#fictionvsreality

Another ramble by The Pop Culture Ramble

So I just watched Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning. Great stunts, cool explosions, Tom Cruise sprinting like he’s trying to outrun time itself — you know, the usual. But what caught my attention this time wasn’t Ethan Hunt or the IMF. It was Angela Bassett.

Angela. Damn. Bassett.

As the President of the United States. And she was convincing, commanding, and absolutely radiating that “leader of the free world” energy like she was born for it.

But it made me pause. Because it’s not the first time we’ve seen this fictional America — the one where a Black woman can hold the highest office in the land. Viola Davis did it in G20. Regina King has played roles commanding armies and justice. Even in Shonda Rhimes's TV empire, Black women are everything from fixers to presidents. Hollywood keeps pitching this dream of a future we never seem to arrive at in real life.

And it made me think of Kamala Harris.

She was right there. First Black Vice President. First woman Vice President. And for a moment, it felt like history was going to repeat itself — in the best way. First Black president? Check. Now the first Black woman president? The timeline almost made sense.

Until it didn’t.

Until America did what it does best: get scared of a mirror and break it.

Because let’s be honest — Kamala should’ve been the next logical step. She had the credentials. The momentum. The backing. But instead, we got the rerun nobody asked for: Donald Trump, again. TWICE. A man who’s currently on trial more than he’s on television. And yet, he gets re-elected while a capable Black woman gets sidelined like she’s asking for too much just by existing?

Make it make sense.

Actually, don’t. Because I know exactly what it is.

It’s misogynoir. That special brand of hatred reserved just for Black women — not just misogyny, not just racism, but the cursed cocktail of both. It’s why Kamala’s laugh became a talking point, why her confidence was called arrogance, why her every move was hyper-analyzed while white mediocrity is given chance after chance to burn the house down.

And yet, in movies, we keep seeing Black women as presidents, commanders, superheroes, warriors, gods. It’s like Hollywood knows something the electorate doesn’t — or refuses to admit. They create a fantasy where a Black woman can hold power because, deep down, they know the country will never let it happen for real. So they do it in fiction. Where it’s safe. Where it’s controlled.

But here’s my problem with that:

If the people consuming these stories don’t get the point — if they think it’s just “cool casting” or a diversity checkbox — then what’s the point of the fantasy?

The people voting for Trump don’t walk out of Mission Impossible thinking “Wow, maybe we should elect a woman like Angela Bassett’s character.” They either ignore it, mock it, or worse, see it as a threat to “their” America. They live in the same broken system as everyone else, but as long as their guy is in power, even if it burns down around them, they’ll roast marshmallows in the flames before they vote for someone like Kamala.

That’s not just fear. That’s willful destruction.

And yet, American cinema keeps pretending like we’re progressing. Like if we show it enough, it’ll manifest. But the truth? America doesn’t want to see itself for what it is. So it projects who it wants to be — even when the evidence says otherwise.

You can’t keep casting Black women as the leader of the free world when your real world would rather watch it crumble than let one actually lead.

Maybe that’s harsh. Maybe it’s too much.

But I’ve lived through Trump getting elected twice. I’ve watched how people flinched at the idea of President Hillary Clinton, and how they smirk at the mention of Kamala. I’ve seen how quickly America forgets the hope it once bought into with Obama, and how bitter it became when that dream proved too "disruptive" for the comfort of whiteness and patriarchy.

So I ask again: why does Hollywood keep selling a lie?

Or maybe — just maybe — they’re telling the truth through fiction. Maybe it’s the only place they can show an America that’s brave enough, evolved enough, just enough to let a Black woman lead. Maybe they’re not selling a lie — they’re showing the ghost of a possibility that died before it had a real shot.

But it still feels cruel.

Because some of us are sitting here, watching Angela Bassett be president, while knowing that Kamala Harris was right there… and the country looked at her and said, “Nah. We’ll take the chaos again instead.”

It’s not just disappointing.

It’s exhausting.

Anyway. That’s been another ramble from the PCR.

