I’ve seen/experienced my share of bad and really bad books and movies but those aren’t the ones that fall into the category that I think addresses Ann’s question.
When I was very little I happened to see “13 Ghosts” on television. I had nightmares and problems sleeping for more than 6 months. I look at that movie now and I laugh, but that was not my reaction when I was only 7 years old.
“Of Mice and Men” left me quite depressed for several days after I finished it. I had a similar experience to “The Grapes of Wrath.” In both cases I had managed to “connect” with the characters and the circumstances left me so disturbed that there was an actual physical impact. I lost my appetite and had trouble sleeping.
So, for me it’s not about disliking a book or a movie. In fact it’s quite the contrary. A really bad book or movie has no impact other than my feeling like it was a waste of my time or money. To have any impact, the work has to be such that I can’t just dismiss it as being a waste of time. The experience has to be powerful enough to establish an emotional connection to have any real impact. Once that connection is made, I am wide open. Over the years I have run into this a few times.
That is the danger I risk here in the LnC fandom. I have an emotional investment in these characters, even though they are fictional. That means that due to the quirky nature of my mental/emotional system, I have to be careful about what I approach. Since I have been reading LnC fiction, there have been a few instances where I have been upset enough by the story to have a noticeable impact. On two occasions, the impact was strong enough to affect appetite and sleep. On one recent occasion the impact was such that I didn’t sleep at all the first night and was still in a state of severe depression several days later. (Enough that my wife was worried about me.)
So, I suspect that different people have vastly different reactions and tolerances. As I said above, I’ve never been bothered at all (as an adult) by a bad movie or written work. But the right (or in my case, perhaps I should say wrong) experience with a "good" work will have a real and profound impact.
Bob
