Workshopping A Meme

 Someone in a Facebook group posted this meme:

I agree with the sentiment, but the actual way it's worded is not great.  First, not all "Chosen Ones" are teenagers.  Neo in The Matrix and Frodo in LOTR are examples that quickly come to mind.  

When I said this, the person on Facebook said, "This is referring to YA fiction."  To which I said well that's because those books are aimed at younger readers, thus the hero is someone they would identify with.  And then he got huffy about me "explaining the joke back to him."

As I said, I like the sentiment of the meme:  there should be more Chosen One heroes who are older, fairly normal, responsible adults.  But the way it's worded doesn't work.  It starts with a question that's obviously false.  Some people might not think better of that or just go with it but other people (like me) are instantly going to take issue with a question that's clearly false.

And that really then obscures the whole issue, which I actually agree with.  So really, what this meme author should have done is throw out the question and just make a statement:  "Instead of teenagers, I want more Chosen Ones who are adults who've seen some serious shit and have zero fucks to give."  As a statement you either agree or disagree that you want more of that.  

You can still have a question but you have to take out the obviously false "always" part and say like, "Why are so many Chosen Ones teenagers?"  Though even then like when the person on Facebook said this was about YA fiction, the answer is obvious:  YA fiction and PG-13 movies target young audiences, so the characters should be relatable to them.  Which is why I'd just leave the question out and go directly with the statement.  Is it as funny?  I think it's funnier because it's less distracting.  But maybe that's just me.

Does this relate to anything besides meme writing?  Of course it does!  I'm sure when I've edited stories on critique sites or whatever someone has asked a question that's obviously false.  And then probably got huffy about it being a joke.

Or as I've said in the past, if you have a factual error in your manuscript (my go-to example being the Pulitzer-winning Middlesex saying they made B-52s in WWII and Al Kaline played first base; the latter was true but he played far more in the outfield while the former wasn't built until the 1950s) then it makes me start questioning everything.  In the same way, you start with a question that's obviously false and it's going to make me start examining your entire premise instead of focusing on the joke.

So basically sometimes it's better to just say what you mean than try to couch it in an observation that's not true.  A far more general and simplistic point is that sometimes it helps to look at things from another perspective.  That's why it's good if you can get people to look at your work privately before putting it out there to a general audience.  If it bombs at least then it bombs less spectacularly.

(Fortunately no one reads my blog so I don't have to worry about that.)