With the recent reboot of TALES FROM THE CRYPT from Papercutz now in stores, I engaged in the internal debate of being true to the spirit of something, or changing the old formula for a new generation. Needless to say, the preview Papercutz released left me under-whelmed (as a long-time fan of the originals), but it does raise a serious question worthy of more consideration. Are we fans of the original just looking for a comfy nostalgic ride down memory lane? Are we doing the future of comics harm by holding such attitudes? Shouldn’t we just be happy this book could grow the market as it is?
Such questions inevitably led me to the state of children’s literature – not as it relates to novels (I actually think books are doing a good job these days), but to the comic book world – our world. Sure, we’ve got BONE and some Manga titles we can hand out to kids, but I sense a shortage in the American comics market of bona fide good books directed at future readership. Does the problem really exist, or is it something I’ve imagined? Comparing our market with Japan’s makes me think I’m not being paranoid. Regardless, I decided to search for a solution in this week’s column.
How does it all tie in to my weekly purpose – examining films and their special features for writing help? Read on.
Terry Gilliam’s TIME BANDITS gets it right. It’s deep, original, funny, scary, tragic, and, ultimately, self-affirming (a good quality for kids). Looking at the shortage of younger comic book readers in our country, I can’t help but think the problem exists because we’re not offering the right kind of material as creators. I’m as guilty as the next guy, I admit. SPRING RIVER WILD is anything but a children’s book. I wouldn’t want a child of mine reading it. However, I did write a young adult novel, BEARCATS ALL THE WAY, and I must admit the task was no small endeavor. I struggled for months with what is acceptable, and what isn’t, in a book for younger readers. Ultimately, the struggle lasted over a year, and the finished product was shorter than Stephen King’s novel CARRIE. The wait didn’t come from me sitting on my thumb. I worked everyday, two to four hours per night. I typed, erased, typed, erased, trashed the whole project, came back to it, typed, erased, typed, erased, but somehow, I always felt uncomfortable with what I’d come up with till about eighteen months and tons of rewrites had passed. It’s too mature for young readers, I thought.
Most of what is acceptable can be learned by picking up a few young adult books, but in comics, we have a lot less to choose from, and as a visual art form, a lot more pressure. You can hide potentially objectionable content (depending on how strict the parent is) in a book of 70,000 or more words. Better yet, the kid can hide it. But in comics, you have those pesky drawings to deal with, and both sort of rely on each other. It’s harder to slip things past the goalie in these cases.
I found comfort in one of my all-time favorites, the aforementioned TIME BANDITS. The Criterion DVD contains a mesmerizing audio commentary where Gilliam and co-writer Michael Palin take center stage to describe what they feel a children’s movie should do.
“For me, fairy tales are about danger and fearful situations,” Gilliam says. And so it goes with this film, arguably his masterpiece. It’s a film I watched countless times even before grade school… and about a million times since. Gilliam continues, stating the biggest problem with children’s entertainment today is that it seeks to paint a glowing smile on the face of fairy tales. It removes the reality from children that sometimes life isn’t as easy as you expect, and there are no happy endings. “You take that [reality] away from them, and you have kids that aren’t prepared for life.”
Did I understand that in kindergarten? No. Did I like the dreary ending? Of course not. But I still loved the movie. Why did I love it? Interesting question.
There’s something to be said for the six dwarves and Kevin, a young boy, who shared my wild imagination. But on a subconscious level, the film hung around for twenty years as one of my favorites because it didn’t insult my intelligence. There are many deep themes at play here: consumerism, the strained bond between parental apathy and a child’s need for attention, cruelty, violence, death, self-reliance, and theology, to name a few. Could I comprehend any of that at the time? Most likely not, and if I understood anything, it was on a very basic level.
Still, the characters and plot held my attention. Six renegade dwarves and a young boy on an adventure through time, fleecing anyone they come across in their quest for “the most fabulous object in the world.” Little do the Time Bandits know, they are being duped by the Evil Genius (David Warner), a stand-in for Satan. Luckily, Kevin is there to protect them as the upstanding moral conscience, and the only one smart enough in the whole movie to question everything he sees.
In the next four paragraphs, I want to take each theme and dissect how the film explores it. Pay close attention, and you’ll see we shouldn’t “write down” to children. Actually, we should raise the stakes, because they often expect much more than we give them.
[MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD – PLEASE WATCH THE FILM FIRST, IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY]
- Consumerism and the strained bond of parents and child – Young Kevin thirsts for knowledge, and a set of parents that will encourage his development and pay him some attention. What he gets instead are two shallow simpletons more concerned with their neighbor’s kitchen gadgets, and the morbid game show “Your Money or Your Life.” The only attention he receives involves “keeping the noise down” or “going to bed at a decent time tonight.” He pushes for a spot in their world, but they usually ignore him outright. Eventually, he looks forward to bedtime because it isolates him from failure, and allows his imagination to roam free. This time Kevin has to himself leads to a wondrous adventure born of his imagination that actually takes on a life of its own, showing the amazing things of which children are capable. As a youngster, this theme escaped me. Only as an adult did I realize it, yet I didn’t have to spell it out in those terms. Good themes speak to children, moving them, influencing them, even if those themes can’t be defined just yet.
- Good versus Evil, God and the Devil – Kevin and the Time Bandits find themselves in the Fortress of Ultimate Darkness, prisoners of the Evil Genius. Up to this point, they’ve spent the whole movie running from God, hoping to keep the map of time in their possession. The Evil Genius uses that against them, taking the map for himself. Just when all hope appears lost, the Supreme Being shows up to save the day. After the climactic battle, Kevin asks, “Why did all those people have to die?” The Supreme Being laughs, stating that one might as well ask why there has to be evil in the world. “Why does evil exist?” Kevin asks. “Something to do with free will,” God says. Here we are in the midst of a children’s movie, and we get a revelation about the nature of good and evil. The exchange sums up what religious scholars debate everyday (and will continue to do so till the end of time). I watched, and understood the gist of it in the first grade; and believe me, I’m nothing special intellectually.
- Cruelty and Death – Throughout the film, cruelty and death show up in sometimes poignant, mostly funny ways. From Napoleon’s gleeful executions and violent puppet shows to Robin Hood’s merry men punching in the faces of each poor person as they collect a hand-out (women and men), two very serious subjects are dealt with using a healthy dose of humor that takes the edge off their sting. Countless men die in the final battle with the Evil Genius, but we never stop to dwell on the carnage. In the end, Kevin finds himself alone after an explosion claims both parents. As an audience, we know he will be okay, because he’s a self-reliant, thoughtful, kind-hearted boy. But what a way to end a children’s movie!
- Self-Reliance – Perhaps the most important theme running throughout is that children are capable. This theme is what keeps TIME BANDITS from being too high-brow, too dark, and too terrifying, for its target audience. How Kevin is portrayed sets an example for all kids his age and younger – they are not helpless drones. They do have minds of their own, and they are capable of using them. Kevin outsmarts his parents, and just about every other adult in the film. He is literate. He is thoughtful. He is caring. He is brave. He is a perfect role model for children, and he is the reason the film is embraced by kids and parents alike. Sure, the kids probably laugh at the Time Bandits, and marvel at the special effects; but without a character they can specifically relate to, the film would not hold the same magic or influence. At least it wouldn’t have for me, especially at the age I was when I fell in love with it.
So as writers, we need to learn that writing for children and young adults should not be considered “stepping down.” If anything, it means we have to step up. What makes entertainment directed at younger readers so within the scope of parent watchdog groups is how we deal with what I call “the excesses.” Kids can handle violence. Kids can handle drugs. Kids can handle crime, death, and even sexuality to a degree. In that regard, nothing is off-limits. However, the way we choose to present it is what causes trouble. We live in a world of many different beliefs. Some are rigidly right. Some are loosely left. In a country of 260 million people, we are bound to offend someone. But we cut back greatly on that number (and cause a lot less headaches for ourselves) if we realize that violence does not have to be showing the bullet entry wound. Dealing with issues of sexuality doesn’t mean the characters have to take off their clothes and writhe underneath the bed sheets in a naughtily uncomfortable PG-13 scene. Crime doesn’t have to require profanity.
How are specific issues presented? Are you a blood, guts, boobies, and bad words kind of guy? If so, more power to you; keep doing what you’re doing. But if you want to make a long term difference in this industry, use your head. You don’t have to avoid anything when writing for children. You just have to understand how to present issues in a way they can understand with the realization they are someone else’s responsibility, intent on raising their child the best way they know how within their own system of beliefs.
Parents are not your enemies. Children aren’t stupid. Avoid writing that treats both groups as if they are.