From Exodus and the Plagues of Egypt, The Iliad &The Odyssey, through Restoration dramas, to " Stagger Lee" and "Bad,Bad Leroy Jones": Tales of vengeance have been a part of literature as long as there has been language. The persistent appeal of these themes speaks to something very basic to the psyche.
Is forgiveness better than retribution? Perhaps. But art must honestly illuminate human nature before there can be even a hope of changing it.
I don't mind a revenge story, obviously. And I don't think we can change human nature. But I think the aggrieved relish revenge because they are aggrieved... It's a learned behavior. When you see injustice everywhere, you take what you can. If that's doxing an innocent person, oh well...
I won't go so far as to say human nature absolutely can NOT be changed, but in aggregate it doesn't change throughout time as much as western liberals like to think.
But I do think that most of us have impulses that are both creative and destructive/ sharing and selfish, etc...and art can empower individuals to choose which impulses they act upon. Whether most people will do so is another discussion entirely!
I love that you brought this up. I've noticed a variety of answers when I ask a crime writer "why do you write crime stories?" Most traditional/cozy writers talk about justice, feeling there isn't enough in the real world so they want to create some. Noir writers tend to just laugh at me and take another drink.
For me, it's all about exploring the gap between who we are and who we say we are (part of my definition of "noir"). I like to think of it as the opposite of the authoritarian impulse (which we all have--never met a person who couldn't answer the question "what would you do if you were king of the world?") but I could just be kidding myself.
Thanks, Mysti. I don't have answers, and I find the fatalism of noir a cop-out, a sham, a pantomime. I think it's just something we need to be aware of when reading and writing crime stories in particular, because the stories we tell are important.
That's rich they call the 1932 Lindbergh kidnapping case "ongoing." Even the baby would most likely have died of old age by now, let alone any adult involved.
From Exodus and the Plagues of Egypt, The Iliad &The Odyssey, through Restoration dramas, to " Stagger Lee" and "Bad,Bad Leroy Jones": Tales of vengeance have been a part of literature as long as there has been language. The persistent appeal of these themes speaks to something very basic to the psyche.
Is forgiveness better than retribution? Perhaps. But art must honestly illuminate human nature before there can be even a hope of changing it.
I don't mind a revenge story, obviously. And I don't think we can change human nature. But I think the aggrieved relish revenge because they are aggrieved... It's a learned behavior. When you see injustice everywhere, you take what you can. If that's doxing an innocent person, oh well...
I won't go so far as to say human nature absolutely can NOT be changed, but in aggregate it doesn't change throughout time as much as western liberals like to think.
But I do think that most of us have impulses that are both creative and destructive/ sharing and selfish, etc...and art can empower individuals to choose which impulses they act upon. Whether most people will do so is another discussion entirely!
And that does not mean I condone doxing anybody.
I love that you brought this up. I've noticed a variety of answers when I ask a crime writer "why do you write crime stories?" Most traditional/cozy writers talk about justice, feeling there isn't enough in the real world so they want to create some. Noir writers tend to just laugh at me and take another drink.
For me, it's all about exploring the gap between who we are and who we say we are (part of my definition of "noir"). I like to think of it as the opposite of the authoritarian impulse (which we all have--never met a person who couldn't answer the question "what would you do if you were king of the world?") but I could just be kidding myself.
Point is, love this essay, thanks!
Thanks, Mysti. I don't have answers, and I find the fatalism of noir a cop-out, a sham, a pantomime. I think it's just something we need to be aware of when reading and writing crime stories in particular, because the stories we tell are important.
That's rich they call the 1932 Lindbergh kidnapping case "ongoing." Even the baby would most likely have died of old age by now, let alone any adult involved.
NJ has Open Records laws, so any time they don't want to release records they say "it's part of an ongoing investigation."
Strains of Warren Zevon wandering through my head...
my dirty life and times... I miss him.