The problem is that what makes his work good is this pathological fear of the other, that he interlinks with xenophobia and notions of racial purity in his fiction.
You can’t love the art and hate the author with Lovecraft, you have to accept they’re both pretty fucked up.
Have you read Herbert West: Reanimator? I think that one in particular had an especially problematic description of a black man. I had to put down the anthology for a bit when I got there.
Lovecraft is problematic for other reasons.
The problem is that what makes his work good is this pathological fear of the other, that he interlinks with xenophobia and notions of racial purity in his fiction.
You can’t love the art and hate the author with Lovecraft, you have to accept they’re both pretty fucked up.
Sure, but people can use Cthulhu in their own books/games/movies and Lovecraft still gains nothing from it.
All true. They are not the same Hp was about as xenophobic as you can get.
But ido disagree with that last part. I can read and love his stories but never learn anything about him. I can’t unlearn about him.
Several of his stories are outright racist though.
How do you go about loving that without acknowledging there are issues?
Same reason i can love a villain as a character. Just because i love a of work of fiction or fictional characters does not mean i endorse the mesaage.
Have you read Herbert West: Reanimator? I think that one in particular had an especially problematic description of a black man. I had to put down the anthology for a bit when I got there.