tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3902725340164986341.post3485819899162861473..comments2024-02-28T10:22:08.660+00:00Comments on Daddy Grognard: I need to talk about HowardDaddy Grognardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05559857164172090739noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3902725340164986341.post-7512152175089041962010-11-12T04:01:49.225+00:002010-11-12T04:01:49.225+00:00Another thing to keep in mind: although Lovecraft ...Another thing to keep in mind: although Lovecraft has a theme of miscegenation based on racist fears common at the time, he also has a theme of atavism based on shock at findings in evolution. Most people today pretty much accept evolution, but there's still a lot of mileage in fears about the buried bestial nature of humanity.Talysmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02162328521343832412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3902725340164986341.post-85225176250524776912010-11-11T16:49:42.410+00:002010-11-11T16:49:42.410+00:00I'm just going to repeat what so many others h...I'm just going to repeat what so many others have said. There seem to be things that correlate, socially, between the early part of the 20th century and the early part of the 21st. Kneejerk fear of socialism is back, race is still very much an issue in American politics and social life and the privileged do as they like while the rest of us cower in fear of losing our pay, our insurance Stefan Poaghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192911890556534923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3902725340164986341.post-71114887582982136382010-11-11T13:51:06.440+00:002010-11-11T13:51:06.440+00:00Great post!!! I think if you remove the social co...Great post!!! I think if you remove the social context of these themes the archtypes themselves still have merit and are important to CoC. "Under siege" and "bleakness" are fundamental feelings that can crop up at the edges of any civilization - somewhere out there may be unknown forces attempting to disrupt the society that you were born in. Maybe those forces are coming Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05449933184261945913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3902725340164986341.post-62571281991971810332010-11-11T13:35:46.231+00:002010-11-11T13:35:46.231+00:00I think if you were to simply leave out the elemen...I think if you were to simply leave out the elements of racial hatred/fear it wouldn't spoil the game. There is still plenty to fear in the world in terms of what is unknown/unpredictable. More terrifying than monsters or strange beings from outer space is the dark nature within humans themselves.<br /><br />"The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are Fran Terminiellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02506269178716477521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3902725340164986341.post-62631568869890082012010-11-11T09:30:32.395+00:002010-11-11T09:30:32.395+00:00As a European, I find the Tea Party far more horri...As a European, I find the Tea Party far more horrific than anything Lovecraft ever wrote.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3902725340164986341.post-9917673515026608192010-11-11T08:19:17.847+00:002010-11-11T08:19:17.847+00:00It seems to me that, for this exact reason, Lovecr...It seems to me that, for this exact reason, Lovecraft is read today as fantasy/science-fiction rather than horror.<br /><br />Perhaps members of the Tea Party would read it in the original spirit?anarchisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05546197561922726279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3902725340164986341.post-29810858922456258902010-11-11T03:23:35.147+00:002010-11-11T03:23:35.147+00:00I started to respond, but realized my thoughts are...I started to respond, but realized my thoughts are going to wind up long enough to fill two large posts. I've started with <a href="http://9and30kingdoms.blogspot.com/2010/11/types-of-horror.html" rel="nofollow">how to analyze the types of horror in a Lovecraft story</a>, which I hope isn't too dry and academic. I'll have to follow up with how to use that info to re-create the Talysmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02162328521343832412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3902725340164986341.post-90353806994946304862010-11-11T03:11:40.515+00:002010-11-11T03:11:40.515+00:00To a degree you're correct, but also consider ...To a degree you're correct, but also consider Mountains of Madness and Dunwich Horror. Dunwich Horror is a much closer fit to the CoC RPG as it is played than any of his other stories, and the themes you're talking about aren't there. Mountains of Madness also doesn't deal with Lovecraft's fears of civilizational rot due to foreign influences. I personally wouldn't Pathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11381628150285913370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3902725340164986341.post-87582894688352416892010-11-11T02:49:25.834+00:002010-11-11T02:49:25.834+00:00Wonderful post. I have a suggestion.
Incorporate ...Wonderful post. I have a suggestion.<br /><br />Incorporate "news" into the game. Newspapers in particular. And have those papers emphasize elements of the unknown. "Man murdered and left in pieces in dark alley, no suspects yet" or "entire expedition to newly discovered island found floating adrift, beheaded to the last man, no heads found" Stuff like that. Pontifexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01761338487255048337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3902725340164986341.post-72307883821698643622010-11-10T23:46:03.144+00:002010-11-10T23:46:03.144+00:00I'll gladly discard the more loathesome Lovecr...I'll gladly discard the more loathesome Lovecraft stories ("The Street", anyone? "Meduas's Coil"?) and observations, and keep the kind of horrors that can creep out anyone, not just hard-core racists. It's interesting to see liberal neo-Lovecraftians tackle questions of difference in modern Mythos tales, anyway.Roger G-Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08594440701279968693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3902725340164986341.post-69102120536871414362010-11-10T23:32:13.411+00:002010-11-10T23:32:13.411+00:00Interesting. This isn't something I'd cons...Interesting. This isn't something I'd considered before, but I'm going to have to think about it in depth.<br /><br />What I will say now is that the fears of Lovecraft's time may not be relevant nowadays, but there are other fears.<br /><br />Every day there's another story about some aspect of the oncoming environmental collapse. There's fear there, a fear that we might thekelvingreenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928260185408072124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3902725340164986341.post-8013503965553201752010-11-10T23:24:23.072+00:002010-11-10T23:24:23.072+00:00I think they can be analogized to a degree. Weste...I think they can be analogized to a degree. Western civilization is still perceived to be under siege by some segments of the population, not wholly without some supporting evidence.<br /><br />Religious fundamentally in both the West and elsewhere challenges rationality and the scientific worldview. Physics may challenge the very ideas of casuality--ironically making the universe completely Treyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04647628467658839351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3902725340164986341.post-4240569054876531582010-11-10T23:23:55.856+00:002010-11-10T23:23:55.856+00:00By weird happenstance, I happen to have posted bri...By weird happenstance, I happen to have posted briefly about Lovecraft moments ago.<br /><br />Any number of movements and debates in the US and Europe suggest that the perceived encroachment of "alien" elements on traditionally white Christian cultures is still very much a concern for many people who would describe themselves as being in the mainstream.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00155926145150934199noreply@blogger.com