A thoughtful response to a thoughtless "award".
Creative people draw inspiration from many sources and their ability to interpret their experience should be awarded. This article is very clear on the difference between appropriation and interpretation. I've read often enough that writers get pissy if people explain their work to them. Of all people you'd hope they would be sensitive but nope. Let's double down on thoughtless insensitivity.
http://womenspost.ca/can-now-agree-appropriation-prize-absurd/
I'm not sure I could agree with this. I write things I am not all the time; women, people of color, everything. It's not just pretending you understand a culture, it is also an act of empathy: for all practical purposes, playing "let's pretend". It is a tool to be used to put yourself in someone else's shoes.
ReplyDeleteNow, if you want to discuss this, what you should really discuss is your readers. Namely, sensitivity readers. If you must write a character of a specific race or inclination, you should probably make sure someone reads it to make sure the details are right.
Whether or not people get an award for it? Not really something I feel like talking about. I can see the pros and cons, but it kind of goes both ways, really. In the end, I think it should be about trying to see the world how someone else does.
The "Appropriation Prize" was never real... In the exact same way "Cultural Appropriation" isn't real.
ReplyDeleteCultural appropriation flies directly in the face of the fact that a lot of cultures all have exceptionally similar mythology. It's why the Hero's Journey isn't a completely absurd notion.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the difference between so-called cultural appropriation and "learning from each other"?
ReplyDeleteI think the author says it well ... it’s about respecting what you know — and what you cannot begin to understand, despite the research you may have done...
ReplyDeleteSo that means hippy chicks can't wear dreadlocks ... Drunk frat boys can't wear feathered hats...
ReplyDeleteNonsense
Cass Morrison But the same thinking applies to individual people. If you are human, and you are not me, I therefore cannot ever understand you. I do not see with your eyes, hear with your ears, feel with your body. I am not you. I do not process experiences in the same way you do, therefore, you are beyond my understanding.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, all writing should be autobiographical. We should never attempt to write someone else, and God forbid anyone, under any circumstances, write fiction. That would imply that we we are are capable, as human beings, of imagining different worlds and experiences.
And that is such a terrible thing.
You can do anything you want, just some people are going to give you the side eye. Whether you care or not is up to you. If you are part of a majority and it's a minority many people might side-eye you.
ReplyDeleteCass Morrison But getting side-eyed doesn't make it wrong, it just means people are offended.
ReplyDeleteNothing bad happens to you when you're offended.... Being offended doesn't take money from your pocket, or blood from your veins... Literally nothing happens to you, except what you decide to do.
ReplyDeleteStephen Fry is right. "Im offended by that " is nothing more than a whine.
Not remotely
ReplyDeleteI'm dismissive of people who whine about being offended by things that do no harm to them at all.
"that offends me so I don't do it" is fine
" that offends me so you shouldn't do it" is bullshit
People being offended if you are in "the Arts" means they don't attend/support your work. If your job is promoting the arts so people support it, alienating people is a pretty big problem. From my understanding, most artists/ musicians/ writers etc are not wealthy.
ReplyDeleteJust saying, I think an award is a stupid idea because it aimed at being offensive. Why would you do that on purpose other than to be an asshole.
The award was satire.
ReplyDeleteYeah I'm sure it was actually - the whole thing got blown out of proportion.
ReplyDeleteThe fashionable condemning of anyone being "offended" is one of those complicated matters frenetically crushed into a cliche in order to fit in social media's tiny confines. There are a hundred oversimplifications resting on a thousand more in the jeremiad against being offended.
ReplyDeleteThe whole realm of the political correctness issue involves arguments that are true -- and not true at the same time. That's why it's a false issue and a "discussion stopper," not a tool to promote understanding.
ReplyDelete