This question was asked on my Labyrinth facebook groups to which made me think

Why do I write dark Jareth? What draws me to write darker characters?  

I write dark or evil Jareth for no reason other than I enjoy diving into the darkness that lurks in my mind.   I enjoy pushing my own boundaries that come with writing difficult scenes. I want to see how far I can go before I am disgusted with myself or tell myself this is wrong why am I writing this.

That writing this dark character vs the victim of the story is ultimately therapy for me.  I have lived through years of abuse by a family member who my mother brought into my life. I know how it feels to be someone in a situation where you don’t realize what is happening until you leave the situation. Yes, I knew it was wrong but at the same time; it took me longer than it should have to realize how wrong the situation had been. It was a constant guilt trip cycle. We would fight because of something HE would do. I would storm off to my room. My mom would try to smooth things over. ‘He was just teasing/play Krissy,’.  I would bury everything trying to make it through high school so I could get out of the house.   Eventually, when I would be so lonely I would slink back, I would apologize for the messed up situation even when my mind screamed at me to not to.  Because I wanted to be loved and know he had my mother thinking I was overreacting and being a drama queen. I lost the one person who should have been on my side.

So on the flip side of writing a darker character, I always write in the perspective the victim. Drawing on those days where I was so terrified that an uncomfortable situation would turn into something of a nightmare.  How I think that if I didn’t fight him, that how easily it could have turned into a nightmare the more daring he became.

So yes writing these monsters, or cruel men are exhausting because I have to relive memories that aren’t the greatest, but writing the victim is also therapeutic. I know I am lucky. I got out without any scratches, just a lot of mental things to work through later on because I still remember what it was like to feels like wonder ‘If I didn’t kick him out of my room and fight him and yell and scream loud enough, that he could have finally have raped me? What if I forgot to secure my door while changing after having a shower, and he walked right in without knocking because he’s done it before.

Fiction vs Reality

The reality also is ironic because I do not like horror books or movies. I don’t enjoy Stephen King, and most horror I have read was Dracula. Other than that, I have read a lot  of VC Andrews and Anne Rice.    So pretty much I am a wimp when it comes to those sorts of things.

Granted I do enjoy Criminal Minds, and other crime shows. I do enjoy thriller movies. I love watching Stanley Kubrick movies and movies like Shutter Island.  I am a complex human being. But being a complex human being doesn’t make me a freak for writer dark stories.

In reality, I am 29, I work as a tailor/seamstress. I have a normal life, a normal partner in crime who sits around playing video games or train simulator most days. We do normal things like go to a grocery store and buy Porgs at Toy’s R US and or try to get his thirteen-year-old daughter to talk to us, which is a feat in itself. So please remember just because I write horror doesn’t mean I live in that sort of lifestyle or am attracted that lifestyle. I probably have the simplest, most vanilla lifestyle that you will ever come across. I have a house full of Doctor Who, Star Wars and unicorns. Life is Magical to me. I want to keep it that way.

Just because I write twisted and morbid storylines does not mean it is my life or that I condone it.  Also living this life, I know that not all stories are Happy Ending, I don’t want to just write happy endings.  They have their place in my stories but sometimes it just doesn’t work out.

At the end of the day, I know that a lot of men and women, boys and girls are not so lucky as I have been. So sometimes writing these heartbreaking situations reminds me that I am lucky to have been able to leave as I did and remove myself from a situation.

So that next time you want to ask someone why writing a dark character is appealing, remember it’s not all black and white.

It's perfectly understandable to be upset by triggering shit that somehow made it to you when you were in your safe space, but if you actively sought that shit out in places you knew was alright with it then it's more on you than the content creators. If it hurts you so much why the fuck are you intentionally looking for it then? You wouldn't have found it otherwise, just saying.

I do agree with some measures to protect and allow some things when it comes to fiction, but if you're too open or too closed minded about it then your argument starts looking immature.

That's how I never got on the "anti problematic fiction" or "pro problematic fiction".

