Agree, except for dark romance since those often deal with kinks and kinks should have warnings. Some more than others for sure, but I have no problem with them being the standard for dark romance.
I’ve always found this perspective on trigger/warnings interesting, because to me, most of them aren’t too different from an ESRB or MPAA rating on video games/movies. Perhaps there’s a disconnect because literature’s managed to avoid the ratings boards newer forms of media adopted to avoid trouble from moral guardians, but I wouldn’t feel spoilered by a warning that went “This book contains scenes of graphic sexual violence/torture/animal abuse/intense gore and body horror. Reader discretion is advised.”
Agreed. After all, the original idea behind them was to avoid blindsiding the audience. Triggers and sensibilities are so varied no one can possibly account for all of them, but certain extremes are obvious. I wouldn’t tell someone they absolutely have to include a warning—your work, your choice—but it’s worth consideration in those circumstances.
I probably didn't make it clear enough that it wasn't my opinion. Part of the problem was that the story limit was few pages and the topic I chose needed more words, structure or different ending. And there was only one character and it could be that the mentor understood the story as told from the perspective of the supporter of the authoritorian regime (often depicted in stories like 1984). I often read that it's not necessary to have a message (what the author is trying to say) in a story but I feel like there still is (intentional or intentional) message in most writings, and most likely it didn't come through in the text I submitted or was understood as being in opposition to everything art etc represents.That sounds great and I would be fascinated to see what it was like. Hell, 1984 is in part about the bastardization of words. And sure, we all have 'taste limits', but I would typically expect those to be much, much worse then someone hating the written word. Did they think you were writing your own opinion?
That's an excellent point, and it's kind of funny that it took so long for a quasi-rating system to make it into literature. When I was a kid, I wasn't allowed to watch R rated movies, but my mother was an English teacher and let me read anything I wanted. One day, she wouldn't let me go see Alien 3 with the rest of my friends, so I started reading her the Beverly Marsh gangbang scene from Stephen King's IT. Then I pulled out some Heart of Darkness and some Maya Angelou, books that she had bought me, and said something like, hey, you should probably take my books away from me if you're worried about my fragile little mind. Needless to say, I got to see Alien 3, as regrettable as that movie was. I'm nearing 50 and she's nearing 80 and we still talk about that all the time.
My mom was upset enough that I read her romance novels (which were quite tame at the time). If she knew what was in the rest of the books I was reading she probably would have had a heart attack.
Yeah, my dad let me watch that one when I was about 12 and I had nightmares for years. Like, screaming every night. Two things resulted: it became my favorite movie of all time and I wasn't allowed to watch any more rated R movies. Probably a third thing, too, as I started writing shortly thereafter. It was like, we can fuck with people's heads with words and images? Cool!
Jaws is rated PG. So is Beastmaster, which is the corniest movie ever, but has child sacrifice, gore, and a fair amount of nudity (in the US anyway - apparently the nudity was cut for the UK?).
Right??!!. You beat me to it. How in the name of Tipper Gore is that rated PG?
I was definitely that dude while watching shit like that as a kid. As long as nobody does a close up of doing something to an eyeball I'm good. A needle or something goes near an eye? I'm out.
Well here's the really scary thing - the only reason Alien was rated R was because of the language. That's the world we grew up in. Tear people apart, run around naked, etc? All good. Say fuck 30 times? R
I bottled out of the Exorcist quite early on.
granted I was only a kid. Fine, a teenager! 
but it's as disturbing as shit, in my defence.
