Craft vs titillation

When I was 14 I thought cursing was cool. I thought movies with a lot of profanity and explicit content were cool for that very reason. Pulp Fiction was my favorite movie.

I grew out of this fad by the time I struck out on my own at 21. I suppose that makes me lucky. Rian Johnson is 46, and he still hasn't grown out of it.

Although it’s primarily a whodunnit murder mystery, Knives Out looks like it will have its fair share of amusing moments, including one shown off in the first trailer where Chris Evans’ Ransom Drysdale-Thrombey points out members of his family and tells them to “eat shit.” One person even gets a “definitely eat shit.”

As it turns out, this Knives Out scene could have been a lot more profane, as Rian Johnson, the writer and director, originally had Chris Evans’ character drop f-bombs instead. But he ultimately reversed course in order to avoid his movie getting stamped with an R rating.

Because eat "s**t" is appropriate for 13 year-olds, whereas "f**k you" isn't? Sound logic. But I don't blame Johnson for working with the MPAA's weird standards so he can pollute the minds of as many theater-goers as possible.

Still, isn't there an artful way to show a character's contempt? Take this monologue from Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov for instance:

The more I love humanity in general the less I love man in particular. In my dreams, I often make plans for the service of humanity, and perhaps I might actually face crucifixion if it were suddenly necessary. Yet I am incapable of living in the same room with anyone for two days together. I know from experience. As soon as anyone is near me, his personality disturbs me and restricts my freedom. In twenty-four hours I begin to hate the best of men: one because he’s too long over his dinner, another because he has a cold and keeps on blowing his nose. I become hostile to people the moment they come close to me. But it has always happened that the more I hate men individually the more I love humanity.

Or how about this scene from There Will Be Blood?

You don't have to be one of the greats like Dostoevsky or Daniel Day-Lewis to show a character's misanthropy. Going back to Knives Out, Chris Evans's playboy character could scowl in silence while suffering his relatives' inanities. Perhaps that wouldn't jive with what Johnson wanted. He wanted to show a family at each other's throats. I can see how that would be cathartic for people who have hard feelings towards their family members. But if your movie doesn't show the family reconciling, what are you saying about family? Nothing good.

I too limit the amount of profanity, sex, and violence in my writing to appeal to a broad audience, but also because I don't want to titillate readers and give them over to sinful thoughts. It's also a craft thing for me. If I can achieve a high level drama without resorting to cheap profanity, I feel I've proven something about my craft that I wouldn't have otherwise.

I rate my debut book, Tendrils to the Moon, PG-13 based on language and violence. My second book, Seeds of Calamity, I also rate PG-13, but only for violence. There were nine curse words in Tendrils, but only one in Seeds, and it's a mild one. The violence in Seeds, however, is more pervasive and more intense. The sexual content in Tendrils is mild. It's practically nonexistent in Seeds.

I doubt I'll ever remove violence completely from my writing. My stories feature characters in conflict, and conflict erupts into violence. That's not necessarily a problem. Violence can be done for just ends.

There is the matter of presentation, though. You don't want the reader to revel in crushed skulls and disemboweled torsos. How much blood and gore do you want to show? As much to convey the action, is what I've come up with so far.

As always, let me know what you think in the comments. I'll reply to you as soon as I can.

I have made available the first 4 chapters of Seeds of Calamity for free. If it piques your interest, get yourself a copy at Amazon. For a free digital copy of Tendrils to the Moon, sign up for the mailing list on the right side of the blog page. Or, if you're viewing this on the mobile site, click here. I appreciate the support!