Okay, there's a bit more to say about Darkroast Coffee, which mainly centers on the question: "In the book, why is Darkroast Coffee so popular?" **The rest of this post contains spoilers, so watch out.**
I've already discussed Darkroast Coffee's ascent to popularity b/c of America's coffee mania - i.e. people love coffee and therefore one company is bound to rise to the top. But this doesn't truly dissect the specifics of how that company achieves its power - rather, it describes the landscape in which that company has the potential to achieve its power.
To quickly elaborate on landscape and power potential, let me say this: because coffee is so popular in National Darkroast Day, there is a large coffee market that provides Darkroast with an automatic ladder to the top - to further prove that point, think about the flip side: if nobody in the story liked coffee, then Darkroast Coffee wouldn't achieve diddly-squat. Coffee mania provides the environment - it provides the ladder that Darkroast can climb.
The real reason that Darkroast becomes so popular - and therefore, actually climbs the ladder - is its business tenacity. This is literally embodied in Victor (Darkroast's CEO) through his secret identity as a robotic CEO. Victor (through his robotic super intelligence, mechanized strength, and programmed skills for business) is able to craft a company that does coffee better than anyone else. They also do business in general better than anyone else. Whether it's Miriam (with her perfect PR skills), Ted (with his perfect market strategy skills), or the designer logo, coffees, and stores that everyone loves - all of these flow from Victor, and his ability as a robot with laser-beam focus, to perfect his company's market success in America. If you think Donald Trump, Steve Jobs, or Bill Gates are amazing CEOs and successfully lead their companies, they don't even compare to Victor - he is the ultimate CEO - after all, he's been built to be.
Additionally, Darkroast's popularity comes from people's tolerance for extreme consumerism. Although it may seem this is another "landscape" factor, I consider it a reason of its own. People's tolerance for extreme consumerism causes people in the story to accept the massive growth of Darkoast Coffee. They accept the millions of Darkroast stores, the constant presence of the logo, the national holiday, the company's use of the Moon for a laser show, and everything else that Darkroast offers, because they see nothing wrong with society being immersed in a world owned by a single company. To them, the more Darkroast, the better - they have almost robot-like submission.
I think, in some way, this tolerance for extreme consumerism is the counterpart to Darkroast's business tenacity. These two factors together are the DNA for disaster. Darkroast wants to dominate society, and society wants to be dominated.
The result: well, let's just say, it's not so good.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Darkroast Coffee - The Company
After discussing why I wrote National Darkroast Day (see previous post), it probably makes sense to talk more about the central company in the book - Darkroast Coffee.
In the book, Darkroast Coffee is the largest and most popular company in America. They have locations in cities everywhere with millions upon millions of beloved customers; their business is to sell coffee, with countless flavors ranging from a simple cappuccino and espresso to Chocolate Bliss Mocha, Bumbleberry Creme, and Relaxo Caramelo Blast; and their motto is "Take one sip. We'll command you forever," which goes nicely with their logo:
There are two interesting things about Darkroast - namely, their size and intentions. In the book, Darkroast is the largest company ever, with locations not just in every city, but on nearly every corner. Essentially, they have conquered the market so that everywhere you go, you are always surrounded by them. And although their business is to sell coffee, strangely, their logo displays two machine guns - which people, in their coffee-induced mania, actually think are "cute."
Without giving away too much from the book [for those who haven't read it yet], this country-consuming size with mysterious intent is the biggest risk factor surrounding Darkroast's presence in America. There are other elements at work (including key plot points and certain characters), but essentially, this is the heart of their dangerous mix. In real life, companies do not grow to such all-consuming size, and their intent is fully disclosed (to sell product x or achieve profit margin y) - which keeps things safe. There isn't too much power consolidated in a single source that may or may not care for the public good.
But in National Darkroast Day, this isn't the case. People mindlessly support Darkroast because of their obsession with coffee. And in turn, Darkroast is raised to the top of America - one step away from ruling everything.
In the book, Darkroast Coffee is the largest and most popular company in America. They have locations in cities everywhere with millions upon millions of beloved customers; their business is to sell coffee, with countless flavors ranging from a simple cappuccino and espresso to Chocolate Bliss Mocha, Bumbleberry Creme, and Relaxo Caramelo Blast; and their motto is "Take one sip. We'll command you forever," which goes nicely with their logo:
There are two interesting things about Darkroast - namely, their size and intentions. In the book, Darkroast is the largest company ever, with locations not just in every city, but on nearly every corner. Essentially, they have conquered the market so that everywhere you go, you are always surrounded by them. And although their business is to sell coffee, strangely, their logo displays two machine guns - which people, in their coffee-induced mania, actually think are "cute."Without giving away too much from the book [for those who haven't read it yet], this country-consuming size with mysterious intent is the biggest risk factor surrounding Darkroast's presence in America. There are other elements at work (including key plot points and certain characters), but essentially, this is the heart of their dangerous mix. In real life, companies do not grow to such all-consuming size, and their intent is fully disclosed (to sell product x or achieve profit margin y) - which keeps things safe. There isn't too much power consolidated in a single source that may or may not care for the public good.
