This helped put into words what I found so captivating about Challengers! The use of tennis as the way to demonstrate how they play and what theyre willing to surrender to.
The Trauma Plot article is fascinating— like why this insistence that characters must have and express their wounds to be “interesting” or “sympathetic?” Most of my favorite art recently shows enough restraint to leave me with more questions than answers
totally!! the goal isn’t to eradicate discussion of trauma in fiction, it’s to be suspicious of it as the sole explanation for a character’s qualities and motivations
The Winnicott framing is doing so much work here, the idea that chess scenes move characters from telling intimacy to doing intimacy is exactly the right lens. It also makes me think about how the board functions almost like a third presence in the room, something both players have to attend to together before they can attend to each other.
I love "magnifying glass" as a way of putting it. It made me wonder whether the chess board is actually functioning as a safer space than direct conversation. They can be completely honest through the game in a way they couldn't be face-to-face. Was that something you noticed while writing the essay too?
This just unlocked something in my brain that I think solved the part of my book I was stuck on, so THANK YOU. These particular characters aren’t chess guys, but they will definitely benefit from some play.
this articulates the frustrations i have around trauma plots so well!! i find novels concerned with exploring the realities of their characters' personalities so much more fascinating than those that try to "explain" and absolve them
This helped put into words what I found so captivating about Challengers! The use of tennis as the way to demonstrate how they play and what theyre willing to surrender to.
yes!!! totally agreed
The Trauma Plot article is fascinating— like why this insistence that characters must have and express their wounds to be “interesting” or “sympathetic?” Most of my favorite art recently shows enough restraint to leave me with more questions than answers
totally!! the goal isn’t to eradicate discussion of trauma in fiction, it’s to be suspicious of it as the sole explanation for a character’s qualities and motivations
The Winnicott framing is doing so much work here, the idea that chess scenes move characters from telling intimacy to doing intimacy is exactly the right lens. It also makes me think about how the board functions almost like a third presence in the room, something both players have to attend to together before they can attend to each other.
yes!!!! exactly what i was thinking too! presence of a third thing as both distraction and magnifying glass
I love "magnifying glass" as a way of putting it. It made me wonder whether the chess board is actually functioning as a safer space than direct conversation. They can be completely honest through the game in a way they couldn't be face-to-face. Was that something you noticed while writing the essay too?
This just unlocked something in my brain that I think solved the part of my book I was stuck on, so THANK YOU. These particular characters aren’t chess guys, but they will definitely benefit from some play.
glad to be of help !!!!
this articulates the frustrations i have around trauma plots so well!! i find novels concerned with exploring the realities of their characters' personalities so much more fascinating than those that try to "explain" and absolve them
I appreciate your take on the Trauma Plot! I would love to read less of it on the page 😵💫. It’s intense and oftentimes eclipses everything else