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This week: Alcohol Edited by: Robert Waltz  
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Stay busy, get plenty of exercise, and don't drink too much. Then again, don't drink too little.
~Herman "Jackrabbit" Smith-Johannsen
Draft beer, not people.
~Author Unknown
Wine is bottled poetry.
~Robert Louis Stevenson
Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.
~Dave Barry |
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Alcohol
I thought I'd take some time today and discuss something that is central to the human experience; that is, alcoholic beverages.
There are those who claim that it was the production of alcohol (beer, specifically) that was the impetus to forming the first civilization; that is, it required specialization and cooperation that could only be accomplished by living in groups beyond the simple family or clan unit. It required advances in science and mathematics that led to other advances in science and mathematics that continue to this day and beyond.
And civilization, of course, led to problems that could only be addressed by drinking, but that's another issue.
The importance of alcohol to early civilization is not a matter of inebriation, however; it was a matter of survival. Long before germ theories of disease, it wasn't always obvious which drinking water sources were pure or contaminated. Even a small amount of alcohol kills off harmful bacteria; the weak beer and wine these early civilizations would have produced wouldn't get anyone really drunk, but effectively cut down on rates of disease.
Not that it never happened that people got schnockered. There's even, for those of you of mythological bent, an old Sumerian myth about Ishtar and Enki that reveals aspects of human nature that have been in place for at least 6,000 years, and probably more:
In his connections with Inanna, Enki shows other aspects of his non-Patriarchal nature. The myth Enki and Inanna tells the story of the young goddess of the É-anna temple of Uruk, who visits the senior god of Eridu, and is entertained by him in a feast. The seductive god plies her with beer, and the young goddess maintains her virtue, whilst Enki proceeds to get drunk. In generosity he gives her all the gifts of his Me, the gifts of civilized life. Next morning, with a hangover, he asks his servant Isimud for his Me, only to be informed that he has given them to Inanna. Upset at his actions, he sends Galla demons to recover them. Inanna escapes her pursuers and arrives safely back at the quay at Uruk. Enki realises that he has been tricked in his hubris and accepts a peace treaty forever with Uruk.
(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enki)
...and Enki was supposed to be the tricky one.
Speaking of Sumer, I also ran across this poetic beer recipe from the nineteenth century BCE:
http://www.piney.com/BabNinkasi.html
Point is, alcohol and civilization go hand in hand, and it is only recently, with advances in science and technology (that were, in part, begun by the science of beer-making lo these thousands of years ago) that we can indulge in the luxury of not drinking if we so choose.
So, okay, enough with the history. Time to talk about Fantasy.
In fantasy (and science fiction), the trope of the Tavern is a strong one. Think the Mos Eisley bar in Star Wars; Ten-Forward on ST:TNG (okay, they cheated by serving wimpy "synthehol") or, in writing, things like Callahan's Cross-Time Saloon by Spider Robinson. The tavern - the bar - is central to getting plots going in many cases, precisely because people (or, it's assumed, aliens) like to drink no matter their social or cultural status.
I should also mention that every good D&D adventure begins and ends in a tavern. Heck, even Tolkien used the device.
Or how about an example from the real world: a friend of mine, when he was a teen, went to Germany with some other international students, people from all over. Americans, Canadians, Brits, Israelis, Russians... all over. Some didn't have the best grasp of German or English, and some of them studiously ignored each other. The Israelis and Turks, for example, sat at opposite sides of the room and pretended each other didn't exist.
At that time - I don't know what it is now - the drinking age in Germany was quite young, and my friend ordered a beer, because he could. Everyone else thought this was a splendid idea, and went right ahead and ordered beer. Pretty soon everyone was enjoying this most wondrous beverage, and started finding things in common with each other. Eventually, the Israelis and Turks were sitting at the same table exchanging stories.
Liquid diplomacy, he calls it. All world leaders should try it.
A quick note about types of alcoholic beverages:
There are really only two types: fermented, and distilled. Fermented beverages generally have a lower alcohol content. Fermented beverages are further subdivided into beer and wine. Beer comes from starch such as grain; wine, from fruit such as grapes. Distilled beverages, also known as spirits, start with something fermented and then undergo (duh) a distillation process, which concentrates the alcohol.
There's a lot more to know, of course, but that's the basics.
Back to writing, now, I mention all this because it can drive plot and characterization. Everyone knows about the Bond martini (which isn't really a martini, but I'll let that go for now), for example. What your protagonist drinks - or doesn't - is as much a part of her character as the color of her hair or that thing she does with her eyebrow when she's ticked off. And how much a character (or an author) drinks tells a great deal about them, as well. Just watch out for clichéd situations like the drunk abuser who "sees the light" or a "magic solution" to alcoholism (usually in the form of a small child).
In fantasy, of course, we're not always dealing with the human. What do other races use as something similar for them, if anything? I remember in Alien Nation (Alan Dean Foster), the aliens got drunk off of sour milk. And is it truly analogous? Would another culture use it to blur social distinctions as we do? Can it help them get along with humans, or would it fire up their xenophobia - and vice-versa?
It's been trendy, these days, to treat alcohol as something to be demonized in stories, but to do so ignores its rich history and opportunity. Time to stop that, and treat it as the ordinary - or extraordinary - experience it truly is. |
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Last time, in "Fantasy Newsletter (August 3, 2011)" , I talked about gods in fantasy.
J. A. Buxton  : I did my own take on ancient deities from many nations in my erotic mythological novella, Seraglio of the Gods. The hero of this story is a mostly ignored god in literature, so I thought it was time to reacquaint readers with Vulcan.
A good subject! Unfortunately, I can't link your novella here due to newsletter content rating restrictions, but anyone interested can find the work in J. A. Buxton 's portfolio.
aurel_ian  : I'm a newbie and just read what you said on gods and mythology. Was just watching an anime with a villain called Arachne. She wasn't a weaver wasn't challenging the gods but was a witch. But it's like you said mythology is old and it's open for anyone to use even if it is just for character names. You are allowed to go way off the path.
Ultimately, its success or failure is a function of reader reception of the idea, which is hard to predict.
BIG BAD WOLF is Howling  : One might wonder what gods do on vacation.
[Submitted Item: "Werewolf Invasion" [18+]]
Some say they're always on vacation.
Fiona Hassan : I love the idea of creating my own mythology... hopefully I'll get around to it soon :)
-Fiona
Who would be the god or goddess of procrastination, then?
And that's it for this month - catch you next month if I don't overindulge! Until then,
DREAM ON!!! |
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Fantasy: August 31, 2011 Issue [#4591]
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