His Dark Materials | the art of Exposition

[@mylittlethoughttree]

World Anvil are still keen to support me, STILL!! Use the code TREE for 40% off World Anvil with the link worldanvil.com/?c=mltt Or else try it out for free!! Hope you enjoy! I know it's not in my nature to create titles and thumbnails that look slightly clickbait (although I don't think it actually is) but this video was more of a passion project one and I needed to try and help it do well in views...it's some sort of attempt, anyway

[@JackBrady]

Hi mate, I was just thinking when you were talking about world anvil in the advert; could it ever be an interesting idea to express the world of the book or film in World Anvil and then use it in the video to show or explain things? I love your style already so there’s no need to and it would probably be a lot of unnecessary work, but thought I’d mention it just in case. Thanks again

[@jessepbigjdp]

His Dark Materials is my favorite fantasy trilogy, and the groundwork for world building, the retroactive exposition is part of why. You discover so much upon rereads, and I've reread the series many times. It's been a long time since my last reread, but this video has rekindled my desire so I should get to that.

[@silentdissonance]

I really enjoyed the exposition of Neuromancer by Gibson. Yes, it's tired, and trite, and in some ways simplistic - it's supposed to be. Case is a complete burnout. The world is run by a handful of megacorps that have boiled everything - including the very language - into the lowest common denominator to make it easier to pack, price, and sell. Choice is removed in favor of profit - in all things. What stands out is Molly's tale of what happened with her Johnny as she stalks through the weird halls of Straylight.

[@JackBrady]

I’ve always been in love with this book series :), thank you for analysing it. The author’s audiobook is so good too

[@pchurch692]

Love these books! Got confused about the book title until I looked it up and realized it was released as Golden Compass in North America. Great video!

[@rdbury507]

The movie adaptation was also called "The Golden Compass". To me, that title makes a lot of sense; she carries around something which looks like a compass and is golden.

[@davidhansen6295]

A powerful series! Even the title "His Dark Materials" tickles the fancy quite powerfully. Who is "His"? If I remember correctly it is never explained in the book. The dark materials... kind of. It doesn't describe it as "dark", right? I was so absolutely fascinated with the book series, the part about the world created for the creatures or the creatures adapted for the world. The roads, the paths? I still think of that most profoundly even though it is a fictional story. Philip Dick had a lot of thought provoking sci-fi stories, but still I find this series, His Dark Materials probably on a magnitude scale more profound (to me) even than Lord of the Rings.

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Oh wow, I only just realised this comment was a superthanks!! The app isn't great for making those things clear, thankyou so much! Realising that now has given me a nice surprise on a stressful Christmas morning, so thank you! To be honest as well, I think I agree. I've only read 2 Philip K Dick stories but...Lord of the Rings... maybe. His Dark Materials is a wonderful sci-fi, fantasy, coming of age, theological, philosophical, incredibly rebellious and life-affirming story. It packs so much stuff into what is also a really engaging, easy to read story. Very hard also to pull off stories with other worlds that don't feel forced and don't dilute the sense of culture you get. Anyway, I'm rambling but thankyou again

[@RobertJW]

"Of neither Sea, nor Shore, nor Air, nor Fire, But all these in thir pregnant causes mixt Confus’dly, and which thus must ever fight, Unless th’ Almighty Maker them ordain His dark materials to create more Worlds..." - Milton, Paradise Lost

[@ephemerabluetit335]

Two people explaining something to each other that they both already know. Thank you! I agree, it's distracting and disappointing.

[@Amoechick]

I really love this book series, and also appreciate your deep dives into narratives and story and all… this. If you’d be up to it, it would be cool to look at the main characters from His Dark Materials in a sort of psych profile way- kind of like how you did with Good Will Hunting and The Breakfast Club characters. There’s so MUCH to these stories, including especially Lyra’s complex relationships with Mrs. Coulter & Lord Azriel.

[@ladypi8745]

Experiment time - Part 2! Comment without link: I just found out the title is "The Golden Compass" in the U.S. and "Northern Lights" in other countries! The article "His Dark Materials: Why the First Book's Title Is Incorrect in the US" has some information about it, I thought it was interesting: "According to a MentalFloss article, when Pullman submitted his manuscript to his U.S. publishers, he used the temporary title The Golden Compasses for what would be the entire series. This was a reference to John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, which describes some golden compasses used "to circumscribe the universe, and all created things." However, Milton's compass was the drawing tool used to create circles or arcs rather than the kind used for navigation. According to Pullman, he made the U.S. publisher aware that the title would be Northern Lights in all other editions, but they weren't interested in changing it. They had been calling the first book, rather than the entire trilogy, a singular The Golden Compass and were attached to this name. In fact, they offered Pullman enough compensation -- both in money and in flattery -- that he let them keep the original title."

[@mylittlethoughttree]

SUCCESS!! That's pretty interesting though, I never realised it was an allusion to Paradise Lost. In some ways, it's a better title because it fits with the following books also being titled after objects...but I still much prefer The Northern Lights as a title

[@Benjamin-xv9le]

@@mylittlethoughttree the german version is also called "Der goldene Kompass" and starts with a quote from Paradise Lost.

[@SteveJubs]

Have you gone out for audiobook reading? You’ve got it! Truly

[@PeopleOfSol]

Thank you for this video! I'm really liking the TV show, and I really enjoyed your discussion of the books. Thank you for putting out your content - I wish you a nice holiday!

[@RJ_Ehlert]

Nice video.

[@SteveJubs]

This thumbnail game is such a vibe

[@sirlukel5400]

Not important but I'm friends with the Authors grandson - a really nice guy!

[@ladypi8745]

I can't see my comment anymore. Did it get removed because it had a link to an article about why the title is "The Golden Compass" in the U.S. instead of "Northern Lights"? ☹

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Quite possibly. KZbin seems to have a habit of just randomly removing comments. Even if I look in the "held for review" section of my comments page, half of them are never shown. You can always try a second time and hope for the best?

[@ladypi8745]

@@mylittlethoughttree I posted comments with and without the link now. Let's see how KZbin handles it. Hopefully the algorithm will at least be pleased with the engagement 😆

[@cloudbloom]

Thought this would be about Dune for a sec

[@poisonivy97]

I absolutely love videos like this. There are a lot of choices, conscious or not, that add layers to a great artist's work. I tend to fixate on those choices as well. Also, when I was a kid I was absolutely obsessed with these books, and they have absolutely held up.

[@enahassenkam3171]

Comment for the algorithm

[@otaeko1]

I'm not much of a reader, but I might check the audiobook out. Would be interested to see your take on mob psycho :) Great video as always!

[@N0noy1989]

Thank you very much for this. I'm starting another book and this enlightened me a lot. Not a published writer, just a random guy writing novels on the internet hoping to have something published as a "serious book" by trad publishers someday lol.

[@jeremisilva4836]

Yoo