Is there line to be drawn when making MOCs?

[F0NIX]

I think OP is overreacting. This MOC is great and show many of the LEGO sets in its right element: rescue boats to mention some..

If this is not "allowed" to build, why is LEGO making ambulances, rescue boats/helicopters/cars, fire-, hospital-, police-stations. And thiefs! And weapons!... no, get a grip, LEGO is depicting human life, and we are not always very nice to each other. And sometime horrible things happens. I think its great that children can play out this and not be too afraid of this. And maybe the children can learn something from it too?

And you also have to remember that LEGO is a adult hobby too.

But I agree that there should be some type off warning. And Brickshelf does not have any features to flag or put a comment on the picture to warn people if there could be "tacky" images. Flickr is much better in that way.

[Captain Green Hair]

There's no line in my book.

Not showing or discussing things makes them worse IMO.

[spade450]

People should build whatever they personally are driven to build. MOCs are a form of artistic expression and in the U.S.A. and, I hope, in most other countries are examples of free speech -- small examples, maybe, but speech none the less. That said, however, when someone posts a MOC for public viewing, the poster has to be ready for possible public condemnation from others if the MOC is controversial. That is also part of free speech.

In this case, I took the subject MOC to be a depiction of a quite miraculous event and a tribute to the pilot and those involved in the rescue. It made realistic use of those Coast Guard sets. The biggest problem I had was the sense of proportion -- look at the size of that fire boat compared to the plane! Overall, though, nice use of sets.

[SuvieD]

There is a line, and everybody has a different location for that line.

Build what seems right to you and if you don't like what others build simply don't comment on them. Attention to a MOC whether good or bad is still attention. Leave it alone and chances are it will be less likely for you to see similar things in the future.

[donneyboy]

Well, I don't see how this is bad, the accident didn't kill anyone, so this is o.k. But if someone made a World Trade Center moc with the plane in it, then that would be to far.

[5150 Lego]

Its a troubling thought. Although, there are many paintings of unfortunate events in the world, and LEGO is also like a art. Sorta. but we all must remember it is intentional childs toy, and frankly, most people want it to be seen that way.

Lego may be art but it is first and foremost a children's toy. So I'm against some things being created in lego. I find it poor taste given the medium's first intetion is to appeal to children.

I'm going to have to respecfully disagree with both these coments. While your correct,Lego is foremost a childrens toy, but it doesn't mean that it couldn't be used for other things. Lego has always been a way of expressing ones self and many times, there (Lego) used as art, or mocs that are not intentionaly, or meant to be seen by children. In this case, i see absolutly nothing wrong with recreating the Hudson river crash. No one was hurt, all that was shown was the rescue operation that took place.

As far as the question of "Is there a line".. Well, i used to think yes, but my eyes have opened up a bit after seeing somones moc of a Southern Plantation. I thought to myself

"Why on earth would anyone want to recreate this??"

The person who did the moc explaned his reasoning and i understood thatit wasn't to decipt slavery or anything of that matter, but to show a moc of history, as well as the arcitechture of that era. Now if he showed a white mean whipping black mini figs, then i would have agreed that it would have been a bit much, but he didn't.

And personally, there are many things that i don't understand why people would want to recreate out of anything. Weather it be made out of Lego, mega blocks, GI JOE, custome made or whatever. Though i might feel this way, it doesn't nessasarly mean they should be held back. It might be done in very poor taste, or "tacky", but it is thier right.

Lego is a building brand. It encourages the use of imagination and creativity. If somebody wants to build something realistic, then I'm fine with that. If I don't like it, I'll just look at something else. As I see it, if somebody wants to take the time and energy to build something, we should appreciate that, even if we don't much like the context. I find it hypocritical that people are happy to see others build gore-filled medieval battle depicting death and slaughter, or build pirates pillaging and raping in the Caribbean and yet don't like the idea of someone recreating a real event. One is just bad as the other, if you take them both out of context. Or put them in it, for that matter. The pirates we all know and love were in many ways just as bad if not worse than, for example, the NAZIs, just in there own different way. Pirates attacked, robed, burned and pillaged, killed children in front of their parents and raped wives before cutting their throats, as well as taking many innocent civilians hostage or to serve as slaves, while the NAZIs gassed people and enslaved them in concentration camps, and persecuted religious groups, etc. These two groups were both just as bad as each other. And yet, we despise the NAZIs, while we idolise the age of pirates. How messed up is that? This is just one example, but the point to this is that people are selective, and chose what they want to see. So, when you really think about it, is someone building a concentration camp any worse than someone building a pirate raid on a village? Not really.

