I love Greek mythology. Greek mythology also happens to contain dark and intense themes and content. There's rape, incest, child death, cannibalism, war, murder and some other things. My issue is that people try to write "retellings" that basically just remove all that stuff because "it's backwards" and I guess icky for them. But then it isn't really a Greek mythology story anymore. And I hate that there are authors condemning readers for enjoying stories that have held up for thousands of years because they deem the content of said stories is too problematic, and enjoying them is considered a real-world endorsement of said dark things. It's literally writers censoring things by way of "retelling" and then calling their version the new "correct version"
yeah this is just sad. some people are so comfortable with censorship that they think things that mildly make them uncomfortable cannot exist and they don’t even realize that the actual and only harm here is them harassing other people and trying to normalize a fascist tool like censorship.
there have always been bad people who harm others. with or without fiction and art portraying these bad people and spreading awareness about what actually happens. and also art is supposed to disturb and make people uncomfortable. you (general you) are not actually helping any real-life victims by resorting to a fascist tool that only silences people.
I got an anon ask yesterday that says “censorship doesn’t protect anybody. censorship is a slippery slope that doesn’t stop at just one thing, and the only thing censorship does is silence people.” and I still think about that.
one more thing I’d like to say is that I completely agree with you that “removing these taboo things from a Greek mythology story means what’s left is not a Greek mythology story anymore”. it’s like saying “I like the Walking Dead, but I think zombies are disgusting and they should not be portrayed. so I will try to remove zombies from the Walking Dead and enjoy what’s left of the show!” it’s sad and ridiculous.
these people might as well consume a fairytale with only rainbow and sunshine if Greek mythology is not something they want, because no one forces them to consume things they don’t like. and they clearly don’t like Greek mythology if they want to remove things that make Greek mythology what it is.
*wanted to add that if someone wants to write a fanfic of a Greek mythology story where nothing bad happens then I’ll say go ahead, write whatever you want, however you want. it only becomes censorship when they try to erase the actual Greek mythology and replace it with their censored version, and also it’s harassment when they shame and condemn other people for enjoying things they don’t want them to enjoy.
