tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post6217259621666482472..comments2024-03-20T19:40:58.078-05:00Comments on The OF Blog: Death thoughtsLarry Nolenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-32776327228439593712008-11-05T07:37:00.000-06:002008-11-05T07:37:00.000-06:00ah, larry, you make me feel my ignorance--that's a...ah, larry, you make me feel my ignorance--that's a compliment, it's part of why i come back :). because i have no idea what reference you are making. but to take off from the explanation of it being "a way to explain the unexplainable": <BR/><BR/>i think that is one of the (but certainly not the only) main purposes of religion. so to that end, you could say that every religious ritual has an element of explaining the unexplainable to it. but each ritual also has a goal unto itself, and for the death rituals that seems to go with what barbara was saying about closure, of acknowledging that wherever the soul has gone, it is no longer here in the same way it was before. <BR/><BR/>i was just trying to say that in my opinion it would be disingenuous for a writer to ignore the importance of religion--and one of its most important rituals, i.e., the death ritual--in a fictional society. Becaus to me the main point of speculative fiction is to explore the idea of "what if" people like us were in X situation that is not our own. so if you ignore one of the baselines of society that make us people like us, then you defeat yourself before you start. <BR/><BR/>but (for me, at least) it's also really boring and speaks of a lack of thought and/or creativity to read rituals that are exactly like rituals we have in our world. if you're asking what if already...why not also ask "what if they did THIS instead?" <BR/><BR/>maybe that made better sense. and maybe it was just a really long way of agreeing with your question. :)Elenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09285405662294874917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-825116306704783512008-11-04T17:47:00.000-06:002008-11-04T17:47:00.000-06:00Elena,So would you pretty much agree with the noti...Elena,<BR/><BR/>So would you pretty much agree with the notion that fictionalized rituals could be closely akin to the real-world "cargo cults" that sprung up in Pacific Islander societies in the 19th and 20th centuries as a way to rationalize that which they did not fully grasp?<BR/><BR/>Barbara,<BR/><BR/>I agree. There is something about such rituals that means so much in so many different ways to people. I'd love it if there'd be a wake when I die, for example, but for another it might be totally different but still meaningful. For myself, the hope found in Christian/Catholic rituals is extremely meaningful, but that's just me speaking, I suppose...Larry Nolenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-71583266501558221972008-11-04T09:05:00.000-06:002008-11-04T09:05:00.000-06:00Death rituals are an important expression to peopl...Death rituals are an important expression to people with an assocation of the corpse. For some it is a way of saying good-bye, and others an acknowledgment that the spark or soul has left and gone elsewhere.<BR/><BR/>With respect to writing about death I would think the author's personal experience and attitude about death, including the rituals surrounding it will have a bearing on the narrative.<BR/><BR/>The Christian aspect on the rituals is that there is life after death, and we, the living ought not fear that particular transformation.Barbara Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00610140328527165017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-88632640652426808982008-11-04T07:43:00.000-06:002008-11-04T07:43:00.000-06:00To address the question at the end: I think in spe...To address the question at the end: I think in spec. fiction, especially fantasy, the death rituals absolutely cannot be ignored or glossed over. The same with religion in general. Regardless of how someone's "modern" (read: atheistic/agnostic/non-defined spirituality) might render a specific religion into mythology or ridiculous antiquity, the fact remains that religion in general has been and remains to be a terribly important part of human life. Every culture, every time. And one of the biggest aspects of all the major religions, at least, has been demystifying death.<BR/><BR/>For my money, I think the better rituals in fiction are original, or an "evolution," if you will, of something that exists/existed on earth but isn't a direct lift. Taking something and shifting it in an equivalent manner to the pagan rituals being painted with Catholic saints, for example. With SF rather than fantasy I think religious/spiritual faith *can* be taken out as a projection of the current trend toward science at the expense of religion. <BR/><BR/>I guess how much any given story draws on the rituals the writer creates can vary quite a lot; some stories might not delve into death at all. I don't like an in-depth discussion of the religion just to throw in everything the writer thought about. I prefer hints or just a sentence or two in summary unless the ritual/faith is central to the story.Elenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09285405662294874917noreply@blogger.com