Oh wow, this got a lot more responses than I thought it would. This is going to be a super long post, I'm so sorry!
@Freemints30 Fff I can feel that, I used to get upset at super feelgood fantasy stuff as a kid because I knew it wasn't real, and that fun stuff could never happen to me. Especially ones that I really wished were real. Horror and dark stuff wound up being my go to because it was like venting, but no one got hurt... at least no real people got hurt. Lol
I've noticed that lately, people trying to start a new wave of sanitization in fiction rather than actually helping people, or going after actually monsters. It's like everyone is virtue signaling to look good, but they're just going after normal people, and sometimes survivors of trauma venting their experiences. You bring up the 50's reminds me of two part video I saw on the history of horror in comics, it's actually a really interesting watch, and makes for some great background noise.
The Golden Age of Horror Comics 1 and 2.
Hah the thread was about heavy stories in general, so you stuff could qualify. Although I won't lie about finding a Twitter profile that was trying to get Youtube art commentary channels to "take down" me, along with other dark content creators, for being scum I guess. (and pedophiles, they were the one calling me that.) The account seems to have died though, I think because everyone they contacted ignored them. Lol
God I have a BWW article too! That site is wild, I used to frequent it back when it wasn't absolutely the worst place ever, but times sure have changed. I'm surprised it's still even around.
Honestly I think social media should be changed to only allow people 18 or older, with people suspected of being underage to require secured ID verification to prove they're adults. Parents nowadays are way too busy to parent, kids don't have the mental capabilities to filter out content they don't want to see, and schools aren't going to make classes teaching them how to navigate the internet safely, or teach them how it's dangerous for the kids and adults to invade 18+ spaces. Corporations should just block social media from children entirely.
@Hodge It's funny that their profile just says they like chemistry, but the content is all dark, cute drawings. x'D
Gosh isekai wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't all the same "turn your brain off" stuff! I mean, you can say the same for dark stories too, but I feel like there's a wider range of things to explore. Like, it can literally explore everything because it's not placed in a strict set of boundaries like everything else. (except comedy. That can also explore pretty much anything.) But yeah, I agree there probably is a level of shame with some people. As a society we're encouraged to be happy and good natured, so feeling good through consuming media that is sad or heavy can make you feel like a weirdo. I know coworkers and such have looked at me like I was an alien whenever I try to explain how feeling a characters suffering is relieving.
@DiegoPalacios Ffff regarding censorship. I actually got into an argument with someone on Twitter over that, they were very much for getting rid of adult art that made them uncomfortable, and were mortified when I told them that was censorship and I didn't support that. They couldn't grasp that trying to force artists to not make certain content was censoring them, and thought it was more complicated than that... I also learned afterward the person was underage, and shouldn't have been looking at that type of art to begin with...
I agree, I think people have been more in need of escape in the current hell of a world we live in. Things suck right now, and I can understand why the younger generation (everyone under 25) is extra sensitive to dark content, they're all pretty much inheriting a humanmade disaster.
@joannekwan Man, I really need to get my hands on a copy of Maus, I heard it was such a good book! (Same with Blacksad)
The "feeling less alone" thing is the hardest to get people to understand, it's like trying to get people to understand that not all horror movies are mindless violence schlock, sometimes they have deeper meanings that help some mentally work through and feel less alone in their struggles.
Funny enough I made my comic because I was tired of seeing how abuse was portrayed in romance, and how abusers in fiction are usually super obvious, and/or super ugly. Although it's ironic because my comic is for adults, yet the group most affected by these bad portrayals are teens, so I just shot myself in the foot with that one. Lol
But yeah, promoting unhealthy stuff like with 13 Reasons Why, or encouraging violence can be really damaging. It's a lot like how movies used to portray certain minority groups, and how they perpetuated dangerous mindsets about those groups... although I still stand behind the queer-coded Disney villains being the best villains.
Oh god, I feel so bad for the people you follow who've gotten crap. I'm lucky that my @ing hasn't been pretty easy to ignore, and I already trash my own work enough to not be affected by direct accusations.
