On the importance of Criticism
I debated for a week if I should write this blog. Whenever you talk about your own critics I think it's very hard to not come off as needy and combative. I will do my best.
First, I would like to say that I have no problem with critics. I enjoy reading emails from fans as well as detractors. I have no problem with someone hating one of my books because you simply aren't going to please everyone, and it's madness to even try. Furthermore, if they took the time to email you then you must have really affected them. Of course, I prefer to affect someone in a positive way rather than a negative one, but I'll take whatever I can get.
Recently, though, I received an email from a critic that I simply have to respond to. In the letter he talked about the gratuitous amount of violence in Beneath the Mask of Sanity and how awful the book was because of it. He then (and this is the impetus of this blog post) compared Beneath the Mask of Sanity to the 1978 film "I Spit on Your Grave".
For those of you who have never seen this film (count yourselves lucky) I can summarize it very quickly for you. The first hour of the film is a woman getting repeatedly raped by several men. Over and over again. The second hour of the movie is the same woman tracking down and murdering each of the men in gruesome ways.
In my opinion, I Spit on Your Grave is one of the worst films ever made. There are no redeeming qualities in the movie whatsoever. The filmmaker tries to shoehorn the message that the idea that "women are asking for it" because they dress provocatively is wrong (and it is) but there is no coherent message at all and it's barely touched upon.
No, the only reason for, I Spit On Your Grave, is to show as many horrible and offensive images as possible in the running time of a motion picture.
I hear some of you saying, "But there's a lot of horrible images in Beneath the Mask of Sanity. Why is that different?"
Well (and again, this is my opinion) I believe that almost nothing is off limits as long as there is a point.
What is the point of Beneath the Mask of Sanity? Well, for one, Bentley Grimes is vicious and sadistic for two reasons. One, because I felt, at the time, that too often in the media fictional (and sometimes real) serial killers were glorified to the point of legend. In fiction they were often treated as the ultimate "bad boy" character. Someone with redeeming qualities that was appealing because of a roguish attitude.
This is not reality. In fact, it can be damaging to think so. Violent killers are not romantic, they are not misunderstood heroes. They are dangerous and psychotic individuals that don't care about anything but themselves. I wanted to write a book with a little more truth in it and a little less romanticism.
The second reason is that I did a lot of research for the book. I poured over case studies of serial killers, I read articles about them, I even read notes that the killers themselves had penned. Some of the things I read about were for more disturbing than my book. For instance, if you enjoy sleeping well, don't look up Albert Fish and the letter he wrote to the parents of one of his victims.
But Beneath the Mask of Sanity was about more than just showing a truer look at serial killers. It was about how our world looked through the eyes of that serial killer. As an outsider to society, Bentley had a unique perspective on things. He talked about everything from violence in the media to religion. There are a lot of issues in the book and I believe the violent nature of Bentley's crimes all underscore the themes.
I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea, I don't mind critics at all. I didn't like my book being compared to a piece of trash like, I Spit on Your Grave, but I don't hate critics or even the man you emailed me.
I am happy that I've gotten so many more emails from people who loved the book, because ultimately I want you to think, but I also want to entertain you. To make you happy for a little while.
But if you read my book and you hated it, that's okay too. You can even write me and I will respond to you. If you have reasons that you didn't like the book I think that's a good thing. One of the best things really. Because it shows you're thinking and I have always been pro-think.
Thank you all for continuing to read and continuing to reach out. I look forward to hearing from more of the you in the future.
First, I would like to say that I have no problem with critics. I enjoy reading emails from fans as well as detractors. I have no problem with someone hating one of my books because you simply aren't going to please everyone, and it's madness to even try. Furthermore, if they took the time to email you then you must have really affected them. Of course, I prefer to affect someone in a positive way rather than a negative one, but I'll take whatever I can get.
Recently, though, I received an email from a critic that I simply have to respond to. In the letter he talked about the gratuitous amount of violence in Beneath the Mask of Sanity and how awful the book was because of it. He then (and this is the impetus of this blog post) compared Beneath the Mask of Sanity to the 1978 film "I Spit on Your Grave".
For those of you who have never seen this film (count yourselves lucky) I can summarize it very quickly for you. The first hour of the film is a woman getting repeatedly raped by several men. Over and over again. The second hour of the movie is the same woman tracking down and murdering each of the men in gruesome ways.
In my opinion, I Spit on Your Grave is one of the worst films ever made. There are no redeeming qualities in the movie whatsoever. The filmmaker tries to shoehorn the message that the idea that "women are asking for it" because they dress provocatively is wrong (and it is) but there is no coherent message at all and it's barely touched upon.
No, the only reason for, I Spit On Your Grave, is to show as many horrible and offensive images as possible in the running time of a motion picture.
I hear some of you saying, "But there's a lot of horrible images in Beneath the Mask of Sanity. Why is that different?"
Well (and again, this is my opinion) I believe that almost nothing is off limits as long as there is a point.
What is the point of Beneath the Mask of Sanity? Well, for one, Bentley Grimes is vicious and sadistic for two reasons. One, because I felt, at the time, that too often in the media fictional (and sometimes real) serial killers were glorified to the point of legend. In fiction they were often treated as the ultimate "bad boy" character. Someone with redeeming qualities that was appealing because of a roguish attitude.
This is not reality. In fact, it can be damaging to think so. Violent killers are not romantic, they are not misunderstood heroes. They are dangerous and psychotic individuals that don't care about anything but themselves. I wanted to write a book with a little more truth in it and a little less romanticism.
The second reason is that I did a lot of research for the book. I poured over case studies of serial killers, I read articles about them, I even read notes that the killers themselves had penned. Some of the things I read about were for more disturbing than my book. For instance, if you enjoy sleeping well, don't look up Albert Fish and the letter he wrote to the parents of one of his victims.
But Beneath the Mask of Sanity was about more than just showing a truer look at serial killers. It was about how our world looked through the eyes of that serial killer. As an outsider to society, Bentley had a unique perspective on things. He talked about everything from violence in the media to religion. There are a lot of issues in the book and I believe the violent nature of Bentley's crimes all underscore the themes.
I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea, I don't mind critics at all. I didn't like my book being compared to a piece of trash like, I Spit on Your Grave, but I don't hate critics or even the man you emailed me.
I am happy that I've gotten so many more emails from people who loved the book, because ultimately I want you to think, but I also want to entertain you. To make you happy for a little while.
But if you read my book and you hated it, that's okay too. You can even write me and I will respond to you. If you have reasons that you didn't like the book I think that's a good thing. One of the best things really. Because it shows you're thinking and I have always been pro-think.
Thank you all for continuing to read and continuing to reach out. I look forward to hearing from more of the you in the future.
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