Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Multiculturalism in SF

This essay talks about reasons for writing multicultural science fiction.  It's not bad.  But really?  If you need an article like this in the first place, it's probably not going to help much.  The really good futurists  have no trouble looking at a diverse world and envisioning a diverse future, or peeling off slivers that are something other than the currently fashionable powerbase.  Consider Firefly, for instance.  That's one of the most chromatically plausible futures I've seen, despite the fact that my crisis litany ends with "... and thank the gods we don't live in a universe scripted by Joss Whedon."
Tags: ethnic studies, networking, reading, science fiction, writing
Subscribe

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    switch
    default userpic

    Your IP address will be recorded 

    When you submit the form an invisible reCAPTCHA check will be performed.
    You must follow the Privacy Policy and Google Terms of use.
    Help
  • 18 comments
rix_scaedu

rix_scaedu

April 14 2012, 07:47:10 UTC 9 years ago

I liked the explanation someone came up with for why everyone in the background in Buffy's hometown in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' was white - only the white people were stupid enough to disbelieve the evidence of their own eyes and ears and thus stay. ['Neck rupture' as a plausible cause of death?]

Everyone else took a few months, at most, to suss out what was going on then left for somewhere (almost anywhere really) healthier.
ankewehner

ankewehner

April 14 2012, 09:40:55 UTC 9 years ago

I like that explanation.
marrael

marrael

April 14 2012, 14:41:19 UTC 9 years ago

Nice one!
ysabetwordsmith

*laugh*

ysabetwordsmith

April 14 2012, 14:51:43 UTC 9 years ago

That's pretty much what I figured. Hispanic and black cultures in particular tend to be threat-aware and folklore-fluent, at least until you get into the assimilated upper class, particularly in comparison to a white mainstream. There were a few people of color represented among allies and vampires, but for the most part, it looks like everyone with a brain scrammed out of town.
ideealisme

ideealisme

April 14 2012, 18:23:23 UTC 9 years ago

I dunno, that smacks of the "women are far too intelligent to waste their time in politics" argument. If I were a person of colour I'd find that patronising. I'm white and I find it patronising anyway.
rix_scaedu

rix_scaedu

April 14 2012, 21:24:54 UTC 9 years ago

As I recall, at the time the online chat group I was reading really wanted the answer to be that or something like it rather than 'someone decided all the extras should be white.'
ideealisme

ideealisme

April 14 2012, 21:57:20 UTC 9 years ago

I don't think you get my point.
rix_scaedu

rix_scaedu

April 14 2012, 22:15:14 UTC 9 years ago

Yes, it may be patronising to everyone concerned. I also don't believe that was ever the intent. What the group was trying to do was come up with an in-world explanation for an observation about that world.

What seemed to be the probable real world cause was something I didn't want connected with something I enjoyed - I wanted it to be better than that hence I preferred this suggestion.
ideealisme

ideealisme

April 14 2012, 22:23:38 UTC 9 years ago

Hmmm. I love Jane Eyre, but there's no denying there's some car crash racism in it. There's no point attributing Rochester's attitude to Bertha's difficult temper, when he wangs on about the horrible tropics and about how he was "of good race" and tricked into marriage.

By removing the people of colour from the story because they were "too clever" to be trapped actually strikes me as a double insult though your group meant well:
One - we are excluding you from the action
Two - we are saying it's for your own good because you're so clever, so you never get to have any story, any agency, any reality, because - we made you clever! So you should be grateful!

if that makes any sense...
rix_scaedu

rix_scaedu

April 14 2012, 22:31:14 UTC 9 years ago

We weren't writing it - just watching it.
ideealisme

ideealisme

April 14 2012, 23:34:57 UTC 9 years ago

But still - not just acknowledging that while there are parts of the show you enjoy, there are parts of it designed on a racist premise since they are not properly reflective of the true mix. And that they are sticking with white as the default.

I mentioned Jane Eyre because you can enjoy a book or TV show while still thinking parts of it are racially offensive. Conflicted responses are healthier than trying to make up justifications for the show or book one likes.