rape in fiction

Enforcer Talen · Post by **Enforcer Talen** » 2003-04-20 08:40pm

can it be protrayed well, and should it be portrayed at all? there have been a few comments on it with the topics of terry goodkind's sword of truth series, the gor series, and the song of ice and fire's series - what are your views on it?

Queeb Salaron · Post by **Queeb Salaron** » 2003-04-20 08:47pm

Rape exists in real life. Let people write about it. Why pull the wool over the eyes of the globe and ban it from literature? ::Shrugs:: I say that if it's tastefully done, it's fine.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2003-04-20 08:53pm

Only if it's tasteful, i.e. it must be done seriously and play an important part in the story.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-04-20 08:57pm

Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead had a fairly controversial rape scene.

Hethrir · Post by **Hethrir** » 2003-04-20 09:05pm

i thought the clock work orange scene(s) was pretty bad, but then again it did shock and make me hate the vicious crime more....I'd like a warning, 'cause it's not something i look for in a movie.

Trytostaydead · Post by **Trytostaydead** » 2003-04-20 10:11pm

Evidently you haven't seen Japanese porn

Ravencrow · Post by **Ravencrow** » 2003-04-20 11:43pm

Rape exists in real life. Let people write about it. Why pull the wool over the eyes of the globe and ban it from literature? ::Shrugs:: I say that if it's tastefully done, it's fine.

They keep it vague. ie. no clear details except that the character is raped. Thing is you don't know who might come and read it, it could be rape victim or someone who has been sexually assaulted. The authors tend to glaze over it in consideration of those who had gone through such painful experiences.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2003-04-20 11:49pm

Enforcer Talen wrote:can it be protrayed well, and should it be portrayed at all? there have been a few comments on it with the topics of terry goodkind's sword of truth series, the gor series, and the song of ice and fire's series - what are your views on it?

I think if it's part of the story it should be included. There's no point in pretending it doesn't exist; I do find the authors that treat it as no big deal or gloss over it are doing a diservice to the truth. It's a part of human existance and there for it's something that should be portrayed.

Rape porn on the other hand is messed up

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2003-04-21 12:19am

The rape scenes in the "Death Wish" movies are much too graphic for me.

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2003-04-21 01:00am

Hethrir wrote:i thought the clock work orange scene(s) was pretty bad, but then again it did shock and make me hate the vicious crime more....I'd like a warning, 'cause it's not something i look for in a movie.

That was... kind of the point.

I see no reason why rape should be prohibited from movies and literature. I don't think it should be done frivolously--it's obviously an emotionally crippling and serious event--but I can definitely see a multitude of reasons that an author or writer or director could have for portraying it during a film or piece of writing. The fact is, rape is a powerful image. It's not usually a good one, but it does have an emotional impact. To remove that from the reportoire of writers is to prevent them from more fully exploring human emotions, and senselessly limits their ability to achieve a desired effect.

Ravencrow · Post by **Ravencrow** » 2003-04-21 01:12am

I think that no one can write rape for what it truly is unless they've been raped themselves. That would be the other reason why the subject is hardly ever described very vividly in fictional works.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-04-21 01:13am

Attempting to take a part of public life out of public view; even if it is in fiction is a poor idea.

Enforcer Talen · Post by **Enforcer Talen** » 2003-04-21 01:15am

Ravencrow wrote:I think that no one can write rape for what it truly is unless they've been raped themselves. That would be the other reason why the subject is hardly ever described very vividly in fictional works.

should I only write about the dark ages if Ive fought in chainmail?

Ravencrow · Post by **Ravencrow** » 2003-04-21 01:40am

Don't trivalise the term by comparing it with imagining wearing chainmail...

Sektor31 · Post by **Sektor31** » 2003-04-21 01:46am

Start banning writing on raping, you might as well start banning writing about killing, stop writing about hatred, stop writing something that could offend people with religious beliefs...

Enforcer Talen · Post by **Enforcer Talen** » 2003-04-21 01:47am

Ravencrow wrote:Don't trivalise the term by comparing it with imagining wearing chainmail...

which term?

Ravencrow · Post by **Ravencrow** » 2003-04-21 01:50am

I didn't think that such subjects should be banned from literature. That would be ridiculous, I'm just speculating on why the subject doesn't appear quite that often or not in detail in fictional works.

Ravencrow · Post by **Ravencrow** » 2003-04-21 01:51am

Enforcer Talen wrote:
Ravencrow wrote:Don't trivalise the term by comparing it with imagining wearing chainmail...
which term?

Rape.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2003-04-21 01:52am

Ravencrow wrote:Don't trivalise the term by comparing it with imagining wearing chainmail...

Why? Both are something most of the people that write about it have no experience with.

Enforcer Talen · Post by **Enforcer Talen** » 2003-04-21 01:59am

Ravencrow wrote:
Enforcer Talen wrote:
Ravencrow wrote:Don't trivalise the term by comparing it with imagining wearing chainmail...
which term?
Rape.

not trivilzing it. Im saying the same thing as stormbringer.

Ravencrow · Post by **Ravencrow** » 2003-04-21 01:59am

Yeah, but to me, rape is something horrifying and traumatic. It can't be written too lightly.

Enforcer Talen · Post by **Enforcer Talen** » 2003-04-21 02:07am

well, it can be in jokes, but thats another topic.

war cant be written lightly either. but I write about it nontheless.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-04-21 02:27am

Oh, for fuck's sake. Is this question really so complicated? Rape is a bad thing, therefore if you write about it, you should portray it as a bad thing. If you portray it as a good thing, then you're a sociopath.

That's the whole point; not whether you cover it up, but whether you portray it in a positive or negative light. That's why rape porn is bad; they try to make it sexually exciting.

InnerBrat · Post by **InnerBrat** » 2003-04-21 05:50am

I personally think that Tyger! Tyger! (later reissued as The Stars My Destination actually misses something because the rape scene is left out - it's an important part of understanding Foyle's character.

But I haven't seen it treated very well at all, as it's such a difficult subject to broach.

Terry Goodkind pisses me off, not because ALL of his bod guys do it, but because Kahlan has so many near misses, and every woman it happens to is magically changed into a docile cow. He seems to look on rape as equal to breaking a horse, suggesting that no rpae victim can ever be a strong woman again.

aphexmonster · Post by **aphexmonster** » 2003-04-21 07:40am

I would rather avoid it all together

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

rape in fiction

rape in fiction

Re: rape in fiction