Imagine some mock establishment blurbs if this micro fiction were extended to novel length: A light-hearted reverie of cultural critique - bloody but propulsive.
The "we" is a good formal choice as collective consciousness. One way to transcend the escapist fantasy would be to bring back Malcolm and Martin by using the technique that Andre Vltchek used in Aurora - bringing back great historical figures as an explicitly and directly politicized form of magical realism.
Malcolm and Martin encounters would give the collective "we" the direct structural analysis it could use without requiring the characters to step outside their own heads to deliver it. The classic revolutionary figures could bring political argument that the other characters don't can't or won't. You could put any or all of your characters on the road across the country or plunge them into some topical or cultural events ... One Uprising After Another ... in your own way. Malcolm and Martin constantly popping up and in or there all along could be really funny and meaningful.
thanks for the encouragement and engagement as always tony! Maybe I’ll have to do a novel project. I dunno if you’ve read any of Ben Passmore’s comics but he kinda does the thing with a contemporary protagonist talking with Black historical leaders.
I may have a mental block with comics as long form, though I've always appreciated the short form. The meaningful comedic possibilities in all this do seem infinite.
Imagine some mock establishment blurbs if this micro fiction were extended to novel length: A light-hearted reverie of cultural critique - bloody but propulsive.
The "we" is a good formal choice as collective consciousness. One way to transcend the escapist fantasy would be to bring back Malcolm and Martin by using the technique that Andre Vltchek used in Aurora - bringing back great historical figures as an explicitly and directly politicized form of magical realism.
Malcolm and Martin encounters would give the collective "we" the direct structural analysis it could use without requiring the characters to step outside their own heads to deliver it. The classic revolutionary figures could bring political argument that the other characters don't can't or won't. You could put any or all of your characters on the road across the country or plunge them into some topical or cultural events ... One Uprising After Another ... in your own way. Malcolm and Martin constantly popping up and in or there all along could be really funny and meaningful.
thanks for the encouragement and engagement as always tony! Maybe I’ll have to do a novel project. I dunno if you’ve read any of Ben Passmore’s comics but he kinda does the thing with a contemporary protagonist talking with Black historical leaders.
I may have a mental block with comics as long form, though I've always appreciated the short form. The meaningful comedic possibilities in all this do seem infinite.