Homestuck & Culture: Roots and Remixes (Patreon)

Everything new is just a remix or combination or things that have come before. Certainly you have heard something along those lines in the past. It can be discouraging at times, to come up with a sweet idea, to plan things out and write a story or character- Only to realize that someone already did something extremely similar, if not identical.

It's a rather toxic loophole to go down, the idea that the only thing that makes ideas worth it is their novelty. In such a globalized world we live in, thanks to the Internet, and with such a rich history of works and stories embedded in our world's consciousness, it's hard to come up with something fresh! Impossible, even. But novelty isn't all it's cracked up to be. Tropes aren't something to be avoided- They exist, as things people enjoy. Guidelines. Memes.

Homestuck, for all its weirdness and seemingly novel and unexpected turns and twists, is brimming with references to pop culture and classic mythology, not only as little nods, but going as far as to inform of certain core themes of the story. And still, overall, it's how it uses these themes that makes it feel so new and interesting.

And so, I wanted to make a quick overview and talk about how it handles these remixes and borrowing, to encourage people who may think their ideas are overused.

So let's start!

Narrative Structure

Why yes, even before getting into the actual references within the plot, character inspirations and story beats, the very foundation of the Webcomic's story in itself couldn't be said to be unique.

Many people praise Homestuck for the strange way it's presented in- How it toys with its own structure, with the meaning of what an 'Intermission' should be, with the way it delivers a story... And many other people find it confusing and strange and just a quirk of how it's build. Whether you like or dislike how Homestuck delivers its narrative, none of what it does is necessarily that new by itself!

The division of the story in 'Acts', separated by curtains, and the delivery of the Pesterlogs alongside the scenes easily evokes a Theatre Play, with all dialog exchanged between characters as the 'Script' of this work. Quite Shakespearean indeed. It's not all it does, however, as every page comes preceded with a Command- A Command that, in a similar way, references old Adventure Games, where you introduce directions or actions you'd like the main character to follow in order to solve puzzles and advance the story. It's even common for these kinds of games to make fun of the Player when they try to derail the story using some asinine or rude command, which could even tie to Hussie's own propensity for addressing the ridiculousness of some of the early, User-submitted commands.

So it's a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-Style Comic, paying homage to old adventure games, and structured like a Theatre Play. Put in those plain words it doesn't even sound that complex or strange, and yet it's precisely because it's playing into a number of different tropes, that the combination of them make something bigger than the sum of its parts.

It goes even further when Hussie decides to actually acknowledge some of these tropes in-canon and toy with them. When Caliborn takes over the narrative, for example, the main story is pushed to the 'Intermissions', as the priorities of the Narrator have shifted entirely, and frivolously. With the Meta nature of the story and the inclusion of the Author and Reader as a character, toying with this structure becomes an acknowledged fact, which in turn, kind of goes all the way back to the Theatre inspirations, the idea of Audience Participation...

Many of these ideas have been around for centuries, but Hussie managed to push them in a way that felt fresh and new, because of how they meld together, because of how he presents things to us.

And we haven't even touched upon the story itself yet.

Story, Worldbuilding, Characters

The plot. The characters. The world they inhabit. Homestuck walks an extremely long and winding road that stems from a rather simple beginning. A Game, that Ends the World, and the Four Players that transcend into a New World. From the simply start of a 13 Year Old's Birthday, to the reveal of the Immortal Demon that's shattering the afterlife and tearing Reality at its Seams, to the Collapse of the Story in itself, and the events of the Epilogues, you kind of can't simply say everything that happens to a newcomer and not expect them to be weirded out or confused. The build-up, the pacing, the delivery of the story and the investment in its characters is what truly makes one keep going through, and understand Homestuck.

And still, no matter how strange and complex things may get, the Webcomic always manages to throw in some sort of dumb reference here and there. Levity, it seems at first, humor, and that's right, many of these references are just humorous little quips... But then as you go on, they begin to shape the very story you're reading.

John enjoying Armageddon is an innocent fact presented early in the story, innocent until the Meteorites begin to impact Earth and threaten a mass-extinction of all Human Life. And even further in the story, Dave and Rose's Suicide Mission to destroy the Green Sun could be seen, similarly, as a callback to the climax of the movie- Even having the Robot Bunny named Liv Tyler present in the scene. Sure, it doesn't match the movie beat-by-beat, but the influence cannot be exactly denied, can it?

