tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post194853194694108267..comments2023-06-26T02:58:39.010-07:00Comments on The Muse's Library: Controversial Books - Past and PresentErin Latimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06966784285634663955noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-91924444767072352182012-08-22T19:27:07.284-07:002012-08-22T19:27:07.284-07:00You're not rambling at all! It's a really ...You're not rambling at all! It's a really interesting subject! Very true that it's often for the wrong reason. It seems in general, that if a book gets really popular it meets a lot of scrutiny (ie: Oh noes! Harry Potter has bad, evil witchcraft! Burn it!)Erin Latimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06966784285634663955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-52198394907794101322012-08-22T19:25:30.815-07:002012-08-22T19:25:30.815-07:00Hmm, similar to Lolita, in that you seriously have...Hmm, similar to Lolita, in that you seriously have to wonder about the author!Scary!Erin Latimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06966784285634663955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-14705475844710243492012-08-16T21:21:02.054-07:002012-08-16T21:21:02.054-07:00On the subject of Banned Books, sometimes it's...On the subject of Banned Books, sometimes it's for the wrong reasons. Other times, it is a completely good excuse. But the Interesting thing is, is that where I live (US), freedom of Press generally overrules the context of the book. The Argument? It has literary value. Sorry if I'm rambling, I studied this issue a lot.M.D.Wyvernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11178733410139017995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-10993457165789021662012-08-05T03:25:57.273-07:002012-08-05T03:25:57.273-07:00Most controversial book I can think of -- sadly no...Most controversial book I can think of -- sadly not on this list though it's a classic -- is "In Cold Blood" where the author gives excuses for the killer's actions along with depicting him as a helpless child. P.S. this book is based off a real murder not long after it happened. The author even met with the murders to ask them questions. **It seems like he may have gotten a bit too close to the killer**Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06371137216564390106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-24666439881148986922012-05-15T10:15:09.621-07:002012-05-15T10:15:09.621-07:00I do agree. Hunger Games isn't nearly as viole...I do agree. Hunger Games isn't nearly as violent as the other shows you've listed. I think the reason it's more controversial is because much smaller kids are watching and reading. (I'm sure some little kids are watching the Avengers, in fact, I saw some going into the movie theatre, which I thought was strange). I definitely agree that banning a book makes it way more interesting to everyone, which accomplishes the exact opposite of what was intended.Erin Latimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06966784285634663955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-50967527927408493222012-05-14T21:13:12.569-07:002012-05-14T21:13:12.569-07:00Personally and at a very basic level, I am opposed...Personally and at a very basic level, I am opposed to censorship. In most cases, I think it actually heightens the interest in a controversial book and causes more people to read it, which seems to defeat the main goal of censors. That being said, I think we all must learn personal censorship (as you mentioned in your post, not all books are created equal and some subject matter is truly harmful - but this is very subjective). I think it is one thing to say, "I prefer not to read that" and quite another to say, "That is awful" if one hasn't in fact read the book. And any discerning person knows that a library, or bookstore, or the world wide web is chocked full of as much useless text as it is beautiful. The weeds grow among the roses, do they not?<br /><br />As an aside - I don't believe Katniss would actually "murder" any of the other barbies unless they were attacking her first (she only actually killed two people: one in defense of another girl and one as an act of mercy), although she might leave a few poison plastic berries around. :) Hunger Games was actually incredibly less violent than a lot of other things out there (like the Avengers, the Transformers and other such dribble where killing is the activity of the day). Just my 2 cents worth. <br /><br />Great to read your thoughts, Erin. :)Angelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14790695667274480550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-91743596131334748202012-04-26T08:14:57.326-07:002012-04-26T08:14:57.326-07:00I certainly agree about the cover! It does indeed ...I certainly agree about the cover! It does indeed smack of pedophilia. I honestly am surprised it wasn't just left pretty much blank. Yuck.<br /><br />I'm actually pretty shocked at the amount of people who have read (or read part of) this book. I think it's good to show an unreliable narrator, but I think there are better ways to do it then dwell on child abuse as a subject. <br /><br />Speaking of unreliable narrator, when they made the movie Lolita, they cast the girl as sixteen, and the one who did the seducing!Erin Latimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06966784285634663955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-54240638337279877942012-04-26T08:10:55.887-07:002012-04-26T08:10:55.887-07:00Thank you!
