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Suspension of Disbelief: Why Canon is Important.
Posted By: Leviathan <levihoffmeier@gmail.com>	Date: 1/3/12 9:04 p.m.
In Response To: Forget canon, what about the story itself (davidfuchs) ~I apologize if someone has already blabbed about this - I've only been skimming this thread, but I felt compelled to post anyways before I have to go run and pick someone up from the train station... When you read a book set in the real world, in modern times -even if it has no sequels or anything it's based on- it actually has a canon it needs to follow. What is it? Look around. It's science, it's history, it's basic common experiences. If a character jumps up, he needs to fall down. If he doesn't, we know as the reader that this is wrong, and either there's magic involved or it simply didn't happen. It breaks our suspension of disbelief. You can no longer immerse yourself in the story if the foundation that it resides upon is corrupted. The art, the craft, reveals itself as the lie, the fallacy, that it really is. That's why Halo's canon is extremely important to its story, and as the story grows, it will only grow more important for its storytellers to be studious in their research. And that's what Halo's canon is: research. Just like that novel set in modern times, a Halo novel needs to follow the foundation of truths that the reader has been presented with. For Halo, we have our own sense of science (flash-cloning for example), history (The Rain Forest Wars), and common experiences (travelling on a spaceship). If a novel breaks with this foundation - it's not simply a 'retcon' or 'nerdy mistake' - it's complete disengagement from the Halo universe just as if gravity behaved incorrectly for the character mentioned above. It's no longer a real story, it's just words and sentences and cinematics and levels... Obviously, there are degrees to these canon-breaks (typos or an slightly incorrect number of Spartans could be easily disregarded) as well as degrees of interest from different readers/players. There are those who simply see the story as decoration or filler, and so such mistakes would matter little to them. But to some of us, if we are presented with something that simply didn't or couldn't have happened - what do we do? We either give up and disregard it as false, or we have to literally revise all of our established beliefs on the foundation of this universe. And that's a hard thing to do, especially without hurting the enjoyment of the story that is forcing us to do this.

Message Index

As much as I enjoyed Reach . . .	Seraph XXVII	1/3/12 4:55 a.m.
Re: As much as I enjoyed Reach . . .	FyreWulff	1/3/12 5:08 a.m.
^like face book we need a dislike button. :)	Bryan Newman	1/3/12 5:55 a.m.
Re: ^like face book we need a dislike button. :)	FyreWulff	1/3/12 10:08 a.m.
Re: ^like face book we need a dislike button. :)	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/3/12 2:31 p.m.
Re: ^like face book we need a dislike button. :)	FyreWulff	1/3/12 3:01 p.m.
Re: ^like face book we need a dislike button. :)	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/3/12 4:08 p.m.
I know the answer *img*	Revenant1988	1/3/12 4:11 p.m.
Re: I know the answer *img*	LostSpartan987	1/3/12 5:45 p.m.
Trololol *NM*	stabbim	1/3/12 9:04 p.m.
Re: ^like face book we need a dislike button. :)	FyreWulff	1/3/12 5:32 p.m.
Re: ^like face book we need a dislike button. :)	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/3/12 7:14 p.m.
Re: didn't like the post title, oddly enough	General Vagueness	1/3/12 5:10 p.m.
Re: didn't like the post title, oddly enough	FyreWulff	1/3/12 5:25 p.m.
Re: didn't like the post title, oddly enough	General Vagueness	1/3/12 6:53 p.m.
Re: didn't like the post title, oddly enough	davidfuchs	1/3/12 7:41 p.m.
Re: didn't like the post title, oddly enough	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/3/12 8:01 p.m.
Re: didn't like the post title, oddly enough	Quirel	1/3/12 10:06 p.m.
Re: As much as I enjoyed Reach . . .	Gravemind	1/3/12 7:22 a.m.
Re: As much as I enjoy HBO . . .	Hedgemony	1/3/12 9:27 a.m.
Re: As much as I enjoy HBO . . .	DEEP NNN	1/3/12 12:25 p.m.
Re: As much as I enjoy HBO . . .	FyreWulff	1/3/12 12:31 p.m.
Re: As much as I enjoy HBO . . .	DEEP NNN	1/3/12 12:59 p.m.
Re: As much as I enjoyed Reach . . .	FyreWulff	1/3/12 10:03 a.m.
Re: As much as I enjoyed Reach . . .	FyreWulff	1/3/12 10:07 a.m.
Re: As much as I enjoyed Reach . . .	davidfuchs	1/3/12 1:42 p.m.
Re: As much as I enjoyed Reach . . .	General Vagueness	1/3/12 4:15 p.m.
Re: As much as I enjoyed Reach . . .	pete_the_duck	1/3/12 5:25 p.m.
Re: As much as I enjoyed Reach . . .	Gravemind	1/3/12 7:50 p.m.
Re: As much as I enjoyed Reach . . .	pete_the_duck	1/3/12 9:57 p.m.
Re: As much as I enjoyed Reach . . .	FyreWulff	1/4/12 12:58 a.m.
Re: As much as I enjoyed Reach . . .	Gravemind	1/3/12 7:58 p.m.
