Cultural appropriation in writing?

Grumpy RPG Reviews

Explorer

• Mar 20, 2014

• #1

Here is a question for the writers and readers here, particularly anyone with a background from somewhere besides America or Europe.

How do you feel about someone writing or creating a story in your country or among your people, culture, etc, if they are not a part of your ethnicity? To whit, can it be legitimately argued something like “Bridge of Birds,” a fantasy about ancient China, is racist, guilty of cultural appropriation or perpetuating some variation of the “noble savage” idea?

To a lesser degree this happens all the time among “western” nations and that arguably makes them all acceptable target. For example, Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series is not likely to be accused of racism and other problems when the characters are running around England, France, Germany and possibly even Russia. But what about when they are in China, Africa and South America?

Scalped was a comic book series about Ogala Lakota, but the series is written by a white guy from Alabama. Is that automatically a problem?

 

log in or register to remove this ad

Kramodlog

Naked and living in a barrel

• Mar 20, 2014

• #2

I do yoga. I guess I'm racist toward Hindus... and worship demons.

 

C

Cor Azer

First Post

• Mar 20, 2014

• #3

Not inherently a problem in my view. Ideally, the work should stand apart from the author (yes, I know this doesn't always happen).

It's little different than saying men cannot write female characters, or kids cannot write about adults.

 

Morrus

Well, that was fun

Staff member

• Mar 20, 2014

• #4

It can't be avoided. Humanity had such a broad, rich cultural background. In fact, you can include Europeans and Americans - they write about (or portray each other onscreen ) all the time; sometimes well, sometimes not so well.

As long as you try not to insult or stereotype people, it's perfectly cromulent.

Places like China can hardly be considered minorities or anything.

 

Umbran

Mod Squad

Staff member

Supporter

• Mar 20, 2014

• #5

I think an author of any race or nationality has a bit of an obligation to write about people from a position of understanding and respect.

So, it is okay for a man to write about women. Just don't write your female characters by slapping a stereotype down and calling it done. If there are stereotypical behaviors you want to depict, learn why they happen in real life, and depict them accurately.

 

Kramodlog

Naked and living in a barrel

• Mar 20, 2014

• #6

Umbran said:

I think an author of any race or nationality has a bit of an obligation to write about people from a position of understanding and respect.

So, it is okay for a man to write about women. Just don't write your female characters by slapping a stereotype down and calling it done. If there are stereotypical behaviors you want to depict, learn why they happen in real life, and depict them accurately.

Click to expand...

Frank Miller is pointing and laughing at you.

 

Umbran

Mod Squad

Staff member

Supporter

• Mar 20, 2014

• #7

goldomark said:

Frank Miller is pointing and laughing at you.

Click to expand...

I'm pretty certain he doesn't know, and doesn't care about what I say.

But even then, it isn't as if he should talk - his work* is known for its depiction of decent ethical behavior.


*The best of which is already decades behind him, IMO. He seems to be riding his own coattails these days, rather than creating or innovating.

 

Tonguez

A suffusion of yellow

• Mar 20, 2014

• #8

Okay I'm trained as an Anthropologist and I actually enjoy the genre of non-european fantasy and like to run a critical eye over the cultural aspects of the story. But I accept that fantasy is the purile entertainment and so my view is that the story should be respectful to the source material but does not need to be 'authentic'.

I'm also Polynesian and remember reading Garry Kilworths Navigator-Kings tilogy and generally enjoying its take on Polynesian myth. Kilworth is an Yorkshireman but I feel he did enough research on the folklore to be respectful even as he changed aspects and introduced anachronisms. I did frown at his base conceit of the Lands of Mist being iron-age Scotland in Polynesia (in the place of New Zealand) and screwed up my nose at the story of celts in the pacific but did not find his material offensive.

 

Umbran

Mod Squad

Staff member

Supporter

• Mar 20, 2014

• #9

Tonguez said:

But I accept that fantasy is the purile entertainment....

Click to expand...

This post is largely aside the point of the thread, but there's a point worth making:

That's what the critics want us to believe, so that we'll read the boring stuff they prefer

Much of *any* genre is puerile (90% of everything is crud, after all). But fantasy is no more so than any other genre. There is nothing inherent to fantasy that prevents an author from addressing serious, thought provoking subjects.

 

J

Janx

Hero

• Mar 20, 2014

• #10

Grumpy RPG Reviews said:

Here is a question for the writers and readers here, particularly anyone with a background from somewhere besides America or Europe.

How do you feel about someone writing or creating a story in your country or among your people, culture, etc, if they are not a part of your ethnicity? To whit, can it be legitimately argued something like “Bridge of Birds,” a fantasy about ancient China, is racist, guilty of cultural appropriation or perpetuating some variation of the “noble savage” idea?

Click to expand...

Hogwash.

This train of logic would lead to roadblocks as it effectively means the only person who can write about a culture is a legitimate member of that culture.

What if those culture's can't write? Jane Goodall can't write about apes because she's not an ape?

Most of what we know about other cultures happens because some gringo gaijin writer takes it upon himself to learn and write about somebody else's culture.