When I was young, science fiction or fantasy books and movies were pretty much content censored, movies more than books. Still, writers were able to express themselves creatively and intelligently without resorting to vulgarity. I think it was the 60's that things started changing the fastest. "Shock and Awe" became the philosophy of the day. How many ways could the body be mutilated, how much vulgarity could we get away with, and "Do your own thing" became the national pastime. "If you don't like it, don't look, read or listen to it" was the response to critics. The real problem was that most people were fairly innocent. That is a strange notion, but when compared with today’s society, it is true. Yes, there was evil then, but it is fundamentally different today. Now, there is no "right or wrong". When told that you are doing something bad, the response is that it depends on your viewpoint. Back then, you knew you were doing something bad, you just did it anyway.

Some will remember or have heard of the book and movie, “Gone with the Wind”. Gone with the Wind was written by Margaret Mitchell and published in 1936. It was later made into a movie by the same name with Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable playing the main characters Scarlett and Rhett.

“Although legend persists that the Hays Office fined Selznick $5,000 for using the word "damn" in Butler's exit line, in fact the Motion Picture Association board passed an amendment to the Production Code on November 1, 1939, that forbade use of the words "hell" or "damn" except when their use "shall be essential and required for portrayal, in proper historical context, of any scene or dialogue based upon historical fact or folklore ... or a quotation from a literary work, provided that no such use shall be permitted which is intrinsically objectionable or offends good taste." With that amendment, the Production Code Administration had no further objection to Rhett's closing line.”

1. Leff, Leonard J.; Simmons, Jerold L. (2001). The Dame in the Kimono: Hollywood, Censorship, and the Production Code. University Press of Kentucky. p. 108.

Compare that bit of history with what we have in the world today. Some years ago, I stopped reading my favorite books because I didn’t know where to find decent, clean ones that I would not find objectionable. Eventually, I started playing around with writing my own, not to sell or publish, but just to enjoy. This eventually evolved into writing “Invisible”. It may not be the best piece of literary perfection, but it is mine and I love it. I also know many will not share that love, but I know that there are others in the world that will. It is my desire to find and share this with them.