Yes! This is how I've always felt! ^	Jillybean	1/3/12 6:52 p.m.
Re: Yes! This is how I've always felt! ^	General Vagueness	1/3/12 7:17 p.m.
Re: Yes! This is how I've always felt! ^	uberfoop	1/3/12 7:25 p.m.
Re: Yes! This is how I've always felt! ^	General Vagueness	1/3/12 7:52 p.m.
Re: Yes! This is how I've always felt! ^	Vandle Valsher	1/3/12 7:57 p.m.
Re: Yes! This is how I've always felt! ^	uberfoop	1/3/12 8:23 p.m.
Re: Yes! This is how I've always felt! ^	Quirel	1/3/12 10:12 p.m.
Re: Yes! This is how I've always felt! ^	uberfoop	1/3/12 11:01 p.m.
Oh, unless...	uberfoop	1/3/12 11:09 p.m.
Re: Yes! This is how I've always felt! ^	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/3/12 7:26 p.m.
My two Cents	crzymnky069	1/4/12 5:43 a.m.
Re: My two Cents	Devil Mingy	1/4/12 6:24 a.m.
Re: My two Cents	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/4/12 11:44 a.m.
Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	Gravemind	1/4/12 10:11 p.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/4/12 10:21 p.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	Quirel	1/4/12 11:10 p.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/5/12 12:03 a.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	Gravemind	1/4/12 11:16 p.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	Quirel	1/4/12 11:47 p.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/5/12 12:11 a.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	Gravemind	1/5/12 12:24 a.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/5/12 2:19 a.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	DHalo	1/5/12 2:36 a.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/5/12 2:45 a.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	Quirel	1/5/12 4:18 a.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/5/12 12:29 p.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	Gravemind	1/5/12 4:07 a.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/5/12 12:42 p.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	DHalo	1/5/12 11:08 p.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	DEEP NNN	1/5/12 2:41 a.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/5/12 2:50 a.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	General Vagueness	1/5/12 5:02 a.m.
Except for Douglas Adams *NM*	scarab	1/4/12 11:10 p.m.
Well, yes, obviously. :) *NM*	Gravemind	1/4/12 11:46 p.m.
Re: Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale.	General Vagueness	1/5/12 4:43 a.m.
Re: In this economy?	Hedgemony	1/4/12 10:25 a.m.
Re: As much as I enjoyed Reach . . .	kanbo	1/3/12 5:25 a.m.
Agreed	Flynn J Taggart	1/3/12 9:21 a.m.
Re: As much as I enjoyed Reach . . .	DEEP NNN	1/3/12 12:22 p.m.
Forget canon, what about the story itself	davidfuchs	1/3/12 1:49 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/3/12 2:28 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	davidfuchs	1/3/12 3:13 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	FyreWulff	1/3/12 3:22 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Beckx	1/3/12 3:23 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	stabbim	1/3/12 9:53 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Revenant1988	1/3/12 3:25 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Leisandir	1/3/12 3:34 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	FyreWulff	1/3/12 4:04 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Leisandir	1/3/12 4:25 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	NsU Soldier	1/4/12 12:04 a.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	General Vagueness	1/3/12 6:20 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	General Vagueness	1/3/12 6:11 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	stabbim	1/3/12 10:48 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	davidfuchs	1/3/12 11:15 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Beckx	1/3/12 11:28 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	davidfuchs	1/4/12 12:03 a.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	FyreWulff	1/3/12 3:11 p.m.
No, and yes.	Revenant1988	1/3/12 3:20 p.m.
Re: No, and yes.	General Vagueness	1/3/12 6:07 p.m.
Re: No, and yes.	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/3/12 7:18 p.m.
Re: No, and yes.	General Vagueness	1/3/12 7:42 p.m.
Re: No, and yes.	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/3/12 8:03 p.m.
What happened to Carter.	NsU Soldier	1/4/12 12:46 a.m.
Re: What happened to Carter.	stabbim	1/4/12 7:28 a.m.
Also...	stabbim	1/4/12 7:29 a.m.
Re: No, and yes.	General Vagueness	1/4/12 6:01 a.m.
Re: No, and yes.	GrimBrother IV	1/3/12 8:28 p.m.
Re: No, and yes.	General Vagueness	1/4/12 6:29 a.m.
Re: No, and yes.	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/4/12 11:47 a.m.
Re: No, and yes.	stabbim	1/4/12 4:16 p.m.
Re: No, and yes.	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/4/12 5:03 p.m.
Re: No, and yes.	Leisandir	1/4/12 10:16 p.m.
Re: No, and yes.	General Vagueness	1/5/12 4:05 a.m.
Re: No, and yes.	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/5/12 12:38 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	General Vagueness	1/3/12 5:29 p.m.
Rightish, and wrong.	Quirel	1/3/12 5:50 p.m.
Re: Rightish, and wrong.	7he grunt w/a plasma pistol	1/3/12 6:04 p.m.
Re: Rightish, and wrong.	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/3/12 7:16 p.m.
Re: Rightish, and wrong.	Quirel	1/3/12 10:06 p.m.