Just litter your profile with CWs, and block every kid who tries to follow you, also don't tell anyone you're not a gay man. Except your friends I guess, but be wary of them too, they could be spies!
@skicoak It does? I always thought cathartic fiction was pretty straight forward? Tragic, heavy themed, or horrific fiction that helps purge a consumer (or creator) of negative emotions. But I can see how 'catharsis' can be subjective to the person. Like, how some people feel a sense of relief or "cleansing" from seeing the family dynamics in Hereditary, while other people just see it as every other horror movie.
The whole debate I usually see with it is that the people against it just don't like fiction being uncomfortable, but I imagine there are other, more thoughtful debates out there regarding the subject.
The whole puritan trend has a very "history repeating itself" vibe, since there have been calls for censorship in dark media on and off for years. I know mainstream cartoons were hugely censored for a time back in the day, and managed to break out again for a short period only to start being kinda sanitized again. Just not in the same ways they were way back then.
@Macarenaoftime Aw man, I'm so sorry, that really sucks! I can empathize with having trouble figuring out where my work stands, I used to just see it as a slice-of-life, but the further the story goes the harder it is to gauge. I only label mine with the LGBT+ tag because it does bring up those kinds of issues on and off despite being more of a mental health, and story of abuse type of thing. But it is a little nerve wracking since comics under that label are usually associated with more cutesy content, sometimes I think about starting to call it horror too since it's such a chill community.
@Inspector_Spinda Do you feel stories about some kind of oppression should only be fantastical then?
There's really interesting polarizing views on this, some people believe using fantastical creatures for narratives relating to oppression or other challenges minority groups have to face is disrespectful, seeing such a method as dehumanizing. While on the other hand there are people who think the exact opposite, and find fantasy to be a really good way to explore those topics, especially for Hollywood shows/movies directed by old white men. I can see how fantastical representation could be disrespectful, especially for people of color who've been likened to less developed animal species before, but at the same time I think such stories should be told by the people who face those issues. Especially so if it's fiction based off real life. So I can see how fantasy would be a safer choice.
@amortelito Right? It's sad because as technology advances parents are becoming less hands-on with educating and raising their kids. At least a lot of the people I've seen, like my cousin's kid had a cell phone with all it's functions at 6 years old, and she never educated the kid on how to handle the internet or anything like that.
It's interesting how just showing something bad like a villainous character being homophobic or abusive is starting to mean the author condones that behavior, it's a really overly simple way of looking at things, and can be really damaging to people just trying to cope with their problems via art.
Also I agree that it absolutely can do more harm than good to bottle up darker emotions, there have actually be psychological studies on how it can affects people's mental and physical health to not let that stuff out in a healthy way, and art is a really healthy way to express your darker feelings. Much more healthy than bottling it all up into you do something drastic and dangerous, like attempting suicide or hurting someone.
@GumshoeComix Aww oh no! If it helps you could always put up an age rating and a warning at the beginning of your story, as well as put disclaimers in the description. Pretty much do whatever you can to discourage kids, and if they still get in your business at least your ass is covered. The worst part about minors invading adult spaces is the adults can get in a lot of legal trouble, although the nice thing about Tapas is the crowd is a bit more mature than a place like Webtoons. I know the app is rated for 17+, so it tends to attracted an older teen crowd.
I have the utmost respect for you! It's really cool seeing someone else wanting to tackle heavy stuff because they really care about the subject matter, also to see more people venting personal experiences, and the experiences of loved ones. I'm pretty much doing the exact same thing. Lol
You know it's so odd that the talk of conversion therapy has almost totally disappeared in spite of it still existing. I was doing research for it myself, and found some stuff about these operations illegally posing as mental health clinics, and other "underground" stuff, or totally open operations in the US Bible Belt working like it's a normal ass thing. It's gross? Not the mention the anti-gay purges going on in Chechnya, there was talk about that for maybe a month, then everyone lost interest.
Also what on the comic artist not being able to do a psychological horror because they didn't BL? What?? That's so... dumb. There needs to be a universal sign adults can post whenever kids start getting in their spaces to police them, something along the lines of "You're a child, and you're not legally allowed to view my content. Stop talking to me."
