Young Writers Society

Back in Black

Black, is the new Red. No Wall-E intended.

Besides being one of the greatest songs ever written, Back in Black seems to be a theme which is dominating the world of literacy, especially popular with young writers and readers. The ‘popular’ has become the dark and the mysterious.

The question we have to ask now is; why, and how, did we make the major switch from dancing disco, tie dye bell bottoms, and the Andy Griffith show, to Black? It’s a big swing, but definitely not a miss. Books such as the Twilight series (don’t even get me started) and the Hunger Games series have made it to the tops of the lists, becoming some of the most popular books for Young Adults in a relatively short amount of time. Books which are full of violence and murder. Their themes are generally dark and morbid, post apocalyptic, revolving around death and decay.

So what makes these so popular over other books with much lighter and joyful themes? Like the title says, it’s all about Black. Allow me to explain. Throughout the course of history, throughout the course of time, humans have always had Heroes. Whether they be fictional Knights in armor shining, real men like Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr, or bad A superheroes such as Batman, whom, by the way, is possibly the greatest superhero ever invented. I mean, come on! He’s a rich billionaire who spends his days running around beating up bad guys with his super charged tank, leaping off of buildings and frolicking with bats. It also helps that he’s played by Christian Bale. But that’s beside the point! Where would Batman be without the Joker? Just a mask. Nothing more. Our Heroes need the villains. It’s an odd relationship, the villains can survive wherever and whenever they like, but the Heroes aren’t Heroes unless they throw down on the evil genius. That’s also beside the point. The fact is, we have to have the Black. We have to have the villains and the Dragons and the zombies, otherwise we have no story.

But, I fear that still hasn’t answered the real question. It seems that youth today are drawn towards the dark and mysterious for a myriad of reasons. Let’s take a little while to explore them.

1. EPIC! This is probably the most prevalent reason out there. Black is just so dang cool, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The color black is cool, but that’s not what I mean. I’m talking about the dark, the hungry, the big and the bad and the ugly. We idolize the superheroes, but, in the end, it’s always the villains with the cool dance moves that take the cake, the reason being that we are intrigued by them. We don’t know a lot about them, we don’t always know their motives. The Hero, on the other hand, is almost always in the light, everyone knows who he is. Except for Batman, he’s the exception to the rule. But, that’s not the only reason. At one point in history, bad was bad and good was good. Now, the lines seem to have blurred a little. Excuse me…a lot. Now we can’t always be sure if what we are seeing is evil or not. The villains have gotten craftier, more devilish. So, we are left to wonder about them. And this gets people interested. This is mostly caused by the movie industry. Rather than giving the good guy all of the cool gadgets, it has started to become a common theme that the bad guy is always the one with all of the good stuff. They always have the sweet outfits. They always drive the best cars (nothing is better than Batman’s tumbler, though.) And they always have the hot girlfriends and the tight clothes and the witty sayings. From this perspective, it’s easy to see why people would like the villains.

2. For some reason, humans seem to be drawn to the shadows. I myself find it strange that I am constantly reading and writing about darkness. It may not be my theme, but it’s always there, always permeating through the pages. I suppose that it intrigues us because we are naturally creatures of light, though some may beg to differ. The world may have a lot of bad in it, but there’s still more good. It’s kind of like a zebra, black with white stripes, or white with black stripes? I can’t remember how many black stripes Marty had? But we, as humans, are drawn to that which we do not know or understand or have. Hence, the Black.

3. Leading the Rebelution. Black as a color is naturally rebellious. Being dark and colorless, it was once a sign that one was rebelling against society. Now, society has mixed the paint cans all up, and black is just the normal thing to wear. It’s hip and cool even. But Black itself, the dark, is rebelling against the whole world and Mother Nature herself. In some ways, this isn’t a bad thing. People need an escape. But, in many cases, it is simply a sign that some people are withdrawing from the common knowledge of morals that has existed since the beginning of time.

4. I have heard it often enough from people. They say that the world is just a dark and terrible place, and there’s no escape. I would have to agree in a lot of instances. People, and especially young adults, find that they enjoy reading and writing about the Black because, at least in these stories, there is a Hero! When this thought hit me, I was blown away. But think about it. Where are they? I’m sure we can find some examples which are noteworthy, but it seems that the time of the Hero has come and gone.

So now, we are left with only one question left; is this a good thing? Black is cool, black is slick and mean and a bad-A fighting machine. But what’s the cost for our enjoyment? How much more can the world stand? It’s an interesting thought, and it has gotten me thinking.

Now I like Batman, and he dresses in all black, drives in all black, and probably even thinks in all black. But at least he’s out there doing what he was meant to do, being that Hero. I may not have wings, I may not have millions to buy myself an underground base. I may not even have the gumption to get out of my chair. But do I have to? I have, at my finger tips, the very tool that is changing the world we live in. Can I not use Black to bring out the White in us all? I, for one, am not going to pass up the moment.

-AE-