How to keep violence G-rated?

[ashbannerman]

Hello everyone. Not sure if I should post this but I’ll give it a whirl.

So a little background: I’m writing a story called: “Joka the Savage and the Deep Void” which is a story I’m for the Rainfurrest 2015 Anthology.
I started to run into some snags with the main character as I began to write her. The character in the story needs to devour other beings to survive and I’m trying to find a way to keep it G-rated without going to far. I considered just showing subtle signs and then have it cut away but I’m not sure that would work. I’m still unsure how to deal with it but then I started to realize something.

At first I was just going to ask advice on how to deal with this since I’m having a tough time. Then I figured that this is probably an important topic in general. So my question is this: “When does violence go too far?”

So what do you guys think? How do we depict something that is apart of life but show it in away that can be presented to all audiences? Please let me know if you also have ideas on how to get around the use of violence.

[Rabbit]

I’d consider either tasteful scene cuts before eating, with it clear that it’s about to happen but not shown happening on-screen, or else just a complete lack of graphicness. Like… “Then she ate the mouse” instead of, say, “First she ripped the right forelimb clean out of the bloody little corpse. It popped out of the shoulder-socket with an audible, appetizing snap…”

[ashbannerman]

I’d consider either tasteful scene cuts before eating, with it clear that it’s about to happen but not shown happening on-screen, or else just a complete lack of graphicness. Like… “Then she ate the mouse” instead of, say, “First she ripped the right forelimb clean out of the bloody little corpse. It popped out of the shoulder-socket with an audible, appetizing snap…”

You basically said exactly what I was saying about it. I would like to hear others opinions on it as well but you basically had the same idea, either “down-play it” or “cut away”. I would like to see if others have the same idea but I’m surprised someone thought the same thing.

[Munchkin]

Considering how violent some of the stories were for Furtual Horizons (the 2014 antho), I don’t think you have too much to worry about >.> Most of the stories had folks dying in creative ways. Unless they changed the guidelines for this year.

[Ocean]

I’d note that the RF anthology has a rating up to PG which is where your basic family adventure movies tend to situate themselves these days. You’ll notice that a lot of those have large action scenes, wars, people fighting people or creatures, and people even die. These are generally seen with LITTLE TO NO BLOOD, NO GORE, and NO DISMEMBERMENT. They’ll have some bruises, maybe some cuts, a little bit of battle damage, but nothing more than say… falling down the stairs would do to someone. If someone dies, they’re shown limp and their eyes are closed (are the main character will close them for dramatic effect)

I’ve found a key is to show character reactions to damage, but forgo showing the actual damage itself. Hunching over, coughing, clutching hurt body parts: these things will show damage without actually describing the damage.

In your case, if people are being devoured, that concept already isn’t looking G. Moving to the PG sense, you would want cut always, maybe some sounds or a small detail about licking lips or cleaning teeth. I should also note, you can just write it R rated, write the details you want, and submit it to the adult anthology. The adult anthology isn’t just for erotica as far as I know.

[Munchkin]

I’d note that the RF anthology has a rating up to PG

Rainfurrest 2015 Anthology Invitation

Rating: G to PG-13 for the regular Anthology and R to X for the Adult Anthology (the adult Anthology will only be published if there is enough interest shown by authors to allow us to go forward with the project.)

FH was technically rated PG-13 and there was plenty of blood, death, as well as some dismemberment. Thinking back though, not too much went into heavy detail. It just felt like it did what with how the stories were written. So much the mind’s eye can accomplish when you ellude to enough, give it enough material to work with and fill in the blanks with.

[Voice]

I’d note that the RF anthology has a rating up to PG

Rainfurrest 2015 Anthology Invitation

Rating: G to PG-13 for the regular Anthology and R to X for the Adult Anthology (the adult Anthology will only be published if there is enough interest shown by authors to allow us to go forward with the project.)

FH was technically rated PG-13 and there was plenty of blood, death, as well as some dismemberment. Thinking back though, not too much went into heavy detail. It just felt like it did what with how the stories were written. So much the mind’s eye can accomplish when you ellude to enough, give it enough material to work with and fill in the blanks with.

Ocean and I have talked at length about how some of the stories in FH are above a PG-13 rating. Oddly it had to do with sexual organs than it did with violence.

[Munchkin]

I’d note that the RF anthology has a rating up to PG

Rainfurrest 2015 Anthology Invitation

Rating: G to PG-13 for the regular Anthology and R to X for the Adult Anthology (the adult Anthology will only be published if there is enough interest shown by authors to allow us to go forward with the project.)

FH was technically rated PG-13 and there was plenty of blood, death, as well as some dismemberment. Thinking back though, not too much went into heavy detail. It just felt like it did what with how the stories were written. So much the mind’s eye can accomplish when you ellude to enough, give it enough material to work with and fill in the blanks with.

Ocean and I have talked at length about how some of the stories in FH are above a PG-13 rating. Oddly it had to do with sexual organs than it did with violence.

.< I know exactly what you’re talking about. I was shocked that language was allowed through, honestly. Had som major headdesk moments with that.

[Georgesquares]

Also consider that you can have off-screen violence. The imagination can sometimes be more devastating than a shown scene. Pretty much all of Greek tragedy’s violence took place off screen-- best known example being when Oedipus blinded himself.

[threetails]

Cut it off just as the predator opens their mouth to take the first bite and the prey realizes it’s too late to save themselves.

[ashbannerman]

In your case, if people are being devoured, that concept already isn’t looking G.

I couldn’t disagree with you any more and I’ll explain why I don’t agree with that.

(spoilers below though I’m assuming most have watched it)

If you recall in the Lion King, there is a scene where the hyenas go and actually kill Scar after he fell off of Pride Rock. Instead of showing it directly, you just see a shadow kind of elide with the shadows of the hyenas. That movie is a G-rated and it’s a bit more graphic then I’d shown. The reason I bring it up is because Lion King (among other things) inspired me to write the story. So if Lion King can show a lion getting eaten I think it’s safe to say that the same can be done for other stories. That’s just me though, I’m not sure. Again this is the first time I’ve written a story where minimum violence became a problem.

(spoilers end here)

Not to mention, isn’t that something that happens between animals on a daily basis? I mean even scenes in other Disney movies (as well as Don Bluth movies) where characters die some pretty gruesome fates however I’ve noticed that they never show it fully and openly. There’s always to vagueness to the characters deaths (with some notable exceptions). So death is okay but only when it’s not shown in excruciating detail. Maybe I’m putting a bit too much thought into it but it’s something that I’ve been thinking about a lot.

Now that’s not to say that I wouldn’t cave in if the editor told me it’s not G. I’m aware that the definition of “General Audience” is a bit, vague and heavily subjective. So I wouldn’t be surprised if the editor asked it to be removed in order to maintain the G-rating. I was curious if there was a way around it although a lot of people agree that just cutting away would be better idea or better yet make a sort of passing note to it. So while I would like to include it as it ties in very much with the theme of the story and such, I wouldn’t be too particularly heart-broken if it had to be removed. I would be upset but just not extremely.

Anyways thank you all for your help. I suppose there isn’t much else to discuss on the topic but if anyone has any other ideas then please share them. I do want a more comprehensive discussion on the topic since it is important to figure out where the line in the sand is and when and when not to cross it. I hope this helped others who were looking into the same topic as I was. I know I found it particularly helpful for my work. Again, thank you all for the discussion.