I'm in favor of trigger warnings on fanfic, but usually because I use them to pick out the stories I want to read. It's like a tagging system! Very handy.
Like lm, I basically stopped watching movies after the death of someone I loved, in my case because he was killed in the World Trade Center collapse and for a while it seemed like every-fucking-body was making movies with subtle or overt references to 9/11. (I Am Legend gave me actual flashbacks. I walked out while I was still capable of walking.) I didn't avoid the fact of Liam's death, but I avoided being made to relive it. Your choice--your need--to confront your tragedy worked for you, but everyone grieves differently.
That said, the thing about movies and books and stories is that the definition of "good" almost always comes with a considerable component of "punches you in the gut". So nothing is safe, really, as hard as that is for PTSD'd people to cope with sometimes. Maybe that's the truth we all have to come to terms with eventually. People die. Flashbacks happen. Nothing is safe. We just have to soldier on through the terrifying world of emotionally manipulative media, because if it didn't manipulate our emotions, it wouldn't be worth the price of admission.
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Date: 2011-07-13 06:27 pm (UTC)Like
That said, the thing about movies and books and stories is that the definition of "good" almost always comes with a considerable component of "punches you in the gut". So nothing is safe, really, as hard as that is for PTSD'd people to cope with sometimes. Maybe that's the truth we all have to come to terms with eventually. People die. Flashbacks happen. Nothing is safe. We just have to soldier on through the terrifying world of emotionally manipulative media, because if it didn't manipulate our emotions, it wouldn't be worth the price of admission.