It's strange cos I can be both for various reasons.

Like these examples:

Things I can agree with in pro fiction freedom:

It's not good to blame your actions on others due to you not comprehending something unreal objectively. If anything, people who feel influenced by something that is clearly morally wrong in a fictional setting, have a pre-existing issue with separating both things.

Things I CAN'T agree with fictional freedom:

"Fiction can't affect reality"... Um... Depending on the person consuming said fiction it can indeed affect their mind and perception of the subject. As I said, not everyone can distinguish both things and if they see it being normalized in fiction they could end up doing it out of personal morbid reasons or very thoughtless curiosity. In some cases fiction that played deeply on fear tactics have even caused mass hysteria in a violent manner. (Example: Jaws)

Yes, it does depend on how the consumers are affected by it but I do think creators do have some responsibility, at least when it comes to where they put their content and how they go about expressing it.

I don't agree with erasing fiction being the only way of prevention. If anything it could increase even more questionable behavior and people to seek this content with unhealthy trends elsewhere. But I do agree that how or where it's displayed could play a role on prevention or encouragement of toxic behavior. It's so easily avoidable if you take all factors and possibilities into mind before assuming things automatically.

Like the fact that I've been criticized for putting long disclaimers, warning people off my dark stories if they have issues with certain content (yeah I write fucked up shit) and once I was even bitched at for not posting my stuff in ff.net (a site with guidelines and a very high amount of minors that's too open for my tastes) and instead choosing sites with filters that is commonly known for such content (one site actually monitors for the sensitive ones intentionally going on there to start trouble with content creators since the site is a private one that needs certain requirements to be met before you even go inside).

Somehow me putting warnings and disclaimers makes me look "condescending" towards the freedom police when in reality I do such things because I acknowledge that there's people out there that can be easily influenced by things they read and want to try them themselves quite stupidly which can lead to tragedy. (Even non-dark content has lead to fucked up shit. Like a kid suffocating in a sandbox cos he was trying to pretend to be Gaara from Naruto or the teen boy that burned his privates cos he decided to have sex with a hot apple pie due to seeing it in American Pie.)

Common sense says you can't do this shit but there's always someone out there that will do something we all know isn't to be done because they saw it or read about it, this is something that can't be erased just because you can easily separate both things. Not everyone is like you so quit inserting your thoughts on the subject on everyone that brings this side up.

I have gone off on both sides. One side for intentionally looking for it to trigger themselves and find something to bitch about (do I need to bring up the example of complaining about being bitten by a dog because you ignored the warning sign?), and then the other for thinking everyone has to put up with it everywhere, including spaces in which people with different views are exposed to it.

You can't post a rape fic for a children's show on it's tag without warnings or nsfw tag and then expect everyone to respect you for it. I support you getting treated like shit for doing that actually. The same for the people posting drawn pedophilic ships in explicit sexual situations and then putting it openly in main fandom tags without any warnings whatsoever. Can't believe y'all expect people to not be upset by y'all putting this shit in their dashboards like that)

PS: I write those highly criticized disclaimers and tags because of those types of people... Besides that I've said it repeatedly that I don't want minors near my stories and some are even going to an IP monitored site that does do background checks for unwanted minors and trolls, ffs

I've been told that I can't say in a foreword that the dark abusive contents in my stories are not romantic because I'm apparently "kinkshaming". Apparently the only ones allowed to "interpret" my writing is my readers but I can't tell anyone exactly what I was thinking when I wrote it and saying "this is fucked up and I wrote it as fucked up. There's nothing cute about it".

Fictional freedom can be great but when you're being disrespectful and literally shoving it in the face in very public spaces of everyone and expecting them to "suck it up or stfu" you're kinda shitting on fictional freedom.

We have the freedom to like or hate things in fiction. We have the freedom to see or not see it. People aren't obligated to see our shit without warnings or filters, fully exposed in triggering content, and just turn the other cheek because you think it doesn't affect them because it doesn't affect you.

