PLEASE STOP FALLING FOR TRUE BLOOD, SUPERNATURAL, ETC

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blezheng
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I hate those kinds of shows. So misleading.


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SilverElf
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Alys-RaccoonReadings wrote:I'm not sure what the answer is beyond people who want to seek and believe should also recognize a burden to sift.
Agreed.

Warning: rant ahead

I am a writer, and have studied creative writing informally since I was a kid. So when I see people bashing fiction for being, well, *fictional*, I kind of want to bash my head into the nearest wall.

Public service announcement: It's. Not. Real.

There's a little thing call discernment that is critical here IMO. People getting butt-hurt over television shows or novels or what have you not being faithfully, dogmatically, 100-percent-true-and-accurate representations of traditional lore, need to understand that fiction =/= reality, and that artistic license is definitely A Thing That Exists. And more importantly, that artistic license *should* exist, and is actually A Good Thing.
Lewk wrote: Deeply ingrained folk myths are part of our cultural history and so arguably form part of the backdrop of our world. When folk myths are treated sensitively as part of a story they can resonate really strongly. We may somehow recognise their 'truth' and how they fit in our world.

But when these folk myths are distorted for writerly creativity purposes and to provide more story fodder to hold audience's attention, there is no nuanced guide to interpretation. 'False' recreated narratives of folk myth tend to be represented on equal terms with the 'real' thing.

I find it disorienting. I'm losing touch with what resonates in my world. It's fading from grasp. It feels like the strength of the original resonance of the folk myth is being dissipated.

(Or what I've said could be a load of pseudo-intellectual b.s. and I should stop taking it all so seriously?)
Perhaps I don't entirely understand what you mean, but I respectfully disagree with the idea that the strength of myth is dissipated by modern re-tellings or new interpretations.

In my opinion, a re-imagining or new interpretation of a traditional story does not take away the power of it, but expands it, broadens it, finds new space for it in new ways across time.

As for Supernatural, True Blood, etc., they're taking ideas (vampires, fairies, werewolves, etc.) that have existed for hundreds of years, if not more, and playing with them, for the purposes of entertainment -- not to educate or instruct. And If you operate on the premise that something is fictional, as the writers and producers and executive producers of these shows seem to, then it opens up a wide door of possibility on how to re-imagine it for further purposes that are also fictional.

Yeah, we in the meta community know these beings exist as more than just neat ideas invented by our ancestors, but we're in the minority there.

Personally I don't see the harm, because I acknowledge that there is a difference between traditional lore and fictional stories based on that lore. It doesn't bother me that these stories aren't all accurately representational. Obviously other people's mileage may vary.

It is the responsibility of people who consume media to explore the foundations upon which it is created, to engage critically with the story itself, and its source material. Consuming something fictional, and then getting angry that it doesn't accurately represent reality, is delusional. Writers and other creative types shouldn't have to limit themselves or bow to predetermined notions of what is or isn't "off-limits" to explore. That way lies censorship and stagnation of the creative spirit.

So what if it's not true to reality? If people want reality they shouldn't watch fictional television shows set in alternate universes. They should go read books. (:

/end exceptionally opinionated writer person rant


"You must see with eyes unclouded by hate. See the good in that which is evil, and the evil in that which is good. Pledge yourself to neither side, but vow instead to preserve the balance that exists between the two" - Hayao Miyazaki
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Alys-RaccoonReadings
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I agree there’s a balance to be struck. I don’t need my fiction to tie a well-sourced line, per se. I tend to be surprised by the credulity of people who believe fiction is real, but I suspect many of those credulous people are young, and that’s just part of being young. Therefore, in this forum, balance is a happy, happy thing.


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Alys-RaccoonReadings wrote:I agree there’s a balance to be struck. I don’t need my fiction to tie a well-sourced line, per se. I tend to be surprised by the credulity of people who believe fiction is real, but I suspect many of those credulous people are young, and that’s just part of being young. Therefore, in this forum, balance is a happy, happy thing.
Not in my family... I know at least one adult who is too old to believe things they see in media and does not check sources... and it's truly sad what she will argue is "correct" because she "saw it on TV".

It's not just the young that believe fiction is reality and do not practice discernment.


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Lewk
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I agree there's more than one side to all this.

Stories have been told since well before recorded history began and have probably always been tweaked to make them better. Everything changes. And maybe some of this comes from the universal subconscious or spirits' influence themselves, as DD said.

The spirits themselves are what is authentic after all.


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Lewk wrote:I agree there's more than one side to all this.

Stories have been told since well before recorded history began and have probably always been tweaked to make them better. Everything changes. And maybe some of this comes from the universal subconscious or spirits' influence themselves, as DD said.

The spirits themselves are what is authentic after all.
Absolutely. <3

(Apologies if I was a bit brusque; hangriness is not a good time to write responses, and I seem to have lost my edit button. I truly do value your input; thanks for the gracious reply.)


"You must see with eyes unclouded by hate. See the good in that which is evil, and the evil in that which is good. Pledge yourself to neither side, but vow instead to preserve the balance that exists between the two" - Hayao Miyazaki
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SilverElf
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1e

Urgh, sorry for the rant everyone. Alys said it so much better than me.

Does anyone know how to delete posts? The edit button has disappeared for me.


"You must see with eyes unclouded by hate. See the good in that which is evil, and the evil in that which is good. Pledge yourself to neither side, but vow instead to preserve the balance that exists between the two" - Hayao Miyazaki
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Alys-RaccoonReadings
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You can't. But it's okay because you have a follow-up that can't be deleted either. ;)


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SilverElf
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:is ashamed that hangry half-baked rant will live in infamy:

:is also grateful that people understand and are awesome:


"You must see with eyes unclouded by hate. See the good in that which is evil, and the evil in that which is good. Pledge yourself to neither side, but vow instead to preserve the balance that exists between the two" - Hayao Miyazaki
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Lewk
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SilverElf wrote::is ashamed that hangry half-baked rant will live in infamy:

:is also grateful that people understand and are awesome:
1la

Actually I didn't notice it that way really. All of your points seemed valid. Often when I'm posting something I see the other sides to the argument too and I'm not surprised when someone makes them.


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