I hate it when people use phrase "Dark and Gritty". It is just a stupid term, and I think that some people believe that term to be synonymous with sophistication. Not every story needs to be 'dark and gritty' to be sophisticated, and yet some people (especially some of my friends) seem to dismiss anything that may have even the slightest glimmer of brightness to a story. Just me though. Tell me what you think.
I haven't heard that, but I think I understand what you mean.
Well, when people have no imagination or no story to tell, making it dark/shocking/depressing/gay are common tricks they use because they think it will fill in the void. Never works of course.
It's not really a matter of sophistication, it's just a matter of tone and story... and those stories generally come from people who are somewhat pessimistic or just have a more negative outlook on life, which appeals to people who feel the same way... I'm not saying it's an emo thing, but the general demographic for these books is about the teenage years, which is when people tend to be more negative and pessimistic about life, so the story and the tone match the readers'
I'm not sure about "sophisticated," though. The most highly acclaimed comics actually were dark and gritty, and those comics are also considered "sophisticated." So... yeah.
For the record, by most acclaimed, I refer to:
Watchmen The Dark Knight Returns Sandman V for Vendetta
@Twentyfive: yeah, I do get that sense. Dark and Gritty is fun, yeah, but is like the Batman bandwagon: oh look, it's so cool to like "this and this and that" and everyone joins in. Then people look at the ones who enjoy much less dark works and say: "omg cant believe you are into that, that's so immature/childish/bland/crappy etc...."
it's like everything else in life. some people really like certain genres/tones/types and are okay with other people's tastes. But then there are always the douche bags that think that if you don't like what they like, you are inferior in taste (as if such a thing was possible in subjective manner) and this applies to people who like dark, people who like pop, or people who like abstract art, or anything at all.
@Blood1991 said:
I hate it when idiots scream Yolo when they do something stupid if as this excuses them doing it.
This thread is dark and gritty...... Gritty" means tough or to show courage and determination. Someone coming out on top after a great struggle would be said to have achieved a gritty victory or shown grit in victory.
There's a place for it, but I agree that it's really annoying when people just assume that the genre of a book automatically makes it better or "sophisticated." To be honest, I have more respect for authors who write stories that aren't "dark and gritty" (read: downers) but engaging at the same time.
It's similar to movies. A decent drama will always get better critical acclaim that a truly great comedy or action film.
Drama and action thrillers are just better at the moment. There haven't been many true classic comedy movies in quite some time IMO . And I prefer comedy over any other type of movie by far so it's not just a matter of taste. The 80's just had the best collection of comedy shows,and actors and there was always a new comedy coming out with an all time great comedian. The 90's was kinda the age of scifi and action and the 2000's have been loaded with great dramatic actors.
I like dark and gritty. Sue me. I'm not sure about "sophisticated," though. The most highly acclaimed comics actually were dark and gritty, and those comics are also considered "sophisticated." So... yeah. For the record, by most acclaimed, I refer to: Watchmen The Dark Knight Returns Sandman V for Vendetta
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