Is Anything Off Limits?
I’d like to begin a discussion on taboo writing subjects and their connection to real life. I believe, as writers, we should find this of great importance. It’s my personal belief that we, as a society, can’t have our cake and eat it too. Many people who demand “safe” topics and “no hurt feelings” as well as many special interest groups are now armed with Twitter and other social media platforms. Will more and more writers begin to question what they can and can not write based on public outcry? Will certain subjects become forbidden? If so where will the line be?
To get the ball rolling I’ll begin with a couple questions.
- As writers, are there topics you consider off limits? We have many deplorable subjects to choose from. Are there any that absolutely should not be written about?
- Do you think a writer who writes stories containing difficult subjects actually likes/agrees with what they are writing about?
- What about an actor’s portrayal of a character? Is an actor who is playing a rapist, for example, merely reading a writer’s script or do you believe that person, having accepted the role, condones rape?
- What about comedians? When they perform are they portraying a character they have written or are they the same person on stage as off? Are they ever allowed to write about controversial ideas which are not in line with their personal beliefs and keep them separate from themselves? In other words, are they a character when performing?
These are tough questions and I truly want your honest answers. Please don’t be afraid to post your opinions and please, let’s all be adults. Keep name calling and all-caps yelling to yourself. Everyone has a right to their opinions, even if they are not in line with your own. If you feel uncomfortable posting an opinion here you can email me at thedarkeagle.com@gmail.com.
Next month we’ll continue the discussion based on comments received from this post.
An actor who portrays a sympathetic rapist (or mass murderer or corporate raider or corrupt politician or…) is doing so because the script calls for it, and it is the job of an actor to bring that character to life. An actor might turn a part down if he thinks he can’t get inside the character’s head well enough to do it believably. Another might take the role, only to do a poor job at it.
This doesn’t mean the actor condones rape, murder, theft, venality, etc.
Similarly, a writer who tackles a tough subject – child abuse, addiction, hatred in any of its forms – may very well be doing so because it’s what the story requires. I want to think that this is true in the majority of cases. After all, who would want to present a character that glorifies race hatred as a laudable ideal?
Well…
Some of the most interesting writing comes when we as readers are forced to consider the complexities of The Other. Maybe all rich people aren’t snotty bastards. Maybe all social workers aren’t noble and selfless. Maybe some parents not only don’t love their children, but resent and despise them, and always have.
An author that shines a light into these corners of our world wants to reveal them, not live in them.
I believe that no topic is off-limits – that writers in fact have a duty to explore those dark places that society abhors. It’s a problem that artists often are associated with their work as if they share all the characteristics or ideas of the work. This is a shame, since it often stops people from creating more interesting and complex works.
A point to think about, though – some jurisdictions have laws against even fictional depictions of certain things. Canada, for example, often seizes works of fiction (comics, occasionally written works) depicting child sexual activity (even if it’s not for prurient interest).
I don’t think writers necessarily advocate the things they write about. But, having written a novella from the viewpoint of a sociopathic serial killer, I obviously would say that.
Seriously, and legal restrictions aside: It’s all in how you handle it. I was deelpy offended by a recent fantasy novel in which what amounts to magical genocide was comitted. What offended me about it was that it was treated in a completely off-hand manner, and the group that was destroyed had been presented in a very stereotypical and unsympathetic manner. Also, when the narrator figured out what he’d done (to be fair, he was tricked into it), he didn’t have any remorse or regrets. I really felt it was “OK” with the _author_ that these people got wiped out, and I find that reprehensible.
Which is not to say it’s not OK to write about genocide. It’s just not OK to write about it as if it were no big deal.
1 : Non.
2 : Encore non même si chaque écrivain a une relation particulière avec ce qu’il écrit.
3 : Là, je pense qu’il y a un aspect “se prouver à soi-même qu’on en est capable” parce que ce sont des rôles difficiles à jouer et qui demandent beaucoup de talent pour ne pas tomber dans la caricature ou l’exagération.
Ceci étant dit, je reste convaincu que l’auteur ne doit pas du tout prendre en compte les attentes des lecteurs quand il écrit. Non seulement il ne serait plus maître de son oeuvre, mais comment gérer les différentes attentes d’un tel ou d’un autre ?
Les réseaux sociaux peuvent de toute façon avoir un double impact contraire : amener à un boycott du livre qui a un contenu jugé déplacé ou attirer les yeux de certains dessus.
I’m French. I can speak english.
I’d agree with your point 2. Just the effort of stretching, of trying to write something so far outside your comfort zone, can be beneficial, even if you ultimately don’t do it all that well. Unintentional caricature is the most common failing in that case.
Excellent question.
I can’t pretend to know what is going through people’s minds when they create as an artist, however I’m inclined to believe that most people have good intentions. For example, I can’t believe Stanley Tucci is a child murdering psychopath, as was his role in “The Lovely Bones.” I don’t think Daniel Tosh is a rape advocate.
I do think *most* artists are drawn to material/topics that they are attracted to in some fashion, and not necessarily in an inappropriate manner. However, I would assume there are a few people out there who live in those dark corners and not just write about them.
By the way, did you see the movie “la Grande Bouffe” ? It’s one of the most disturbing film ever made.