Friday, November 11, 2016

Corn cobs, toilet paper and 'three seashells'


When it comes to the march of civilization (and how to portray it in fiction) there are many things to take into account.  They've all got to work together if an author wants to draw his readers into his fictional world, make them feel comfortable in it, and engross them in its events.

I've just put up an article about that over at Mad Genius Club, the shared writers' blog at which I'm a contributor.  Click over there and read it if the subject interests you.  It's titled 'How to assess a civilization'.

As for the title I've used here, it's explained in that article.  Those of you who've seen the movie 'Demolition Man' will understand the 'three seashells' reference.  For those of you who haven't . . .








Peter

1 comment:

DaveP. said...

I've always thought the Three Seashells gag was one of the best (and most undervalued) "fish out of water" gags in movies: how alien is the culture you're in, when you can't even understand something as simple and universal as how to handle a restroom and nobody wants to explain it to you?