tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post8530171731007876968..comments2023-10-17T07:59:54.235-05:00Comments on Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap: Guest Blogger Mark PhillipsVivian Zabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06129178812565073972noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-28940866580811590452009-03-28T06:37:00.000-05:002009-03-28T06:37:00.000-05:00Hi Cynde. I'm sorry to hear that you had to experi...Hi Cynde. I'm sorry to hear that you had to experience such abuse. You're right, the subject deserves a great movie to sort through the pain and psychic trauma of it all. Perhaps it's time for you to sit down and start the screenplay that will lead to just that masterpiece.<BR/>MarkMark Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00601652717542654531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-42207546206060869142009-03-27T18:01:00.000-05:002009-03-27T18:01:00.000-05:00Great post.Cyndehttp://cyndes-got-the-write-stuff....Great post.<BR/><BR/>Cynde<BR/>http://cyndes-got-the-write-stuff.blogspot.com/Cynde L. Hammondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15965516045079529435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-12059396498216107822009-03-27T17:55:00.000-05:002009-03-27T17:55:00.000-05:00I believe that if violence is tastefully done and ...I believe that if violence is tastefully done and women aren't exploited, then someone could make a great movie about spousal abuse (something I personally experienced with my first husband) and then it would be useful. I just don't like to see it when it's exploited.<BR/><BR/>See you at the next stop,<BR/>Cynde Hammond<BR/>http://cyndes-got-the-write-stuff.blogspot.com/Cynde L. Hammondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15965516045079529435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-42134397308437653502009-03-27T08:34:00.000-05:002009-03-27T08:34:00.000-05:00Welcome, packey. I hope you'll visit again, and of...Welcome, packey. I hope you'll visit again, and often, even though Mark will be elsewhere.<BR/><BR/>I need to post a different blog entry, but I wanted to leave Mark's essay as the main post for a while.Vivian Zabelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06129178812565073972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-86418076689372305862009-03-27T06:30:00.000-05:002009-03-27T06:30:00.000-05:00Thanks packey. Glad you enjoyed it. It is a great ...Thanks packey. Glad you enjoyed it. It is a great site, isn't it.<BR/>MarkMark Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00601652717542654531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-20729452304163312172009-03-25T19:32:00.000-05:002009-03-25T19:32:00.000-05:00You're right, Belle, often understated is quite ef...You're right, Belle, often understated is quite effective. Occasionally withholding details can be even more effective as the reader's imagination comes up with more horrible details than the author could envision, especially as each individual has personal phobias and squirm-causing imagery lurking around their subconscious mind.<BR/><BR/>I must confess, however, to a guilty pleasure in the over-the-top, adjective and advedrb laden purple prose of the old pulp masters. Say what you will, but people still read H. P. Lovecraft despite or even because of his lurid style. There is room in the literary universe for all kinds of styles and techniques---it all depends on the skill and imagination of the individual writer.<BR/><BR/>Be sure to visit us at day two and three of this violence article. Check out Char's Book Reviews for all the links.<BR/><BR/>MarkMark Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00601652717542654531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-64502415520964110202009-03-25T15:37:00.000-05:002009-03-25T15:37:00.000-05:00Great subject, Mark. I've found that for violent s...Great subject, Mark. I've found that for violent scenes, it's best to keep the writing understated so as not to come across as melodramatic or sensationalistic. If the action is truly violent, just showing what's happening will be enough for the reader without gratuitous adjectives or (Heaven forbid!) adverbs.The Belle in Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368021976814668783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-43281631846969773942009-03-24T19:55:00.000-05:002009-03-24T19:55:00.000-05:00Thanks Vivian---Give 'em heck tomorrow. Make a bur...Thanks Vivian---Give 'em heck tomorrow. Make a bureaucrat cry.<BR/>MarkMark Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00601652717542654531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-23928485670653464412009-03-24T19:31:00.000-05:002009-03-24T19:31:00.000-05:00Thank you, Mark, for using Brain Cells & Bubbl...Thank you, Mark, for using Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap for part one of your three part discussion of violence.<BR/><BR/>Speaking of violence, or a desire to create violence, tomorrow I'll be posting about the CPSIA again.Vivian Zabelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06129178812565073972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-37769887248255548372009-03-24T19:24:00.000-05:002009-03-24T19:24:00.000-05:00Thanks Jean.Thanks Helen. I definitely have things...Thanks Jean.<BR/><BR/>Thanks Helen. I definitely have things to say on the deplorable tendency to target women in violent literature and film. I am also sympathetic concerning the preference to read rather than watch violence. <BR/><BR/>My own rather ironic problem is that I am unusually sensitive to depictions of violence. Combining a tendency to over-identify with protagonists with an entirely too vivid imagination leads me to suffer during artistic depictions of violence. Sometimes I can actually develop sympathy agonies.<BR/><BR/>But here's my dilemma. I watch for fresh new talent in film---young directors who have fresh vision and style trying to break into the medium. They get handed a disreputable low-budget horror script and, unsure that they'll ever get another chance to direct, they poor into that violent blood-soaked B-picture every artistic fiber of their being. Suddenly, up there on the screen, is a Night of the Living Dead, or s Scanners, or a Re-Animator. While I watch I suffer, but after I've watched I'm ecstatic at what I've found. One strategy that I've used is to schedule,usually on or around Halloween, a horror film marathon---ten films of mind-numbing terror. After the first few, I get so desensitized that I can watch the rest with relative impunity. As you can see I'm a somewhat twisted and conflicted aesthete.