Death sucks!
At least, that’s what you may believe if you grew up binging 80s horror films, 90s supernatural dramadies, and 21st century comic book movies.
But here at the Trickster Table, we look at things a little left of center. Cock-eyed as it was.
What we experience as humans, what we feel, touch, taste, see, hear and sense, represents the ultimate context through which we view existence. And only recently in the annals of human history have those who have experienced death been able to come back and tell us about it.
Tales differ of course and recollections of a distant white light can be explained away as hospital florescence. And, as humans have done since time began, we turn toward story to work through our emotions.
So, let’s discuss death as we do all things, within the framework of speculative media!
1. Death is the Enemy
Death has seemed to always represent the Other in the minds of humans (insert GRRM death toll here) and the inevitable result of this mental boxing is that death, no matter the shape or form, is evil.
Now, far be it from me to avoid a talk about the lack of a unified moral code and therefore a fundamental flaw in the definitions of good and evil, but let’s save that for another adventure.
Death is seen as evil because for humanity, life is the only context we have. We live in 3 dimensions, have constructed a feasible metaphor for a 4th, and scientists still debate wildly about many, many others, but that’s all folks.
Prue Halliwell, of Charmed fame, spent her entire life angry at Death for taking her mother from her. As a mega powerful witch, she was able to summon Death. To question him. To admonish him. To berate him.
We’ve sought out creatures like Dracula and Lestat and Angel and even Carlisle to escape Death’s inevitable jaws.
We’ve crafted rituals beyond counting to give praise to gods and goddesses as they shepherd us into the afterlife.
2. Death is a Gift
If you’re a BtVS fan of any level, you should recognize the quote. If not, let me paint you a picture.
Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer, is out in the desert of California on a vision quest (side eye) to learn more about her power, the power of the Slayer.
Sineya, the first Slayer to be called, prowls back and forth on the other side of the fire and tells her:
Death is your gift.
In the wake of one of the saddest TV deaths ever, a’la Joyce Summers in The Body, Buffy was not at all ready to hear that and railed against the idea that death could ever be a gift.
As die hard Scotties, we know this statement to be true. Unlike other heroes, Buffy is one of the few heroes that we have allowed to kill without judgement. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, she and her sister Slayers hunt and kill demons that would gleefully slaughter us all.
And when she inevitably falls in battle, her gift is passed on to the next in the line. A forever warrior to safeguard humanity.
3. Death is a Joke
Humor is another medium we use to attack and process our fears. When it comes to death, the depths of humanity’s fears have spawned infinite variations of comedic sketches and creations.
An honorable mention outside of the speculative fiction realm is the Scream franchise. I’m a sucker for the horror comedy genre and the fun it pokes at more conventional examples.
Looking within the realm of speculative media, we have examples such as The Grimm Adventures of Billy and Mandy cartoon, in which two children gain control over the Grimm Reaper and his hilarious Jamaican accent.
Bill and Ted tricked Death by winning a board game and went on to complete their Excellent Adventure.
There are many more examples of this, but the particular subset I want to focus on is the rash of FDS or faked death syndrome.
When you dwell within the realm of science fiction and fantasy, solutions for thwarting death are to be expected. As a writer, I too have delved into thought puzzles about how to shed the bounds of mortality and how to slay invulnerable beasts (read: Weeping Angels).
But FDS is just the height of lazy writing and cheap emotional manipulation. And it’s pure bullshit besides.
The best example of this comes out of the MCU of course. Nick Fury, Loki, Coulson being the prime examples.
I hear what you’re saying. Marvel can do no wrong. Quit your complaining, blah blah blah.
Comments ignored.
Now the problems with FDS besides the laziness, is that it’s really a trick you can only pull once. But no one seems to understand that.
To repeat myself: Killing/Not Killing a character in your narrative is lazy and should only be done once, if at all.
Why?
- You lose the trust of the consumer if you do it more than once.
- The more you do it, the less impact actual deaths have on your narrative and consumers.
- It’s Writing 099 and ultimately beneath you.
- Cheap emotional manipulation will not work well in the long run.
Now before you bring your pitchforks and torches, consider the alternatives as ways to improve your conflict, characterization, and thus your writing.
- Actions must have consequences: if not death, what about some debilitating illness or disability or accident. Conflict drives story and character
- Having a surprise not death is possible: the character could be a hidden immortal or secret witch who heals themselves (in this case, proper foreshadowing is key.) Don’t Deus Ex Machina your story
- Actual, final death is a great way to shift a narrative or hook the reader. Done too much, too fast, it can cause a devaluing of life. Done not at all can stifle any sense of stakes or urgency.
So, when in doubt, Die!
Or Live.
Or Exist in a Netherspace In Between.
But do consider your personal beliefs about death and your world’s/character’s beliefs when writing.
Til Next Time,
T. L. Thompson