Light and darkness...

So I'm hanging out with Donald. He's a lot quieter this week, I wonder why...

So anyways, I was checking out the Cynsations blog and stumbled across a guest entry Sarah Beth Durst about her new story Conjured. She describes the novel as her "darkest" with an atmosphere of "disorientation and ominous chaos." Though the story deals with complex topics such as magic wielding serial killers and blocked out memories, the story carefully interjects humor into the story. But the story also creates a clash theme wise as it adds 'light' to the darkness of the story. In one page, there's a discussion about the deliciousness of bacon, but even in such a light-hearted moment there's horror as the main character recollects more traumatic events. Sarah, the author, feels strongly about "contrast...darkness is meaningless without light." She elaborates: "but from a sheer writerly standpoint, lightness-- be it kindness, happiness, humor, even anger disguised as humor-- can be a powerful tool...it can add meaning to the dark...it can increase the reader's emotional investment...it can be used to deflect, defuse and disarm, to charm and seduce, or to belittle and crush...it can be used to hide and reveal."

Of course, it is a difficult balance: "too much light in a thriller, for example, and you run the risk of sapping away the suspense...too little light, and you run the risk of being unrealistic and melodramatic." I certainly agree: I think in many ways the trend in television in particular is filled with dark and gritty shows (many Netflix hits such as Arrow, Continuum, House of Cards, etc) all focus on darkness to hook the viewer. Then there's like Supernatural that incorporate a bizarre humor throughout the show event though much of the episodes center on a lot of violence and relationship ending disputes. Personally, my favorite shows are the ones that incorporate a lot of humor, that don't take themselves too seriously, but do have their share of serious moments. One of my favorite shows, Chuck, is more of a comedy than a drama at many points: the protagonist is quirky, witty, self-deprecating, but there's always a 'hook' in the story, always plenty of action and high stakes whether it's own his life or the people around him in danger. One of the most popular and beloved animes, One Piece, features a protagonist named Monkey D. Luffy that barely is serious at all: he is always poking humor at his surroundings, is dimwitted and clumsy, but it's these quirks that makes the anime so unique and makes him one of the most beloved anime characters ever. And it also makes it more special when Luffy is completely serious: when he stops smiling and grows angry, it reels in the audience because they usually admire Luffy's calmness and light-hearted nature. The humor in these characters makes them more unique and 'larger than life' in a sense as they find strength even in the worst moments.

Like the article writer mentions, sometimes humor can almost be haunting and jarring: it can deepen the moment because of the clash between light and darkness. What makes Sarah's comments so interesting and profound is that incorporates 'light' as an entity: kindness, humor, etc. which makes it hard to discuss all of it's facets: but it is true that adding 'light' in the darkest moment in a novel can add uniqueness to a character even if it's about to lead to the catharsis of the story (the most stressful moments that everything had led up to).