But in National Darkroast Day, this isn't the case. People mindlessly support Darkroast because of their obsession with coffee. And in turn, Darkroast is raised to the top of America - one step away from ruling everything.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Why Write National Darkroast Day?
I promised a longer post explaining why I wrote National Darkroast Day.
There's always the short reason, the long reason, and the personal reason [a little of which I touched on in my previous post] - this explanation will be somewhat in the middle, in the interest of being explanatory without being long-winded.
There are numerous intellectual and artistic reasons for writing NDD. Most of all, it's a story about coffee, which [as I've said before] is a prime cultural topic. Coffee [and the prevalence of coffee shops] grows increasingly larger every day. There are thousands upon thousands of coffee stores across America, and even more globally. Each year, new brands of coffee chains open [there's a large list of existing chains on Wikipedia]. When you include the countless local chains and neighborhood shops, the list grows even longer. Here's a fact, courtesy of the Specialty Coffee Association of America: Americans consume over 300 million cups of coffee per day, making us the largest coffee-consuming nation in the world. Whether it's at home in the morning or at a coffee shop in the evening, we are without a doubt a nation of coffee drinkers.
Given that fact, it's a prime satirical topic to explore what would happen if that coffee consumption proceeded out of control. Many people ask if NDD is about any one particular coffee company, such as Starbucks, Caribou, Dunkin' Donuts, Peet's, or the other highly visible brands. Really, the book is about the overall coffee trend in America - the growing mass of all coffee chains. In the story, the fictional coffee company called Darkroast Coffee has had the most success, and been lifted to unimaginable heights, so much so that millions of people are gathering in every major city for a national celebration called "National Darkroast Day." This unimaginable success comes from a rising tide of coffee consumption across the nation - and thus the book, while focusing on one fictional coffee company, really speaks to the collective whole of coffee mania.
While this high-level coffee consumption is perfectly fine in its own right, it is intellectually worthwhile [and fun] to examine the perils of such a trend. All of the real-life brands in America exist purely to sell coffee and are genuinely good-hearted companies. But imagine if one company came along that wasn't: in NDD, that's the case with Darkroast Coffee. Darkroast rides the coffee trend to the top of America, and then, well...people learn that may not be so good. Simply put: this trendy topic with a darkroasted twist makes for good storytelling.
There are other good reasons for writing NDD, many of which I'll inevitably touch on in later posts. Some involve the book's exploration of business, the combination of literature with popular entertainment, the cool characters and action scenes, and NDD's role in the Intelligent Parodies series (this book is the first of eight in the IP series), among other things.
Another important reason is that NDD is a fun read [and a fun write] - which may be the best reason of all.
There's always the short reason, the long reason, and the personal reason [a little of which I touched on in my previous post] - this explanation will be somewhat in the middle, in the interest of being explanatory without being long-winded.
There are numerous intellectual and artistic reasons for writing NDD. Most of all, it's a story about coffee, which [as I've said before] is a prime cultural topic. Coffee [and the prevalence of coffee shops] grows increasingly larger every day. There are thousands upon thousands of coffee stores across America, and even more globally. Each year, new brands of coffee chains open [there's a large list of existing chains on Wikipedia]. When you include the countless local chains and neighborhood shops, the list grows even longer. Here's a fact, courtesy of the Specialty Coffee Association of America: Americans consume over 300 million cups of coffee per day, making us the largest coffee-consuming nation in the world. Whether it's at home in the morning or at a coffee shop in the evening, we are without a doubt a nation of coffee drinkers.
Given that fact, it's a prime satirical topic to explore what would happen if that coffee consumption proceeded out of control. Many people ask if NDD is about any one particular coffee company, such as Starbucks, Caribou, Dunkin' Donuts, Peet's, or the other highly visible brands. Really, the book is about the overall coffee trend in America - the growing mass of all coffee chains. In the story, the fictional coffee company called Darkroast Coffee has had the most success, and been lifted to unimaginable heights, so much so that millions of people are gathering in every major city for a national celebration called "National Darkroast Day." This unimaginable success comes from a rising tide of coffee consumption across the nation - and thus the book, while focusing on one fictional coffee company, really speaks to the collective whole of coffee mania.
