Tsunami Story

[dr_mabeuse]

I’ve pulled my entry into the Earth Day competition, a story called “Tsunami”. It’s about two survivors of the tidal wave that devastated the northwest Pacific rim on 12/26 of last year, one a local girl, the other a westerner on vacation, in a fictional village in Sri Lanka In the story, she saves the guy’s life, they do what they can to help the other survivors, and in their mutual grief they try to find solace in sex together.

I chose this theme because the big wave was certainly the biggest environmental event of 2005, and because I think it's important that we look at Earth Day as more than a time to just smell flowers and screw outdoors. The earth can be savage and devastating too. It's not all butterflies and waterfalls.

Apparently a lot of people were offended that an erotic story should involve this kind of terrible tragedy. That’s an artistic judgment, and I can live with that. What I couldn’t live with was the suggestion that I was using the tragedy as a device to garner reads and votes; that I was exploiting it for the sake of winning a contest.

The fact is, I’m ineligible to win anything in this contest and so that’s not an issue, although people who see the story don’t know that. That’s why I decided it was best to have it removed from the competition altogether.

Was it exploitation? I don’t really know. I mean, I wrote about the tsunami, and I wanted it to be read. Is that exploitation? If it hadn't had sex, would it still have been exploitation? Would it still have seemed inappro[riate?

Had the story been no more than a happy suck/fuck with the disaster as local color, I never would have written it in the first place. The theme I was trying to explore, though, was the redemptive power of sexual love and intimacy—a common theme in my stuff--and how people who’ve lost everything might turn to each other for comfort: sexual desire as one of the driving forces of life. The sex was graphic, but everything they do is an expression of what they feel, so it wasn’t exactly gratuitous, although apparently a few people saw it that way.

In any case, this has really bothered me. I asked Laurel to pull the story from the competition but publish it as a regular Erotic Couplings story, because I still think it’s a legitimate look at the healing power of sex. I just don;t want anyone to think that I'm exploiting the tragedy.

It raises all sorts of questions for me about how serious we can get in our porn, how current, whether writing about sex only has value when it titillates, and what constitutes “exploitation”.

Anyhow, this has been nothering me since the PC’s started coming in, and I just wanted to get some of it off my chest.

---dr.M.

 

[sophia jane]

I understand your decision, but I'm sad to hear it drM. I just finished reading your story, and I didn't see it as exploitation at all. I think you did portray what you intended- that we turn to sex in our grief, that we can use sex as more than just having a quick fuck. Just my 2 cents.

SJ

 

[DrFreud]

Zoot,
I haven't read the story or viewed the PCs yet but it seems to me that the problem lies within the reader and not yourself.
He/she was looking for some quick suck/fuck story and was disappointed that you just didn't give him/her that. That's where the acting all moral is coming from.

For the people who are really concerned about you exploiting the tsunami tragedy, you can put an excerpt of your post as a disclaimer at the beginning of the story. I'm sure that will clear up any confusion about your intentions.

I haven't read any story in more than 2 weeks but I'll definitely read yours.


Take care.

 

[impressive]

I noticed the PCs. FWIW, I didn't get an "exploitation" feel from the story at all. I thought it was very, very well presented.

 

[The_Fool]

You are not in the wrong here. I think this is once again a mistaken application of "political correctness." Something as real and vivid as what happened with the Tsunami disaster offers a backdrop that almost all can identify with as a true catastrophe. It provides an element of tragedy that all can identify with because it touched us all as opposed to seeing a car crash, a loved one die from illness, a plane crash, or any other tragedy that is less impacting in scope.

You have a message to send and you are printing in words that you hope everyone can read.

I noticed that you said you were getting notes that were accusatory in nature, did anyone stop to ask you why you selected that tragedy? Probably not. They instead were quick to cast judgement without understanding your thought process in selecting that part of recent history that you did. Or stopping to understand the message that you wished to deliver.

 

[rgraham666]

RVC'd Zoot.

