🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <92314.140929KVJLC@ASUACAD.BITNET>, Jon L. Campbell
<KVJLC@ASUACAD.BITNET> wrote:
> 
> 

> Plain and simple when
> someone attempts to subvert a story with their own ideas of morality, then
> they are playing god with the mind of the reader.  Because morality in the
> story is so subtle, it is subliminal and therefore, dangerous.  A means of
> invoking thoughts and prejudices, love and hate, right and wrong, but who
> among any writer has that responsibility.

Ah, Jon...  This is *why* writers write and artists create art and actors
act.
When you (the audience) experience something that is well crafted, we
(the creators) are offering  you a look at the world from a different
perspective--
our own.  And morality is a unique part of each of our perspectives.

When you read something *I* write,  I hope that,
 you will come away with a view of duty and
honor that is slightly different than the one you already have.
 I want you to see, from my p.o.v., how guilt can warp our  world
and how responsiblity can be more important than personal happiness.

I write suspense fiction, and I've failed if you are bored by the world
I've created.  I want you to be involved enough 
in the people I've introduced, that you'll  hurt--just a little-- when they
are hurting and  you' ll hold your breath--for just a moment-- when they
are in
trouble.   And maybe someday  ( if I've done my job really  well)as you 
confront a personal dilemna, you'll find yourself remembering
that one of my characters handled a similar problem and you'll
find some comfort in the thought that your world has much in common
with mine. 

 Am I playing  God when I write ?  You bet I am.  That's my * job*, Jon.
In my make-believe world, I *am* the creator and you are my 
invited guest.

If you read a book, view a piece of sculpture,  watch a movie,
 then you've consented to entering  a world of someone else's  making.
While  you're visiting, you'll be shown the thoughts and prejudices,
loves andhates, and rights and wrongs that exist in *that* world.  Then,
at your discretion, you can use what you've learned to re-form your own
perspective.

If you want to avoid themes and morality--if you're truly afraid of
 subtle, subliminal, and dangerous viewpoints, then your only safety
 is  in cookbooks, user's manuals, and soup can labels.

Maureen 
Path: maureen.cen.uiuc.edu!user
From: mtan@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Maureen Tan)