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

[rodentfanatic.livejournal.com]

The second link pretty much sounded like a full-on description of Anita!

I was particularly struck by the part about how we're still apologizing for strong women. Even today, when they get praised, it seems they can only be so strong without being reprimanded, and being sexy is still the most important thing. I remember watching Van Hell sing and just gagging at what was supposed to be a strong female. The only decent part was when she stabbed the lady-vamp and said the line about her talking too much. And Anita...she's strong, but not in a positive way. She's villain-strong. She's pretty much what sexist jerks fear that a strong woman will be, and that's not empowering or advanced at all. Making women in power or sexual women evil is one of the the oldest tricks there is, and LKH doesn't even realize she's doing it.

I did not realize that this anti-blonde bigotry was rampant, though. I thought this was just LKH using Anita as a mouthpiece again and/or giving Anita a really transparent excuse to whine.

[the-mome-wrath.livejournal.com]

Even if the anti-blonde bigotry is rampant, it doesn't change the fact LKH is using Anita as a mouthpiece and excuse to be able to whine.

[revelininsanity.livejournal.com]

Do the Mercy Briggs books get better? I read the first one and was so turned OFF by how similar it was to Anita Blake I never read anymore.

[revelininsanity.livejournal.com]

Well, I found the whole "half First Nations" werecoyote thing kind of irritating, especially since it was kind of an Anita Blake-esque "I never have to do deal with any actual racism because I look white" kind of thing(that's how it came across to me. My mom works with First Nations families in the inner city, though, so I might be reading too much into it and being an annoying Guilty White Person), then she killed the kid(SRSLY? WHO DOES THAT?), then she and the werewolf guy had a very non-interesting chemistry based around the fact that he was an asshole and she was a SPUNKY HEROINE.

I did like the cop, though, and the single mom.

[revelininsanity.livejournal.com]

Well, I am DEFINITELY going to think it over. I mean, I read Rob Thurman's Cal Leandros' series, so how bad can it be? And I do love brain candy.

[revelininsanity.livejournal.com]

Gosh, I hope I'm not coming across as a jerk. I have a tendency to miss social cues, so I apologize if I did.