A dear friend, who is continually on the lookout for a distraction, keeps on asking me how to kill time. My answer's been the same for years: Watch Supernatural already!! Used to be talking to a brick wall until some higher power decided to show me miracles exist. He started watching. Not from the beginning, mind. He asked me for my favorite episodes. I prefer the funny ones, so 2-15 Tall Tales, 3-2 The kids are alright, 3-3 Bad day at black rock, 3-11 Mystery Spot, for starters. Not sure if they are that hilarious when you don't know the Winchesters and the whole (sad) story, but none of my concern.
Meanwhile, I was watching all three seasons of American Gods again, and returned to the Sandman comics. (Because my Supernatural trauma research isn't doing much for my mental health it took a break and then went on vacation, where it's happy and will stay for some time.) Though all three series are steeped in myth, there are important distinctions. As the title tells, American Gods deals more with gods than monsters – though a lot of these gods ARE monsters – and they only deal with humans if they have to, usually considering them nothing more than batteries, sources of energy and worship. Gods depend on humans to exist, yet are rather blasé about it, and don't give a fig about destroying lives.
The Sandman is more humble, usually sticks to his realm, and even protects humans from nightmarish creatures when they go too far. In Playing House, part three of The Doll's House, he declares: 'Humanity, I love you. You never cease to amaze me.' Nightmares like the Corinthean with additional mouths for eyes don't fit into Supernatural's mythology, while ghouls are too undistinguished for the Sandman. Their ideas of monsters and protectors differ, but the underlying structure is similar. Both series feature heroes to keep the supernatural in check, have stand-alone episodes which more or less tie in to bigger story arcs, and are self-reflective. Prominent examples for the latter are the Shakespeare-stories in the Sandman and the meta-episodes of Supernatural.
How they comment on themselves is rather different. For the Sandman it is a serious matter, drawing on literary history (along with Shakespeare the later Romantic notion of author as genius as creator is explored). On Supernatural, the meta-episodes are among the funniest (e.g. Sam and Dean discover they are the protagonists of a series of novels and stumble into a convention, where fans dress up as Sam and Dean in 4-18, or they have to play themselves as themselves as actors in a parallel world where they are just a TV show in 6-15).
Which takes me back to the beginning. I love to have a good laugh, and I love that car, which my dear friend now also gets. Still doesn't have a clue about the Sandman though. No, he doesn't think about Metallica when I mention the Sandman. Doesn't know Metallica either. Or the Foo Fighters and that amazing little boy who went on stage with them and made Dave Grohl sing 'Exit light, enter night …' . My friend probably thinks it's my way of saying 'good night' or 'I'm tired' when I talk about Dream of the Endless. Who looks dangerously like Robert Smith. Who is referenced in The Doll's House with a Cure – Boys don't cry – poster. Which makes me dream.
My mind may be overflowing sometimes (with useless stuff, I know), but there are a lot of things I don't have a clue about. Besides curing cancer and how to beam up to the dark side of the moon in less than 30 seconds, I'll never get the Star Trek universe. My friend is a total nerd, which is fine, but I don't like spin-offs. I want Kirk and Spock, not Picard or whatever they call themselves. James Tiberius Kirk is captain of the Enterprise. Period. And there is no Star Wars without Luke, which is why the new movies suck. Also, I don't care for a Sandman without Gaiman, cereal without milk and a car without gas.
Meanwhile, I was watching all three seasons of American Gods again, and returned to the Sandman comics. (Because my Supernatural trauma research isn't doing much for my mental health it took a break and then went on vacation, where it's happy and will stay for some time.) Though all three series are steeped in myth, there are important distinctions. As the title tells, American Gods deals more with gods than monsters – though a lot of these gods ARE monsters – and they only deal with humans if they have to, usually considering them nothing more than batteries, sources of energy and worship. Gods depend on humans to exist, yet are rather blasé about it, and don't give a fig about destroying lives.
The Sandman is more humble, usually sticks to his realm, and even protects humans from nightmarish creatures when they go too far. In Playing House, part three of The Doll's House, he declares: 'Humanity, I love you. You never cease to amaze me.' Nightmares like the Corinthean with additional mouths for eyes don't fit into Supernatural's mythology, while ghouls are too undistinguished for the Sandman. Their ideas of monsters and protectors differ, but the underlying structure is similar. Both series feature heroes to keep the supernatural in check, have stand-alone episodes which more or less tie in to bigger story arcs, and are self-reflective. Prominent examples for the latter are the Shakespeare-stories in the Sandman and the meta-episodes of Supernatural.
How they comment on themselves is rather different. For the Sandman it is a serious matter, drawing on literary history (along with Shakespeare the later Romantic notion of author as genius as creator is explored). On Supernatural, the meta-episodes are among the funniest (e.g. Sam and Dean discover they are the protagonists of a series of novels and stumble into a convention, where fans dress up as Sam and Dean in 4-18, or they have to play themselves as themselves as actors in a parallel world where they are just a TV show in 6-15).
Which takes me back to the beginning. I love to have a good laugh, and I love that car, which my dear friend now also gets. Still doesn't have a clue about the Sandman though. No, he doesn't think about Metallica when I mention the Sandman. Doesn't know Metallica either. Or the Foo Fighters and that amazing little boy who went on stage with them and made Dave Grohl sing 'Exit light, enter night …' . My friend probably thinks it's my way of saying 'good night' or 'I'm tired' when I talk about Dream of the Endless. Who looks dangerously like Robert Smith. Who is referenced in The Doll's House with a Cure – Boys don't cry – poster. Which makes me dream.
My mind may be overflowing sometimes (with useless stuff, I know), but there are a lot of things I don't have a clue about. Besides curing cancer and how to beam up to the dark side of the moon in less than 30 seconds, I'll never get the Star Trek universe. My friend is a total nerd, which is fine, but I don't like spin-offs. I want Kirk and Spock, not Picard or whatever they call themselves. James Tiberius Kirk is captain of the Enterprise. Period. And there is no Star Wars without Luke, which is why the new movies suck. Also, I don't care for a Sandman without Gaiman, cereal without milk and a car without gas.
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