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warnings warnings
Jun. 28th, 2009 08:35 pmI've been reading a little of the Greater Warnings Debacle and I have to say I'm astounded by the level of vitriol (from the oddest sources) that this seems to be generating.
If I think of the reader perspective, then what I want is enough information to decide whether a given story is something is worth reading or worth avoiding. There's so much bloody fanfic that you need to hack down the possibilities as fast as you can. Much of what I'd need to know would come from all that stylised header information: fandom, genre, main pairing, fake film classification. A bit of a blurb is always nice.
I avoid stuff all the time. I'm not even aware of avoiding it on LJ, but at least in books and films I deliberately insulate myself from the themes and treatments that I dislike. So, I don't read misery memoirs about abused kids, I don't read anything which focuses on the death of a child, or ballooning accidents, or falling. As a result, much of the work of Ian McEwan is entirely off limits. I got 10 pages into We need to talk about Kevin.
I don't watch horror, and I especially don't watch arthouse horror, or sadistic anthouse anti-horrow. I couldn't watch Kill Bill. I saw Trainspotting once and loved it, but the creeping expectation of what will happen to the baby means that I will never watch it again. You may say, I am making my very own literary padded cell, but fuck that, life throws enough upsetting detail of its own accord. For every impassioned exploration of a difficult topic, there is lazy misery porn.
Of course, avoidance doesn't always work. *cough*Vertigo*cough* I went to see The Last King of Scotland because, hello James MacAvoy; and also I have connections to Africa, and I remember Idi Amin's odd reign of terror. I pretty much had hysterics by the end, not because of the closing scenes, but from some earlier scenes featuring tribally-fuelled sadism. African witchcraft beliefs (and their consequences) freak me out completely. I know this now. Hotel Rwanda and Shooting Dogs is now off the list.
Bringing this back to fanfic: I don't expect to know everything about something I'm about to read, but unless I already know and trust the author, I want some damned indication. If it's a short somewhat erotically focused piece then it's useful to have a bit of detail that will set it apart from the other 1,000 pieces that contain slightly different erotic foci, many of which will send me running screaming for the hills.*
I don't really see the problem. I pretty much sift what I choose to read and avoid. It's nice to have information. Most of the folk I see talking about 'no warnings' are either writing for a known audience or already have a strong reputation. If I come across as unknown writer with no detail, I probably won't read the story at all. Them's the breaks.
*Writers can call me a spineless woobie for such a stance but, whatever. It's fanfic. It's not exactly Dickens (Bad example: I avoid Dickens).
ETAThis post by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
suaine is probably one of the best posts I've read on the complexities subject.
I've read this one by Ivorygates a couple of times now, and I'm still stunned by its utter obnoxiousness.
If I think of the reader perspective, then what I want is enough information to decide whether a given story is something is worth reading or worth avoiding. There's so much bloody fanfic that you need to hack down the possibilities as fast as you can. Much of what I'd need to know would come from all that stylised header information: fandom, genre, main pairing, fake film classification. A bit of a blurb is always nice.
I avoid stuff all the time. I'm not even aware of avoiding it on LJ, but at least in books and films I deliberately insulate myself from the themes and treatments that I dislike. So, I don't read misery memoirs about abused kids, I don't read anything which focuses on the death of a child, or ballooning accidents, or falling. As a result, much of the work of Ian McEwan is entirely off limits. I got 10 pages into We need to talk about Kevin.
I don't watch horror, and I especially don't watch arthouse horror, or sadistic anthouse anti-horrow. I couldn't watch Kill Bill. I saw Trainspotting once and loved it, but the creeping expectation of what will happen to the baby means that I will never watch it again. You may say, I am making my very own literary padded cell, but fuck that, life throws enough upsetting detail of its own accord. For every impassioned exploration of a difficult topic, there is lazy misery porn.
Of course, avoidance doesn't always work. *cough*Vertigo*cough* I went to see The Last King of Scotland because, hello James MacAvoy; and also I have connections to Africa, and I remember Idi Amin's odd reign of terror. I pretty much had hysterics by the end, not because of the closing scenes, but from some earlier scenes featuring tribally-fuelled sadism. African witchcraft beliefs (and their consequences) freak me out completely. I know this now. Hotel Rwanda and Shooting Dogs is now off the list.
Bringing this back to fanfic: I don't expect to know everything about something I'm about to read, but unless I already know and trust the author, I want some damned indication. If it's a short somewhat erotically focused piece then it's useful to have a bit of detail that will set it apart from the other 1,000 pieces that contain slightly different erotic foci, many of which will send me running screaming for the hills.*
I don't really see the problem. I pretty much sift what I choose to read and avoid. It's nice to have information. Most of the folk I see talking about 'no warnings' are either writing for a known audience or already have a strong reputation. If I come across as unknown writer with no detail, I probably won't read the story at all. Them's the breaks.
*Writers can call me a spineless woobie for such a stance but, whatever. It's fanfic. It's not exactly Dickens (Bad example: I avoid Dickens).
ETAThis post by
suaine is probably one of the best posts I've read on the complexities subject. I've read this one by Ivorygates a couple of times now, and I'm still stunned by its utter obnoxiousness.
