If I were to say my MC, a little girl was wearing a Doa The Explorer shirt would that be okay or could I get sued? Im not slandering the name of the character Im just stating the MC is wearing a shirt with her on it.
Me either. Dora must not be an American?I think it's fine too....even though I have know idea who Dora the Explorer is.
Me either. Dora must not be an American?
If I were to say my MC, a little girl was wearing a Doa The Explorer shirt would that be okay or could I get sued? Im not slandering the name of the character Im just stating the MC is wearing a shirt with her on it.
The only issue is dating the book by using a pop culture reference. Ten years from now what if no one knows who that is, and I assume you want people to read your book for years to come.
Not to hijack this thread, but is this really as big of an issue as people make it out to be? I see comments all the time about the dangers of dating your work; it seems to me that if the story is good, the characters are real, and the writing is strong, it's not going to matter if there are a few references to outdated pop culture.I had the same question in reference to a young girl having a Hannah Montana backpack, but already it's outdated so I took it out, figuring in a few more years, no one would get it. Hopefully.
Not to hijack this thread, but is this really as big of an issue as people make it out to be? I see comments all the time about the dangers of dating your work; it seems to me that if the story is good, the characters are real, and the writing is strong, it's not going to matter if there are a few references to outdated pop culture.
If I were to say my MC, a little girl was wearing a Doa The Explorer shirt would that be okay or could I get sued? Im not slandering the name of the character Im just stating the MC is wearing a shirt with her on it.
Haven't you ever read something and noticed it was out of date or thought, a phone booth, who uses a phone booth anymore, do they even have phone booths? (or some other thing)
Trying to make a story "timeless" in that it could take place in any timeline, helps to make sure that it is a timeless story and will outlast the pop culture in it by the absence of it. It's late, does that make sense?
Even the Harry Potter books didn't have pop culture in them, unless you count the radio in the tent, and they have become pop culture themselves.
You want your story to be timeless so it hangs around and publishers want something that will still be current when it gets to publication.
I can't see any problem with this. Nor with having her wear Nike shoes. Or drinking Pepsi Max. Or carrying a SIG Sauer P220. These things exist in the real world, denying they do by avoiding all mention of trademarked/brand names seems weird.If I were to say my MC, a little girl was wearing a Dora The Explorer shirt would that be okay or could I get sued? Im not slandering the name of the character Im just stating the MC is wearing a shirt with her on it.
If it's supposed to convey smething important about the character wearing it that the reader will only grasp if they are familiar with Dora, that meaning will be lost on anyone -- today, tomorrow, or ten years from now -- who doesn't 'get it'.
Dating a work is a silly worry. All work is dated.
Well that's just a trueism. Yes, all novels are technically dated. But books that makes jokes or references that rely on a knowledge of current popular culture are not going to last like books that don't.
I don't really get your reference to Harry Potter and the millenium bridge. It doesn't appear in the books, so I don't see how it applies to this discussion. I think the Harry Potter books will hold up well over the decades, as Rowling never really made any references to pop culture or current fashions (that I can think of).
My comment about the Millennium Bridge was an aside. Someone upstream said that HP was not dated, and I was merely refuting that by pointing out that, as a matter of fact, it IS dated: with an actual date.