Problems in Urban Fantasy

[the-mome-wrath.livejournal.com]

I found this three part article on the urban fantasy genre and the second part covered many of the cliches and annoyances of the genre. Sadly it seems the genre really is becoming formulaic. It doesn't name any series as examples, but as I was reading down the list I found that unsurprisingly LKH is in violation of many of them. The only thing I really noticed on the list that we haven't seen in the books yet is the lower back tattoo. Anita should get a tattoo, but it should say something like 'run while you still have a personality.'

For your reading enjoyment, here's the articles:

Urban Fantasy Part 1: The Formula
Urban Fantasy Part 2: When Things Go Wrong
Urban Fantasy Part 3: Deconstructing Urban Fantasy

Comments

[pandaemonaeum.livejournal.com]

Here's where I admit to a guilty pleasure. I love the bit in 'Barb Wire' where she impales a guy on her shoe for calling her 'babe', and when, after shooting up a room, she stands in the ruins and says "Damn. I broke a nail!". I know it's a terrible movie, and Pamela Anderson really can't act, but I love those bits :D

[rodentfanatic.livejournal.com]

Haha! I've never seen that, but it sounds awesome. Well, that part does. My friend has an RP character who is very glamorous, beautiful, and sexy, and I consider her a really feminist character, since just because she's "feminine" in no way makes her a pushover. She's a diva, a queen, and she enjoys sex for herself instead of just being there to inspire desire in others. She's girly, glitzy, loves rhintesones and feather boas and dressing up as Marie Antoinette, but she's also no-nonsense and kickass. I think replacing Anita with her would make for better books. Except, you know, she's blond and thus eeeevil *eyeroll*

I've also always wanted to see an over-the-top "queen" of a gay man being powerful, a strong fighter, etc., and fleshed out into a whole personality in a work of fiction, since too many times I've seen that stock character simply pulled out too many times to serve as comic relief and painted as weak simply because of his femininity and sexuality, and as being nothing more than his orientation. I know this seems kind of a tangent, but I think the need for genuinely strong female characters is superseded only by the need for strong gay male characters, be they Brokeback Mountain manly-men or The Birdcage queens, or somewhere in-between like most that I know are, and not written as "wussy" because of it or as strong "despite" their sexuality >:I