. . . I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."
---Douglas Adams
I'm having trouble deciding how I want to approach The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I'm trying to blog my processes of research and what I am learning, and tangle with the text in a literary way. The problem is, I'm not sure how I want to approach this. One idea is to look at the humor of the book and Douglas Adams, and analyze how he creates humor and why it works. This idea appeals to me because it is something new for me, and I think I could learn quite a bit about the craft of comedy. Another approach that I am considering is to look at the ways the book has influenced pop culture and how the book has stayed alive in the hearts of the general public. This will be fun because I can look at how people consume the book and create their own content in order to celebrate Adams and his Galaxy. Lastly, I could study how this book has remained relevant in our digital and scientific culture, even 32 years after it was published. This is a rare thing for a Science Fiction novel and even more surprising when you think of more serious Science Fiction novels that are terribly outdated merely because they failed at predicting the future of technology and science.
I am sure I would enjoy any of these options, but I'm not sure which would be most profitable for me to study. I know that in a way these ideas are interconnected, but to talk about all three would be too general of a topic.
What do you think I should do? Leave comments and tell me which idea sounds the most interesting? Any input will be appreciated. I can't promise to follow your suggestion, but I will promise to take it into consideration.
I love the idea of analyzing how Adams' employs humor in the books. I bet you could take that even a step further and look into how this humor is manipulated or how it evolves from form to form. Is Adams' humor reflected in the movie? Is it carried over into fan fiction? Do readers tend to comment on the same aspects of Adams' humor no matter how they consumed the book?
ReplyDeleteI have heard your opening quote before. I loved it then, and I love it now. I agree with Amy. Looking at and analyzing Adam's humor is such an interesting angle to read the book from. I believe many readers would be interested in what you would find from your research on that topic.
ReplyDeleteHumor is the one I've been leaning towards. It would not only be interesting, but something completely new for me to do. I've never written about comedy in any way. I think I could learn a lot.
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