Opposites Attract ... readers, viewers, and fans

Steed and Peel

Joe Bunting has a good article on literary foils at The Write Practice. Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, John Steed and Emma Peel, The Lone Ranger and Tonto, Homes and Dr. Watson, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh, Cole and Hitch, among many others. I’m inclined to favor a good buddy story over the lone protagonist. I even prefer James Bond when the rule-following CIA agent Felix Leiter is around.

Use literary foils to maintain tension when there are no bad guys within sight. As can be seen from these few examples, famous literary foils possess opposite personalities. That’s why on television cop shows, partners are contradictory. They can play off each other in any circumstance. This device makes it easy to generate low-key tension when the protagonists are disengaged from battling whatever has irked their ire.

Bunting correctly points out that literary foils can also be a love interest or an antagonist. When an antagonist is used as a literary foil, the relationship goes beyond rivalry. There’s an emotional tie between the two. In other words, the protagonist and antagonist are in a relationship. Homes’ long-running battles with Moriarty and Clarice Starling against Hannibal Lecter come to mind, but I’ve always been partial to Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.

Cole and Hitch

Literary foils are an indispensable tool for writers. The Steve Dancy Tales is written in the first person, so without Jeff Sharp and Captain McAllen, it would be necessary to rummage around inside Steve head to get a feel for who he is and what he’s about. That would be boring. But with two contrary foils, Steve can interact with his friends and his personality is shown, not told. In The Shut Mouth Society, Greg Evarts and Patricia Baldwin are opposites in every conceivable way. The relationship makes it easier to keep the tension taut in this thriller.

There is an old saying that opposites attract. I’m not certain about life, but they certainly attract readers and viewers.

The Telegraph talks about the future of Westerns

David Gritten has written a perceptive and informative article in the U.K. Telegram about the future of Westerns. It is titled, "Is it high noon for western films." 

Gritten doesn't think so. Neither do I. In fact, I believe Westerns are at the beginning of a rebirth. Here is an example of why I think this way. Google Elmore Leonard and the listings invariably reference only his crime novels. Western enthusiasts know he was one of the great Western authors, but apparently few in the media are aware of this fact. The Pacific Standard recently published a somewhat snarky article about how Elmore Leonard began his writing career pumping out cowboy stories, but transitioned to his award winning crime novels after demand dwindled for Western fiction. This line is repeated endlessly in articles eulogizing Leonard upon his recent death. His move from Westerns to crime was almost four decades ago. No one in the media seems to have noticed that more recently, bestselling crime novelist Robert B. Parker ended his memorable career by writing a highly successful Western series about hired guns Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. 

I could list more indicators of a resurgence in Westerns, but the bigger question is why supposed arbiters of popular culture are so intent on tamping down the Western every time a cowboy hat rises above the ridgeline? Why do they sound gleeful that The Lone Ranger flopped? (Actually, The Lone Ranger grossed $88 million in theaters, which would be respectable for a reasonably budgeted film.)

A simple answer is that most of the media critics live along the eastern seaboard and don’t relate to Westerns or even the vast wilderness that lies beyond the Hudson River.  But there must be more. Hollywood and publishing gatekeepers support the same stories and themes in fantasy and science fiction. It’s okay to wield a magic wand or a precious ring, but not a six-shooter? Outer space aliens can be killed with abandon, but not bad guys in black hats. I’m not sure what the answer is, but there seems to be a prevailing fear that the Western may once again become popular with the general public. If anyone has an answer as to why Westerns offend the elite, I would sure like to hear it.