Questions tagged [inspiration]
Use this tag for questions about the inspiration behind ideas (names, characters, objects, titles, etc.) in science fiction or fantasy works. Use [influence] for questions about how SF&F works have influenced other works or culture.
283 questions
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What inspired the name Shrek?
Simple question: is there any information about the inspiration or thought process behind the creation of the name Shrek for the eponymous film and franchise?
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The Art behind Bruce Wayne’s visual design
When Bill Finger and Bob Kane first introduced Bruce Wayne in detective comics 27, was he visually inspired by any actor like Clark Kent was by Harold Lloyd or Joker with Conrad Veidt ?
If he was ...
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What story by Charles L. Harness is R. A. Lafferty alluding to here?
In the 1970 novelette "Animal Fair" by R. A. Lafferty he apparently alludes to some story by Charles L. Harness. What story is that? (And who was that "old Greek philosoph"?)
The ...
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Which comic book elements inspired Rachel Dawes' portrayal as Bruce Wayne's childhood friend?
Has Christopher Nolan ever talked about the idea behind Rachel Dawes? Especially her depiction as Bruce Wayne’s childhood sweetheart, a concept I loved about her character. She was originally created ...
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Why the title "World Enough and Time" for the Doctor Who episode?
The first part of the Doctor Who Series 10 finale is an episode entitled "World Enough and Time", an obvious reference to the opening line of the poem "To His Coy Mistress" written ...
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Real-world language inspiration behind the fantasy words used in the Tiger and Del series?
I've started reading Jennifer Roberson's Tiger and Del series after discovering it as an incorrect answer to a story-ID question. An important theme in the worldbuilding is the huge cultural divide ...
- 140k
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Background for the bull with the head of a man in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?
Is there any literary background for the concept of a bull with the head of a man (like a reverse minotaur) in C.S. Lewis's Narnia book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?
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Which one of Batman’s inspirations inspired his martial arts abilities?
I know it’s normal for a character without special powers such as Batman to have hand to hand skills, but Batman was fashioned after pulp heroes and film noir characters. The Shadow inspired his dark ...
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Origin of the name Gallifrey (out of universe)? [duplicate]
Where does the name Gallifrey come from, out of universe? When was it first used in the show, who came up with it, and what inspired the name? Does it have any connection with Galileo, perhaps?
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What inspired Edgar Allan Poe's submarine?
There is a February 1845 story by Edgar Allan Poe, The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade, in which he recites a long litany of natural wonders, which are explained in his footnotes to the text, ...
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Is there any evidence on whether "Balrog" from Street Fighter is named after the Balrogs in The Lord of the Rings?
In the original Japanese version of Street Fighter II, Balrog is a claw-wielding Spanish ninja/assassin. When the game was localized for the US, this character's name was changed to Vega.
In the US ...
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Killing an adept, in James Branch Cabell and Fritz Leiber
From Figures of Earth (1921) by James Branch Cabell:
He came upon Manuel like a whirlwind, and Manuel had no choice in the matter. So they fought, and presently Manuel brought the vermilion knight to ...
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Is there evidence for or against the possibility that George Lucas read “Nathan the Wise”?
If I describe a famous classic work of fiction as follows:
A young orphaned chivalrous knight fighting a powerful lord meets a wise old man who will serve as his mentor, and saves a young lady who ...
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Was this poem about Superman and Robin inspired by a specific comic?
I'm wondering if eight-year-old boy-genius Gerald Bostock was inspired by an actual comic with his poem Thick as a Brick (written on the 3rd of March 1972).
Here is the relevant passage:
Won't you ...
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Did plankton inspire Giger's design for Alien
I was recently reminded that during David Attenborough's series The Blue Planet, Attenborough makes a claim that one particular form of plankton inspired the design of Giger's alien as seen in the ...
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