It Doesn't Have to be Perfect to be Fantastic

I love rambling stream-of-conscious bullshit as much as the next guy, but I can feel something like a cohesive thought forming. So I'm going to try to express it as clearly as I can.

If you've seen the title of this gem, you know what I'm thinking: that something doesn't have to be perfect, or flawless, or technically gorgeous, to be orgasmically, amazingly, and mind-blowingly fantastic. Let me explain.

The show Supernatural. It's not exactly an ideal model of narrative structure. Season one ends with the beginning of Supernatural's finest tradition: killing the main characters, only to bring them back next season. They jump the shark so many times that they've actually gotten pretty good at it. They break the fourth wall with visceral pleasure, throw in hefty amounts of faux drama, go-nowhere romance, and no small amount of inconsistency. Long after every original plot line is put to rest, heaps more are shamelessly thrown in to feed the fire.

And it fucking rocks. Let me give you another example. 

The Hobbit is a classic tale by J.R.R. Tolkien. And if it were reviewed by a modern critic, that critic would say it sucks ass.

Tolkien... well, he meanders his way through the Hobbit. He spends enormous amounts of time on things that don't feed the almighty Plot. He raises far more plot lines (don't get me started on goddamn Tom Bombadil) than he puts to bed. Overall, the Hobbit is messy, poorly planned, and slow-paced. Modern-day New York publishing houses would probably slush-pile good ol' J.R.R.'s manuscript in a heartbeat.

And that would be the dumbest mistake they could make. I'd bet publishers have waking nightmares where they imagine doing that.

Mistakes were made. No shit! Mistakes are always made. There is no such thing as a perfect novel, or screenplay, or game. And if there were, god forbid, it would be the most hollow, pointless, formulaic abomination anyone with a soul ever laid eyes on.

We don't remember the flaws--we remember the greatness.

Supernatural is a fun, funny story about little humans kicking ass, ass which is orders of magnitude greater than their own. If you watch long enough, you'll want to meet an angel, just so you can punch him in the mouth.

The Hobbit is a rich, boundless story, the kind of ripping adventure tale that makes you want to ride some rails and wear out your boots. If you invest in it, cover to cover, you'll feel the warmth of Bilbo's fire. You'll smell the troll on that one small chest.

I've cussed four times in this post, but I kind of want to leave with some semblance of credibility. So I leave you with one of my favorite quotes.

"You don't love because: you love despite; not for the virtues, but despite the faults." -William Faulkner

You all have a nice day.

-Dusty