Moving Pictures (novel)
0-575-04763-1
Moving Pictures is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, published in 1990, the tenth book in his Discworld series.[1] The book takes place in Discworld's most famous city, Ankh-Morpork and a hill called "Holy Wood".
Plot
The novel begins with the death of Deccan Ribobe, the last member of an ancient order tasked with 'remembering' Holy Wood through ceremonial chanting, and the escape of an influence from Holy Wood Hill. Several months later, the alchemists of the Discworld have invented moving pictures. Many hopefuls are drawn by the siren call of Holy Wood, home of the fledgling "clicks" industry – among them Victor Tugelbend, a dropout from Ankh-Morpork's Unseen University and Theda "Ginger" Withel, a girl "from a little town you never ever heard of", and the Discworld's most infamous salesman, Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, who introduces commerce to the equation and becomes a successful producer. The business of making movies grows rapidly, and eventually Victor and Ginger become real stars, thanks to the help of Gaspode the sentient dog (who also develops a manager-client relationship with Laddie, who everybody considers to be the real Wonder Dog, although in fact is very simple-minded). Holy Wood for a while becomes an effervescent place full of humans, dwarfs, alchemists, demons (which essentially constitute the main technological device to make movies), and trolls (among whom is Detritus) all living in harmony.
Meanwhile, it gradually becomes clear that the production of movies is having a deleterious effect on the structure of reality. After Victor discovers the body of Deccan and the ancient order's record, Ginger is possessed by an unspecified entity and she and Victor find an ancient, hidden cinema, complete with a portal to the Dungeon Dimensions. Back in Ankh-Morpork, during the first screening of Blown Away (a parody of Gone with the Wind) which the senior wizards of the Unseen University are also attending, a creature from the Dungeon Dimensions breaks through. Victor fights it (in what eventually becomes a parody of the movie King Kong also featuring the Librarian of the Unseen University), having discovered that he could exploit Holy Wood magic and the narrative conventions of the clicks if he had a camera pointing at him. However, after the creature is defeated, Victor and the Librarian realise that the creatures will still try to get through from the Dungeon Dimensions and that Ginger in her possessed state was not trying to summon them but trying to keep them from coming through (possibly as a result of being descended from the High Priestess of Holy Wood). Returning to the ancient cinema at Holy Wood, Victor and Ginger witness a golden statue of a warrior (reminiscent of an Oscar) come to life and travel through the screen to defeat the creatures.
In the end most things return to normal (also because the Patrician and the wizards make it clear that they will not allow any more movies to be produced ever again), although dwarfs find themselves inexplicably singing "Hihohiho" while mining. Victor and Ginger have a last dialogue over the meaning of Holy Wood and being famous, and Gaspode and the other animals under the influence of Holy Wood lose their ability to reason and speak. The ending lines depict a poetic scene about the fragility of Holy Wood dreams.
Characters
- Cut-me-own-Throat Dibbler
- Thomas Silverfish
- Victor Tugelbend aka Victor Maraschino
- Detritus
- Ruby
- Gaspode
- Theda Withel aka Ginger aka Delores de Syn
- Oswald, a parody of the Academy Award of Merit, also referenced as Osric and Osbert
See also
References
- ^ Fantastic Fiction Moving Pictures (Discworld, book 10) Terry Pratchett Retrieved 2009-05-9
External links
- Moving Pictures title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Annotations for Moving Pictures
- Quotes from Moving Pictures
- Synopsis of Moving Pictures
Reading order guide | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | 10th Discworld Novel | Succeeded by Reaper Man |
Preceded by Pyramids | 2nd Individual Story Published in 1990 | Succeeded by Troll Bridge |
- v
- t
- e
- The Colour of Magic
- The Light Fantastic
- Equal Rites
- Mort
- Sourcery
- Wyrd Sisters
- Pyramids
- Guards! Guards!
- Eric
- Moving Pictures
- Reaper Man
- Witches Abroad
- Small Gods
- Lords and Ladies
- Men at Arms
- Soul Music
- Interesting Times
- Maskerade
- Feet of Clay
- Hogfather
- Jingo
- The Last Continent
- Carpe Jugulum
- The Fifth Elephant
- The Truth
- Thief of Time
- The Last Hero
- The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
- Night Watch
- The Wee Free Men
- Monstrous Regiment
- A Hat Full of Sky
- Going Postal
- Thud!
- Wintersmith
- Making Money
- Unseen Academicals
- I Shall Wear Midnight
- Snuff
- Raising Steam
- The Shepherd's Crown
- "Troll Bridge"
- "Theatre of Cruelty"
- "The Sea and Little Fishes"
- "Death and What Comes Next"
- "A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices"
- A Blink of the Screen
- The Discworld Companion
- The Science of Discworld
- The Science of Discworld II: The Globe
- The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch
- The Science of Discworld IV: Judgement Day
- The Pratchett Portfolio
- The Art of Discworld
- The Unseen University Challenge
- The Wyrdest Link
- The Streets of Ankh-Morpork
- The Discworld Mapp
- A Tourist Guide to Lancre
- Death's Domain
- Nanny Ogg's Cookbook
- The Discworld Almanak
- Where's My Cow?
- The Unseen University Cut Out Book
- The Discworld Diaries
- Once More* with Footnotes
- The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld
- The Folklore of Discworld
- The World of Poo
- Tiffany Aching's Guide to Being a Witch
- The Colour of Magic
- Discworld MUD
- Discworld
- Discworld II
- GURPS Discworld
- Discworld Noir
- Discworld: Ankh-Morpork
- Soul Music
- Wyrd Sisters
- Hogfather
- The Colour of Magic
- Going Postal
- The Watch
- The Amazing Maurice
- Dwarfs
- Nac Mac Feegle
- Discworld
- Ankh-Morpork
- City Watch
- Unseen University
- The Witches