Learn From Webcomics

Trigger Warning: The comic we’re discussing today deals with rape, and, despite not being a graphic portrayal, does not deal with the matter in a sensitive, reasonable way. In fact, this week’s lesson is about being more sensitive and reasonable. However, if you feel uncomfortable with the subject matter, please skip this post.

Today’s Teacher: Michael “Mookie” Terraciano (“Dominic Deegan”)

Today’s Lesson: Think About It

Link: Exhibit A 

Okay, now that the warnings are out of the way, go ahead and click that link. Read over the comic, and think about what the author is trying to say.

These women are upset, one of them at finding out her boyfriend raped a young girl, and the other at having been that young girl. Stonewater here, the rapist in question, is distraught that these women hate him for a crime that any rational human finds aberrant. And then Dominic, our hero (who by the way is never wrong), points out that they only feel this way because they are being manipulated by a demon.

I can’t possibly overstate how offensive this is.  

It’s disgusting.

What he is saying here is that not only are these characters wrong for hating a rapist for being a rapist, but that they would not naturally do so, and that it takes a malevolent outside force to make them hate him. It’s plain to see. 

Now here’s where the advice portion of the column comes in. Do you think, if questioned, that Terraciano would say that it’s wrong for anyone, let alone the victim, to hate a rapist? Of course he wouldn’t. Even he probably doesn’t believe something that heinous. Yet he said it anyway. How?

Here, Mookie’s made two mistakes. First of all, this whole storyline was poorly conceived from the beginning, and second, he failed to carefully and critically read his own work, even though he should have known that he was embarking on a charged subject. These are mistakes that anyone can make; the key is not to take a serious situation lightly.

Rape is a serious matter. It’s an unbelievable trauma that people in the real world suffer every day. It is not a plot device.

Terraciano’s stated goal in writing this arc was unbelievably crass. He thought,

“People who kill other people aren’t always viewed as villains, hitmen make sexy characters, you never read stories about a sexy rapist….so what i wanted to do was–it was an experiment for me–”. (I am not putting words in his mouth. Here’s the interview. Episode 12.)

 Instead of wondering why no one had attempted this (because making a rapist hero is a monumentally terrible thing to do), he decided that he would rise to the challenge and fill this gap. He didn’t think about what rape victims go through, he didn’t even really care. He saw a challenge and grabbed it and, because he will probably never have to worry about rape on a personal level, ignored what a truly horrifying matter it is.

A lot of people do things like this. A lot of established writers, a lot of successful pros do this, and it needs to stop. If you’re going to write about rape, make sure you’re not just using it because you can, or to make your story darker, or to give the hero something to save the damsel from, or because it’s based on the middle ages where you’re pretty sure everyone was raped all the time. Respect the victims and respect the serious trauma that the incident represents. Trust me, the victims know. And they get reminded every time some writer decides that his villain is going to threaten the heroine with rape just because he had no other way to show who the bad guy was.

After Terraciano’s first mistake, he made a second mistake that made the first one even worse. He didn’t stand back and look at his work. He probably didn’t even ask someone else to look it over to make sure he wasn’t being offensive.

This is something you should always do. It becomes especially important when you’re dealing with potentially offensive subject matter. Like, you know, rape.

After you’ve written something, step back. Try to imagine your work from the eyes of someone who doesn’t know you, using your characters as stand-ins for any larger groups they represent. Is there a meaning in your writing that you didn’t intend? Is there any way to change it?

For example, if your heroine repeatedly needs your hero’s help to solve problems, you run the risk of looking sexist, because you’re portraying a woman who constantly needs a man’s help. (Terraciano does this too. How funny!) Do you have characters of color who reinforce stereotypes? Do you portray your characters with disabilities as helpless? You may have done these things without realizing; hell, I sure know I have! The important thing is to think about them, and to catch them before you wind up looking like a jerk. Ask for the help of a friend you trust if you don’t think you can be objective enough.

As a writer, you’re free to approach whatever topic you like.  But, when you choose to tackle delicate subjects, you need to treat them with respect. Remember that there are real people connected to these subjects, and that some of them may be your readers.

Practice: Look at another piece of literature critically. What is it saying about its characters? Do you feel that this is a respectful portrayal? If not, what do you think would improve it? Read up on the subject, paying close attention to works written by people with first-hand experience with the issues, such as racism, addressed in the work.