In a post giving linky love to my critters, I joked that Marta has a problem with Antonio Banderas. It wasn’t just her. Most of my critters have a problem with Antonio Banderas. Why you gotta be hatin’ on Antonio?
Just kidding. I don’t know how they feel about Antonio personally, but when five out of seven critters dinged me on it, I had to admit that I had used Antonio Banderas as a crutch. For that, Antonio, I apologize.
There is a “rule” in writing that says it’s a no-no to describe your characters by comparing them to celebrities. The reason being that not all of your readers will have the same pop-culture reference base, and so will still have no idea what your character looks like. Much better-indeed, necessary-to use universal descriptors that everyone will know.
Here are the offending paragraphs:
Usually when she pictured Lohn as a man he looked like Antonio Banderas in Desperado. Not as the ponytail pretty boy, but after the shit hit the fan when his hair was in his face and a gun was in his waistband. Antonio Banderas, about to kick some ass.
Not that Lohn would know or care about Antonio Banderas.
Lohn is a dragon/lizard guy, but used to be human. My intention with this passage was to show how Drina viewed Lohn, since she’d never seen him as a man. Also, using Antonio Banderas as a reference puts us in the present day. Furthermore, it ties into a flirty comment she makes in a flashback (though that was poorly executed, I’ll admit).
All those things are legitimate reasons for using the Banderas reference, though they could have been accomplished in other ways. I didn’t realize it till the mass outcry that my REAL reason for using it was to placate my insecurity. I was afraid I couldn’t show his Spanish accent through dialogue. (WordPress spell-check wants me to spell that “dialog”. Now neither looks right.) I was afraid to trust my reader. I was trying to indicate how very Spanish he was, by using a shortcut.
So here’s the lesson: Don’t do that. It almost never works. (Almost?)
Filed under: Writing | Tagged: antonio banderas, characterization, Writing, writing rules
I think it’s cool, it all depends on who your readers are. But I’m not sure about using it in a Fantasy story though. I think it would be better placed in a contemporary setting.
I’m sure stories have used actors from classic movies to describe their characters. But yeah, as long as the reader can identify with the actor.
Maybe what you should have used is the character’s name from the movie instead of Antonio. If I had never seen the movie,l I may go rent it to feel that extra special bond. But yeah, I were to read a comparison to an actor from Bollywood, maybe I’d want a description of the actor so I could understand.
To be honest, I’m just rambling on and never read a book that used such a reference. So really, just ignore my comment. You know, I’m not even gonna press submit.
Personally, I’ve read many books where the author has used a famous person to help describe his character. I think you’ll have to admit, most of the audience you are writing to will have no trouble knowing who Antonio Banderas is. You have to make some assumptions about your audience, and I think that particular assumption imparts some humor. To me, it helps show the character who says Lohn reminds her of Antonio.
As someone who likes to read very old books on occasion, and watch very old movies, I must admit, many references from that long ago are lost on me, unless the person etc. that is being referred to is still famous. So, if you want people a hundred years from now to know what you’re talking about, it might make a difference.
That’s just what I think.
I dont think this passage is bad at all. if this is a contemporary fantasy story, in which the movie desperado can be assumed to exist, then it would make perfect sense for the character herself to be comparing him to a celebrity. afterall, thats how your character thinks–what you think or what your audience think doesnt really matter if you are trying to present your character’s thoughts.
Beautiful website, Im kinda jealous. thanks for visiting mine.
Why, thank you, Rachel. I think WordPress has the best template selection of all the blog sites. This template has the option of uploading your own header, and I bought the css upgrade to change the text color. Very simple, really.
Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts on this. I have to reiterate that my critters were right. Drina can think that Lohn looks like Antonio Banderas, but I shouldn’t let that be the main characterization for him. The reason to change it may be more clear in the context of the rest of the chapter. I cheated.
Hey, I’d like to dance the tango with Banderas any day. Being asked to imagine Banderas is not a problem. Really. I’m not entirely sure it matters that you use a famous person some people may not know–I mean, from what Drina says I could guess that he’s hot, which is really all I need to know. I took issue with the tenses–that it sounded like she wouldn’t say that to Lohn but then she did say that to him.
But I want the record clear–I’ve got no problem with Banderas–except that he’s married to Don Johnson’s ex.
Antonio in Desperado was hot. Okay, double hot. (Not so much anymore though, sadly. But I kind of liked the reference. For me personally, I could picture what Drina was talking about. Also, it moved the story out of … hm … it made it seem a tad less like a made up universe and more like a weird unknown aspect of the real one. Gosh I hope you know what I’m talking about! lol