chris_gerrib (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chris_gerrib) wrote2015-03-09 09:57 am
chris_gerrib) wrote2015-03-09 09:57 am
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Oh, Really?
First, my report on Wizard World comic con is up. The tl;dr version: I went to a wine convention, where all they talked about and consumed was wine. I was shocked to find they did not offer a reward for Beer of the Year.
Second, over at another site, I got in an argument about whether the new novel Karen Memory was "social justice warrior shit." At the time, I hadn't read it. I have, it's good, and a review will be forthcoming. In any event, the novel is set in a alternate-history / steampunk 1880s in a city that's a mashup of Seattle and Portland. The narrator is a prostitute, who works in a high-end bordello, there's a (real) black US Marshal, and some of the characters have alternative sexual preferences.
Now, at first glance, none of this screams social justice. Bordellos in the 19th century were like gas stations in the 21st - ubiquitous, and catering to every social and economic stratum. The inhabitants of said bordellos perforce had to fend for themselves, largely because society as a whole wasn't of a mind to help. Moreover, homosexuality was not invented in the 1950s. In short, no problem and (socially, at least) historically accurate.
But, by the standards of those I was arguing with, this was full of "social justice." Any story in which non-straight characters, or characters with unconventional moralities (aka "soiled doves" in the story's vernacular) was unacceptable. In the comment section to the post, people were complaining that gay characters were "thrust" upon them in other media merely by the character's gayness being identified. On this blog, I was told that because the author had picked a black US Marshal as a character she was somehow in the wrong.
In short, what the various critics were seeking was not historical accuracy, but rather historical inaccuracy. They wanted history "cleaned up" to support their preconceived ideas. Sometimes we don't get what we want.
Second, over at another site, I got in an argument about whether the new novel Karen Memory was "social justice warrior shit." At the time, I hadn't read it. I have, it's good, and a review will be forthcoming. In any event, the novel is set in a alternate-history / steampunk 1880s in a city that's a mashup of Seattle and Portland. The narrator is a prostitute, who works in a high-end bordello, there's a (real) black US Marshal, and some of the characters have alternative sexual preferences.
Now, at first glance, none of this screams social justice. Bordellos in the 19th century were like gas stations in the 21st - ubiquitous, and catering to every social and economic stratum. The inhabitants of said bordellos perforce had to fend for themselves, largely because society as a whole wasn't of a mind to help. Moreover, homosexuality was not invented in the 1950s. In short, no problem and (socially, at least) historically accurate.
But, by the standards of those I was arguing with, this was full of "social justice." Any story in which non-straight characters, or characters with unconventional moralities (aka "soiled doves" in the story's vernacular) was unacceptable. In the comment section to the post, people were complaining that gay characters were "thrust" upon them in other media merely by the character's gayness being identified. On this blog, I was told that because the author had picked a black US Marshal as a character she was somehow in the wrong.
In short, what the various critics were seeking was not historical accuracy, but rather historical inaccuracy. They wanted history "cleaned up" to support their preconceived ideas. Sometimes we don't get what we want.
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I can't quite see how alienating your core market to court a fringe demographic (http://baron-waste.livejournal.com/2144883.html) is a good business decision. Of course, “business” = capitalism and that's very much NOT what Political Correctness is about, is it. If PC sold, court-ordered coercion would not be necessary!
Anyway, you say you read it, so tell me: Why was the US Marshal black? What did that accomplish that being white would not? Why were the “alternative sexual preferences” even mentioned? What, within the story, was the point?
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alienating your core market - speak for yourself, Kemosabe. I'm a straight white guy and was not alienated. Nor, frankly, do I know many SWMs who were alienated.
Why was the US Marshal black? well, so he could credibly be threatened with lynching and so have to hide for part of the story. Why were the “alternative sexual preferences The bordello bouncer was a gay man specifically so he wouldn't hit on the girls. They had a male transvestite who switched back to being male so as to rescue a prostitute. Also, having male strength helped. The narrator was a lesbian, which was needed for her to care enough for another girl to help said girl rescue her sister. (Rescuing girls from "crib" prostitution was a key plot point.)
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