While this high-level coffee consumption is perfectly fine in its own right, it is intellectually worthwhile [and fun] to examine the perils of such a trend. All of the real-life brands in America exist purely to sell coffee and are genuinely good-hearted companies. But imagine if one company came along that wasn't: in NDD, that's the case with Darkroast Coffee. Darkroast rides the coffee trend to the top of America, and then, well...people learn that may not be so good. Simply put: this trendy topic with a darkroasted twist makes for good storytelling.
There are other good reasons for writing NDD, many of which I'll inevitably touch on in later posts. Some involve the book's exploration of business, the combination of literature with popular entertainment, the cool characters and action scenes, and NDD's role in the Intelligent Parodies series (this book is the first of eight in the IP series), among other things.
Another important reason is that NDD is a fun read [and a fun write] - which may be the best reason of all.
The Second Post...Minutes After the First
Well, the first post is done...so you could say I'm on a roll.
I thought I'd keep going and immediately begin the second post. What better question to tackle than "Why I wrote the book?"
Other than needing something creative to do in my extra time [hey, a guy's gotta keep busy to stay off the streets somehow, right], I'd say National Darkroast Day was an inevitable project for me. I've been wanting to write a funny book for quite a while - but also one that combines a serious satirical edge.
Being surrounded by coffee [let's face it, it's everywhere], it's impossible not to imagine a funny story on that topic. Several other elements in the book [for instance, robots and lasers], would inevitably find their way into the story because I've always liked sci-fi stuff. Granted, those elements were chosen for their relevance to the story, but it's always fun to combine interests. People should write about things they like - or at least, things that interest them - if you can't get excited about your own story, then nobody else will.
To really get into this topic [and also the more intellectual reasons why I wrote NDD], I probably need a longer separate post. For now, I'll just summarize and say that stylistically, conceptually, and thematically, National Darkroast Day was exactly the kind of first book that I wanted to write.
Perhaps that is reason enough to write anything.
I thought I'd keep going and immediately begin the second post. What better question to tackle than "Why I wrote the book?"
Other than needing something creative to do in my extra time [hey, a guy's gotta keep busy to stay off the streets somehow, right], I'd say National Darkroast Day was an inevitable project for me. I've been wanting to write a funny book for quite a while - but also one that combines a serious satirical edge.
Being surrounded by coffee [let's face it, it's everywhere], it's impossible not to imagine a funny story on that topic. Several other elements in the book [for instance, robots and lasers], would inevitably find their way into the story because I've always liked sci-fi stuff. Granted, those elements were chosen for their relevance to the story, but it's always fun to combine interests. People should write about things they like - or at least, things that interest them - if you can't get excited about your own story, then nobody else will.
To really get into this topic [and also the more intellectual reasons why I wrote NDD], I probably need a longer separate post. For now, I'll just summarize and say that stylistically, conceptually, and thematically, National Darkroast Day was exactly the kind of first book that I wanted to write.
Perhaps that is reason enough to write anything.
The First Post...Perfectly Brewed
So, this is the first post of "The Author's Cut," the official blog for my novel, National Darkroast Day. Let me take a second to enjoy this special moment...[insert heartfelt pause] eh hem, okay, moving on...
I began this blog with one main intention: to provide commentary and resources on the novel. At book events, on my official website, and in talking with people, it's hard to go into too much depth on details such as plot, character, theme, author's motivations, etc. A blog allows for a more extended conversation on these points - not to mention, it's all shared in an organized and archived format. When this blog has eventually grown to a thousand posts or more [uh, don't hold your breath...I don't type that fast], what could be better than searchable archives, right!
I've always enjoyed learning about why people create what they create. DVDs do an especially good job of this with all the special features that include director's commentary, actor interviews, screenplay details, etc. People can watch the movie - then immediately view the special features and gain a whole new understanding.
For all those who enjoy that kinda stuff, this blog is for you. So, go read National Darkroast Day, then grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and get ready for "The Author's Cut."
I began this blog with one main intention: to provide commentary and resources on the novel. At book events, on my official website, and in talking with people, it's hard to go into too much depth on details such as plot, character, theme, author's motivations, etc. A blog allows for a more extended conversation on these points - not to mention, it's all shared in an organized and archived format. When this blog has eventually grown to a thousand posts or more [uh, don't hold your breath...I don't type that fast], what could be better than searchable archives, right!
I've always enjoyed learning about why people create what they create. DVDs do an especially good job of this with all the special features that include director's commentary, actor interviews, screenplay details, etc. People can watch the movie - then immediately view the special features and gain a whole new understanding.
For all those who enjoy that kinda stuff, this blog is for you. So, go read National Darkroast Day, then grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and get ready for "The Author's Cut."
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