Creative Conundrum

[rnrr68]

I have something to say that i hope will turn into a discussion and maybe a debate but first off i mean no disrespect or offense to anyone, i just have to get something off of my chest.
Second, i love the site and all of the creativity that goes into the sets, the stories, the customs, the builds, all of it, i am a mega construx fanatic and i have dozens of sets and hundreds of the figures...i have about 97 zombies in just one tupperware box.
Third, i understand that the main gallery is an all-ages place to share our stories and our creations for all to share and enjoy, i get that i do but therein lies my frustration. I am 51 and i am having trouble with the rules and guidelines that are in place. No i do not object to them nor do i want them to go away, but hear me out first before you stone me.
We have a line of sets, vehicles, builds, and whatnot that seem to glorify something that we are not allowed to showcase no show in our photos: violence.
I'm not talking full blown dismemberment, or arms being cut off in graphic detail, but if that's your thing then so be it :)
I'm talking about the licenses that are represented are rather adult or mature in nature and we're not allowed to touch upon that.
Call of duty is a franchise that represents war, violence, oppression, death, injury, and some rather touchy subjects that we may or may not want to confront in our everyday lives but in the fantasy of plastic figures it's ok to have them as a playground of sorts to show off our imagination.
The same goes for some of the other franchices that seem to follow a theme that we're not allowed to show or showcase: Aliens, The Terminator, Halo, Assassins Creed, soon to the the Predator ( i hope...i love the predator universe), heck we even have zombies and are getting Game of Thrones...i don't watch the show but it seems to glorify a LOT of themes that are in no way allowable in the gallery.
I have no problem with rules but some of the ideas that i have concerning some of the franchises are not going to be allowed in the gallery, i'm not talking Quentin Tarantino language, or gore reminiscent of the Faces of Death videos that existed at one time, anyone remember those?
I would just like to show off a little maturity now and again, sometimes a little violence doesn't hurt because after all these are little plastic people we're talking about here right?
Maybe a separate section of the gallery showcasing themes that are not all-ages, something that you would have age verification to get into and see, again i'm not saying strip clubs featuring zombies and predators, but something a little more gritty, something with a little more drama and maybe some more meat on the bones if you understand what i'm saying.
Fourth or Fifth...i don't know i lost count....i guess i'm just getting frustrated with what i can and can't show in the gallery, maybe it's just me and i just wasted time putting this up here and wasted peoples time that stopped to read this, sorry to bore you if i did.
Please sound off on this if you want to, be gentle, i'm just trying to justify to myself why i should continue to create stories that i must really, really censor myself on.
Thanks for reading this and let the hate flow if you must.

[basicusername]

I agree with this, especially because I tried to have a comic like a lot of other memebers. It was going to be a bit more violent than was probably allowed but I had planned to do so further down the story. Looking back it was deffinitly not gonna work. This would also allow a LOT more freedom for stopmotions that are more serious

[rnrr68]

i know, i had a great snake plissken vs aliens story but the chapter i posted was not put up because i showed plastic monsters getting shot by make-believe plastic guns...i mean come on, let us have a section that allows this stuff without having all of our effort go to waste.
Thank you for sharing my idea.

[NatoGreavesy]

It can be frustrating. I've ranted about it in the past before. But you'd be surprised what you can still get through, so long as you're tactful about it. There are plenty of ways to depict violence, and acknowledge mature themes, without breaching the boundaries of moderation.

[81Ceta_Deta]

I mean, i agree with this to some extent. I think people have said this before, but there should be a Viewer Discretion picture or a title like that that can let you get a bit gritty .

I mean, some of my writing is gritty.

[Dieselgirl8]

I see where your coming from with this and I agree. But it might be some legal thing with the guidelines. Or they are just worried about someone going too all out like you said with the dismemberment and stuff. (Because I would probably do that XD)

[Spartanz19]

If they ever allowed gore, the first thing I’d do is separate a figure at the hips and throw a bunch of spaghetti in there XD

[rnrr68]

I appreciate all of the feedback, maybe someone will take notice and maybe put up something to allow a little more maturity to be showcased, lot of good ideas here people.

[LishaThorne]

I have sort of avoided the forums lately but this post really took me in cause I have censored myself a lot in my comic. I am not complaining, because like I say plenty of times, its their sandbox they let us play in. I also think there is a trouble of slippery slope issue. If you allow one thing why not the other argument. Game of Throne is extremely R rated with a lot of nudity and violence. To use your post, why would someone getting hacked in half be more acceptable then a strip club. Where would the new hypothetical line be if they were to change it?

I have posted my not safe for mega site comic on another platform dedicated to darker themes in art, but I do not think anyone even looked at it because it was not hand drawn or CG art. There is no other place to tell these stories I have found.

I originally had a dragon eat a warrior but felt it would not go through so he spit her out. Most of my comics have a lot of swords and no slashes. I have gotten around this thinking of those old WW2 films where someone would get shot with a machine gun and just fall over. Sometimes it really feels like it does not work and the comic falls short.

I really doubt anything will change because Mattel would not like the press should it get out. Even TRU got in trouble for even carrying breaking bad action figures. We live in an age of social media outrage where it feels like people are searching for a reason to be angry and make a name for themselves by censoring others.

[rnrr68]

@LishaThorne you make a lot of really good points, i don't know where the line is drawn or where it should be, i wish i knew.
I'm just getting frustrated with what i can and cannot do, maybe it's because i'm at the point in my life where i don't want anything to be hidden, maybe it's the age we live in, i don't have answers but at least i can ask the questions, for now that is.
I too am glad we can play in their sandbox but i want my own from time to time.
*SIGH* I didn't expect easy answers on this and i was not disappointed.
Back to the old drawing board i guess.