While locution has a variety of members, I think it would be safe to say that most of us belong to this new generation. Some people call it generation Y or whatever mundane jargon, but I think people will one day look back and call this the age of Anonymous/Internet Memes, and I think a good deal of our writers are at least somewhat affected by internet culture.
Will internet culture affect the arts? Will it affect literature? I do not believe l33t sp34k to be really the matter here. I think it’s a stupid pretentious medium that doesn’t do very much most of the time, and I think it’d be unfair to brand this new generation with some silly quirk. What really affects us is the speed in which ideas communicate, and the way our everyday lives can be affected by random strangers on the internet. Random strangers on the internet are no longer mysterious possible pedophiles (anymore than a stranger on the street can be, in any case), but real people, and people have begun to truly accept internet as a medium of communication. For instance, I have never met a single member of locution, yet I see them as friends– real people.
And just to show that the internet really is serious business, I’d like to share a piece of ”internet phenomenon” that is quite close to my writer heart, first brought to my attention on the old forums.
So some guy (David Wong) decides to post parts of his serial novel up bit by bit on his website/blog. Fast forward: he gets a deal, and it becomes sold in paperback, with a movie planned.
Fuck, how come it never happens to me?
That said, this just shows the power of internet and viral marketting at work, and I am inspired by his success. For one, to realize that, yes, a lot of people still read. (I wonder whether he’s an active channer, because I can’t help but notice the comments about black people and friend chicken and so on, and the close-to-heart juvenile jokes.) But yes, to confirm that this new generation is still very much literate, thank God, is a great thing. Who else would be reading his work, anyway? IDK, MY BFF JILL?
But that’s really just my speculation, after all. The fact, however, is that he stayed true to himself (a good example, I think, of this new generation of people), continued to crack out his “penis jokes”, and managed to succeed. Maybe we can do the same. Maybe we can write the stories in our hearts, whatever they are, (whether or not they include 12-year old antagonist Gods with a foul mouth), and still suceed.
The story is a “comedy horror”, but I believe you can read the reviews or the story itself and find out yourself. My favorite part is the romance near the end. It seeps in so very subtly, yet feels so real. No exaggerated or glossed-over romantcism about unimaginable beauty, just real concern and caring that seeps into your bones slowly. You’d think a novel promoted for its raw insulting humor would be incapable of such subtlety, but I was quite surprised.
But that’s my take on it. Do check it out.
I would say that internet culture already has afffected literature. From the blog-o-sphere to networking sites (facebook, myspace, etc.) to forums to search engines, the internet has become (or is fast becoming) an intrinsic part of many writers’ writing processes.
If I had to pick one thing about the internet that surprises me the most, it would be that the internet allows anyone to feel like they have a place where their writing is read. If someone wrote in their journal about their day, there is a relative security that it will go unread–save for maybe the nosy roommate/parent/significant other. Posting the events of your day online makes your life seem more accessible–for better or worse.