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.
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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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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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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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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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Did Tolkien base the beacons of Minas Tirith on a real world communication system?
In The Return of the King, a series of large wooden pyres—beacons—are lit, each in once the previous one in order appears to burn, and so in this way lead to a beacon visible from Meduseld. This ...
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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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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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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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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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What story is Shrek's donkey from?
I saw a post on Reddit that implied (without sources) that Donkey was one of the bad boys from pleasure island (Pinocchio), which explained how he can talk.
But I couldn't remember or find online any ...
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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 ...
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Where did this idea about aboriginal hunting parties come from?
The novel Vacuum Flowers, by Michael Swanwick, features this description of primitive hunting parties:
"Don’t you know where the tetrad comes from? Eucrasia patterned us after the ancient ...
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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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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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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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