Rage!

[rivkat]

Ok, apparently I'm in a mood to post bits of my reading. Here is the stupidest thing I've read in a law review in a while:

The Harry Potter series of books, for example, are works of pure fancy. These books certainly deal with issues of human nature-- addressing subjects like the struggle between good and evil, self-awareness, and coming of age--but they are set in a parallel universe. They make no explicit attempt to address important social or political topics, and as such they should be free from subsequent use [for purposes of fair use analysis].

Such is the case with many works of fantasy, as well as most works of genre fiction. Genre fiction (horror, mystery, romance) is typically about the plot of the story or about the main character's experience within the setting developed in the story. These works deal with human nature but generally lack social commentary. Romance novels, for example, deal with love, lust, romance, and human relationships. These works, however, are largely divorced from the issues and problems of the real world.

Hi, author? Most contemporary literary theory and several entire genres would like to talk to you out back.  Romance in particular is curious about your experience of the real world.  Well, "curious" is one way to put it.

Comments

[cofax7]

Rage indeed!

Thus speaks a lawyer who hasn't actually read much of any of those genres, and has certainly never read any literary criticism of any of those genres.