Free Speech and Creepy Liberalism

some people still have a problem, amazingly, distinguishing representation from endorsement.

some of the tweets linked to in that article refer to 'sensitivity readers', which is a term I'd never heard of before, but there seem to have been a flurry of articles about them earlier this year:

These advising angels—part fact-checkers, part cultural ambassadors—are new additions to the book publishing ecosystem. Either hired by individual authors or by publishing houses, sensitivity readers are members of a minority group tasked specifically with examining manuscripts for hurtful, inaccurate, or inappropriate depictions of that group.

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2017/02/how_sensitivity_readers_from_minority_groups_are_changing_the_book_publishing.html

the index of sensitivity readers on that 'Writing in the Margins' website the Slate article mentions makes it look like this is almost exclusively a YA thing, idk if sensitivity readers exist in any other genre of literature in this formalised way?

I think the main takeaway for me, after skimming that "review," is that it doesn't really make the case for their stance despite the fact it's nine thousand words and spends way too much time explaining the entire set-up for the book without actually addressing how it fails. The excerpts don't really bear out the point, in that they read as bad people saying things that are undeniably bad.

Maybe the blogger is a trusted opinion in the circles they trade in, but I don't think I'd come away from that overview with a strong opinion either way. I think the backlash to the Vulture article I've seen misses the point that no one really comes out on top in this situation. There's no endorsement of the book, there's no one saying that the criticism is unnecessary, there's just the recognition this churn of criticism based on a single point of reference is not helping.

I mean, if several people previewing the book had come out with the same conclusion, it'd make sense. But as far as I can tell, one person saw the book, and a million comments were born

That's the thing, to me -- a single, rambling blog post doesn't deserve a concerted effort to blackball a writer. On the other hand, writing a rant like that doesn't mean the reviewer needs to be pilloried, either. That was their take, and it's not their fault other people ran with it, although I'd bet someone is crafting a takedown of the reviewer to keep the churn running

Probably not. They kind of make sense for YA honestly. Kids are impressionable and YA is in theory somewhat educative so representation matters more.

It's good to consider all of this stuff, discuss, critique, etc. But I can't help but be disturbed by these social media public shaming spectacles, where people are raked through the coals for -- at best, in this case -- accidental transgressions like rehashing a kind of white savior dynamic in a book about elves.

Sorry xp soref

I just keep thinking about things like that horrifying series about Pearls that got shitcanned almost immediately after it was announced and comparing that horrifying thing to this and sighing about the premature death of nuance.

the index of sensitivity readers on that 'Writing in the Margins' website the Slate article mentions makes it look like this is almost exclusively a YA thing, idk if sensitivity readers exist in any other genre of literature in this formalised way?

I'd figure YA is the only part of publishing that makes enough money to be able to hire anyone to do anything

Lol

tbf I'd be all about a really obvious book where people say things that are very racist and sexist, in language that mirrors the dumb things people actually say, and those characters are portrayed as racist and sexist

kids need that kind of thing so they have a reference guide for when adults say things in real life. "ah yes, this is exactly like what Professor Jerkass said about dragons, and he was being a complete racist! I bet my uncle's a racist and what he's saying is wrong"

Yeah. I think the author of the review knows that too and was being wilfully obtuse. Sometimes you need to do that to make an argument pointed enough to have an impact. I've done it. Y'all have done it.

I feel like there's a twitter intersection here between people who have a stake in YA literature (educators, librarians, teachers, parents, writers, actual young adults) and people who have a stake in YA lit on the internet (adults who read mostly YA, fan fiction writers, twitter arguing specialists) leading to a perfect shitstorm

really feels like we have given up on critical thinking, worst part of all this is people saying "I haven't (and won't!) read this book" and then judge it as hateful. peddling some kind of anti-intellectualism in the name of safety

I read a couple Amazon reviews of the book in question and, I have to say, the bad review that complained that it took the protagonist half of the book to start to realize that people are individuals and not reducible to simple racist stereotypes... ah yes, deeply-ingrained racism, you figure it out immediately because you're the protagonist? I feel like there's a lot of arguing at cross-purposes here

tbh if someone calls a ya fantasy novel "the most dangerous, offensive book I have ever read" my feeling is they probably haven't read that many books

That's a huge fuckup of a basic misreading (in the original critical review of the book).

It looks a lot like an idiot reader problem, as Mordy said. I mean, I dunno. I've never read a 'YA fiction' book. I don't know what they're normally like. If the person who wrote that original review had only ever read YA fiction stuff, is it possible that they might genuinely not be familiar with the principle of novels showing us bad characters without telling us they are bad? Like would a YA novel usually explicitly say that so and so was bad - so the reviewer is expecting this 'telling' to happen, only gets 'showing', and misreads the whole thing?

xp - me and J.D. have had the same thought

This professor is really the only person to be blunt with her. She takes home a stack of history books written by non-Gardnerians so she can read non-Gardnerian biased accounts. She occasionally does do something right, but it's always overshadowed by the casual microaggressions that never cease.