That was a good one.

Don't worry about the naysayers. They remind me of Kevin Bacon's character in Animal House. "Don't panic! Everything is fine!"

The universe is often a cold and horrible place. People reach for what joy they can in such circumstances. You caught both very well.

 

[R. Richard]

I read the story Dr_M. Well done!

The thing that suprised me about the negative comments was that the people who made them were apparently able to read and write, more so as they are obviously unable to think.

 

[moonlight elf]

Earth Day definitely should be more than flowers and outdoors. I believe your decision in writing this story was not wrong. This was something that touched all of us. If I remember correctly 2 of our authors here had family and friends who were affected.

Those who question your choice to write about this tragedy don't understand the message you are trying to send. They are quick to judge and obviously don't think.

I've just read your story. Nicely Done!!

Moonlight

 

[lucky-E-leven]

I've not yet read the story, but I'm familiar with your writing and fairly comfortable in saying I would never deem anything you wrote as something without purpose or a well thought out motive. Nowhere in that list of motives is a simple want for attention at the cost of victims, fictional or not, of a real life tragedy.

Cloudy wrote a story for the Rainy Day competition that focused on the same principal of seeking solace in the arms of another that had experienced something frightening and devastating. I was moved by the perspective and appreciated the humanity of it, and yes, both characters got off. So what. I know it's a much smaller and more trivial scale, but doesn't the connection of 'make-up sex' after some sort of falling out fall into the same category? I guess I see it as a way of finding comfort and hope in the arms of another, no matter what transpires between them at the time or what prompted them to come together. I'm sure I'll still feel this way once I get a chance to give your story a read.

~lucky

 

[angelicminx]

Sweetheart, I haven't had the time to read it yet, though I have skimmed the first paragraph or two. If anyone can pull off a story of this calibre it's you. I did read the public comments and noticed the negative ones were all anonymous... imagine that! Obviously those people have never had personal experience with tragedy. Your story is bound to detail the hope that still remains for the living and the fact that, though death is tragic, LIFE still goes on. I'm proud that you have taken on such a challenge and I am looking forward to reading it.

 

[nushu2]

Had to face the same decision with a story about a cult. Ended up abandoning it after deciding that it trivialized actual victims. That wasn't the case with your story. Using the tsunami as a backdrop was no more than using, say WWII, where there have been quite a few semi-erotic novels.

If you really want to see the shit fly, write one about the WTC.

 

[minsue]

I screwed up and forgot that we have to enter our screen name now when leaving PCs so my comment is anon, but I thought it was very well written. A sensitive topic, handled with the care it deserves.

 

[Penelope Street]

Doc,

I don't recall hearing a lot of uproar about the love story in Titanic taking advantage of a tragedy, nor do I imagine anyone would object about a romance set during the destruction of Pompeii. I still get teary-eyed thinking about Anne Frank's first kiss. Disasters are undoubtedly valid settings for love scenes.

The only problem here may have been that this particular disaster was so recent. I don't think it's so much a matter of exploitation as the grieving process isn't over yet for so many. It's an emotional powederkeg and I can't say I'm surprised that some would feel the selection of this particular setting exhibited poor taste.

I admired that you chose to write about such a daunting subject, and I was not offended in any way. Many excellent pieces of writing evoke powerful reactions. Some of them are bound to be negative. Don't forget there's also a lot of powerful positive response too. And, yeah, probably a few shoulder shruggers who chose not to respond at all.

If a writer's words lack the power to reach readers, then all you have are shoulder shruggers; it's all but impossible to annoy anyone. Could well be that chafing a few readers is simply part of what a good writer does no matter what the topic- but doubly so if the topic is volatile. Not losing sleep over this sort of thing is probably easier said than done, but I do hope you manage.

Take Care,
Penny

 

[English Lady]

Dr M -I read you love and thought you were brave for posting something about a tragedy still fresh in folks minds and i thought you did it well and it was a well written piece it wasn't a regular sex scene dumped into the tsunami it was a real sounding situation with a very interesting approach to grief and comfort and relief.

