To Post or Not to Post…

Posted on by Margot Kinberg

As this is posted, it’s 81 years since Otto Preminger’s Laura was released in cinemas. The film is, of course, based on Vera Caspary’s novel of the same name, and it’s a solid example of a noir story. Of course, I’d like to make my blog posts as interesting as possible to people who are kind enough to visit, so I thought I’d talk with fellow blogger Sue Presse and get her opinion of the post. She was happy to take the time to look over my post and give me her ideas.

After I showed her the post, she sat for a few minutes reading it. Then, she said, ‘I don’t think this is going to work.’ She shook her head as she spoke and handed me the post.
I was curious as to what had gone so wrong. ‘What is it that’s not working?’
‘It’s just, I think people are going to be upset with some of the themes in this post. Well, not what you wrote so much as the film. The book, too, for that matter.’
I didn’t know what Sue thought would upset readers, so I asked her to go on. ‘There are things here that might bother people,’ she explained. ‘I mean, there’s a murder right there in both the book and the film.’
‘It is crime fiction,’ I gently reminded her. ‘A lot of crime novels and films have murders in them. And this one isn’t gory. Besides, a main point of the plot is that first, people think Laura’s been killed. But then, that turns out not to be true. It’s a brilliant twist.’
‘OK, not the best example, but let’s keep talking about Laura.’ Sue pointed at one of the paragraphs in the post. ‘Here, you talk about her – um – romantic history. That could make your readers uncomfortable, you know.’
‘But that’s an essential part of her character. She isn’t some innocent ingenue. She’s a successful and smart advertising executive who lives an independent life. And that includes her history with lovers. And it’s not as though the book or film is explicit about that.’
Sue blushed a bit at what I said. Then she continued. ‘Still. And anyway, there’s more. You know her fiancé – Shelby Carpenter? He isn’t exactly faithful. Do you really want to bring that up in a blog post?’
‘I don’t see why not. It’s who he is, and it shows that he’s not exactly a nice character. It could give him a motive for murder, too.’
‘Yeah, but some of your readers might find that whole adultery thing in poor taste. And that sort of weird love triangle between Laura, Shelby, and that other guy, Waldo Lydecker.’

I was beginning to regret talking to Sue about this post, but I didn’t want to be rude. So I asked her if she had any more input.
‘Now that you mention it, yes. You might not want to focus on the way Detective McPherson falls for Laura. It’s like falling in love with a ghost, and that’s a little like witchcraft or something. Do you really want to be talking about that?’
‘That’s another main point in the story. It’s about obsession. That’s part of what drives McPherson. You can’t really talk about the novel or film without mentioning that.’

Sue was silent for a moment as she thought. Then she had an idea. ‘Maybe it would be easier if you picked another film. This one has a lot of things that readers might find objectionable.’
‘If people don’t want to read Laura or see the film, they don’t have to. They don’t have to read this post, either, if they’d rather not. All I’m doing here is talking about some of the elements in the story.’
‘Well, I still think you’re better being more careful about what you put up on your blog. You don’t want to upset your readers.’
I was finding it very hard to keep my temper by this point. ‘So, what do you think I should write about? A small town where everyone’s happy and the mayor finds out who stole the Founders Day cake?’
‘Are there books like that? ‘Cause that might be worth a post!’

And that’s the thing. There are books like that. There are also books and films like Laura that touch on sexual obsession and murder, and where the characters aren’t always ‘good guys.’ There are many other kinds of books, too, and you, as the reader, get to choose which sorts of books you prefer. That’s the beauty of our freedom to read what we wish. If books are restricted or banned, we lose that freedom. And we lose the chance to write about them and talk about the ideas in them. That’s not a risk I’m willing to take, and it’s why, every year during Banned Books Week, I do posts on the topic. Hopefully someday I won’t have to.

32 thoughts on “To Post or Not to Post…”

  3. That was a clever way of showing objection and how we, as writers, can write (and read) whatever we like and use our writing to bring attention to various things including hard conversations. No one HAS to read something that they find objectionable, that’s their choice. I do not believe in banning books. (Likewise, I do not believe you can hold an author accountable for views their characters have.)

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Cat. You’re right that people are not forced to read things they don’t want to read, or that they find objectionable. It’s perfectly find not to read something if one doesn’t want to. And, yes, writers are free to write what they want, and if what they want is to bring attention to something difficult, well, so be it. That’s part of why there are so many different sorts of books out there. Oh, and thanks for mentioning writers and their characters. In case anyone wonders, no, we don’t always agree with our characters’ points of view. I know I don’t. And authors shouldn’t be taken to task for that.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  4. Haha, I must be a really bad person, since I’m even keener to read Laura now I know it has all those things in it! I better read it quick before it gets banned… 😉

    Like

    Reply

  9. Very clever Margot – I can see that Sue wants to suppress anything that might be remotely troubling, but life isn’t all sunshine and roses. It’s hard, it’s full of the nasty stuff, and crime fiction is a good way of exploring those issues and helping people deal with them. Let’s not sanitise our books or our blog posts!!

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thanks very much, KBR. You’re absolutely right that life is tough, and it’s full of scary, difficult, sometimes very ugly things. Crime fiction helps people face those issues. The fact is, too, that those issues, and thinking about them, won’t go away just because they’re censored from books. In fact, as I see it, they get worse. So, yes, let’s keep books and blogs honest and not sanitised.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. “Sue” stripped out all the noir elements from the movie and book! I’ve watched the movie since I was a child, and I never found anything objectionable in it. “Sue” clearly prefers cozy murder stories where everything is superficial and sanitized. Both genres have their place in literature. I found this to be a very clever post.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Dawn. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. And I suspect you’re right about Sue. She prefers happy-ending, more superficial and ‘clean’ crime fiction, and as you say, there’s room for those stories in the genre. But there is also room for noir. And about Laura? I’ve never found anything in it that I found objectional, either. That doesn’t mean someone else would see it the same way, of course, and that’s the beauty of a wide variety of books and films. It lets the reader/viewer make the choice of what to read and watch.

      Like

      Reply

  12. Very nicely put, Margot. It would indeed be nice if one day it became unnecessary to make these posts. Sadly, I doubt it will be in my lifetime. I feel there will always be someone wanting to control the population’s reading and thinking. After all… what is more dangerous than a ‘thinking’ population?

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the kind words, Cath. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. I’d very much like it, too, if there were no need to do posts like this. But unfortunately, I suspect you’re right that there will always be some that wants to control what people read and think. As you say, a population that thinks critically is dangerous to any group that wants to dictate what we believe.

      Like

      Reply

  13. A very clever way to make important points Margot, well done you.

    (I have tried four times to make this comment – I think it’s Word Press rather than censorship 😀)

    Like

    Reply

  14. I hate it when governments ban books. That’s the start of totalitarianism imo. I’ve heard stories of book banning in Florida. They claim the books are promoting “woke culture” and need to be taken off shelves. There is book banning in my country too. Writers get killed here for speaking against the Fascist government. This was an extremely clever way to put across your point Margot.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thank you, OP. I agree with you about banning books, too. It never leads to a good place, does it? And yes, book banning happens in Florida and in other US states. I know it happens where you are, too, and it’s never been the right choice. Even if you don’t agree with the author or the author’s points, books should not be banned. It’s that simple.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

What's your view?