Also... As a CSA victim, I know trauma victims all have different ways of coping with trauma and I'm pretty grossed out that I see some survivors thinking that just cos they're okay with it in fiction that every other survivor has to be the same and then argue by erasing another survivor's trauma and intentionally triggering them.

For real... Not everyone is the same. I do have followers that DON'T like this shit even fictionally (shocker that they follow my dark writing self) but 1.) They don't go looking for it. 2.) They don't tell other people how to handle their trauma or police content. 3.) They're aware that not everyone handles it like they do.

So I can't be on board with EITHER side of the fiction whiners when it comes to this. Some of the ones that use it for coping do put down the ones that are upset by it while some of the ones that are upset by everything fictional that doesn't fit "healthy" content even stuff that's out of their sight (they just want it all to disappear) just call everyone gross and crazy.

Pretty sure that sassy dumbass that keeps vague posting about me treating them like a "ignorant child" for putting warnings on everything and giving forewords to help people keep shit separate and have a choice to stay and be mature about it or turn around and be chill, is seething about this post.

If you're so upset about my "condescending warnings" maybe you do not have the right state of mind to read stories such as mine. If you find a harmless reminder in the beginning of a story pointing out that this isn't healthy, romantic or sexy, then maybe it's you that has a problem separating fiction and reality.

It shouldn't be all that controversial to say this shit in the first place. If I say "rape is wrong" or "if you have this in real life call the police asap" and you throw a bitch fit about me stating the obvious then maybe you could... Er stay away from fiction if these facts are so upsetting for you.

This is just like the pro maps saying "fiction is not reality" but if you say something like "wanting to have sex with children is wrong" (which is true), it's the fucking apocalypse. Sorry but... If they like using the whole "fiction is not reality" to defend a pedophilic fictional pairing, then why the fuck are they so upset by a factual comment separating fiction from reality?

"Uwu it's not real!"

But if it where real then you deserve to be in prison just saying.

"Hold on right there!"

Holy fuck. Y'all can't use that argument when you support it being done in real life too. It's hypocritical.

Saying that having sex with a child is disgusting and a crime shouldn't be so upsetting if you're a law abiding citizen with morals in the first place. (And I never saw the appeal of children in sex scenes in fiction. I did write a CSA victim's perspective of their abuse and I triggered myself even and just vagued about the extent of the abuse than actually writing it out. I've been bitched out for doing that as well since some people are under the impression that all sexual content with children in fiction should be "sexy" instead of showing how genuinely disgusting and harmful it is for a child. Also somehow me writing how upset a rape victim is is "kinkshaming". There's no pleasing you people, lmao)

En fin:

I can write whatever I want and stay in my lane and respect spaces, while some of y'all stay the fuck outta my face. I don't care for SJW or anti SJW crap either. Keep me outta that bullshit cos I'm not the triggered bitch going to other people's blogs and correctly tagged posts to tell them what to do. I stay on my lane unlike your problematic stalking ass.

Also... Funny how you shut the fuck up once I made my blog dashboard only, you nasty ass stalker. If my posts upset you so damned much why in the fuck is your ass visiting my blog everyday to make a whiny ass post about me? Is your life so boring and empty that you have to cling to my private stuff to give your lame existence meaning?

Pathetic. I don't even have to put this in highly trafficked tags (I use my own private tag for this) to get you salty af as if I went personally to your house and took a shit on your bed.

Don't like it, don't look for it. You know having such lack of self-control with destructive impulses that affects other people is a warning sign that something is wrong with you and that you're a little too sensitive.

This is the last time I'll acknowledge your ass since I've got three stories to read and review and a collab I'm working on regarding horror ambience in drawn scenarios unlike your ass that only bitches about me treating you like a child cos you can't see the whole picture on every fucking thing I've said.

It's not only your "side" that's right if that's the only side you can see. Fuck off. 😪

"Ohhh so only you can write dark stuff while treating us like we're dumb??"

Lmao when you act this fucking ignorant about it cos you're a self-centered ass can you blame me for treating you the way I do?