I can understand you pulling it from the comp though it's sad you felt you had to!

 

[angela146]

Well, I have actually read the story *and* the public comments posted as of now.

The premise was fine. Tragedy is an opportunity for goodness and healing to work their power. People really do turn to each other in the aftermath of traumatic events, especially at the moment when the crisis is over. I liked your idea of writing about that essential element of humanity.

On the other hand, the story itself left me flat at the end. I was hoping for a more powerful and in-depth expression of sexual healing. What I felt from the resulution of the story was more escapist. It was as if the couple was getting drunk on sex in order to numb their feelings and disassociate from their pain.

To me, it would have been so much better if there had been a meeting of the souls, a sharing and empathy of the loss and saddness that they were feeling, *while* they were fucking.

I guess I needed it to be more in the spirit of lovemaking rather than lusting.

Of course, maybe they weren't ready for that yet. Maybe a few hours later they would have reached the point where they could cry together during sex and have a mutual katharsis. But in that case, the story would need a fifth act.

So, IMHO, a fine premise, well executed in the depth of the story up to the point of passion. Setting the story in the middle of the Tsunami was excelent, but having taken us there, I think it needed to give the reader a sexual experience that was as powerful as the setting.

I feel like I may be kicking you when you are down but the power of the first page and a half of the story is what drove me to it.

Hugs and kisses from a naked, large-breasted Italian woman…

 

[shereads]

Who else remembers "Life is Beautiful," the Roberto Benigni movie that won an Oscar a few years ago?

When I heard it was set in a concentration camp and was funny, I envisioned a sort of art-house Hogan's Heroes. I didn't want to see it. I didn't know Roberto Benigni from Fred Flintstone. But the reviews were too good to ignore.

For the first few minutes, there was a sense of expectant disapproval in the audience, as if we were about to see Hogan and Colonel Klink in a scene from Schindler's List. The first few laughs were more like stifled chuckles; nobody wanted to go first. We all seemed to relax and give in at the same time, too. "I'm laughing at a concentration camp movie, and it's okay." It was better than okay. It honored the victims of the Holocaust in a way that touched me more than the familiar depictions of cruelty and hopelessness.

I think Benigni understood the danger that the Holocaust will fade in human memory as the oldest of the survivors die, and that there's a limit to how many Schindler's Lists we're willing to endure. Those films are necessary, but there's a limited audience for movies that are so painful to watch, they promise nightmares. The comedy in "Life is Beautiful" worked like sugar sprinkled on medicine. It brought people back to hear the story again, told a new way: gently, with the promise of hope at the end. The sweetness of the film didn't make the evil any less repellant; it made us agree to remember, one more time.

I thought "Tsunami" was brilliant, life-affirming and entirely appropriate. I suspect that the anonymous negative commenters read the title, scanned for the sex scene, and missed the point because they weren't looking for one.

They cheated themselves by not reading the entire story. Like all the people who didn't see "Life is Beautiful" but were indignant that it had been made.

 

[wishfulthinking]

Oh, I didn't see the "click here to make a donation" link

Seriously, it was good to see someone tackle something a bit more than the usual "I fuck my sister in the outdoor pool" kind of entry [I lump mine in with this lot :d].

It is a very sensitive subject, and I would have thought this would have had the opposite effect to seemingly exploite one of the worst natural disasters of recent times.

Those looking for a quick lick, suck, fuck story would have avoided such a story, surely, given the story title? Apparently not, judging from your pcs.

Is it possible to switch voting off AND have your story remain on the competition story list?

 

[snooper]

There is nothing, in this world or out of it, about which you should be forbidden to write.

More people are raped in the world every day than the tsunami killed, yet nobody expects us not to write about rape.

I do agree with nushu2 that a story about sex in the aftermath of WTC would provoke a storm of complaints - that alone tempts me to write one.

