parallel to a beloved children's Christmas carol. It also symbolizes the uncertainty that she has over this event. The fog may also symbolize the lack of clarity that Jack and the other town residents see the more pressing dangers of Jack becoming the new Christmas patron.

#Disney #Disney movie #Symbolism #What is Symbolism #Symbolism Saturday #Literary symbolism #english language arts #english class help #disney symbolism #nightmare before christmas #fog symbolism #literary device

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popcultureliterary · 6 years

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Throwback Thursday Feature: Family Dynamics in Gravity Falls [OWLS August Blog Tour: Bloodlines]

This month’s throwback was another from an OWLS blog tour, this one based on the theme of bloodlines. I decided to write about the troubling family dynamics revealed in Gravity Falls. You can catch the original post here!

#gravity falls #Throwback Thursday #cartoon #theme #family

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popcultureliterary · 6 years

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Symbolism Saturday: Royal Purple

It's Symbolism Saturday! There are many examples of symbolism that are widely used to mean the same thing in many different works. One example is the color purple. Colors can have a number of different meanings. For example, purple can represent magic, wealth, and royalty, among other things. In the case of #Tangled, Rapunzel wears purple and the flag she finds with the royal emblem is also purple. This symbolizes that she is royalty (hey, it's not a spoiler, you learn that in the first 5 minutes of the film!). Symbolism isn't universal, so don't be surprised if you visit another country and find that the color purple symbolizes something else entirely.

#Tangled #Disney Symbolism #Movie Symbolism #Symbolism #What is Symbolism #literary symbolism #disney #english class help #english language arts #color symbolism #symbolism saturday #literary device

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popcultureliterary · 6 years

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Pop Culture Grammar Bytes: Its Vs. It’s

The apostrophe is one of the more complicated punctuation marks to use in the English language. When grading, reading posts from other bloggers, or perusing social media content, it often stands out to me that many people struggle with this particular bit of grammar. Today, we’re tackling an apostrophe issue that frequently trips people up: it’svs. its.

(Note that the original post on my Wordpress site has color-coded text to make the it’s and its stand out a little better.)

About Pop Culture Grammar Bytes

What does pop culture (cartoons, manga, comics, anime, videogames, books, TV shows, movies, etc.) have in common with grammar? A lot more than you might think! Every story, be it visual or text-based, is composed of written content. The writers of your favorite shows and comics have to have an understanding of grammar in order to create entertaining content that communicates what they want to say to the audience. But they had to learn it somewhere…

Anyone who has ever spent time studying English grammar rules knows that grammar textbooks tend to be a bit dry. They’re not much fun to learn from. As a general rule about learning, learning works a lot better when we are fully engaged and interested in the materials we are using.

Pop Culture Grammar Bytes is a series intended to make learning grammar a little more engaging by teaching grammar using examples from games, TV, comics, film, and other pop culture mediums.

I’m Not (Going to be) a Writer, so Why is Grammar Important for me?

I’m glad you asked! Writing is a useful skill that benefits people regardless of career choice or interests. You don’t have to be a writer to use grammar to your advantage. Knowing grammar rules can enhance your resume, boost your written-communication skills (important for getting jobs, communicating with friends/family, and for sending messages at work), help you write entrance essays for college or tech school applications, and help you pass classes in said higher ed programs. At the absolute least, knowing your grammar rules can save you from nasty encounters with overly enthusiastic, self-righteous grammar jerks in online spaces.

There are virtually no limits to the number of ways that having good grammar skills will benefit you no matter where you see yourself in the future. Although you should never feel so paralyzed by grammar that it stops you from writing at all, good grammar can really help your readers understand what you’re trying to say (I strongly advocate not worrying too much about grammar as you write, and only fretting worrying about it during the editing stages). Having said that, let’s get started!

That’s What It’s All About

The rules for it’s vs. its are difficult to remember because of the rules that dictate possessive and plural grammar. When you want to write that something belongs to Tuxedo Mask, you’ll write something like this:

Tuxedo Mask‘s red roses are sooooo coooooool!

In this case, the ‘s (apostrophe “s”) marks possession. The cool roses belong to Tuxedo Mask.

It’s is tricky because it doesn’t follow rules quite the way it seems like it should. It looks possessive because of the ‘s, but actually, it’s is a contraction!

You see, the tricky thing is that apostrophes can be used for possessivesAND contractions. Any time you shorten do not to don’t, you areto you’re, or was not to wasn’t, you use an apostrophe to mark the contraction, or point where extra letters are removed.

It’s is a short version of it is. Whenever you write it’s, you’re just writing it is. Let’s (hey look! That word follows this same contraction rule!) take a look at some examples:

What time is it? It’s Adventure Time! (It is Adventure Time)

It’s time to d-d-d-d-d-dddd-d-duel! (It is time to d-d-d-d-d-dddd-d-duel)

(It is a trap)

I just think it’s about more than presents and bobbles… (I just think it isabout more than presents and bobbles)

Remember that it’s important to use this contraction ONLY when you want to shorten it is. Otherwise, your readers might be confused about your meaning, or might lose interest in what you are trying to say.

Taking Ownership of Its Things

Earlier, I mentioned that regular possessive rules don’t apply when you’re looking at it’s vs. its. The first it’s looks possessive but isn’t. Now for the curve ball– its looks plural (meaning that it represents more than one item or person), but is actually possessive! That’s right, you’re looking at the biggest exception to possessive punctuation in the English language. Thanks English, you’re fun a jerk.

When you’re wanting to talk about an it that has ownership of something, just write its. No apostrophe, nothing. Your reader will automatically understand that you’re talking about ownership. Let’s take a look at a few pop culture examples:

Enemy SQUIRTLE whipped its tail at you! It wasn’t very effective… (The tail belongs to Enemy SQUIRTLE)

The moon crashed its horrifying face into the Earth, killing everybody. (The face belongs to the moon)

The car angrily slammed its doors, opened its damaged trunk, ejected Ron and Harry’s luggage, and drove off into the woods. (The doors and trunk belong to the enchanted car.)

Most of my examples seem to apply to living and animated things, but keep in mind that you can use the possessive its for non living and inanimate things as well.

The Payload is approaching its destination (The destination kind of belongs to the Payload…)

Now Go Forth and Write!

I hope that the above examples help you remember the difference between the possessive, its, and the contraction, it’s (it is). The best way to remember grammar rules like this is to challenge yourself to practice them. The next time you write anything (a blog post, an essay, a comment on your friend’s silly cat video), mark any use of its or it’s in a bold or underlined font as you write. Don’t worry too much about the grammar while you write (don’t mess up your funky flow!).

After you’re done writing, go back through and ask yourself “was this supposed to be possessive, or is it a contraction of it is?” You should be able to catch the difference right away by asking yourself this. Read the sentence with it is in place of either its or it’s. If you wrote “The bus lost it’s wheel,” test the contraction to make sure it makes sense. You’ll notice that “The bus lost it is wheel” doesn’t really make sense, and realize that you actually meant to write “The bus lost its wheel.”

Questions? Need more examples? Want to make sure you’re understanding it completely? Share in the comments! You can also connect on Twitter at @Popliterary, or send a message.

Be sure to check out my home Wordpress blog for bonus content!

And as always, if you have a literary device or grammar rule you want to know more about, or a game, comic, show, or movie that you want to see make an appearance on the blog, leave a shout-out in the comments!

#grammar #grammar help #english class help #english language arts #it's vs its #cartoon #pop culture #english grammar #pop culture grammar bytes

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