D&D General No One Reads Conan Now -- So What Are They Reading?

[Azzy]

I would argue the figure has more power these days. The more civilized we become and the more complex our society becomes, the more there is that desire to return to a simpler archetype of humanity and masculinity.

The people that want that return are typically ignorant to historical and prehistorical cultures.

 

[Bedrockgames]

The people that want that return are typically ignorant to historical and prehistorical cultures.

I am not talking about that stuff at all. There is a lot of bad history to go around these days. I'm talking about the appeal a figure like Conan has in complicated times. It is the same thing John Wick taps into. He may wear a suit and care about his puppy, but he still embodies the same simplicity solving problems with violent brawn

 

[Azzy]

I am not talking about that stuff at all. There is a lot of bad history to go around these days. I'm talking about the appeal a figure like Conan has in complicated times. It is the same thing John Wick taps into. He may wear a suit and care about his puppy, but he still embodies the same simplicity solving problems with violent brawn

I see no reason to glorify antisocial behavior.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I see no reason to glorify antisocial behavior.

Because it is cathartic. There are whole genres built on this idea. And it isn't just antisocial. Conan has a code. Characters in Kung Fu movies have codes. John Wick lives by a code. Characters in mafia movies have a code. These are genres where violence's almost taken to the level of poetry. And people like it. It is fantasy. It is liberating. I don't see a John Wick movie and want to go kill people. I don't read Conan and want to cleave people with a sword. I don't watch Lady Snowblood and want to slice people down with a katana. In wuxia characters can escape the bounds of gravity and slice through foes as they soar through the air. That is very powerful imagery in my opinion. We watch these things and read these things because they tap into something that resonates. When life is complicated, when society is difficult to navigate and the last thing you can do is muscle your way through a problem, for example taxes, it can be very thrilling to reduce all that to "defeating Dracula" or "mowing down henchmen in NY city". Conan, seems especially relevant today. And I think fi you look at a lot of things men are gravitating to, like the UFC for example, there is a a relevance to a character who embodies that kind of physical perfection. My point is, whatever you think of the 'should' here, is it is still relevant

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Because it is cathartic

It feels good, but it’s the sort of thinking that got us into this hole in the first place. Keeping digging is not an effective solution. Conan is the hero you want, but he is not the hero we need.

 

[Bedrockgames]

It feels good, but it’s the sort of thinking that got us into this hole in the first place. Keeping digging is not an effective solution. Conan is the hero you want, but he is not the hero we need.

We aren't where we are because of Conan. Nor are we where we are because of Come Drink with Me or James Bond. I would say, you probably are just going to make problems worse by depriving people of these kinds of figures in media, which again I think have a very cathartic effect. Even shadowy and amoral characters serve a function here. Again look at Goodfellas. That is about horrifically evil men, but they violate norms and that actually produces laughter it is so cathartic. If you are on the side of we need to get rid of violent action in media, you are going to lose the whole cultural argument

 

[Paul Farquhar]

We aren't where we are because of Conan

The “might makes right” philosophy that Conan embodies? The idea that there isn’t a problem that can’t be solved with a big enough weapon? The idea that individuals are more important than the common good? Definitely the main cause of our problems. But that’s getting too political for this forum. If you don’t get it, you are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

 

[Bedrockgames]

The “might makes right” philosophy that Conan embodies? The idea that there isn’t a problem that can’t be solved with a big enough weapon? Definitely the main cause of our problems. But that’s getting too political for this forum. If you don’t get it, you are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

But that exists whether Conan exists or not. I don't read Conan to get ideas about how to use power. I read Conan as a form of escape and catharsis. I think you have to be very stupid to read Conan and think you should model your behavior after his. Just like you have to be very stupid to watch Goodfellas and think becoming a mafia associate is a sound notion. It is interesting to read about a character like Conan, who lives in teh world he does and thinks the way he does. And it can be engaging to wrestle with his ideas. But it is just a set of fantasy stories about a cartoonishly macho barbarian

 

[Azzy]

Because it is cathartic.

That's a very poor reason.

 

[Bedrockgames]

That's a very poor reason.

Why? What is wrong with catharsis. We listen to music for catharsis. We even listen to loud bombastic music or sad melancholic music for catharsis. One reason I read and go to the movies is for catharsis. That isn’t the only reason why I like something like Conan but it is a major one. Again whole genres are built around characters who do questionable things. Should we just stop having characters like John Wick, Michael Corleone or Dirty Harry ? All three display done antisocial behavior. All three have appeared in movies I consider great

Again though we are arguing the ‘should’ now. My original point was a response to the notion that Conan isn’t relevant