Just one last irrelevant thought - it isn't "political correctness gone mad" - the proper phrase is "political correctness psychologically challenged".

 

[shereads]

I do agree with nushu2 that a story about sex in the aftermath of WTC would provoke a storm of complaints - that alone tempts me to write one.

Someone's marketing souvenir coins made from bits of metal harvested from the debris at Ground Zero. (What's next? Glass shards?)

Consider packaging your story with a free Genuine Satinette Presentation Case and a goldtone War on Terror Medallion, and break the cost down into 3 easy monthly payments of $29.95 each. It's the lack of a profit motive that makes stories offensive.

 

[Guest]

Someone's marketing souvenir coins made from bits of metal harvested from the debris at Ground Zero. (What's next? Glass shards?)

Consider packaging your story with a free Genuine Satinette Presentation Case and a goldtone War on Terror Medallion, and break the cost down into 3 easy monthly payments of $29.95 each. It's the lack of a profit motive that makes stories offensive.

Sher its all in the timing i suppose... its safe now to write about some kind of sex during the civil war...margret mitchell made it work.

Dr. M... havent read but will do so soon. im intrigued...i dont believe thats exploitation... however, had you written about having your wife euthanized, i might have to say it were. the people who 'know' you here, would never think you capable of doing such a thing, but i can understand where you're coming from and respect your decision. rock on wiff ya bad sef'

 

[dr_mabeuse]

The premise was fine. Tragedy is an opportunity for goodness and healing to work their power. People really do turn to each other in the aftermath of traumatic events, especially at the moment when the crisis is over. I liked your idea of writing about that essential element of humanity.

On the other hand, the story itself left me flat at the end. I was hoping for a more powerful and in-depth expression of sexual healing. What I felt from the resulution of the story was more escapist. It was as if the couple was getting drunk on sex in order to numb their feelings and disassociate from their pain.

To me, it would have been so much better if there had been a meeting of the souls, a sharing and empathy of the loss and saddness that they were feeling, *while* they were fucking.

Well, there was no way I was going to suggest that a quick fuck and some tears were going to make everything okay. Quite honestly, I had to end it with their search for comfort with each other. I seriously doubt that they found it.

A big part of my guilt over this is that I did whitewash the tragedy for the sake of my story. I set it in a mythical village were the loss of life and damage was really not as devastating as it was in other places, and my characters were both strangers to the place so that they wouldn't be totally incapacitated by grief. I was trying to show that, just as there are huge forces in nature, there are huge forces in human beings too, and in the midst of all this destruction, the human urge to live and create can be just as strong.

But really, to show these people coming to terms with this tragedy is really far beyond my abilities. There's nothing I could do as an author to put their lives back together again. I could show their immediate reaction, but that's as much as I would even presume to try.

I was hoping someone would pick up on the heroine's name too. Kali is the Hindu deity whose constant dance both destroys and creates the universe.

Well, in any case, at least I get a hug from a big-breasted naked Italian woman, so it didn't turn out all bad.

 

[elsol]

A good writer is going to write about the events in his/her world.

Even the so-called less serious genres, sci-fi and fantasy, are at the their best when the writer is using the form to discuss something else; for instance, the best robot stories dehumanize an issue allowing it to be discussed and considered more openly.

To expect something like the tsunami not to appear in someone's writing at some point is ludicrous.

Sincerely,
ElSol

 

[dreampilot79]

Dr...

Read it, voted a 5 (well deserved).

Not only was it a well written story, but also a very true look at human emotions in times of tragedy. Hardly exploitation, but rather a look at humanity that few can see or understand....unless they've been there. Sexual response in the middle of tragedy is something that society wants to deny, but it is real!

It was not a fuck and suck piece but a very real look at human reaction to the inconcievable.

I commend you for writing it and add my voice to those who think it belongs.

