LNH: Legion of Net.Heroes Vol.2 #23

[Martin Phipps]

On Nov 8, 12:53 pm, Tom Russell <milos_par... at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I think pornography, erotica, what-have-you, is a "feel-good" genre.
> At best they'd _have_ to be light comedies.  Can you imagine a
> pornographic film about a man dying of cancer, or someone dealing with
> substance abuse, or someone driven to suicide by mind-numbing
> poverty?  It would be terrible, and it would defeat the whole purpose
> of it-- few people can be simultaneously aroused and depressed.

I was once taking an English course an a psychology course at the same
time and I once saw the same argument made from both points of view:
"Literary genre is a function of the emotional context."  It follows
that there are exactly as many genres as their are human emotions.  To
test this theory, imagine any human emotion and then imagine a story
that would make you feel that way.

Fear <--> Horror / Suspense
Love <--> Romance
Passion / Lust <--> Porn (includes soft and hard core)
Wonder --> Sci-Fi / Fantasy
Hate / Anger <--> Action (with the emotion directed at the villain)
Joy <--> Comedy / Musical
Sadness <--> Drama
Curiosity <--> Documentary
Satisfaction / Excitement <--> Anything really as long as it's good

By extension, all literature is equally legitimate.  The plot of a
porn film merely exists to connect sex scenes?  The plot of a horror /
suspense movie exists merely to connect scenes of viloence.  The plot
of a romance exists merely to connect scenes of couples kissing.  The
plot of a sci fi or fantasy movie exists merely to connect scenes
involving impressive special effects.  The plot of comedy exists
merely to connect jokes.  The plot of a musical exists merely to
connect scenes in which people are singing and dancing.  The plot of a
drama merely exists to connect scenes of emotional turmoil.
Documentaries don't have plots, per se, but they do have a narrative
which functions to clarify one idea presented before moving on to the
next.

My English teacher was surprised when I told him that I had heard
pretty much the same argument in my psychology class.  I got an A in
my English class, btw.

Martin