So here are some of my thoughts on a few trends that we've gone through (or are going through). These are just my opinions and not flames or critisms against the creators of these trendy things (or even of the people who like them, really). ;-)
Harry Potter: I've never read the books, or seen the movies. Not one. This is because they were already popular before I got a chance to become interested in them on my own (unlike with The Lord of the Rings when the movies came out, since that's been a classic for a long time, and I do read). I do like fantasy fiction with wizards such as Gandalf and Merlin, but Harry Potter simply never interested me. And then there was some, er, worrying, among some Christians about whether it was "right" or "safe" to read books about witchcraft and wizardry, and I had to take some time to consider whether I thought they were right. Eventually I decided I do not agree; I think it's harmless fiction. But there's still the problem about it being popular before it's interesting to me personally. However, I'm currently considering reading them, for two reasons: 1. Harry Potter is now contending with the latest fiction trend, which I like because it shows that people care about their real personal interests more than what's "popular" now; and 2. because The Doctor mentioned reading them in the Shakespeare episode of Doctor Who, and I absolutely LOVE Doctor Who. If Harry Potter is good enough for The Doctor, then I can at least consider reading it and see how I like it. This might put me in danger of "following someone else", but hey, it's The Doctor. I don't think I mind. ;-) And if I don't like the books or I get bored, I'll stop reading them. Besides, Dr. Who is not a trend, it's the longest running Sci-Fi show on TV and there's good reason for that.
Twilight: the latest fiction trend which is in competition with Harry Potter. It's a teenagery love-drama about a sparkly vampire. I am so not interested. I don't care about vampire fiction anyway, although I did like that one movie... what was it... Underworld. I kinda liked that. I especially liked a certain dress someone was wearing (not that that's my main focus in movies). But Twilight? No thanks.
Dragons: I like dragons, and I like How to Train Your Dragon. I do not like Eragon much. It's ok, but it's just Star Wars with dragons instead of space ships (not literally, but major parallels). I do like Star Wars, btw; but a story should be its own story. I don't think dragons are trendy right now actually, but Eragon almost was.
So basically the point I'm trying to make is this: My style and interests are mine, and your style and interests are yours. I hope the jewelry I make becomes somewhat "popular" in the sense that a lot of people can find things I've made that they like, but trends are things that people are into just because "people are into it", and they change and go away in favor of the next one. I don't want my jewelry to be trendy for any reason. I want someone to buy a handflower because they like it, it fits their style, and they can keep wearing it through the trend changes as long as it still fits them, like I've been wearing mine for about 10 years. Also for the most part I want to continue making just one of each unique piece of jewelry, so no one can have the exact same one as someone else. Every person is different, and they should have their own handflower. That way you can wear it because you like it and not because someone else is wearing it.
I do want to just clarify one thing before I finish this post: I'm not saying there's anything wrong with liking something that happens to be popular, or anything wrong with vampires, if that's what you like. For instance I refused to watch any anime for awhile when my friends were all into it (but didn't think anything was "wrong" with them for liking it), but then my boyfriend showed me some and we started watching it together and I liked it. All I'm really saying is I'm in favor of liking something just because you like it, and not worrying about what "everyone" wants you to like.
And that is why I do what I do.
I really enjoyed your post and I agree with you about trends, although I read both Harry Potter (I wrote my MA thesis about it) and Twilight. I have to say I enjoyed HP, but not the latter. And both were blown out of proportion because of all the hype surrounding them that had little to do with the books themselves. It's all about marketing and that's what I dislike in trends.
ReplyDeletethanks. Yes one point I wanted to make here (not sure I actually said it in so many words) is like you say most of the popularity of these things comes from the idea of being popular rather than from the quality of the books themselves. I hear a lot of people say they liked Harry Potter (including friends and my boyfriend), which is why I might read it, just because it sounds like it might be good. thanks for your comment!
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