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The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
Tom:
--- Quote from: Vertical Stripes on 18 Jun 2008, 08:56 ---I don't know. I think I'd be much more tickled if the kids came out loving it and the parents were horrified. Eight-to-twelve-year-olds, which is kind of the age that Coraline was aimed at, should find this stuff chilling and awesome, not pee-your-pants scary. It's just parents who keep expecting them to react that way that fuck it up for them.
I'm going to be teaching a class on horror elements in children's writing soon, so, at least, I hope I'm right. =)
--- End quote ---
I'd agree with, you based on my own childhood that is. I remeber my mother's disdain at me wanting a ghost/witch/something at least mildly 'terrifying' story before going to sleep. She thought they'd give me nightmares but the only ones I ever had were about being a disappointment to her and my father. Coraline and other children's books were everything isn't peachy, i.e the wave of neo-gothic children's lit springing up in the wake of A Series of Unfortunate Events, help children to cope with murder, violence, epidemics and morality like folk-stories used to do before getting all Disney-d.
Vertical Stripes:
"Disney'd" isn't really the proper word, I think, because even Disney back in the day used to be pretty gruesome. Remember The Black Cauldron? Even Disney has been Disney'd.
I met Daniel Handler ("Lemony Snicket") once to discuss one of his adult books and I think it was pretty obvious he approached children's writing like he was talking to more intelligent versions of adults rather than pansier ones. I think he felt that with children he could be more honest about death and betrayal and it was with adults that he had to pretty it up with literary devices.
I was working on a play once that had a ten-year-old boy in the cast. For some reason the rest of the actors and backstage crew thought it would be a good idea to stick a swear jar in the green room to encourage people to keep their language clean. I respected this except one time I let "Jesus" slip out and was promptly told to put a dollar in the swear jar. I asked the kid if he was Christian - he snorted and said "Hell no," so I refused to put the dollar in. Some people decided to make a big deal about it, so I took one glance at the kid, he grinned back at me, and I told the actor to go fuck himself.
Adults are so sensitive.
Schmorgluck:
--- Quote from: Vertical Stripes on 18 Jun 2008, 08:56 ---I don't know. I think I'd be much more tickled if the kids came out loving it and the parents were horrified.
--- End quote ---
Neil Gaiman has stated once that adults tend to be more creeped by the book because they see a story about a child in danger, while children see a story about a child living an adventure.
Jackie Blue:
I just think the movie of Coraline will be creepy because HOLY SHIT THOSE PEOPLE HAVE BUTTONS FOR EYES and so forth.
I really hope The Cat is voiced well.
Jackie Blue:
They should have got Bill Murray.
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