Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Khur" data-source="post: 2067590" data-attributes="member: 5583">Well, that's cool. I remember being scared by that movie as a kid. But we weren't talking about fiction having a general or good societal effect. We're talking about fiction having a decidedly negative societal effect (riots and regime change). Plenty of fiction has a societal effect, but it’s rare that fiction has widespread negative effects.It doesn't matter that you were exuberant. What you've pointed out is exceptionally valuable insight into this case, actually. And I certainly agree that fiction can be powerful. Three interesting points though: 1) None of the stories you mention have zombies in them (or do they?). <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/paranoid.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":uhoh:" title="Paranoid    :uhoh:" data-shortname=":uhoh:" /> 2) None of the stories were unpublished and written by a teenager (or is he an adult?). <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f615.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":confused:" title="Confused    :confused:"  data-smilie="5"data-shortname=":confused:" /> 3) Two of the stories you mention incited reactions from what can only be labeled extremists and/or tyrannical regimes (or are they?). <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":]" title="Devious    :]" data-shortname=":]" /> At the very least, #3 seems to support my view of the whole thing.Heck, there's a book out now containing two characters who seriously discuss the pros and cons of assasinating an existing world leader. One character plans to actually do the killing, while the other tries to talk the firts guy out of doing it. That author named names, real places, and plausible plans. He isn't in jail. Nor should he be.The point is: It's highly questionable for authors to be punished as if they did or planned to do the things they write. It becomes doubly questionable when the work is unpublished, and triply so if the work doesn't "name names," so to speak. And the fact that this work of fiction was not only unpublished, but also private makes the case even worse.This whole thing treads on dangerous ground, if you ask me ... which you didn't.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f631.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":o" title="Eek!    :o"  data-smilie="9"data-shortname=":o" />Oh yeah. Now we're cookin' with real butter.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /></blockquote>

Verification