Complete BS: Response. Ability.

I woke up this morning and it was still true!
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!

So the other night we talked about censorship in terms of responsibility of
the author, the video game maker, the director, the songwriter, etc.

It seemed to be a consensus in class that these people really hold no responsibility for their creations - that it is up to the reader, player, watcher, listener to realize this is a piece of art? or just a game/book/song/movie and not a manifesto, call to action, etc. Otherwise censorship will run rampant and who wants the government deciding what media creations will invoke thievery, murder, etc,and which won't - right? Wrong. I don't want any more censorship than we already have, but that doesn't mean artists'/media's responsibilities for their words, actions, creations go out the window. This is a basic concept. You are accountable for your own words and actions - I think most people would agree with this. I mean, you don't walk up to a black person, tell a racist joke about black people - then when they punch you in the face complain that they don't know how to take a joke.

So as an author or director of stories about murdering children or senseless killing, or a video game creator of a game about stealing and killing and fucking, or an artist who sings or paints about sex, drugs and suicide - you still have the fundamental question to ask yourself - What is the result of my creation, how will people be affected? And when your creations are the Pillowman, Natural Born Killers, Grand Theft Auto, or The Dope Show you are probably going to affect at least a few people in a fairly negative way. But there are lots of positive effects as well - so the question becomes which weighs more and what can you live with for the rest of your life as a creator.

Maybe millions of would be murderers and carjackers now disrespect their women through video games rather than real life, which is more important than desensitizing violence, etc., etc. Maybe the genius of literature inspires millions to write and affect millions more positively, or reading about such horrible "copycat" murders instills in readers not to take literature so seriously, which is more important than the three children that might be murdered in real life. Maybe genius cinematography and clever satire on our society positively affects millions, outweighing the 8 people murdered as a result of your movie. Maybe millions of anti-social freaks and addicts that now know they are not alone and don't commit suicide outweighs the hundreds of kids drawn into drugs and suicidal thoughts as a result of your songs. And maybe all the money and fame that results from your creation allows you to support more charities, your family, and political platforms. Or maybe your well-being is simply more important than others and you can live with that. I can buy all these arguments - because they at least take responsibility for what they have created. Be accountable for your words and actions - especially when you unleash them on millions worldwide - artist and media are not exempt, stop giving them a free pass. Not everyone in this world is an intelligent person - we cannot rely on the general public to interpret things properly and always know the difference between fantasy and reality.

Then we inevitably get into the does art imitate life? or does life imitate art? debate. The answer is - yes.

As a random thought I remember being disgusted that Tom Clancy was being interviewed as an "expert" after the 9/11 attacks because he had written a novel a bout planes crashing into buildings as an alternative to bombing.

And now I will step down from my soapbox.