Art and Culture # 54: Retconning
-For the Uncensored!
As someone who understands the power of influence running through my system, I am constantly reminded of what I was reading or thinking about whenever I read my work. I am aware of more than just pop culture, but ancient culture as well. The power of myth is a signifying beauty of talent that with each new interpretation can always suck or help introduce a new culture to that particular piece of art. If the world of thievery can even happen when you don’t act upon it, the failure an artist can make is that “should a series continue?” In the world of books, does Jason Bourne really need a continuation if Robert Ludlum is dead?
But the consequence of originality takes more time, and being original is hard work. And I put blame on SJW’s who have to infuse ideas that don’t work in mainstream comics, like Superman or Batman. While Marvel’s poorly executed Safe Space for all purposes is the worst comic in all of comic book history. It could have been great, but alas, calling attention to the idea and execution is what killed what could have been good. But failure in the public eye is a death sentence.
Does alliteration take place when a series is continued past the point of the original artists death? Has anyone tried to make a continuation to Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”? It’s a good question to present this article with. If the typical accusation of an artist is “can a novelist ruin a book by making a sequel” the new question is, “Can a steward make the attempt to either fill in the gaps of a series or equal the talent of the original artist.” I use artist here in the broadest of terms to help with what you want to see.
There has always been the debate of “Should Dune by Frank Herbert stayed one story?” instead of moving Paul toward a doomed plan of becoming a failed leader? What Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert have managed to do is give the world Frank Herbert, the respect and dignity that to me, doesn’t offend my sensibilities as a reader and lover of Frank Herbert’s world. As far as I can tell, after reading all of the Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson books, no retconning or foolery has happened. If people are still bitching about “leaving something alone” then you have to consider the intent the stewards have in order to tell there story.
The term “retconning” is a catchall term that people use all the time. Retconning is by definition from the 1980’s, as its meaning is, retroactive continuity. The noun definition is “a piece of new information that imposes a different interpretation on previously described events, typically used to facilitate a dramatic plot shift or account for an inconsistency” and the verb (retcons, retconning, retconned) is to revise, typically by introducing a piece of new information that imposes a different interpretation on previously described events.
What many would describe as a crime by many, I always consider that retconning can sometimes be subjective. Fan Fiction does a hell of a lot of retconning. While Star Wars fan fiction manages to upgrade or even perfect some forms of the original George Lucas work, Star Trek to me, almost feels like the freckled cousin of retconning. It’s there but it almost presents itself as the owner of the work, and pays no respect to the original. If it does, I assume it’s out of fandom that people accept it.
Maybe it’s how people deal with things. There are Blade Runner sequel books that were made, and the topic of that almost brings me to obnoxious cringe like fits. But I accept that people want there own version of a story. I get it more than anyone. I don’t think a sequel to Don Quixote or The Odyssey would work, even though Nikos Kazantzakis wrote The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel (1958), dealing with Odysseus returning home and the events after his return. According to a December 8th, 1958 Time magazine review, “It has taken 20 years for The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel to reach English in hexameter from its original modern Greek.”[i] At the finale of the article, “Translator Kimon Friar, a poet and scholar of Greek descent, received from Kazantzakis himself the ultimate praise: that the translation was as good as the original.”
To many this could be an examination of the translators text, but the way a text can be read, proving the point is that, the myth of Odysseus, no matter what, is was still shines in the The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel (1958). With this in mind, most people are never dissatisfied with a retelling of Greek Myths. The mainline God of War trilogy (from 2005-2010) on Sony PlayStation was a smash hit, and nobody cared about the voice of God of War being played by Terrence C Carson. Because Kratos is a new character in the world of Greek Mythology. But to make Achilles black, all of a sudden, with no information is beyond retconning. It’s called uninventive. That’s the worst form of punishment other than imitation or alliteration. And without context, it’s not flattering, nor is there a basis for imitation. Maybe Kazantzakis wouldn’t have minded a modern interpretation of Achilles as African American, because myth is up to interpretation.
The problem is, do we really have to retcon or add more to Superman, making him bisexual prove his relevancy? Does a Blade Runner sequel really answer all the questions that Philip K. Dick solved in one book? Is Stephen King retconning the Shining in order to have his version against the Stanley Kubrick film really prove which one is better?
This comes to the next idea that is so prevalent in Art. Is retconning a bad decision when it’s done by the original artist? With Dune Messiah, Frank Herbert upended the hero myth of Paul Atreides, and made him the ultimate villain of the Dune saga. Proving that he wasn’t the promised leader of Arrakis. But not without giving him complexity. The consequence of retconning is that when it’s the original artist it can be forgivable and is part of an overall plan.
In reality, Retconning occurs everyday. We have our own interpretation of what happens in books even in the face of online criticism. We are allowed to have our own thoughts and opinions, and while I sympathize with “leave something alone” works, it boils down to a simple conclusion. If “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” then for fans of series, games, books, should be rephrased to, “Disappointment is in the eye of the beholder.” Everyone has the right to be disappointed and criticize what they think is wrong. New information doesn’t work for everyone. Sometimes people don’t get the original authors intent or the stewards who then take up the mantle after an original author has been long dead.
But sometimes the consequence of watching youtubers who share that feeling of bloated irony when I hear people arguing over Star Wars or Star Trek’s relevance. And my question to so many of these people are, “Do you feel your own talents are so irrelevant that you have to worship them. Make your own and stop pretending that Star Wars and Star Trek matter anymore. Find your own voice and talent and self-publish. You are in 2021. You don’t have to defend. Create.”
And my last and only piece of advice to people in the world who want to be Artists. You don’t need school for the Arts unless you go to a very private and exclusive writing school for fiction. They may not accept you, but you don’t need them regardless. Those schools are for people who have trouble making Art. If you do know how to make Art, start a website or go to a free speech platform, and publish there. Like Substack or make a site on Wordpress. Until the Internet shuts down, the world is our oyster. Until then, make your art, and become Gods and Goddesses of your platform. Go find yourself, and be unapologetic, while remaining humble, of course.
I know you can do it.
[i] http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,864555,00.html.
-Louis Bruno is the author of more than 19 books, including, The Michael Project, The Michael Project: Book 2: The Lost Children of Eve, Thy Kingdom Come, The Disintegrating Bloodline (and the original text re-released in 2019), Apocalypse Soldier, The Data Chase, Selection: The First Book of the Life and Death Saga, and Blinking Eyes: The Second Book of the Life and Death Saga, Hierarchy of Dwindling Sheep, The City of Sand, To the Moon and Back, The Villain Lives and The Villain Lives: The Divided Pinpoint, Come Home, Young One. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from University of Phoenix. His books can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Lulu. He can be found on Gab, https://gab.com/thereallouistbruno, Minds https://www.minds.com/lbruno8063/. Instagram @lbrruno8063 and @louisbrunoofficialbook. Our Freedom Book https://www.ourfreedombook.com/thereallouistbruno17. He has written for the Intellectual Conservative and Ephemere. His next series, City of Sand is out now:https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/louis-bruno/city-of-sand/hardcover/product-rke9jz.html?page=1&pageSize=4. Also, if you can’t subscribe so that you can get members only content, please be sure to share the articles, as well. Subscribe as well so you can get my articles in your inbox every time. Every little bit helps in the war against Big Tech. Thanks for reading.