Murder, she wrote
While I'm happy to see that democratic issues such as the current one in Iran occasionally manage to attract so much attention from the outside world - and to see so many people on my f-list acknowledging the situation, at that - I don't think I'll add to it. Let's hope that the pressure from outside will do some good for the Iranian people, but let us also please keep in mind the unfairness and wars happening all over the world right now without getting any medial attention whatsoever (this is not to say I don't think people shouldn't take a stance for issues they sympathise with; quite the opposite, in fact). Moving on, I've been thinking about something slightly different these last days.
Here's a news article about a man risking jail sentence for having had manga volumes depicting bestiality and sexual situations involving minors in his possession (this kind of material is implied to be only a small portion of his collection). This post summarises my feelings quite well, as do Neil Gaiman's words on the matter, because, really, to me this does seem like something at least very close to violation of freedom of thought, and that's a dangerous territory to be walking into. Goodness, I wouldn't be a CLAMP fan if I didn't on some level enjoy seeing people lose their eyes or dying at the hands of their lover, but that doesn't make me a homicidal psychopath, I should hope.
This got me thinking, however, that these kind of charges and discussions are most often centered around movies and, even if to a lesser extent, comics and art; in other words, visual media. How often do you see written works accused of implying that their writers and/or readers are a danger to society? The only thing that's usually brought up seems to be the assumption that a book with an inappropriate message will corrupt its innocent, unsuspecting and receptive readers, but I've never seen it argued that readers of criminal mysteries are drawn to that genre because they already are closet serial killers (although it's sometimes said that reading such books will turn them into murderers. See the difference?). Why is this, I wonder? Is this simply the legacy of the magic bullet theory we're seeing?
On a slightly off-topic note, it hit me that the kind of questionable material mentioned in the article above (that is, presenting violence/sexual abuse, pedophilia/what have you in a positive light) seems more prevalent in comics - and possibly manga in particular - than in literature. This may quite possibly have to do with the different standards and values associated with books and comics, respectively, but nevertheless this has made me curious about just how big a market there is of violence-glorifying, sexual-abuse-as-an-acceptable-thing literature. Does anyone have any examples? This is not counting Twilight harlequin novels classic books and religious writings, since they're oftentimes excused because of the time when they were written and/or they are considered having a good message in spite of it all. All I can really think of is Fight Club - of which I have only seen the movie, so I can't really judge. Other examples, anyone?
Here's a news article about a man risking jail sentence for having had manga volumes depicting bestiality and sexual situations involving minors in his possession (this kind of material is implied to be only a small portion of his collection). This post summarises my feelings quite well, as do Neil Gaiman's words on the matter, because, really, to me this does seem like something at least very close to violation of freedom of thought, and that's a dangerous territory to be walking into. Goodness, I wouldn't be a CLAMP fan if I didn't on some level enjoy seeing people lose their eyes or dying at the hands of their lover, but that doesn't make me a homicidal psychopath, I should hope.
This got me thinking, however, that these kind of charges and discussions are most often centered around movies and, even if to a lesser extent, comics and art; in other words, visual media. How often do you see written works accused of implying that their writers and/or readers are a danger to society? The only thing that's usually brought up seems to be the assumption that a book with an inappropriate message will corrupt its innocent, unsuspecting and receptive readers, but I've never seen it argued that readers of criminal mysteries are drawn to that genre because they already are closet serial killers (although it's sometimes said that reading such books will turn them into murderers. See the difference?). Why is this, I wonder? Is this simply the legacy of the magic bullet theory we're seeing?
On a slightly off-topic note, it hit me that the kind of questionable material mentioned in the article above (that is, presenting violence/sexual abuse, pedophilia/what have you in a positive light) seems more prevalent in comics - and possibly manga in particular - than in literature. This may quite possibly have to do with the different standards and values associated with books and comics, respectively, but nevertheless this has made me curious about just how big a market there is of violence-glorifying, sexual-abuse-as-an-acceptable-thing literature. Does anyone have any examples? This is not counting Twilight harlequin novels classic books and religious writings, since they're oftentimes excused because of the time when they were written and/or they are considered having a good message in spite of it all. All I can really think of is Fight Club - of which I have only seen the movie, so I can't really judge. Other examples, anyone?