By the way, why is the Cthulhu myth system so popular?

From the point of view of the times, The Myth of Cthulhu belongs to one of the earliest "overhead history" novels, which created a huge setting through a little clue and imagination and was subversive to the literature at that time. In fact, every work of great craftsmen is very rigorous, and it took a lot of work to gradually establish this system. Even until his death, the system was not completed. Finally, it was sorted out and perfected by many authors. This is still an open system and the crystallization of the wisdom of many writers, which is unprecedented.

On the other hand, the creation of works is always in an era of rapid development. Einstein put forward the theory of relativity. With the rapid development of astronomy, the economy is booming, and people's mentality is also expanding (China is still fighting civil war in pieces? )。 Lovecraft, on the other hand, put forward in the myth of Cthulhu that any very advanced technology is no different from magic at first glance. The alien race, once the dominator, is hard to describe and understand because they have very advanced technology. Moreover, the dark tragedy of Lovecraft's works lies in that even if the alien race has very advanced technology that human beings can't understand, their high-tech civilization will eventually decline and die out in the passage of time, which implies that even if human civilization makes very high achievements in the future, it will inevitably die out, and a rational and prosperous civilization in the blind and meaningless universe is itself a huge tragedy. Then the economic crisis, the outbreak of World War II and the atomic bomb exploded, giving people a blow, as if the prophecy had come true. Therefore, after World War II, the myth of Cthulhu really began to rise, and people were further rethinking the world and themselves.

To quote a great god Zhihu who said that he was "guilty and bitter":

Generally speaking, there are two reasons:

First, it subverts many traditions and stereotypes.

The second is to conform to the trend of the times.

It is said that it subverts many traditions and stereotypes, mainly in:

1. Subvert the image of God

In general literary works, the image of God is quite tall, either based on human beings or animals.

But what about the myth of Cthulhu?

Yogurt sotos consists of countless luminous spheres like sarcoma. ...

Azathoth, his image is a huge amorphous mass of darkness and chaos. ...

It consists of a pile of tentacles, a big mouth with mucus flowing and a large piece of meat wrapped in black fog-Shaba Nicholas. ...

And Nyala Totip with her own "stupid hair" ...

About these "God" images, you can Baidu yourself and prepare for san check. .

It is not only the image of God, but also the image of monsters in it is quite different from traditional monsters.

Shoggoth and Bayaki were more successful in shaping.

It can't match the reference of any known creature on earth.

Only the closest reference can be used for indirect description.

This makes it possible to describe it in words.

This is the uniqueness of the myth of Cthulhu.

2. Types of subversive terror:

The myth of Cthulhu is neither the psychological mystery nor the horror in oriental ghost films.

It's not the sensory stimulation caused by the bloody scene.

It's not the typical horrible monster that directly attacks the horrible bridge of human beings.

Its terror is the terror brought by the unknown.

You know nothing about the front line.

You can't evaluate and predict the future.

The enemy is a complete stranger to you.

You don't know what you're up against.

It's like exploring in opaque absolute darkness.

In this process

You are surrounded by the despair it creates.

This fear of the unknown leads to despair.

Because of the unknown

It's terrible.

3. Subverted the popular theme in the literary world at that time:

When the myth of Cthulhu first appeared.

The style of American novels is quite similar to that of online novels in China today.

Is all kinds of invincible dragon.

This is also related to the social environment at that time.

De Mei De Bao (that is, the artifact of sleeping beauty) was a common content at that time (it was later vomited by Lu Xun)

But the myth of Cthulhu is just the opposite.

The theme is the fragility and insignificance of human beings compared with the vast universe.

So he started his own style concept. ...

4. Subvert the concept of good and evil:

Generally speaking, stories have both good and bad sides.

Even if it's just different positions and camps.

Even if the protagonist is clear about good and evil.

There will also be a side that is more inclined to have a positive effect on readers.

Demons naturally belong to the rebellious side.

But the evil god in Cthulhu mythology

The bad guys in traditional stories are not evil laws-

They have no malice, no ulterior motives, no obvious hostility or even malice-

You accidentally stepped on an ant when you were walking.

Do you feel evil?

But ants think you are evil because you hurt them and threaten them.

done

There are many highly intelligent biological races in Cthulhu mythology, and their technology is much more advanced than human beings.

However, their logical thinking and their emotional ethics

Have nothing in common with human beings

What is inhuman to human beings may be taken for granted in their eyes.

They dig out your head and put it in a jar, which may be a kind of recognition and hospitality for you. ...

The three views of mankind are in front of us.

Be completely subverted

meaningless

5. The description technique that subverts the writing style:

Psychological terror strives to create an atmosphere of terror.

Western horror tries to make you sick and feel terrible with vivid and detailed descriptions.

However, Cthulhu's writing style is to stimulate the reader's brain with vague narration.

So there is such a situation:

People with rich imagination are often frightened by their own brain supplements. ...

People who lack imagination often feel nothing. ...

Just like what happened to a craftsman.

At that time, readers thought that all they loved to write was dog P.

Contemporary writers, on the other hand, have their brains wide open and compete for relay creation.

We can also see the average imagination gap between writers and ordinary people.

Stimulating brain holes is also the charm of the myth of Cthulhu.

Let's talk about a very important but often overlooked point: how it conforms to the trend of the times.

When the myth of Cthulhu was born

Technology is changing with each passing day

Einstein developed the theory of relativity.

An important discovery has been made in astronomy.

Economic prosperity (in fact, it is a false prosperity brought by the bubble economy)

People think that human beings are invincible and omnipotent.

That's so cool. Oh, my God.

However, what happened next hit me hard:

Great Depression

World War II broke out.

The atomic bomb destroyed the city.

The cold war and its nuclear crisis began.

Telescopes can see farther into the universe. ...

Only then did people realize how small they were.

How helpless

This world

Even the universe.

What I used to know.

How different it is

When you were young, you thought you could see through life and gain insight into current events.

Or have a simple definition of the world.

Simply put a label on it.

But with the gradual increase of experience.

The original understanding of the world is gradually disintegrating.

But found

The original self in the past

The truth of the world

know nothing at all

"Young man, aren't you going to send three checks?"

In Roo-Lee-ah's mansion, Cthulhu is waiting for you to dream.