Suicide in Fiction

Yawgmoth · Wednesday at 9:18 AM

Emotica said:
I think any topic comes with risks, and sensitive ones come with more risks. If you're not taking risks, then are you really creating anything at all? I'd say that authors should do their research, in general, but especially so with sensitive topics. It's not even just because you want to have a "good take," but you'd at the very least want to be portraying the themes you're engaging with in a way that you would if you truly understood them. The only way to understand would be through experience or research. Sometimes, often actually, writers purposely subvert expectations with how to they deal with sensitive topics, which if planned, will usually come off much better than any clumsy and accidental portrayal.

I think the real mistake that authors often make is in adding dark themes without considering if they actually need to be added. If you add a dark topic and don't put even a little effort into making it substantially relevant to the narrative, then you can't exactly be surprised if that puts people off.

risk sure and i agree a certain amount of research should be done for sensitive topics but no matter how much effort u put in there will always be weird ppl that will interpret the situation how they see fit and most likely to cause drama and feel validated themselves. u should just declare u didnt intent for any harm and ignore anyhting else such poor creatures say or write

Emotica · Friday at 4:33 PM

Yawgmoth said:
risk sure and i agree a certain amount of research should be done for sensitive topics but no matter how much effort u put in there will always be weird ppl that will interpret the situation how they see fit and most likely to cause drama and feel validated themselves. u should just declare u didnt intent for any harm and ignore anyhting else such poor creatures say or write

On the contrary, I think you don't need to justify yourself after the fact, if you put the effort in in the first place. I don't think it's ever worth arguing about creative expression after the fact. Art's job is to be interpreted and spark conversation, the creator diving back into the conversation is entirely optional, and like you said, there will always be someone simply looking for conflict.

CharlesEBrown · Saturday at 1:32 PM

Does this romanticize suicide (it was the theme song to a successful movie that inspired one of the most successful sitcoms of all time)?

Through early morning fog, I see
Visions of the things to be
The pains that are withheld for me
I realize and I can see

That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please

The game of life is hard to play
I'm gonna lose it anyway
The losing card I'll someday lay
So this is all I have to say

Suicide is painless (suicide)
It brings on many changes (changes)
And I can take or leave it if I please

The sword of time will pierce our skins
It doesn't hurt when it begins
But as it works its way on in
The pain grows stronger, watch it grin

Suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please

A brave man once requested me
To answer questions that are key
"Is it to be or not to be?"
And I replied, "Oh, why ask me?"

Suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please

And you can do the same thing if you please

IIRC, the song without the "callbacks" and without the last verse plays over the opening credits, midway through the song, one of the actors sings the first verse and the verse with the callbacks (the parts in parentheses), and the whole song plays over the closing credits, but it's been about 20 years since I last saw it.
I believe the TV version dropped the lyrics and ran through one stanza + refrain then a second plus the outro, but haven't seen THAT in about 18 years.

Suicide in Fiction

Yawgmoth

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Emotica

Active member

CharlesEBrown

Well-known member