The jokes and references to the Wizard of Oz seem to reach their peak when Jade gets a pair of Ruby Slippers and travels the Yellow Yard with John and Davesprite- But then Jade, as the Wicked Witch, gets crushed by a building, and the Red Slippers come to invoke the idea of the "There's no Place like Home" Retcon Password, initiating John's reality-wide quest to deny the events of Game Over.

What about the idea of Four Extraordinary Children that have never met in person, joining forces and going on a bizarre quest with Time Travel and defeating a great alien Evil? Am I talking about Homestuck, or Earthbound, which name directly inspired the comic's title? How about the references to the Neverending Story, with the Auryn itself becoming a symbol of extreme importance in the Universe of Homestuck? The SAW References begin as early as Act 2 with Dave's Bro, and with Caliborn's personality and his tie to Lil Cal, suddenly these seem much less harmless and more threatening in retrospect. The Lord of the Rings rears its head towards the ending, with the Destruction of the Ring being thrown into a Volcano acting as the Catalyst for the very end of a normal Session.

The names 'Yaldabaoth', 'Echidna' and 'Typheus' aren't exclusive to Homestuck, the Denizens are all named after real creatures of Legend and Divinities. But then you begin to dig into the origins of some of them, and begin to draw parallels, between Gnostic or Greco-Roman legends and certain characters- Caliborn, as Lord English, ascending as a Yaldabaoth-like figure, a villainous deity source of all suffering and violence in the material world. And curiously enough, this tie to Yaldabaoth ties him right back to one of the prior inspirations, Earthbound, and Mother 3, with Porky Minch. I will refrain from spoiling a 13-year-old game, but even Porky's appearance is extremely similar to Caliborn's- With the Suspenders, Bowtie and Rosy Cheeks.

Speaking of the Cherubs, the Sarswapagus and Lord English' Cairo Overcoat hints to a vague Egyptian Inspiration- Which could both tie into their serpentine Nature, and equate Lord English to Ra, the Sun God, with his dominion marked by the Green Sun's influence- And tying back again to Yaldabaoth, as showcased with the fiery head of a Sun symbol.

Continuing with this Cherubic thread, the Cairo Overcoat isn't just a Sarcophagus- The head depicts a skull with flashing red eyes. Specifically, the Terminator's Skull, referencing English' nature as a Time-Travelling Demon.  And the very design of their Snake form, it's not just a snake- The head heavily resembles that of a crocodile. With English as the primary Cherub to go by, and the God Tier clock showing a pair of coiled Cherubs along the sides, this can be seen as the ultimate culmination of the comic's Hook references, a crocodile relating to clockwork.

Do you see what I am getting at here?

Everything from the concept of Alchemy to the idea of Kids ascending into Godhood. The themes drawn from various religious and philosophical currents, ranging from Taoism to Christian Imagery. The themes underlying the plot referencing famous Pop Culture moments. And even its own self-referential nature, and the callbacks to Hussie's previous work, or events that have happened within the Fandom itself.

Homestuck is brimming with symbology and references that permeate our world. Whether it be a game or a movie, a religion or a legend, so many different themes and story beats play out like a big callback or inspiration taken from something else. But it's hard to say that Homestuck is plagiarizing or stealing these ideas. They serve to shape the world, but in the end what the story does all together with everything it showcases is so vastly different and unique in its own right.

And that is what counts, isn't it?

Uniqueness, novelty, freshness, this is what it truly means to 'make something new' or 'having your own ideas'. Not to come up, from scratch, with something that has never seen before, but to use the symbols already existing in your culture, in your consciousness, to show your own inner world, your thoughts, your beliefs. Your stories.

Inspiration comes from everything around us. Our own lived experience, what we learn from others, what we read and see. It is absolutely impossible, to some extent, at least subconsciously, not to reference what we've lived, what we've done, what we believe in and what we like, in that which we create. Trying to hold it back because you believe it'd be too generic, too overdone, it stifles creativity and kills your creative intent.

So whenever you do anything. Whenever you draw or write, whenever you're brainstorming ideas, and you feel like you keep coming back to this one concept that you've seen too often around, remember- There is a reason that you've seen it often around, and there is a reason it's sticking with you.

So do it. Draw, write, create, be. Whatever it is that inspires you and pushes you forward, keep doing it. And who knows, perhaps in the future, you will be someone's source of inspiration, that makes them give those similar ideas a new, fresh spin, for more people to enjoy.

See you guys next time!