I suppose the reaction depends on the name being dropped right? For example you can't say someone's a 'present day Han solo' without generating SOME expectations. In my current project (bear in mind that I don't know if I'm keeping the reference or not) I drop a name that would probably lead to some...interesting expectations. That name is John Kramer but most uninformed know the character as 'Jigsaw' The villain asks a guard if his little 'Fun house' is ready. The guard replies with "John Kramer would be...humiliated you compared your work to his, but yes." To which the villain replies with "Bahaha, the best part about comparing my work to that of a fictional character is that they can't back sass me!" This raises two questions: Who the F* is John Kramer? and What does that have to do with a fun house? Obviously those who know the franchise will know and have some idea of maybe what to expect. (even if the villain also states that he prefers a slow and steady approach and one not near as 'messy' in comparison) Personally I like that the villain's assistant is honest in his opinion, I'm just rather iffy about including the reference mainly because of copyright concerns but also I don't know how well...you know, Known Jigsaw is. I personally only learn about the character from watching a let's play of the games.
I would be careful with it; it either turns to be a show-don't-tell case of pushed description or a pop-culture reference. Depending on your plot and work it might pass, but I've a personal dislike towards the latter.
Yeah, that's one of the reasons I'm iffy about keeping it, I like it but at the same time I think it might cause that reaction.
Why use the name and not just say Jigsaw? I think he's well known, but not hugely. Who is your reader base? Are they horror fans?
Jigsaw—first thing I think of is the bad guy from The Punisher who got his face all cut up. I think it was also the puppet-dude in the Saw movies? Not sure on that one.
I could be wrong but I don’t see the Saw movies having much staying power. Maybe a historical figure instead, like Gilles de Rais.
Nothing dates a work more, and not every reader will know who you are referring to. Imho, if you must name drop, it's better to use names of long-established and no longer alive cultural figures like Elvis Presley or Pocahontas, as Le Panda Du Mal suggests.
that's part of the reason I'm dodgy about keeping the reference. In all honesty I only picked Jigsaw because he's the first character that came to mind for that kind of reference. I don't know too many historical figures with similar styles of tortures and the chambers themselves are more about psychological torture. One of the characters has an aversion to water and the challenge is her platforming while an already claustrophobic room floods with water. I guess my reader base is a general audience, most of my work doesn't really target anyone in particular.
I don't have a clue who that is (from comments above I am guessing the Saw films). It would confuse me. I read a book recently and at the end of the book Prince Harry suddenly turned up. It was semi plausible (apocalyptic future set in the UK) but really took me out of the story. I had enjoyed it up to that point, now I just remember it as being OK.
Three questions over here... wtf is a "fun house"?? Is it something I should know? Thanks for the thread though; I am just "de-trunking" an old piece and, on re-reading, I see that one of my characters "just sits around watching re-runs of Family Guy" -- now this did conjure up the perfect image for me at the time, but it clearly has to go...
This might be a darling you need to kill. It's such a minor thing and causing this much questioning... I'd honestly just cut it.
It's a carnival attraction full of obstacles, optical illusions, distorting mirrors, etc. Historically the only torture chambers I'm aware of that approach such an aesthetic are the ones employed by anarchists in the Spanish Civil War
If a sadist character said they had a fun house, I'd jump to the conclusion that they meant a house of torture. Same concept as an adult "toy room". I don't think that's a pop culture thing, just need to make sure it's obvious that he's being tongue-in-cheek.
I think I would refer to that as "House of Fun" or "Hall of Mirrors" - fun house definitely has... connotations
I've seen several of the 'Saw' movies but it wouldn't register with me who 'John Kramer' was. I think if you are going to keep it you'd want to use something more widely known like: "Is my fun house ready?" "Yes, to all your specifications. You know boss, sometimes I think you were born in the wrong century, you'd be indispensable during the Inquisition." Or even use a real person, but the only one I can think of is not well known. Actually I had to look his name up: "Is my fun house ready?" "Yes, your designs were most macabre boss. H.H. Holmes couldn't have done better." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._H._Holmes
I'll probably go with one of those, I just picked the saw reference because it's the first thing that came to mind. One of those 'it sounded funny in the moment' ideas. Then it hit me that not everyone knows saw even to the degree I do (I've only seen a let's play of the two games) I mean you have a point, part of me wants to keep it but the other part of me knows the reference will go over most people's heads. I'm very surprised to learn that some folks might not even know what a 'fun house' is. Although it's very interesting that the intended connotations are still there~ The other idea was him calling it his 'Sweet Home' which is a reference to a super famicom game that featured a horror story/dungeon crawling adventure. But that is so much more obscure I passed on it heh.
You should consider taking cue from Hunter S. Thompson. He was very good at taking products, labels and celebrities and dropping them seamlessly into his narrative as cultural references. (E. g. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas which is quite a blast.) Maybe it has to do with giving his story some photographic realism, à la Hemmingway. Thomas Pynchon is a writer who also did lots of name dropping, but I don't quite find it convincing when he goes to make silly references Britney Spears' lyrics. (?)