No Nerfs Here

May 14, 2020 3:03 am Published by EverEden Leave your thoughts

 

Is it sexist and wrong for a character to say, “nah, he won’t come with us, he has to stay home, he’s whipped?”

 

This week I saw three examples of some kind of preemptive self-censorship that makes no sense in a creative realm where you’re trying to make someone else suspend belief and enter a fictional world. Naturally, I have taken to a blog post to rant. 😛

The first question was about a character judging the excuse a friend would make to stay home instead of going out with the guys. He was “whipped.” The original poster wanted to know if it was okay for their character to say this. Aside from feeling my hands begin to raise to tear out my own hair, I realised there are some people in the world who may actually be afraid to make a move and commit a faux par before their peers or people they perceive as more successful than they are. There are many mistakes someone could make in life which could be catastrophic, having a character use dated slang to try and be funny is not one. Relax.

If the dialogue is true to the character then it’s not “wrong.”  Would it offend someone? (Maybe someone, somewhere who might be extra sensitive to the word ‘whipped’ due to random factors over years of their life and upbringing which you can’t possibly know about or cater for.) Is the character who said it kind of an idiot? Yes?

Then fucking write it.

You don’t need permission from a hundred random people in a shitty group to tell you how to create. I’m not offended by words on paper spoken by make-believe antagonists, very few people are. And if they are, and the reader is supposed to despise that character, then good, you did it right.

There is no conflict or effective plot unless there are points in which you derive emotion from a reader

Further in the Darkrose Novels there is a racist character, a real Neo-Nazi type (not just the term bandied towards anyone who disagrees with a currently fashionable viewpoint) and I D G A F what you think. I don’t care what anyone thinks when I create, and I believe that mostly anyone who produces art shouldn’t. The character I’m referring to in the Darkrose Novels is a gigantic douche, and he’s going to act like one(!) and speak like one because that’s how the reader knows he can’t be trusted. That is how they’re going to understand he doesn’t think like the other characters and he’s a potential problem to their goals in the book. I assume most readers will have a problem relating to the type of person he is (which says something positive about our society.) He has no-holds-barred on what he chooses to say or do in a situation because that.is.his.character.

And if you don’t like it, read something else that makes you feel warm and fuzzy because he is going to be a real asshole. 

Being Authentic/having as much integrity as you can, even if you’re not a decorated sniper 😉

I have a real problem with eggshell BS. I have a problem (for eg) with people who say only gay people should play gay characters in a film or only straight people can play straight people. Are you also saying that because the main character in the movie script is a heroin addict, the casting director needs to sleep on the street, wait to see which junkie shoots up the most drugs and then offer them a contract because only they would know what it’s like?

Acting is acting, if a person can portray a character without actually living that life, that’s why we hand out Oscars. That is the whole point of why actors are celebrities/celebrated – because they do a job well enough to portray a life none of us have lived to the point we can identify it and get an interesting story.

If you’re writing something that is far from the life you’re living, eg when you become a sniper for 3 months, you’re probably not going to be able to get all the tiny factors which come with being that person. There are many people in that role and each one will have a million variables on the way they live their lives. The most important thing is to get most of the key elements right, the ones you require to push your character and story, and then research until your eyes bleed to have all the information you might need, annnnd don’t be a total jerk when you add your artistic license!

You are allowed to write a black character if you are whiter than Santa’s beard.

You are allowed to write a straight character if you are the most openly/flamboyantly/stereotypical gay guy in town.

Do whatever your story needs. Just do it well…and don’t be lazy or only leave it up to your narrow individual perspective. Do everyone a favour and research as much as you can, so you can get close enough to portray the character well.

The last question I saw in the group was this one:

“Can I write a scene that has a rape in it?”

I guess by now I should have realised the group was an echo chamber and an overly-proud politically-correct throng of people that want to write books you read on the beach when you’re trying to seem intelligent for your half-naked Instagram photo…BUT, look, just fucking write it. If it fits with the story and characters, or if it needs to happen to drive the book forward and it has a point/consequences/fall out, then go for it. If someone doesn’t like it, they can(I dunno, crazy idea maybe)…PUT  THE  BOOK  DOWN. No one is forcing them to keep reading, no one is tying them to the chair and holding their eyes open. It’s the same way people gravitate toward reading certain genres. If you are squeamish about a vampire slayer using a wooden stake and stabbing a guy in the heart then that story or genre might not be for you.

And that is fine.

A couple of comments to the OP were from victims of violent crime saying it may “trigger” people. As I’ve previously mentioned…we all have a past, and that shouldn’t have happened to you. However, if you know you are particularly sensitive to a topic you can read the book’s blurb, maybe a handful of reviews prior, you could avoid putting yourself in a situation where you might be confronted. You need to take control of personal responsibility to make sure you are comfortable.

BUT you can’t nerf the world and cater it to your particular issue. It’s impossible, even if everyone wanted to try and do it for you.

There are 7.594 billion ppl on Earth and each one of us have our own issues, our upbringing, our relationships, our political leanings and more that maybe we don’t want to be reminded about all the time. For a writer/artist to explore their creativity and the ideas they have, they cannot afford you the courtesy. Would I, if I was writing for a specific person whom I understood had an issue with a particular theme? Maybe. Eg: If I was writing a book solely for my mum, I wouldn’t include anything to do with a phobia of hers…But most authors are not writing for one person alone. They’re writing because they like to, and this idea for a story came to them and…now they have to push it forward and build around it.

Another comment replying to this thread started with “As a mother of two girls…” –Anytime someone begins their rebuttal or gripe with “As a…” I tune out. I don’t care. Just say your thing and I’ll take it on board or not as it appeals to my logic, opinions, if it presents a new idea I can consider etc. I don’t care who or what you identify as, just say your piece and let me decide what I think for myself. Your preamble has no bearing on it.

The rest of the comment(btw) said, “There is already far too much of this in film and culture and society. We don’t need to read about it.”

Wut.

Look, lady, reading, films, art and books are culture. They represent and depict real issues sometimes. Police yourself, but don’t try to control other people or their art. Being mother of two girls has nothing to do with it. Get out of my face.

*rant over*

 

 

 

 

TLDR:

*As long as the dialogue and actions fits the character, write it and don’t care what some ninny on social media says.

*No one has the right to police your fictional work,

*Don’t be a jerk about the topic in your artistic license though.

*I must spend less time in these groups because they are not helping me.

 

 

 

 

 

All content is no copyright infringement intended. All posts are opinion only and are subject to change due to experience, kicking ass and learning how to adult more effectively. If you don’t like it, don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya. Elements of original content may be reproduced with expressed permission from Ever Eden.

 

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