Appeal of the story to the reader/ some stuff from A Few Good Men

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 175596

> houyhnhnm:
> There *is* something mean spirited in the books. The stories 
> appeal to the mean in readers and for some they are not nearly
> mean enough, as we have ample evidence.
> 
> Montavilla47:
> I don't want to put words in houyhnhnm's mouth, but I do
> agree that there is a certain amount of mean-spiritedness.
> Not as much as Roald Dahl, perhaps, but a bit.
<SNIP of the examples, go UPTHREAD to read them>
> I may not have gotten them all, considering other, 
> similar moments to be merely amusing, or poetic 
> justice or whatever.  And some of the moments I 
> mention above will not strike all readers as mean--
> but may be, to others, merely amusing, poetic 
> justice or whatever.


Alla:

That's the thing though. NOT all readers would consider those moments 
mean. Some will consider them **just** and to me it is a huge 
difference, you know?

Second thing is that whether supposed meanness whether one consider 
it as such, or not is the primary appeal or not.

Because I think nicest people **often** want to see unrepentant evil 
punished both in RL and the books, you know?

Definitions of evil will differ for everybody of course, but I just 
disagree with story appeals to meanness in people.

If one would say that story appeals to reader's sense of justice - 
carmic or any - then **sure** that would be part of it for me, but 
certainly not the only part and for most times not even the main one.

Because when I read books like this (fantasy I mean), I always cheer 
for good to prevail, always, always. I just do not think it means 
those stories appeal to the mean part of me.

It is like, I do not know, reading fairy tales. I never expected evil 
to feel remorse in them. I always knew that Kotchey Besmertniy or 
Baba Yaga would die, for example (russian fairy tale villain) and was 
all the happiest for it.


But like even with Snape, whom I totally wanted to be punished, I 
enjoyed his end when I thought about it, but I find his death to be 
well, rather gruesome upon reread and do not find compelled to reread 
it, you know?

I meant I did not cheer when Nagini bite him. Again, found his end to 
be satisfying, but not felt joy of Snape hurting, if that makes sense.

I mean to me saying that story appeals to the mean in people is like 
comparing it with the appeal of horror movies, I guess.

I do not watch them, period and not planning to after watching one or 
two in my life, hehe.

Oy, I do not know probably to make another movie comparison ( NOT on 
substance at all, just on being emotionally satisfied with the end) 
would be what I felt after **A few good men**. I was so pleased that 
Jack Nicholson's character is going to get all that he deserves.  
Come to think of it, Tom Cruse's character taunted him just as Harry 
taunted Voldemort at the end. I did not think for one second that 
Nicholson's character deserved redemption, because he still felt he 
is **right** to do what he did to that poor soldier.

Just as Voldemort does not get it or does not want to get what Harry 
is telling him. IMO.

I do not think that makes me a mean person or that story appeals to 
the mean in me, I think it appeals **among other things already 
listed** to my sense of justice.

Opinions can differ of course.

Alla