Remember that I do not mean to offend or force my view on anyone, I'm just trying to say what I believe, and why. I think that if you want to build something, then build it. Some people won't like it, as with all MOCs, but there will still be many who do appreciate it. I myself have never wanted to build anything considered to be "bad taste", but if I ever did I would hope that it would be commented on just like any other MOC. I think most builders know the limits of realism in Lego, and I know that most will never build anything truly offensive or hurtful to a group. As long as there is a good reason or inspiration behind a MOC, then I have no problem with it. Of course, building for the sake of offending people is a different matter entirely, I do not support that. However if the builder is trying to get a message across, or is simply building art, then I'm all for that. It all comes down to the individual; we all know what we are happy to build and what we feel uncomfortable about, but we should not try and impose this on other builders.

I respect that many people don't want to build these sorts of "touchy subject" creations, however I do believe that if someone else wants to then who are we to say they can't? Respect that they want to build that, and then if you don't like it, go and look at something you can accept. Just don't try to tell people what they can and can't build because that is just silly. If someone wants to build reality, then that's cool, and if they don't, then that's cool too. It's up to them. In terms of a line, this doesn't come any where near one for me. I have seen far worse being built or created in art, and as we all know, Lego is just another form of art to the AFOL.Don't let it bother you.

Well, glad I got that out of my system. I can get quite strong in my opinions sometimes, please don't take offence from anything I've said. I often get carried away like this, it's probably because I'm really into debating...

EDIT: You know I think Shadows has said pretty much what I wanted to say, just in much fewer words. I feel a bit silly carrying on like I did now.

Dragonator,

I have to say that this is one of, if not thee most well thought out, well reasoned posts i've ever read on this forum. Very well said.

[Derek]

I noticed on a flight simulator website today (aviation is my other hobby) that someone has uploaded a file that will allow you to land the airbus in flight sim on water, allowing you to reenact the flight exactly. Would you say this is going too far, or just hero worship for the fantastic skills of the captain?

If this is not "allowed" to build, why is LEGO making ambulances, rescue boats/helicopters/cars, fire-, hospital-, police-stations. And thiefs! And weapons!... no, get a grip, LEGO is depicting human life, and we are not always very nice to each other. And sometime horrible things happens. I think its great that children can play out this and not be too afraid of this. And maybe the children can learn something from it too?

I meant MOCs based on things that actually happened. I have come to realize after reading some of these posts, I not longer think this MOC is so tacky as I once did. I have no problem with police, rescue, weapons etc. in Lego form. Its just I don't think its fair to families of victims/people who went through things (ex 9/11) to see something that uses something so beloved like Lego to depict their specific truamatic experience. Thats all.

[MatthewUSA]

I believe we have to take into consideration that accidents happen in our daily realistic lives. I get the feeling the modeler of this scene is a person who creates MOC's based on real-life objects (planes, trains, cars, buildings, ect...). I can relate to this modeler in the respect that I am a realist designer/modeler as well. I also believe that any AFOL is considered an artist. Even though Lego bricks were created for the younger child, it is the AFOL that takes the brick to a higher level. Designing/creating MOC's of what they imagine or see is up to that particular "Artist".

After reviewing the pics posted, I would have to admit that the modelers MOC's were exceptional. I thought their models were AWESOME!! They did a great job on the rescue ships. I don't think any AFOL could deny that. I just want to wrap up saying, we are all "Artists". Whether you are a realist, sci-fi or fantasy, use the bricks to express your imagination, creativity and feelings about what you are passionate about. Never stop expressing yourselves.

Model On!!

[Joebot]

Great discussion of a potentially sensitive topic!

I think the same logic can be applied here as with anything, whether it's a TV show, movie, book, song, painting, sculpture, etc. If it offends you, don't look at it. But don't try to tell me what I can or can't look at.

I've seen Lego MOCs depicting pornography. Yes, they're out there; and yes, I looked at them (just out of morbid curiosity of course!). A few months ago somebody posted a MOC here on Eurobricks of two Miniland scale figures engaged in some S&M. Reverend Powell's Brick Testament site is definitely edgy and subversive, and is probably offensive to some. But I think all these people should build and display whatever they want. Heck, I remember way back when people still actually posted stuff on Lugnet, that somebody created a Space theme called "Bonk-o-tron" or something like that. It was a bunch of phallus-shaped starfighters. Tasteless? Absolutely. Hilarious? Yep, that too.

So yeah, there's some crazy stuff out there. That's the beauty of the Lego system (and also of the Internet, for making it all so widely available).

[Orion]

I feel that this is just another example of the greatness of Lego. We can build/express whatever we want. I mean, look at the black fantasy stuff. It's a rather morbid subject, and yet we still build it. It doesn't mean that deep down we're full of darkness and monstrosities, we just like building that stuff.

And wouldn't you rather see someone building somehing violent than doing something violent?