Qualms over writing fantasy

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Shin said:
Being an artist or writer is a dangerous occupation…
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:hmmm: I smell Puritanism afoot. They weren’t too crazy about all that sinful Catholic art, either. (I kid, I kid, but seriously: the OP seems like he’s not trying to deliberately lead his audience to sin.)
Shin said:
…under the pretense that it was ‘art’ apparently glorifying ‘the human body’ or some such thing.
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Now I smell Gnosticism :S … remember, the body was created good.
Shin said:
The saints give us an example in how dangerous the occupation is by how hesitant they are to write at all except under obedience, in other words, by force and Godly obligation.
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Thank God they did write… now we can know their brilliance! 😃
 
I agree that a person can be accountable for what they write – obviously, someone writing stories which justifies SSA, homosexual acts, eroticism, etc, can be a problem. I would also suggest that excess violence, sadism, etc, falls into the same area (I do agree with critics of American culture who point out that violence is more acceptable than sexuality in the public media, but while they use it to justify more sex in the media, I think it works to justify less violence). I remember Fr. Andrew Greeley’s works causing quite a bit of a stir some years back for this very reason. If I had to guess, I would expect that the Church would simply expect that people behave responsibly in terms of what they write and not write with the intent of leading people away from God and into sin.

My personal practice before writing anyway is often to pray the rosary and pray also that what I write will be in the service of God.
 
The Catholic Church once had a Legion of Decency that closed its doors in 1973.

vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_29061936_vigilanti-cura_en.html

The linked document primarily concerns itself with motion pictures.

Here is the Motion Picture Production Code (Hays Code) of 1930:

artsreformation.com/a001/hays-code.html

I think it is an excellent list of things for all writers as to what to avoid.

On a personal note, speaking as a writer, I am sick and tired of Dark this and Dark that. Even in comics, Dark X-Men? You have got to kidding. I prefer heroes that are actually heroic.

God bless,
Ed
 
I think those links above will be some eye openers.

One can also read about the standards used by the Index, which while the Index is not continued, the moral reasons behind the standards always bind. Francis S. Betten, S.J. 's book on the subject covers some of this. One can get a good idea from the various prohibited books and the reasons why exactly how far we are from moral standards in literature additionally.

I also think Fr. Ripperger’s sermon on ‘Movies’ on ‘Sensus Traditionis’ below can be helpful.
 
jc4751 said:
I agree that a person can be accountable for what they write – obviously, someone writing stories which justifies SSA, homosexual acts, eroticism, etc, can be a problem. I would also suggest that excess violence, sadism, etc, falls into the same area (I do agree with critics of American culture who point out that violence is more acceptable than sexuality in the public media, but while they use it to justify more sex in the media, I think it works to justify less violence).
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Now, now. What is defined as “excess violence” in fiction can be quite free to interpretation. Remember, violence is not evil in of itself. In the case of fantasy, it is in fact the most often deployed solution to a lot of conflicts (e.g. battles, tournaments, even mere training).

What matters more is the purpose in which violence is done. I certainly loved the violence in The Return of the King but loathed the slasher gore of cheap flicks such as Friday the 13th. :rolleyes:
 
Shin said:
Being an artist or writer is a dangerous occupation because you are held to account for every single bad influence you put into the work.

This is of course, just like speaking, but writing creates something more permanent before a widespread audience that persists for who knows how long?
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Ever studied Literary Theory and Discourse Analysis? I wasn’t exactly the best in those classes but even I’m aware of reader-response criticism which pays less attention to the author and more on the “audience”. Using that line of reasoning, you cannot condemn an author for his/her work because how the readers react is the responsibility of the readers themselves. Tell me something, suppose someone were to “misinterpret” C.S. Lewis and accuse/praise him for promoting pagan imagery. Can you logically say to my face that Lewis be the one at fault when that was not his intention and that the reader was enforcing his/her own meaning into his stories?

Here’s an alternate example, the famous story of the Nobel Prize. Alfred Nobel originally intended his invention only for things such as mining… not for wanton destruction. Should he be accountable for people misusing his invention?

What about the Bible? I need not be an atheist to see the possibility of the Bible being used to justify atrocities. Should the writers of Sacred Scripture be condemned? :rolleyes:
 
If you’re worried about people commiting the real life sins you can always write a disclaimer to ease your conscience but people really will do what they do.
I am an avid reader of the paranormal and fantasy and a priest even told me that as long as its just fiction and you don’t take it for more then just a book it’s fine. J.K. Rowling said, “People tend to find in books what they want to find.” J.K Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series which are my absolute favorite (even moreso then Twilight-never thought I’d say that!) Any occult research was solely for the series; she is a member of the Church of Scotland and still attends church. Also, how can something be evil if it brings joy to millions??

So I say keep on writing! If God gave you a gift to write and a specific type to write then go for it! 🙂
 
edwest2 said:
On a personal note, speaking as a writer, I am sick and tired of Dark this and Dark that. Even in comics, Dark X-Men? You have got to kidding. I prefer heroes that are actually heroic.
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People have been writing about tragic and flawed heroes since Ancient Greece. Even King Arthur had his falls. Sigurd the Volsung was drugged into committing unfaithfulness. Susanoo, the slayer of the dreaded Yamata no Orochi, was previously banished for causing all sorts of mayhem for his sister Amaterasu. Sun Wukong, the Monkey King was best known for his mischief.

I don’t see you complaining about them. :rolleyes:
 
Lost_Wanderer said:
People have been writing about tragic and flawed heroes since Ancient Greece. Even King Arthur had his falls. Sigurd the Volsung was drugged into committing unfaithfulness. Susanoo, the slayer of the dreaded Yamata no Orochi, was previously banished for causing all sorts of mayhem for his sister Amaterasu. Sun Wukong, the Monkey King was best known for his mischief.

I don’t see you complaining about them. :rolleyes:
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Mischief and dark are two extraordinarily different things.
 
Sailor_Kenshin said:
Mischief and dark are two extraordinarily different things.
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I disagree. Riku from Kingdom Hearts is a “dark” character yet he also has a good heart. And besides, you still didn’t take into consideration the other heroes I presented.
 
Lost_Wanderer said:
I disagree. Riku from Kingdom Hearts is a “dark” character yet he also has a good heart. And besides, you still didn’t take into consideration the other heroes I presented.
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Because I don’t know them, including KH. OK, apart from Sun Wukong.

I’m guessing (and EW can correct me if I’m wrong) that he meant he was sick of all this 'Hi, I’m an emo vampire and this is what passes for a hero these days."

That got old at around the time of Dark Shadows.
 
Sailor_Kenshin said:
I’m guessing (and EW can correct me if I’m wrong) that he meant he was sick of all this 'Hi, I’m an emo vampire and this is what passes for a hero these days."
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Hey don’t decommission the “emo vampire” archetype just yet. I happen to make similar characters and they’re still just as good. You just need to stop limiting your perception of what a “dark” hero is. They’re not all emo.
 
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