I've read the review now. Scrub the 'ignorance' idea, the reviewer just is a nasty piece of work. Goodness me, it's like she thinks that the fictional protagonist is a real person that has been imposing themselves on the reviewer's life, and also that all fictional characters must be held to some sort of twitter/subreddit/forum moderator community standards the transgression of which is an outrage

Obtaining a liberal arts degree must have been a lot more fun during the psychoanalysis era.

As history has proved, when you criticize books people stop writing bad ones.

― President Keyes, Monday, August 7, 2017 12:45 PM (seven hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i mean, i think the purpose of criticism is kind of to enhance the quality of art created at some level, that you can elevate the conversation around it. its not entirely crazy

Like claiming the purpose of an arsehole is dangleberries

People like the author of that review seem to lack tolerance and openness. They are strident and dogmatic. Which is fine! Another way to be. But maybe literary criticism is not for them.

so just from that article it sounds like the book is actually anti-racism and the critical review took excerpts out of context where racist characters were sharing their opinions - something the book challenges. it's not just a free speech issue here - it's also an idiot reader issue.

― Mordy, Monday, August 7, 2017 1:42 PM (six hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

im willing to believe there's more wrong w/ it from a quick skim, i mean good intentions are 100% not a sign that something is safe from *coughs* problematic writing. i mean, any book that is "about racism" & some of the "races" are animals is probably gonna have some eyebrow-raising moments

i think many of the ppl complaining about this stuff seem more invested in the high school level power dynamics of it, but i think its prolly a bit much to assume that the book is thoughtfully written

i mean the real problem is ppl have no faith in criticism as an art, its too bad the original 9000 word blog post is so poorly written as criticism because if true theres a way to make these points via PERSUASION

Like everything that drew me to studying Englisj is the opposite of how these people are. They don't analyze or explore racism in literature as much as they just try to enforce certain rules of conduct with an aim to minimizing "harm" the texts might cause. They see literature as a species of propaganda and they are afraid of it. They don't really believe in literature because they don't believe that anything can transcend ideology.

Not that this YA book transcends anything but there is probably some ambiguity there, even some failures that can be instructive. But again that's criticism. What's going on in that review is condemnation.

im willing to believe there's more wrong w/ it from a quick skim

^ what happens when you read too much twitter ppl be aware shunning twitter saves minds

I couldn't have been the person interviewing the teen blogger who wasn't going to read it because someone told her not to.

There would have been spluttering frustration and trying to explain to the kid why that's not how they should approach things.

shunning twitter saves minds

but where else can I bait a world class rapper into getting upset over a 140 character insult

Outside fashionable nightclubs and restaurants

LAX

Lots of places

I'm not saying Twitter isn't terrible.

They don't really believe in literature because they don't believe that anything can transcend ideology.

― Treeship, Monday, August 7, 2017 8:28 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

...nothing can transcend ideology

damn, glad that's sorted.

^ what happens when you read too much twitter ppl be aware shunning twitter saves minds

― Mordy, Monday, August 7, 2017 8:37 PM (fifty-seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

"Condescending pseud" isn't any smarter than your generalizations about twitter discourse dipshit

"The book must be good because the person criticizing it is dumb"

They don't really believe in literature because they don't believe that anything can transcend ideology.

― Treeship, Monday, August 7, 2017

You're forbidding complicated reactions to art with attitudes like this, straight boy.

Reading her piece it's obvious she seems to lack some kind of measured critical tools & misunderstands the function of characters but Its still 100% possible or even likely that it's ideologically fucked up, how is that even controversial

seems like you've got both sides of the argument sorted, everybody else you can take off for the night

treeship otm

Say what you mean and stop being a punk

treeship otm

― k3vin k., Monday, August 7, 2017 9:44 PM (seven seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The fuck he is

His intentions are fine; I have a problem with "transcend."

People confuse "reading critically" with "putting one's sexual and racial politics under the bed, locked up with a Komodo dragon guarding them."

Alfred otm

yeesh, y'all

Reading her piece it's obvious she seems to lack some kind of measured critical tools & misunderstands the function of characters but Its still 100% possible or even likely that it's ideologically fucked up, how is that even controversial

― Listen to my homeboy Fantano (D-40), Monday, August 7, 2017 10:41 PM (three minutes ago)

dude it doesn't matter. this isn't a 10th grader's book report. people don't read 9000 words to be told what they already know. a little insight isn't much to ask for