Anthony Lane on YA: a marketing wheeze
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
I quote:
"The film is directed by J. Blakeson and adapted—though perhaps not adapted enough—from the novel by Rick Yancey. In other words, we are in the belly of young-adult fiction: a marketing wheeze dressed up as an art form...."
We have to hand it to Lane for the crisp cleverness of his phraseology. But I think we also have to ask: Is marketing wheeze how the YA category began, what it now is, what it is becoming, or simply an easy (outmoded) mode of attack?
The only way to defend this category from future Lane-isms is to write our stories unclassifiably well.
2 comments:
There is no way to defend against the belittling of YA; sneering at it has become persistent, pervasive and reflexive. No critical counter-arguments, no lists of worthy titles, no impassioned defenses of this genre's gems, have had any impact on the contempt. We write on, we read on, regardless.
Yes, Beth, a resounding yes! Literature IS an art form. Children matter. And the literature of this genre has a permanent place in today's society. And not just the big screen or popular Harry Potter, Hunger Games and other stories that have made it big. I will always enjoy and write YA, because children do matter. They are our future. Wake up, Anthony!
Post a Comment