<BR/><BR/>Looking forward to visiting your site, Helen.<BR/>MarkMark Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00601652717542654531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-10595125532252651312009-03-24T18:15:00.000-05:002009-03-24T18:15:00.000-05:00Very thoughtful post on violence in fiction, Mark....Very thoughtful post on violence in fiction, Mark. I'm not big on gory movies. The only movie I've ever walked out on was The Last House on the Left (not the version out now, but the original). Those kinds of movies seem to always be violence aimed at women. I've never quite understood why that seems to be acceptable in our society. Even in today's TV shows like CSI, it's usually women who are the victims of violence.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, I do read mysteries, thrillers, and suspense. Even though I see the scenes in my head when I read, it's different from seeing it on the screen.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I'm looking forward to Part 2 on Marvin's blog and then Part 3 on my blog. Unlike Marvin, I have not read what you'll be saying on Straight From Hel. The suspense builds...Helenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03171630819400384478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-55523796356405756142009-03-24T14:17:00.000-05:002009-03-24T14:17:00.000-05:00Interesting post on violence, Mark. I look forward...Interesting post on violence, Mark. I look forward to the rest of the tour.Jean Henry Meadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08146960738692672013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-82578258034254284192009-03-24T12:06:00.000-05:002009-03-24T12:06:00.000-05:00Thanks Queenofmean. I agree with you that much vio...Thanks Queenofmean. I agree with you that much violence for the sake of violence is unimaginative, but unfortunately most x for the sake of x is unimaginative. Indeed we live in a singularly unimaginative age. There are, however, glorious exceptions in the area of violence for the sake of violence. The films of Quentin Tarentino, Robert Rodriquez, and George Romero spring instantly to mind. I look forward to your comments on parts 2 and 3 of this article, where I take us into a tangle of moral ambiguity and out the other side.<BR/>MarkMark Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00601652717542654531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-64889875760167471552009-03-24T11:48:00.000-05:002009-03-24T11:48:00.000-05:00I'm glad to stopped by to visit from crimescenewri...I'm glad to stopped by to visit from crimescenewriters. <BR/><BR/>You make excellent points.Vivian Zabelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06129178812565073972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-20956935358486636752009-03-24T11:35:00.000-05:002009-03-24T11:35:00.000-05:00I've come over from the crime scene writers...I've come over from the crime scene writers' blog. Very interesting subject that caught my attention. I actually have given a lot of thought to this. I find movies that are violent just for the sake of violence to be unimaginative. It's a different situation when the violence is necessary for you to understand the story, such as in Schindler's List & Saving Private Ryan as you mentioned. The Deerhunter (an oldie) is another example. If you weren't able to witness & feel the violence through the characters, you could never understand what happened to them when they came home. And even in these situations, it has to be handled in such a way as to not pull the wiewer (or reader) out, but keep them moving along with the characters. I look forward to reading the next parts.queenofmeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16488271353775981931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-45742049868653171052009-03-24T08:35:00.000-05:002009-03-24T08:35:00.000-05:00Great article Mark...looking forward to parts 2 &a...Great article Mark...looking forward to parts 2 & 3. Lots of points to ponderAutumn Stormhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03190289792154640943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-26758992199040891332009-03-24T08:05:00.000-05:002009-03-24T08:05:00.000-05:00Thanks Diana.MarkThanks Diana.<BR/>MarkMark Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00601652717542654531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-82511283981790444632009-03-24T07:38:00.000-05:002009-03-24T07:38:00.000-05:00Good Blog!!!DianaGood Blog!!!<BR/><BR/>DianaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-24058270849450759932009-03-24T06:24:00.000-05:002009-03-24T06:24:00.000-05:00Hi Marvin,Looking forward to my visit. I saved som...Hi Marvin,<BR/>Looking forward to my visit. I saved some good controversy just for you.<BR/><BR/>Hi Anonymous,<BR/>Getting people to think and be aware is my main purpose. You've made my day.<BR/><BR/>Hi Vivian,<BR/>Thanks so much for letting me guest blog on your wonderful site. I have been reading your recent articles on the latest government intrusion into our lives with great interest. It actually reinforced my faith in Americans that so many librarians are deciding to ignore the government's recommendations as nonsensical. Perhaps if there were wide scale ignoring of more nonsensical laws, legislators would stop writing so many of them.<BR/><BR/>MarkMark Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00601652717542654531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-51107749563438269762009-03-24T05:52:00.000-05:002009-03-24T05:52:00.000-05:00Marvin,It must have been interesting to read part ...Marvin,<BR/><BR/>It must have been interesting to read part 2 before part 1. <BR/><BR/>Mark,<BR/>I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this. I never really gave much thought to why I can accept violent passages in some books and films and not in others. I'm thinking now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349012017649158447.post-23079343844901953992009-03-24T05:23:00.000-05:002009-03-24T05:23:00.000-05:00Excellent part one in the series of essays on viol...Excellent part one in the series of essays on violence, Mark. You have obviously studied this aspect of literature well and thought it through enough to present solid principles to go by. I took lots of notes! (smile)<BR/><BR/>Looking forward to presenting your Part Two (which I have already read, of course - LOL) on Free Spirit.<BR/><BR/>Marvin D Wilson<BR/>http://inspiritandtruths.blogspot.com/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com