JAbida

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    Complexion of Artistic Expression.

    For decades, Salman Rushdie's novel; 'The Satanic Verses' which was published in 1988, had aroused controversy in the Islamic world moving the community to rebel against the author by arousing conflict, leading protests and even sending death threats towards the author. So, what sparked such a backlash? It's just a novel, right?

    Well, the Islamic community reacted to the apparent blasphemous nature of Rushdie's novel which employs the use of magical realism with contemporary events from the early years of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). The novel follows the storyline of how the Qur'an was revealed at first by the angel Jibreel (Gabriel in the novel). However, the controversy sprung from Rushdie imposing a false personality and characteristic upon such valued and respectable beings from the Islamic world. This immediately caught the attention of millions of Muslims around the world, even capturing the eyes of politicians, so much so that the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989, ordered the killing of Rushdie for creating such a blasphemous text. In Rushdie's defence, literary critics have argued that the text analyses the boundaries between fact and fiction. Rushdie himself argued that books, texts, religion, communities, beliefs and ideas can all be questioned if it means people are understanding the idea and theory better by building tolerance.

    Throughout time, artists and authors have brought about new ideas worth exploring, which increases the contentious nature of some of these novels. Even as recent as 2003, Dan Brown's 'The Da Vinci Code' had earned disapproval by Christians and Catholic leaders for its blasphemous material leading to the book being banned in countries such as India and Lebanon. Moving on to 2005, Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell's 'And Tango Makes Three' had been one of the most challenged/banned books for seven years. The book makes many assumptions about homosexuality generating controversial questions about what makes a family. In more recent years, E.L. James's 'Fifty Shades of Grey' was seen as 'poorly written' and 'semi-pornographic' , thus, leading it to become banned in 17 libraries in Florida in 2012.

    Looking into some of these texts, should it be allowed for literary texts or even other artistic forms to create controversy by disrespecting a belief, in order to question, challenge, debate and understand this belief better globally?

    • Actually, an effective comment. The other case study could be: (Jesus Christ Superstar which is a 1970 rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice). The writer who takes this topic can incorporate both events (novelistic and operatic) into the final analysis. As for the title, try: "Complexion of Artistic Expression." For what it's worth. – L:Freire 5 years ago
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    Drawing a fine line between freedom of speech and offence.

    What exactly is the definition of freedom of speech and at what point is it considered offensive? We all are passionate about one thing or another and have the free will to act upon it by saying what we believe in. So what if your point doesn't bode well with someone else's? To what extent can you express your opinion about a particular belief, topic or idea without causing an outrage, violence or backlash for holding your opinion?

    • I think this is a really interesting topic, but do you have particular examples of writing and literature concerned with freedom of speech (eg. Karl Popper and his paradox of tolerance) you want to include? What made you interested in this as a topic? – Elpis1988 5 years ago
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    • It may be helpful to contextualize the dichotomy of free speech and offensive speech (slander/libel/hate speech) within the legal framework of a given culture. In other words, try to talk about this two sided issue as it relates to the United States, or to another given country. That could give the potential author of this topic some structure to discuss the issue. Consider also the early legal cases in the U.S. over “free speech,” especially Alexander Hamilton’s roles therein. – James Polk 5 years ago
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    Latest Comments

    Thank you 🙂

    The Art of Adaptation: From Book to Film

    Beautiful article!

    Horror stories help build another layer of imagination, despite there being no moral lessons. Having access to all sorts of genres also helps bring into light children’s personal tastes, likes and dislikes of certain characters while also supporting them to generate opinions of their own. The only reason why I enjoyed reading horror stories was because my parents wouldn’t let me read them, so it motivated me to explore by myself (can’t blame me, I’m a curious child) I borrowed a few from the school library. Absolutely loved them!

    Scary Stories: In Defense of Horror for Children

    Without books, there is no imagination.

    Why Books Shouldn't Be Banned

    Personally, I’m not much of a fan of medieval literature. It’s dense and difficult to grasp hold of, not because of the narrative, but because the style of the language they’re written in. Nonetheless, great epic!

    Mastering Writing Skills Through Reviewing the Poem Beowulf