I'm really sick of the fallen ang...Thank you! <br /><br />I'm really sick of the fallen angels and vampires thing. I won't pick up a YA book if it looks like it has anything to do with either one.<br /><br />I've actually come across a lot of people who have started Lolita and not finished. I can hardly blame you!Erin Latimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06966784285634663955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-65232601388673585702012-04-25T22:08:32.300-07:002012-04-25T22:08:32.300-07:00Hello! I found you from the Blogging Buddies post ...Hello! I found you from the Blogging Buddies post on Absolute Write.<br /><br />Interesting post. I had no idea Mark Twain's books had been banned!<br /><br />I have mixed feelings about Lolita. The idea is supposed to be that it features an unreliable narrator. So the point of the book is to show how abusive people lie and distort and twist things to make themselves look innocent. That's a great message and one that isn't taken up enough in my opinion.<br /><br />Unfortunately, it gets gratuitous enough to raise suspicion about whether that really is the whole point of the book. Just look at that book cover. The way the picture shows nearly up the child's skirt, it seems to be intended to titillate a nasty type of viewer. That cover creeps me right out.runebughttp://blog.runebug.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-28419249744921471342012-04-24T21:38:55.165-07:002012-04-24T21:38:55.165-07:00Erin, I luv'd this post! I've read Lolita ...Erin, I luv'd this post! I've read Lolita for a book club a few years ago. Actually, I didn't read the entire book. I only got through 20% of it, as it was quite disturbing. <br /><br />LOL @ "no means yes" for Hush Hush. I've never read that book, I'm not really into "fallen angels." <br /><br />And LOL @ the Katniss Barbie doll who might murder all the other toys, hehe. Great post :)Annabelle Ramoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06516802760567751668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-71422056144312231122012-04-22T10:13:12.014-07:002012-04-22T10:13:12.014-07:00Wooh! Lolita is one thing I wouldn't pick up. ...Wooh! Lolita is one thing I wouldn't pick up. I was astonished to find out they'd made a movie out of it at all! I don't blame you for not getting through it!<br /><br />I think we shouldn't ban books like HG, but that parents should be responsible for what the child reads, or doesn't. Even in the event that HG was "required" reading for the classroom (which it's not) there is always the option of asking to be excused from it. They won't ever say no.<br /><br />It's true, you can't control everything your child is exposed to, but it sounds like the mom trying to ban HG is trying pretty hard!Erin Latimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06966784285634663955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-76998932163213623242012-04-22T10:08:54.027-07:002012-04-22T10:08:54.027-07:00That is actually an excellent point! I remember wh...That is actually an excellent point! I remember when I was younger, my christian parents wouldn't let me read Harry Potter (in case I turned into a witch, I guess) but Lord of the Rings was fine! It always made me so mad, because, for heavens sake, there's a "good" wizard in that too! But Gandalf never inspired me to put on robes and run around shouting spells at people. (When I used to bring up this argument, they just refused to debate me.<br /><br />I agree that Collins did portray it as horrifying, THAT is the message of the entire series. I think the reason Tolkien is okay to many people, but HG and HP are "evil" is because Tolkien was a christian (that was my parents reasoning, I'm pretty sure).Erin Latimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06966784285634663955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-64158109064741139362012-04-22T03:13:39.435-07:002012-04-22T03:13:39.435-07:00I have always found censorship a difficult subject...I have always found censorship a difficult subject. I think because in that age there are some kids/teenagers more mature than others and others that are not quite there yet. So banning a book so that it is no longer accessible to anyone, in my view, is not the best idea. I think here the parents role is more important, they know their children and how mature they are/what is okay for them to read. But of course in this day and age you also can´t control everything your children are exposed to... A bit of a conundrum!<br /><br />On a different not: I actually read quite some of these books in school, seems I was at quite a progressive one ;) & I actually tried reading Lolita when I was 16 or so but couldn´t get through it!Katharina Brendelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01982524502377987393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-70762920047792544852012-04-21T20:35:29.493-07:002012-04-21T20:35:29.493-07:00With the caveat that I've only finished the fi...With the caveat that I've only finished the first section of HG so far:<br /><br />I think the irony here is that the parent calling for HG to be banned is really upset because Collins was too ethical. She DOESN'T glorify the games. She makes the emotional cost clear and horrifying. It's only because she writes it so well, and so ethically, that parents are talking about banning the book.<br /><br />No one is talking about banning "The Lord of the Rings," and yet the body count is far, far higher in that. Consider the mound of bodies left by Gimli and Legolas in the Battle of Helm's Deep, and the way they treat the killing as a game. In LOTR, it's okay to kill sentient beings, as long as they're orcs.<br /><br />Because Tolkien writes those scenes without emotional depth, they don't have the terrible impact that Collins does...but which violent story is more ethical?Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03006225319847870183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-6930590148088676952012-04-20T12:36:50.601-07:002012-04-20T12:36:50.601-07:00I do agree that HG is WAY too violent for some of ...I do agree that HG is WAY too violent for some of the young kids I saw that went to the movie, and I remember walking past a couple of little girls in the mall (they were around ten or twelve) and they were talking about it, and it sort of shocked me. I wouldn't let my kids read it. I don't think I would ban it though. Yes, it's a horrible concept, but it's meant to resonate with the reader. You're supposed to come away, having read it, and know that the message was the same as Lord of the Flies. Human's are fully capable of becoming barbaric, and it's NOT okay.Erin Latimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06966784285634663955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-64934033286829028402012-04-20T12:34:38.887-07:002012-04-20T12:34:38.887-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Erin Latimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06966784285634663955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-54304847337968117172012-04-20T02:54:34.242-07:002012-04-20T02:54:34.242-07:00I'm afraid I would be for banning The Hunger G...I'm afraid I would be for banning The Hunger Games. I mean is it ok to have our kids read a book where 24 CHILDREN are made to KILL each other between only a few chapters. Then you look at the movies The Hunger Games was PG-13 and the movie Bully - Restricted. So it's ok for our children to go and watch a movie where they see children killing children and making a show out of their deaths, but it’s not ok so show them a movie about standing up for yourself when you’re getting bullied. What kind of a message does that give to our kids? What kind of a world has it come to when people find books like The Hunger Games at all entertaining? There wasn't even anything I had ever seen in The Hunger Games that I haven't seen anywhere else. The worst part. If Katniss were alive - she would hate every person that loved that book. Ironic no? I've even heard people compare it to The Lord of The Fly's. So I do think this book has every right to be on that list due to its inhuman content, but hey that’s just my opinion.TomTaznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-22915643960949406492012-04-19T19:21:49.312-07:002012-04-19T19:21:49.312-07:00Haha, I wonder how many little girls will be shoot...Haha, I wonder how many little girls will be shooting the other Barbies with arrows. lolErin Latimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06966784285634663955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468643916756368998.post-78396307266611283362012-04-19T17:48:05.891-07:002012-04-19T17:48:05.891-07:00This is a really good article My favorite is the o...This is a really good article My favorite is the one about the Hunger Games Barbie Doll.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17855560517263412319noreply@blogger.com