tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13532619.post1433361916579112915..comments2023-07-20T07:06:51.193-07:00Comments on Adam Selzer.com: News All Sizes, Notes on Writing.Adam Selzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16068653440362135301noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13532619.post-38464751545452570402010-12-12T18:18:37.733-08:002010-12-12T18:18:37.733-08:00Great post on 'Pop Culture' and I find it ...Great post on 'Pop Culture' and I find it hilarious that you're using 'Full house.' I was just bemoaning the other day that a lot of kids today don't even know what a VCR is or video-tape. I'm someone who will proudly walk around with a walkman or discman and my recorded tapes from the 1990's. I was born in 1980, but I much prefer 70's and 80's and just a wee bit 90's. (Though the internet is one of the greatest modern inventions.)<br />I actually think many writers are really trying to keep the Pop culture from the last fifty years alive. There's countless books on the subject or one specific thing. I also can't believe all the 80's movies being rehashed these days either. Makes me feel old already.VoyagerGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06203350059685279886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13532619.post-72413863894946419152010-12-07T18:09:49.176-08:002010-12-07T18:09:49.176-08:00Well, who knows? Maybe Bieber will surprise us all...Well, who knows? Maybe Bieber will surprise us all and grow up to be a hell of a songwriter or something. You never can tell which of the teen idols will make good in the end.<br /><br />But that said, I'd only use him in a book if I were picking a very specific time (like, March, 2010) for that book to take place. And I'd refer to other news items from that week while I was at it.<br /><br />That said, if I were to read a book about a teenager that took place circa 1994, I'd want to know what they thought of grunge, the same way you can't set a book in 1964 without referring to The Beatles. Trying to leave out pop culture is going to lead to a bland book. Inoffensive, maybe, but bland.<br /><br />The trick is to do it the right way. If you're using pop culture as the means of connecting to readers, you're doing it the wrong way (since the connection will only last as long as the culture). <br /><br />I've made up pop culture myself now and then.Adam Selzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16068653440362135301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13532619.post-13399714708777598182010-12-07T12:12:41.261-08:002010-12-07T12:12:41.261-08:00I have to omit, I got a little excited when you me...I have to omit, I got a little excited when you mentioned it was has FULL HOUSE references. That show help raise me and I love a little 80s and 90's kitsch in my YA. <br /><br />I think this is an interesting discussion (and one that came up on the Nanowrimo forums recently), and I love that you referenced Porter and Cohen. I've not read I KISS A ZOMBIE.. but now I want to. <br /><br />I think with pop culture, it depends on what you choose. Justin Bieber has a ticking time bomb of fame left, whereas people like Madonna? Such staying power. Though I'm not a Madonna fan or anything. I love when writers invent their own pop culture. I'm writing a YA about a girl obsessed with a tv show and everything in my WIP is made up. It's fun.Bri Ahearnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03386299049588321078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13532619.post-87852607188742296752010-11-23T07:39:22.201-08:002010-11-23T07:39:22.201-08:00I agree -- pop culture references that relate to y...I agree -- pop culture references that relate to your target audience don't need to stand the test of time. Only if the entire content of the book links to something anachronistic will the book (or other medium) be harmed. <br /><br />A recent victim of this was the film Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. When the book was written, the idea of owning a book with all the world's knowledge seems silly. The film came out after the popularization of the Internet, though just before the iPad. Knowing that the Guide could exist helped tank the film. But the book lives on!Dave Johnstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10714177020987158565noreply@blogger.com