Re: Rightish, and wrong.	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/3/12 11:28 p.m.
What about Harvest?	BlueNinja	1/6/12 10:09 a.m.
Re: What about Harvest?	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/6/12 11:47 a.m.
Re: What about Harvest?	BlueNinja	1/6/12 12:04 p.m.
Re: What about Harvest?	The Loot	1/6/12 1:55 p.m.
Re: What about Harvest?	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/6/12 3:47 p.m.
Re: What about Harvest?	Leviathan	1/6/12 6:54 p.m.
Re: What about Harvest?	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/6/12 7:06 p.m.
Re: What about Harvest?	Bry	1/6/12 11:36 p.m.
Re: What about Harvest?	General Vagueness	1/6/12 6:58 p.m.
Re: What about Harvest?	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/6/12 7:07 p.m.
Re: What about Harvest?	Urban Reflex	1/6/12 2:19 p.m.
Re: What about Harvest?	7he grunt w/a plasma pistol	1/6/12 2:26 p.m.
Re: What about Harvest?	SonofMacPhisto	1/6/12 4:25 p.m.
Re: What about Harvest?	davidfuchs	1/6/12 5:38 p.m.
Re: What about Harvest?	Beckx	1/6/12 5:55 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Revenant1988	1/3/12 3:15 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/3/12 4:19 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Flynn J Taggart	1/4/12 12:11 a.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/4/12 12:41 a.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Flynn J Taggart	1/4/12 1:01 a.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Quirel	1/4/12 2:35 a.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Flynn J Taggart	1/4/12 4:39 a.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	General Vagueness	1/3/12 6:04 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	General Vagueness	1/3/12 4:27 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	davidfuchs	1/3/12 8:23 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	GrimBrother IV	1/3/12 8:21 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	davidfuchs	1/3/12 8:25 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	GrimBrother IV	1/3/12 8:33 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	davidfuchs	1/3/12 9:27 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	GrimBrother IV	1/3/12 9:41 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	uberfoop	1/3/12 9:43 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Beckx	1/3/12 9:51 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	davidfuchs	1/3/12 10:03 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/3/12 11:24 p.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	davidfuchs	1/4/12 12:18 a.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/4/12 12:43 a.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	General Vagueness	1/5/12 3:32 a.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/5/12 12:33 p.m.
Also agreed and a note on Spartan deaths	Flynn J Taggart	1/4/12 12:52 a.m.
Re: Forget canon, what about the story itself	General Vagueness	1/4/12 6:24 a.m.
Suspension of Disbelief: Why Canon is Important.	Leviathan	1/3/12 9:04 p.m.
Hear Hear	davidfuchs	1/3/12 9:30 p.m.
Re: Suspension of Disbelief: Why Canon is Importan	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/3/12 11:20 p.m.
Re: Suspension of Disbelief: Why Canon is Importan	uberfoop	1/4/12 12:29 a.m.
Re: Suspension of Disbelief: Why Canon is Importan	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/4/12 12:45 a.m.
Re: Suspension of Disbelief: Why Canon is Importan	davidfuchs	1/4/12 1:03 a.m.
Re: Suspension of Disbelief: Why Canon is Importan	uberfoop	1/4/12 1:23 a.m.
Re: Suspension of Disbelief: Why Canon is Importan	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/4/12 2:16 a.m.
Coincidentally	Beckx	1/4/12 11:20 p.m.
Re: As much as I enjoyed Reach . . .	Beckx	1/3/12 3:20 p.m.
Re: As much as I enjoyed Reach . . .	SonofMacPhisto	1/5/12 6:35 p.m.
I like Reach.	Postmortem	1/3/12 5:24 p.m.
Re: I like Reach.	General Vagueness	1/3/12 6:49 p.m.
Re: I like Reach.	stabbim	1/3/12 8:59 p.m.
Just gonna leave this here:	Dervish	1/4/12 12:32 a.m.
Re: Just gonna leave this here:	JDQuackers	1/5/12 4:39 p.m.
Re: Just gonna leave this here:	Dervish	1/6/12 3:50 a.m.
Re: Just gonna leave this here:	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/6/12 3:59 a.m.
Re: Just gonna leave this here:	JDQuackers	1/6/12 1:38 p.m.
Re: Just gonna leave this here:	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/6/12 3:54 p.m.
Hmmm I guess Glasslands *Spoilers*	JDQuackers	1/6/12 4:04 p.m.
I concur	Revenant1988	1/6/12 4:20 p.m.
Re: Hmmm I guess Glasslands *Spoilers*	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	1/6/12 4:49 p.m.
Re: Hmmm I guess Glasslands *Spoilers*	JDQuackers	1/6/12 6:31 p.m.
Re: Hmmm I guess Glasslands *Spoilers*	Bry	1/6/12 11:49 p.m.
Re: Just gonna leave this here:	Dervish	1/6/12 4:39 p.m.
Regardless of canonity	C.W. Miller	1/4/12 7:04 a.m.
Re: Regardless of canonity	DEEP NNN	1/4/12 12:22 p.m.
Re: Regardless of canonity	C.W. Miller	1/4/12 3:24 p.m.