Since my own offerings were not in the least serious... and just using earth day as an excuse for a fuck n suck.... I feel honored to have even been in the presence of a very real work like yours!

I understand why you would feel the way you do, with the comments.. but!!! Your work is better than those who were offended!

 

[Colleen Thomas]

I’ve pulled my entry into the Earth Day competition, a story called “Tsunami”. It’s about two survivors of the tidal wave that devastated the northwest Pacific rim on 12/26 of last year, one a local girl, the other a westerner on vacation, in a fictional village in Sri Lanka In the story, she saves the guy’s life, they do what they can to help the other survivors, and in their mutual grief they try to find solace in sex together.

I chose this theme because the big wave was certainly the biggest environmental event of 2005, and because I think it's important that we look at Earth Day as more than a time to just smell flowers and screw outdoors. The earth can be savage and devastating too. It's not all butterflies and waterfalls.

Apparently a lot of people were offended that an erotic story should involve this kind of terrible tragedy. That’s an artistic judgment, and I can live with that. What I couldn’t live with was the suggestion that I was using the tragedy as a device to garner reads and votes; that I was exploiting it for the sake of winning a contest.

The fact is, I’m ineligible to win anything in this contest and so that’s not an issue, although people who see the story don’t know that. That’s why I decided it was best to have it removed from the competition altogether.

Was it exploitation? I don’t really know. I mean, I wrote about the tsunami, and I wanted it to be read. Is that exploitation? If it hadn't had sex, would it still have been exploitation? Would it still have seemed inappro[riate?

Had the story been no more than a happy suck/fuck with the disaster as local color, I never would have written it in the first place. The theme I was trying to explore, though, was the redemptive power of sexual love and intimacy—a common theme in my stuff--and how people who’ve lost everything might turn to each other for comfort: sexual desire as one of the driving forces of life. The sex was graphic, but everything they do is an expression of what they feel, so it wasn’t exactly gratuitous, although apparently a few people saw it that way.

In any case, this has really bothered me. I asked Laurel to pull the story from the competition but publish it as a regular Erotic Couplings story, because I still think it’s a legitimate look at the healing power of sex. I just don;t want anyone to think that I'm exploiting the tragedy.

It raises all sorts of questions for me about how serious we can get in our porn, how current, whether writing about sex only has value when it titillates, and what constitutes “exploitation”.

Anyhow, this has been nothering me since the PC’s started coming in, and I just wanted to get some of it off my chest.

---dr.M.

Writers wish to stir emotion. Our biggest hope is to have a reader "connect" with a story or character.

For my part, I think you are just getting caught in the public perception that erotica isn't really writing. The sentiment that erotic writers write erotica because they can't write in more "serious" genre. The perception that we have nothing to say of substance and should stick to fluff.

I am not as accomplished a writer as you are, by my own standards. I have tackled things like death, life, prejudice, even the conflict in Israel. You have the ability to say something on any subject you choose. The tsunami is no less important an event as anything else writers tacle and journalists win puliyzer's for their semi narrative stories of survival through a disaster.

I am sorry you chose to pull it from the competition. What you have to say about humanity in the face of a disaster is no less vital than what others have to say.

As to being exploitive, I don't see the least bit of merit in that accusation. IMHO, you simply have the courage to write a story with a backdrop that is tragic and immediate. I respect you for that courage and for the integrity it takes to post something you know may garner slings and arrows because you felt it had to be told.

 

[elsol]

For my part, I think you are just getting caught in the public perception that erotica isn't really writing. The sentiment that erotic writers write erotica because they can't write in more "serious" genre. The perception that we have nothing to say of substance and should stick to fluff.

Really... people think that?

So then do I need to put a disclaimer in my stories.

DISCLAIMER: Author has degrees in English, Philosophy, and Political Science: there is nothing fluffy about this stuff even when it is written strictly as fluff. Also please note; Author is Catholic so there is absolutely NO chance that God will be left out.

Actually that's not a bad signature.

Sincerely,
ElSol