Romanticism: A Primer

One of my favorite styles of writing, movies, and art in general is Romanticism. It's a genre that is surprisingly common today, albeit in a very simple form, and underscores many of the major blockbuster motion pictures.

Romanticism can be summarized as a piece of art that represents a "clash of values" or some kind of value-statement about the world. That is, the artist has one or more values or ideals they are using art to express in some way, shape, or form. What the values are can vary widely - the uniting theme is that they are present and create a lens through which the art is supposed to be taken.

Victor Hugo is arguably the best known romantic author. His work displays characters who are driven by an adherence to a set of values and who come into conflict because of this. At the same time, their actions are consistent with the values they hold. In "Les Miserable," you have Jean Valjean representing the spirit of redemption and man's capacity to improve pitted against Javert, who adheres to a strict black-and0white view of good and evil.

Romanticism has many forms and subtypes. On the high end, Hugo's "Les Miserables" is regarded as one of the most complex romantic novels ever written. That could be considered a high-water mark for the genre. Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle - arguably the greatest opera ever created - is a thoroughly romantic work, with themes and symbolism drawn from myths that depicts man's clash with the gods. "The Dark Knight" is another, reflecting a clash of vigilante order (Batman) vs. orthodox order (Harvey Dent) vs. total chaos (The Joker).

You also have simpler forms of romanticism. "Good vs. evil" morality tales, such as most superhero comic book movies, are romantic, if very straightforward. They belong to a subtype of romantic works called "Thrillers." Thrillers are designed to provide quick and easy stimulation of the emotions, but not the kind of deep thought provoking reaction of Hugo or Wagner.

It speaks to the power of the genre that it has found such large appeal - see the total gross of "The Avengers" - among people. Many film critics make the mistake of dismissing these stories as "children's tales." They get one facet correct - that Marvel movies are not complex in scope - but then make the mistake that every movie of their ilk is immature. The truth is that "good vs. evil" tales are just an entry level gateway to a much larger and satisfying complex philosophical genre.

Romantic works are able to move people on a primal, passionate level. We are wired to enjoy and seek out a conflict of values - it speaks to our natural talent at judgment and decision making. The most thought provoking conflict stems from two sides, both with claims to being correct, but neither of whom can reach compromise. Only romanticism contains this kind of clash as one of its innate components.

The values in a romantic work do not have to conform to any preset notions of "good" or "evil" to qualify. There can be a romantic work that extols the virtues of communism and romantic work that praises capitalism, both equally valid. The presence of "good" itself is even optional. A main character can be a villain, out to mold the world to his values. (This kind of work would, of course, be rather dark - but it would still be romantic in nature.) The values themselves are not what determine the worth of the piece - it is a) their presence and b) how well the author integrates those values into the structure of the piece.

Romanticism is not a magic seal of quality, of course. There are bad or poorly conceived romantic works just as in any genre. Not every "good vs. evil" story is worth watching. Michael Bay's "Transformers" movies, for example, are "good vs. evil" but largely trash. Ironically, the "Atlas Shrugged" film adaptations fall into this disappointing category. Despite having a clash of values from the source material, neither film is particularly well-crafted.

Romanticism, for me, has always been my favorite type of work. This could be because of my childhood cartoon habits. The original "Transformers," "Thundercats," "He-Man," and other major 80's cartoons all had strong themes of good vs. evil. The Autobots represented courage and teamwork, while the Decepticons were about opportunistic strikes and back-stabbing. It was because of those traits that the Decepticons always lost.

As I go through creating Daizhong and crafting my own steampunk fictional world from which to tell stories, I find myself going back to romanticism as my style of choice. I want to convey values and principles, show them in motion and coming into conflict. I think that will make my writing much more interesting then generic adventures.