The Reading Vent & Rant Thread

[Aleron Ives]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I've always wondered why it is ok to show violence, but not ok to show human bodies in their natural state.

It depends where you live, of course. In Japan, nudity is more acceptable than violence.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

It depends where you live, of course. In Japan, nudity is more acceptable than violence.

Yes, I was talking mostly about the Western culture (Europe, North America, Australia et al.). Female nipples are not taboo in lots of cultures either. But every culture has some ridiculous norms incomprehensible to outsiders.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

It depends where you live, of course. In Japan, nudity is more acceptable than violence.

I don't know about that. In Japan, genitals cannot be shown. Yet they make movies like Tokyo Gore Police.

[maddz]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I don't know about that. In Japan, genitals cannot be shown. Yet they make movies like Tokyo Gore Police.

I think that was a post-war thing when they were revising the penal code and discovered there was no concept of pornography in Japan. It ended up being defined as depictions of genitalia. Hence the crew of housewives in Osaka carefully air-brushing Playboy centrefolds.

[Thasaidon]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I don't know about that. In Japan, genitals cannot be shown. Yet they make movies like Tokyo Gore Police.

I read that was introduced by the occupying US administration immediately after WW2. Or whatever it was called.

[Thasaidon]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I don't know about that. In Japan, genitals cannot be shown. Yet they make movies like Tokyo Gore Police.

I read that was introduced by the occupying US administration immediately after WW2. Or whatever it was called.

[hildea]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Oh, now that is just nonsense. It wasn't that long ago that we were all complaining about edits made to Roald Dahl and other dead authors and what a crime it was.

Now Disney, doing something right (for once) in leaving unedited episodes of The Muppet Show available to view are ruthlessly exploiting outdated views to the detriment of future generations.

Come on.

I wasn't among those complaining, I think it's perfectly fine to change old works (although I'd prefer to see a log of changes).

I loved the Muppet show and might even pay to watch it again. But Dinsey's disclaimer seems pretty insincere and hypocritical. (Yes, it's a big company, of course they don't care about anything but profits.) If they cared they could donate to some anti racist organization if the show is racist, or some anti sexism org if it was sexist, and so on. Just adding a disclaimer is better than nothing, but still pretty weak.

[JSWolf]

Another issue is where an eBook in one country costs a lot more then the same eBook in another country,

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Another issue is where an eBook in one country costs a lot more then the same eBook in another country,

In Australia, they still pay a disproportionate amount for video games despite 'it costs more to ship!' no longer being an excuse now that digital delivery is a thing.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Another issue is where an eBook in one country costs a lot more then the same eBook in another country,

All products everywhere are based on "what the market will bear", so UK often more expensive than USA (even taking into account VAT vs Sales tax) and India might be much cheaper, but depends on product.

Applies to software, Levi jeans, gadgets etc.

[kandwo]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Yes, I was talking mostly about the Western culture (Europe, North America, Australia et al.). Female nipples are not taboo in lots of cultures either. But every culture has some ridiculous norms incomprehensible to outsiders.

That depends on what you mean by "the West". Nudity is quite accepted in the northern parts - Scandinavia + Finland. And in Germany. As someone who's grown up in a culture with a relaxed attitude to nudity the American taboos surrounding nudity seem almost neurotic.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by kandwo

That depends on what you mean by "the West". Nudity is quite accepted in the northern parts - Scandinavia + Finland. And in Germany. As someone who's grown up in a culture with a relaxed attitude to nudity the American taboos surrounding nudity seem almost neurotic.

Of course there are regional differences, but they are relatively minor. I mean, generally you don't see women with bare breasts walking on a main street in any Western city; you don't usually see completely naked adult humans in programs and movies meant for children; and so on. (Or do you see those things on a daily basis? If so, that's news to me).

[issybird]

I think it's time to get the thread back on topic, i.e., reading/book rants specifically.

[ownedbycats]

When reading an omnibus, I like to take a break between books. Unfortunately this often leads to instances where I pick it back up and completely forget what was going on.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

When reading an omnibus, I like to take a break between books. Unfortunately this often leads to instances where I pick it back up and completely forget what was going on.

That has happened to me too, when there has been a long enough period between volumes. I don't always take a break, though; if it's a trilogy, I might just read it all from cover to cover. My longest omnibus is the Wheel of Time in 14 volumes, all of them real doorstoppers; I spent almost two years with that one, because I often read something else in between.