tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125325709844932289.post4008618074080909566..comments2023-09-07T07:16:10.305-04:00Comments on Flights of Fantasy: Made in LunacyMarian Pererahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15700524210146863718noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125325709844932289.post-36899770676167963112008-09-15T17:30:00.000-04:002008-09-15T17:30:00.000-04:00Thanks for the comments, GunnerJ and Angela - you ...Thanks for the comments, GunnerJ and Angela - you made some excellent points. I want to write another post now, on the ineffective use or overuse of brand names. What's it called, "K-Mart Realism"? It's a great topic.Marian Pererahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15700524210146863718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125325709844932289.post-48014493951015122492008-09-14T10:44:00.000-04:002008-09-14T10:44:00.000-04:00Interesting idea and a great post! Now for me, I t...Interesting idea and a great post! <BR/><BR/>Now for me, I think the whole brand thing in contemporary writing is actually a turn off (when overused). The idea is to create recognition and allow the reader to identify with the character and make connections as to who they are by what they buy/wear/like, etc. The problem is, if the reader does not know the brands being waved about, then it actually creates distance and can be a turn off, not bring them in closer. <BR/><BR/>I think that in most cases, using brands copiously is a bit of a cop out--an 'easy' route to characterize. But that's just me, and I only think it would apply in contemporary works. I'd be interested to see the branding done in other genres, and feel there would be a difference usingit in a cyberpunk/scifi/fantasy book, simply because all of it would be unknown to the reader, and the brand appeal factor would be removed.<BR/><BR/>There are certainly some brands that it makes sense to use in contemporary, and it actually would take away from the story to avoid them, but these are the ones that readers would actually find odd to <I>not</I> see used. For example, saying that a character is drinking a cola instead of a Coke/pepsi, or saying they were meeting a friend at a fast food joint instead of saying McDonalds/Burger King, etc. It's because these brands have become the item they describe in this world. We don't think Coke is a brand of cola...it's just <I>Coke</I>.Angela Ackermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01808259088625142389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125325709844932289.post-71130177373007571242008-09-12T09:21:00.000-04:002008-09-12T09:21:00.000-04:00Cyberpunk is another genre in which brand names te...Cyberpunk is another genre in which brand names tend to add a "living feeling" to a world. IMO this is because cyberpunk is an expression of the various angsts of the 1980s, whether technological (cyberware, plugging your brain into the Internet), social and political (Glorious Nippon Uber Alles), or commercial (obsessive branding). Gibson uses it to good effect in <I>Neuromancer</I>, referring to the main character's new computer as "the Ono-Sendai," after its brand name.<BR/><BR/>He takes the idea to an extreme in <I>Pattern Recognition</I>, which is sort of a retelling of the "Mysterious Diorama" subplot from <I>Count Zero</I> set in the modern day. Brands are absolutely everywhere, almost nothing lacks its corporate maker's tag, and it would be over the top except that the main character is a marketing wondergirl who is psychologically hypersensitive to branding.<BR/><BR/>Branding can be overdone, though, when it is a substitute for good description: when you rely on the reader knowing what the brand is to know what something looks or acts like or why it is significant. The best users of brand naming use it to augment already strong descriptions: Valyrian steel with its rippled appearance and strength, Case's Ono-Sendai with its unparalleled speed and sleek physical design.JHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07899470444492391820noreply@blogger.com