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Youtube teaches me something else about writing: The goomba’s point of view
Here’s a nice, radical shift in the perspective of a story. There’s a guy trying to save a princess. The princess was kidnapped by a tyrant as part of his scheme to control a kingdom. The tyrant has minions. The minions stand between the guy and the princess. The guy is the natural focus of the narrative.
But in this video, a relatively minor character in what we might call the ur-narrative is instead the focus.
Is it as exciting as the traditional, Mario-focused way of telling the story? No, probably not. But it still has a kind of driving tension. You can HEAR Mario’s approach. You know the two goomba’s are done for, which adds a tension to the subtext of their mundane March Back and Forth, Bounce Off the Pipes and Each Other existence. Something sort of interesting is going on here.
So, for homework, write a story from the perspective of someone relatively minor to the story’s ur-narrative.
TANGENT:
According to Urban Dictionary, “goomba” is a slang term for Italian Americans. Cher used to call Sonny Bono a goombah. Being that Mario is a self-identifying Italian American, and Mario spends most of his time stomping on goombas, can we read Super Mario Bros. et al as an allegory for assimilating into a mass culture? Mario must stomp on his personal “goombas” to fit in and get the girl?
Tags: goomba, super mario
There is almost pathos here
There is almost pathos here
I immediately thought of Par Lagerkvist. He wrote The Dwarf- totall genuis book- about a court dwarf who thinks he’s more important than he is, but then oddly, becomes so ( I gotta reread it, it’s been a decade). He also wrote Barrabas- about the guy set free instead of Jesus. So he was all about the outsider of the ur-narrative. Neat.
It’s an excellent idea for a prompt or exersize. Love it.
I immediately thought of Par Lagerkvist. He wrote The Dwarf- totall genuis book- about a court dwarf who thinks he’s more important than he is, but then oddly, becomes so ( I gotta reread it, it’s been a decade). He also wrote Barrabas- about the guy set free instead of Jesus. So he was all about the outsider of the ur-narrative. Neat.
It’s an excellent idea for a prompt or exersize. Love it.
matthew: you should be htmlg’s official ‘curator’ of literary lessons from youtube. these are great.
matthew: you should be htmlg’s official ‘curator’ of literary lessons from youtube. these are great.
You post pretty.
You post pretty.
not to mention the only career option available to mario and luigi, as immigrants, happened to be plumbing.
not to mention the only career option available to mario and luigi, as immigrants, happened to be plumbing.
Not as good without Gary Coleman.
Not as good without Gary Coleman.
I want Matt Bell to write the story of this video.
I want Matt Bell to write the story of this video.
Matthew, you’ve turned into my favorite GIANT contributor. I mean, in one sense, you’ve always been my favorite contributor, but now you occupy that position in more than one sense.
Matthew, you’ve turned into my favorite GIANT contributor. I mean, in one sense, you’ve always been my favorite contributor, but now you occupy that position in more than one sense.
You loves me.
I loveses you, too.
You loves me.
I loveses you, too.
I agree with Shya. I like you more than myself, even.
I agree with Shya. I like you more than myself, even.
haaaaaaa
haaaaaaa
Your blog is very interresting for me, i will come back here..
Your blog is very interresting for me, i will come back here..