I received a list of questions the other day from a student in a PhD program that requires research into the nature of crime fiction and its place in modern culture. I gave him my answers to the questions, but I thought it might be interesting to expand his data base by seeking additional input from Killzoners. I present the questions here exactly as I received them.
Pick and choose as you wish:
1. What is the appeal of crime writing?
2. What do you think about our current culture of fear and how crime writing is responding to it?
3. Is the success of crime fiction an indication that we haven’t gotten beyond the genre’s infant years? Do the Victorian duplicity and its repressed voyeurism persist in the genre’s theory that every private life has a story of secret shame and trauma to tell?
4. Is crime writing about the healing quality of story-telling in the tradition of the shaman trickster tale? Does it offer consolation to readers touched by the corruption of crime – does taking up the pen offer the troubled writer an alternative to taking up the pint?
5. Is the post 80s resurrection of the crime novel another phenomenon of our contemporary sentimentality for the ‘noble savage’ in popular culture? Do we admire the inwards looking detective because life is confusing and all we have is hope that the deepest ‘I’ cannot be civilised, that this authenticity is incorruptible?
6. Would you agree that what most defines the genre are not its formal conventions, but rather the epic perseverance of its protagonists in a world where there is no healing, only constant movement towards it? Is crime fiction stoicism with a fancy for spectacle?
7. Does the detective writer sit in the same chair at the table of literature as a transvestite cousin at a family gathering? If you’re not 100% sure what a transvestite is as maybe you’ve led a sheltered life then you can continue reading this on Shemale hd. Do political correctness, tolerance and open-mindedness invite, indulge, excuse and pardon him, while his fabulous hat is studiously ignored?
Well, there you go, folks. Have at it.
These questions are fun! I’ll take a whack at ’em:
1. The appeal of crime writing is primarily its entertainment value. As far back as the earliest myths and religious stories, there has always been a fascination with Good versus Evil. I think crime writing is based on that dynamic.
2. Crime writing existed before the culture of fear. I think the explosion of visual media, the Internet, and the 24/7 news cycle contributes to the heightened sense of threat in our society. Much more than crime writing does.
3. Crime writing’s popularity comes and goes in waves, but with each return, its expression is slightly different. It will continue to cross-pollinate with other genres (paranormal, romance, “literary” writing, etc.), and continue throwing off new subgenres. Speaking of cross-genres, the MWA SoCal chapter is having a program called
Genre Outlaws: Fiction without Borders on Sunday, March 21st at Meltdown Comics. Check it out!
4. I can’t speak to shaman tricksters, but I don’t believe that crime writing offers consolation to crime victims. They know reality, and they’re smart enough to know that crime fiction is just that: fiction.
5. “Noble savage”–you’re talking about Dirty Harry, right? LOL. I don’t think people confuse being uncivilized with being authentic. In popular entertainment, gross, vulgar behavior is commonplace, but most of those people are also quite inauthentic.
6. I think the key here is “epic perseverance of its protagonists.” Character is the driving force of all fiction, not conventions. This applies to “literary” novels as well as detective novels. Each character, even minor ones, must have a driving goal. The protagonist perseveres in reaching his goal, which is what makes him interesting.
7. I couldn’t wait to get to this one. At the family table of literature, I think Detective Fiction sits next to Uncle Potty-mouth. Literary Fiction sits next to the Hostess, and they scowl down the table whenever DF and Uncle Potty get rowdy.
So many big words…I’m overwalloped.
But in answer to #3, and touching on #7: Yes.
I am Victoria Shamus, secretly.
1. I think it goes to the basic level of a hero–someone who is not going to stop until the problem is solved, even if means personal peril.
2. I think we’ll see more by looking back on it. I don’t think it will be obvious until we have perspective from the events today. A few years ago I reread one of Clive Cussler’s books. It was published in 2000. Halfway though, I suddenly realized he had predicted Sept 11. That made me realize there had been events in real life that he had picked up on and filtered into the story. When I initially read it, I had no clue of the events that would eventually play out in real life.
3/4: These both seem like the same question, that the writer is dysfunctional in a way because they write about crime. A writer needs to be creative and be able to play what if, but it doesn’t mean they’re dysfunctional. They just a different way of thinking.
5. I don’t think there’s been a resurrection so much as a transition. I grew up in the 1970s reading Nancy Drew, which was around when my mother was growing up. Genres have to change to meet the needs of the audience or they die. Romance also had a huge change during the same time frame, as did fantasy. That was when the industry started to recognize women as readers. Now it’s common to find a woman lead in crime novels, but, there were only two choices, and both characters acted like misfits and men. Both are also still selling today.
6. Not a clue what this question is even talking about.
7. You mean this matters? A writer is a writer.
More crime reader than writer, but I’ll give it a go (anything to avoid work for a few more minutes)
1. We intrinsically love ‘cops and robbers.’ There is a fascination with good versus evil and sometimes just evil itself. There is also a nobility about the lawgiver that is appealing. It can be found in everything from westerns to King’s ‘Dark Tower’ saga. Sometimes I want the good guy to win, sometimes I like to see evil score some points (if good has really annoyed me).
2. Culture of fear? Depends on who you talk to. I had a girlfriend who lived in mortal fear of serial killers. She truly believed that she could become a victim at any moment. On the flip side, I still know a lot of people who don’t lock their doors. I think our society on a day-to-day basis is still pretty trusting (at least out here in the big flat states).
Crime writing does tickle the inner ‘fight or flight’ response and is a safe way to not only be a bit scared and threatened, but also be soothed that the intrepid crime fighters and lawgivers are out there to protect us.
3. Huh? Crime writing has been popular for a long time (ie – Sherlock Holmes) and will continue to be so. It is a mature and accepted genre. It will change and evolve as criminals and crime evolve (no more keeping the bad guy on the line while it is traced and I see email evidence used hilariously and erroneously by non-techno writers)
4. Uh, no. Crime writing (to me) is a fun little slice of adrenaline and brain teasing. I work in criminal justice and enjoy watching talented writers tell stories about my world (their tales are so often much more entertaining than the reality).
5. What Kathryn said! One of my favorite tropes is the ‘reluctant hero.’ I like seeing everyday people put in extraordinary situations and then rise to the occasion. Cops are a convenient and often effective use of this concept as they match wits with the evil-doers.
6. Okay, I can see something in this. Crime drama is an excellent vehicle for strong character development – both good and evil. “Silence of the Lambs” is a good example. The character development of Clarice Starling takes center stage as she squares off with Hannibal Lector and Buffalo Bill.
7. WTF? Actually, I think I see something in there as well. Crime drama is often perceived on the lowbrow side of writing when compared to lofty literary novels.
Lots of blood and guts and guns and car chases and oogey stuff. Nobody has time to wait around for Godot as they pursue their quarry.
Well, to me, it is the literaries that are wearing the funny hats. Trying to glean deep meaning and hidden truths in obscure and overwritten passages of long, dense, chewy prose is not for me. I like a straight-forward good versus evil with enough twists along the way that sometimes I’m not sure which side is which.
Well – that’s my two cents.
Terri