None of it is real. The details of canon - kinship, timelines, pet names - all belong to the transient physical realm rather than being things that - as Socrates put it - are.
And yet, as Hemingway said, Fiction is the lie by which we tell the truth.
Harry Potter tells us timeless things through a world of fantasy. Friendship, loyalty, love. The truth can set us free.
Any long-lasting grand story has essential truths at its heart. We know very few things for sure about the life of Jesus: born in Nazareth, preached in Judea, executed by the Romans in Jerusalem one Passover for sedition. And yet he taught some lasting truths on how to live a good life. Love your neighbour. Don’t worry, be happy. There is something grander than what we see around us.
Yes, it all passes. But some things endure regardless of time or space. At the far end of the universe, the interior angles of a triangle will still add up to 180°, and pi will still be an irrational number beginning with 3.14159 and the five things that Plato identified in The Sophist as heading the list of things that are will still be present.
Craft a story around timeless truths and you will find an audience. Make your world about the details and none of it is true.
It’s not about the details of canon. Nobody ever found lasting fame in world-crafting without something deeper. Would Tolkien ever have been more than a compiler of details without the stories of Frodo and Bilbo?
They are supreme examples of The Hero's Tale. The myth brings the canon to life and not the other way around.
"Essentially, canon refers to the authoritative narratives within fiction."
True. However, that means different things in different contents. The fans of a franchise consider it their prerogative to keep it as they want it to be; however, the makers of a franchise consider that solely to be their domain. And then they proceed to endlessly argue, fight and undermine each other to get their way...
None of it is real. The details of canon - kinship, timelines, pet names - all belong to the transient physical realm rather than being things that - as Socrates put it - are.
And yet, as Hemingway said, Fiction is the lie by which we tell the truth.
Harry Potter tells us timeless things through a world of fantasy. Friendship, loyalty, love. The truth can set us free.
Any long-lasting grand story has essential truths at its heart. We know very few things for sure about the life of Jesus: born in Nazareth, preached in Judea, executed by the Romans in Jerusalem one Passover for sedition. And yet he taught some lasting truths on how to live a good life. Love your neighbour. Don’t worry, be happy. There is something grander than what we see around us.
Yes, it all passes. But some things endure regardless of time or space. At the far end of the universe, the interior angles of a triangle will still add up to 180°, and pi will still be an irrational number beginning with 3.14159 and the five things that Plato identified in The Sophist as heading the list of things that are will still be present.
Craft a story around timeless truths and you will find an audience. Make your world about the details and none of it is true.
It’s not about the details of canon. Nobody ever found lasting fame in world-crafting without something deeper. Would Tolkien ever have been more than a compiler of details without the stories of Frodo and Bilbo?
They are supreme examples of The Hero's Tale. The myth brings the canon to life and not the other way around.
"Essentially, canon refers to the authoritative narratives within fiction."
True. However, that means different things in different contents. The fans of a franchise consider it their prerogative to keep it as they want it to be; however, the makers of a franchise consider that solely to be their domain. And then they proceed to endlessly argue, fight and undermine each other to get their way...