***DANGEROUS AUTHORS***
It’s not often that I express an unpopular opinion
(unpopular among who?). If anybody wants to challenge the opinion I’m about to
express in this blog entry, please remember to keep it civil. Turning it up to
eleven will do neither of us any good; we’ve got enough of that shit as it is.
Today I want to talk about “dangerous” authors. Specifically, I’d like to
discuss what makes an author dangerous and why the label shouldn’t be tossed
around so haphazardly. Let’s begin…
To my way of thinking, if you’re an author and your writing
is so offensive that it causes violence or other kinds of mistreatment,
congratulations, you’re dangerous as fuck. This seems to be the accepted
definition among Book Tubers and the literature community in general. Having
said that, there are degrees of this behavior and only the highest among them
deserves true recognition as dangerous.
If you incite violence with your nonfiction hate speech and
someone actually commits murder on your behalf, you’re partly to blame for that
and congratulations, you’re dangerous. But if you’re a fiction writer who puts
together a bad romantic storyline with mediocre characters and questionable
morals, congratulations, you’re a shitty writer, but you’re not dangerous.
Nobody died because of your shitty characters because the audience was too busy
questioning why your book was popular to begin with.
It’s not enough just to read the stories and consume them.
You also have to question them. Adults like to give teenagers a hard time for
not questioning what they consume and sometimes they’re right, but not all the
time. You can teach a kid to think critically. You can teach them to analyze
characterization, plot points, and themes. And when they pick up on these
lessons, they’ll look at Fifty Shades of Grey and shrug their shoulders in a
“meh” kind of way. That’s right, folks. E.L. James, as terrible as she is, does
not qualify as a dangerous author, because most readers can see right through
her.
But what about those who don’t analyze someone like E.L.
James? It’s not just limited to teenagers, either. There are adults who swear
by Fifty Shades of Grey. Adults! But is it really all the fault of a crappy
author who probably didn’t know what the fuck she was doing? Sure, accidents do
happen and sometimes they’re catastrophic. But is she dangerous? Far from it.
This could be compared to the idea that videogames make
teenagers violent. Spoiler alert: they don’t. Kids don’t shoot up schools
because they saw it happen in Halo. If they really were being influenced by it,
they’d teabag all of their kills and yell, “Ownage!” So if videogames can’t
turn kids into monsters, why would a book be able to? What makes a fictional
book more dangerous than a videogame if both can be easily questioned? Is it
because authors are geniuses and videogame developers are dumb-asses? Artists
in general are held in low regard by the public (cough, STEM lords, cough), so
let’s put that shit to bed once and for all.
Personally, I believe a real world politician or
televangelist is more dangerous to the public than a crappy author who writes
mediocre love stories. As we’ve seen with the 2016 US
But if you’re really worried about dangerous fictional
romances permeating the marketplace, well, that’s what we have beta readers,
sensitivity readers, and editors for. As long as these secondary readers don’t
judge the author too harshly for unintentional offensiveness, this can truly be
a productive conversation. And when productive conversations happen between
authors and their betas, then more enjoyable books will be pumped out into the
world. If it takes you multiple drafts to get it right (including the sensitive
details), then you’ve pretty much described the life of an author. Once a book
is published, however, the author is fresh out of excuses. But is he dangerous?
Nope. Not in the least.
Again, these are just my opinions and you’re allowed to have
a different one if you want. You probably think I’m a scumbag for giving
authors like E.L. James and Stephanie Meyer a free pass and that’s okay. Maybe
I’m expressing my unpopular opinion because I empathize with authors who have
been piled on by the internet crowds. It’s happened to me a few times and I
know how awful that makes me feel, so I try to be gentler on crappy fictional
authors. If someone thought my novella Occupy Wrestling was too toxic because
of the tumultuous relationship between Mitch and Debra, I’d want someone to be
gentle with me as well.
But I digress. I turn the floor over to you guys now. What’s
your definition of a dangerous author? Do you agree or disagree with the points
I’ve made and why? Remember, winning debates isn’t about being the most
outlandish. It’s about knowing why you feel the way you do and expressing your
reasons in a productive way. Let’s not cancel each other over this hot topic.
Let’s come together for a warm cup of tea on this cold autumn evening. I’m
Garrison Kelly! Until next time, try to enjoy the daylight!
***LYRICS OF THE DAY***
“Muskrat, muskrat. Candlelight. Doing the town and doing it
right. In the evening, it’s pretty pleasing. Muskrat Susie, Muskrat Sam do the
jitterbug out in muskrat land. And they shimmy. And Sammy’s so skinny. And they
whirled and they twirled and they tangoed. Singing and jingling the jango.
Floating like the heavens above. It looks like muskrat love. Nibbling on bacon,
chewing on cheese. Sammy says to Susie, “Honey would you please be my missus?”
And she says yes with her kisses. Now he’s tickling her fancy, rubbing her
toes. Muzzle to muzzle, now anything goes. As they wiggle, Sue starts to
giggle.”
-America
***POST-SCRIPT***
Hey, if you’re sick of mediocre romances, try listening to
the song listed above for a healthy and relatable one!
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