The year was 1930. William Faulkner had just released As I Lay Dying. The year before, he had released The Sound and the Fury. Hemingway was well into his career, and steinbeck's best work was still ahead of them. All three men would win the nobel peace prize for literature. Some would say that this was the golden age of American literature. Not just because of the writing talents on display, but also because of the subject matter being explored. Grapes of Wrath examined the Great Depression through the lens of marxism, and Hemingway was famously in love with Cuba. All three men would also be spied on and wire tapped by the american government.
This was doubtlessly tragic, and yet, who can deny the impact that these writers would have on popular culture? The POV setup utilized in As I Lay Dying was later adopted by George R.R. Martin for game of thrones. Meanwhile, Yoknapatawpha County, the setting in which all of faulkners books took place, was, for all intents and purposes, the first ever "shared cinematic universe." The star of the great American writers was rising. Always experimenting, always trying new things, faulkner broke constant new ground in the world of storytelling.
Sadly, the works of these writers would not be continued. American literature largely fell away towards the end of the 20th century, with no new legends to take their place. This sad fact got me thinking, however. While american literature was left to languish, the simple fact was that stortellers in other mediums bore their influence, and carried it with them into their work. Who was carrying Faulkner's torch, if not none other then Marvel? In the same way that Quentin would guest star in other characters novels, the incredible hulk would show up in the films of thor, or the avengers. In the same way that faulkner told a story from many different characters perspectives, we got to see how both iron man and captain america saw the world. In the same way that Maya Angelou wrote about the evils of racism, and sung about the black experiance in america, black panther gave us a deep exploration of the problem of colonialism.
And its only grown from there. Spiderman is in marvel films. Ready Player One had multiple characters from different companies, showing up together in the same work. With the metaverse set to arrive sooner rather then later, i think we are going to see characters from all IP's come together in a larger, shared artistic universe. We have entered an age where the average blockbuster is now more artistic, more experimental, then the best modern world literature. In the same way that Lynch had a talking monkey in What Did Jack Do, the guardians of the galaxy had a talking racoon. These films have not, i believe, recieved the academic examination that they deserve. As such, I believe that they should be entered into the american cinematic canon.
This was doubtlessly tragic, and yet, who can deny the impact that these writers would have on popular culture? The POV setup utilized in As I Lay Dying was later adopted by George R.R. Martin for game of thrones. Meanwhile, Yoknapatawpha County, the setting in which all of faulkners books took place, was, for all intents and purposes, the first ever "shared cinematic universe." The star of the great American writers was rising. Always experimenting, always trying new things, faulkner broke constant new ground in the world of storytelling.
Sadly, the works of these writers would not be continued. American literature largely fell away towards the end of the 20th century, with no new legends to take their place. This sad fact got me thinking, however. While american literature was left to languish, the simple fact was that stortellers in other mediums bore their influence, and carried it with them into their work. Who was carrying Faulkner's torch, if not none other then Marvel? In the same way that Quentin would guest star in other characters novels, the incredible hulk would show up in the films of thor, or the avengers. In the same way that faulkner told a story from many different characters perspectives, we got to see how both iron man and captain america saw the world. In the same way that Maya Angelou wrote about the evils of racism, and sung about the black experiance in america, black panther gave us a deep exploration of the problem of colonialism.
And its only grown from there. Spiderman is in marvel films. Ready Player One had multiple characters from different companies, showing up together in the same work. With the metaverse set to arrive sooner rather then later, i think we are going to see characters from all IP's come together in a larger, shared artistic universe. We have entered an age where the average blockbuster is now more artistic, more experimental, then the best modern world literature. In the same way that Lynch had a talking monkey in What Did Jack Do, the guardians of the galaxy had a talking racoon. These films have not, i believe, recieved the academic examination that they deserve. As such, I believe that they should be entered into the american cinematic canon.