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Shape-shifting in Nimona: Metaphor and the Subconscious

February 12, 2024

creativity, criticism, fiction, imagination, LGBT, social masses, society, symbolism, writing

Nimona is an animated film based on the graphic novel by ND Stevenson. It features “a girl” (more of this in a while) who can shape-shift into any form, from whales to gorillas and from little boys to emulating other people. As I explore in this post, shape-shifting in Nimona is a metaphor that reveals something about the role of the subconscious in the creative process.

You see, there are some metadata you need to know – if you aren’t familiar with ND Stevenson already: The first one is that he identifies as transmasculine/bigender. The second, that Stevenson was apparently unaware about his gender identity before Nimona:

There are times in my life where I feel like everybody knew what my deal was before I did, and this is one of them. But it would be years before I started to see that in myself. I guess I planted the seeds without realizing.
Time

Is that really possible? Can an author create such strong symbolism – as shape-shifting is for gender identity – without consciously realizing it? We know that books often write themselves, but as we’ll see in this post, symbolism is even more powerful, its focus more sharp, when it comes to subconscious meanings.

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Shame Will Save the World

February 5, 2024

Society

capitalism, meaning, society

“Shame will save the world” – often translated as “Shame, the feeling that will save mankind” – is what the character of Kris Kelvin utters near the end of Solaris, the film by Andrei Tarkovsky.

Can shame save the world?

For Dostoevsky, it was beauty that would perform that miracle. However, as a Greek blogger has said, beauty will save those who can see it. I tend to agree with this variation much more readily.

In any case, there is a point in selecting shame as the better candidate. I realized it going through a list of freelance jobs with ridiculously underpaid remuneration – think of $5 to produce 1500 words of text. Reading this I said out loud: “I would be embarrassed to offer that”.

And that’s when I realized the role of shame in saving the world.

Shame will save the world - image of Tokyo at night — Our societies are large, faceless, cold… There is no time for shame when there’s money to be made.

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Misunderstanding a Song – for Twenty Years

January 29, 2024

Experiencing, Society

art, experiencing, meaning, music, society

Certain art forms are easier to “misunderstand” than others. That is, it’s easier for any kind of authorial intention to become something entirely different in the eyes (or ears) of the audience at a social level. Music and poetry are particularly susceptible to this, because of their abstractness. Misunderstanding a song is indeed hilariously likely, as today’s story should indicate.

Of course, the word “misunderstanding” is a little bit misleading: It is the role of art to be misunderstood. As I’ve stated before, to the extent artists have a social responsibility, that is to produce works that are interpretatively fluid.

Indeed, the story I have to share with you today is a marvelous example of a piece of art that escapes the confines – and control – of an entire society with hilarious consequences.

misunderstanding a song - image of a bass guitar — Song lyrics, if they are written competently, are not straightforward. They are highly symbolic and thus easily “misunderstood”. I’d say that misunderstanding a song is a key factor of its artistic capabilities

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