When you read a work of fiction, do you prefer that the pop culture references in the story be real or fake? Do you like it when the characters are looking forward to seeing a movie you could really watch yourself, or would you rather they talk about things that don’t really exist?
So, do you prefer it when all the books, tv shows, movies, video games and celebrities are real? Do you like it better when they’re all fictional? Or do you like it best when the references are a mix between reality and made up ones?
I like a mix best myself. For example, the characters in the story I’m working on have a short discussion about a fictional novel, Fit to Die, that features a heroine who is dating a vampire and trying hard to exercise herself into a shape she’d be okay being caught dead in before she’s turned herself. My narrator objects to it being labeled “Twilight for Adults,” because she doesn’t see the similarity.
I like a mix of real and unreal, because while I enjoy references to things I’ve seen/heard/read/played, I also like the occasional reminder that the characters don’t exist in a reality identical to ours, but one rather similar.
How about you?