I have *got* to get started with Delicious in Dungeon! Thanks for another great essay. Ridiculousness is a tool I don’t often deploy in my own writing because I worry about the whiplash that you describe, but I might rethink that. I’m curious: Do you think there’s any difference between ridiculousness and absurdism? Thanks again!
I can't recommend Delicious in Dungeon enough. And the anime does a fantastic job staying true to the story. Ridiculousness is really hard, I don't blame you for not using it. I only use it so much because my stories are geared towards kids, and they love that stuff. Whiplash works when it's grounded, and that's the big difference between ridiculousness and absurdism. Absurdism is completely ungrounded. It's Monty Python's "And Now For Something Completely Different." Nothing is connecting the pieces. Ridiculousness is Monty Python's "Holy Grail." Even when the police show up, or there's a dance sequence, it's always grounded in the world it's in.
I generally don't like absurdism, especially absurdist comedy, because it doesn't feel connected, and I love connecting the pieces in a story, even when it gets silly. Ridiculousness is still connected. I guess in that sense, absurdism is even further on the humor spectrum than ridiculousness, but I think, if we could ask absurdism, it would prefer to not even be on that spectrum lol.
I added Delicious in Dungeon to my watch list the other day! I'll have to get started on it soon. I think you make a really good point here about a good story having a balance between two extreme tones. I find it really hard to connect with a narrative if it's all one tone... (I had that problem withbthe Dune film) it's hard to connect with characters or feel any impact from the major story beats if it's a monotone doom, gloom, everything is terrible vibe from beginning to end. Or if it's all just silly and shallow nonsense. It's nice when a story surprises you by suddenly flipping to the other extreme, but it's hard to do it well too... timing is key and I guess there still needs to be a certain amount of consistency with character and world-building... but you can pull it off it can be extremely powerful.
I try to create a balance of light and dark, humour and sadness in my own work, but I've never really considered going as far as the ridiculous, so that's something new to consider.
It's a fantastic story, another one that I knew I'd like, but I didn't realize how much I'd like it. I thought it would be all silly, but it's not, it is so well balanced, and the humor is always anchored to a character's particular personality.
I 100% hear you about when a story is all one tone. I was just saying that the other day after seeing I Saw The TV Glow, which I absolutely hated because it was so incredibly monotone. But I had a friend who prefers that, and enjoyed the film, so to each their own, I guess.
I think when a character has a sense of humor they become so much more human. I think there's a study out there that links a sense of humor with higher intelligence, and I absolutely buy that. You can read into a character's humor just as much as you can read into any of their other emotions and traits.
Balancing light and dark is the way to go. Create that depth, give readers layers to enjoy. It's also why I love dark humor so much. Films like In Bruges or Seven Psychopaths, they walk such a fine line between dark and funny and it's a great study to see how delicate that line is. Not everything has to be that toeing-the-line, but that's what makes it a great muse.
I have *got* to get started with Delicious in Dungeon! Thanks for another great essay. Ridiculousness is a tool I don’t often deploy in my own writing because I worry about the whiplash that you describe, but I might rethink that. I’m curious: Do you think there’s any difference between ridiculousness and absurdism? Thanks again!
I can't recommend Delicious in Dungeon enough. And the anime does a fantastic job staying true to the story. Ridiculousness is really hard, I don't blame you for not using it. I only use it so much because my stories are geared towards kids, and they love that stuff. Whiplash works when it's grounded, and that's the big difference between ridiculousness and absurdism. Absurdism is completely ungrounded. It's Monty Python's "And Now For Something Completely Different." Nothing is connecting the pieces. Ridiculousness is Monty Python's "Holy Grail." Even when the police show up, or there's a dance sequence, it's always grounded in the world it's in.
I generally don't like absurdism, especially absurdist comedy, because it doesn't feel connected, and I love connecting the pieces in a story, even when it gets silly. Ridiculousness is still connected. I guess in that sense, absurdism is even further on the humor spectrum than ridiculousness, but I think, if we could ask absurdism, it would prefer to not even be on that spectrum lol.
Ha ha ha ha ha! Well said, thank you. Monty Python is exactly what came to mind, and “ungrounded” is the perfect way to describe it. 😁
I added Delicious in Dungeon to my watch list the other day! I'll have to get started on it soon. I think you make a really good point here about a good story having a balance between two extreme tones. I find it really hard to connect with a narrative if it's all one tone... (I had that problem withbthe Dune film) it's hard to connect with characters or feel any impact from the major story beats if it's a monotone doom, gloom, everything is terrible vibe from beginning to end. Or if it's all just silly and shallow nonsense. It's nice when a story surprises you by suddenly flipping to the other extreme, but it's hard to do it well too... timing is key and I guess there still needs to be a certain amount of consistency with character and world-building... but you can pull it off it can be extremely powerful.
I try to create a balance of light and dark, humour and sadness in my own work, but I've never really considered going as far as the ridiculous, so that's something new to consider.
It's a fantastic story, another one that I knew I'd like, but I didn't realize how much I'd like it. I thought it would be all silly, but it's not, it is so well balanced, and the humor is always anchored to a character's particular personality.
I 100% hear you about when a story is all one tone. I was just saying that the other day after seeing I Saw The TV Glow, which I absolutely hated because it was so incredibly monotone. But I had a friend who prefers that, and enjoyed the film, so to each their own, I guess.
I think when a character has a sense of humor they become so much more human. I think there's a study out there that links a sense of humor with higher intelligence, and I absolutely buy that. You can read into a character's humor just as much as you can read into any of their other emotions and traits.
Balancing light and dark is the way to go. Create that depth, give readers layers to enjoy. It's also why I love dark humor so much. Films like In Bruges or Seven Psychopaths, they walk such a fine line between dark and funny and it's a great study to see how delicate that line is. Not everything has to be that toeing-the-line, but that's what makes it a great muse.