tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post7534090347701830874..comments2024-03-17T16:24:40.322-05:00Comments on American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL): Not Recommended: Keira Drake's THE CONTINENT (the 2018 revision)Debbie Reesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-80904691706336219072018-12-11T18:09:09.742-06:002018-12-11T18:09:09.742-06:00I think these kinds of books are called "'...I think these kinds of books are called "'acceptance narratives'". The problem with these books is not that they have main characters who start out privileged or as bigots, but that they never ever show <i>any</i> of the oppressed characters' opinions (especially concerning all that bigotry and/or privilege!). They also have a tendency to make some people <i>more bigoted</i>. See <a href="http://www.gayya.org/2015/09/the-acceptance-narrative-in-trans-ya/" rel="nofollow">this post</a> at YA Pride—that article's points also apply here, since <i>The Continent</i> doesn't actually help White readers know how racist the White Savior (aka Mighty Whitey) trope is and how racist it is to use "warrior" instead of just "man", among others.<br />And something else...the earliest example that I can find of a book with such a narrative, is <i>The Courage of Sarah Noble</i>, published in 1954. See <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20040610235522/http://oyate.org:80/books-to-avoid/courage.html" rel="nofollow">this review</a> and <a href="www.oyate.org/index.php/resources/45-resources/living-stories#parent-story" rel="nofollow">this story</a> for why it's so damaging.<br />Now, Ms. Drake, you don't want your book(s) to be that damaging, do you? Especially when you don't even feature <i><b>any</b></i> dissident Topi/Xoe (who, I'm pretty sure, would live in exile and in fear of being executed by their authoritarian government, not unlike those Aven'ei) in the book. And why doesn't Vaela, upon meeting the Aven'ei, say something like "Ahh...my great-great-grandpa's homeland" or something?<br />And lastly, why doesn't she take Nomo and some other Aven'ei (or even some dissident Topi/Xoe) with her to the Spire for the help? Those people could easily have mentioned to the Spire people how the Topi/Xoe leaders won't listen to any of the demands of the Aven'ei or the Topi/Xoe citizens. You know: what Teaching for Change and others try to teach about. Mass movements. Resistance to wars started by stubborn and/or ignorant leaders, like George W. Bush.Sam Jonsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06037969317578064759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-55864494996842336552018-06-19T12:07:51.380-05:002018-06-19T12:07:51.380-05:00Oh, and speaking of "inspiration", Drake...Oh, and speaking of "inspiration", Drake got the idea to write her book fron hearing about warfare in the Middle East. (See here: http://edelweiss-assets.abovethetreeline.com/HC/supplemental/9780373212392_1.pdf) In case anyone here doesn't know, those wars are wars that the US started, just so they can try to secure more oil for their army (and companies) to pollute the world with. (As shown in this article: https://www.alternet.org/environment/trump-wants-hand-54-billion-more-one-worlds-biggest-drivers-climate-catastrophe)<br />So apparently, Drake is inserting herself into a novel that is based on a war she doesn't seem to understand very well. Yet another reason why her book still doesn't work.Sam Jonsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06037969317578064759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-42778718776088590612018-02-13T15:08:36.877-06:002018-02-13T15:08:36.877-06:00I forgot to mention--has Drake heard of Marina Abr...I forgot to mention--has Drake heard of Marina Abramović and #theracistispresent? The first Advanced Reader Copies of Abramović's memoir <i>Walk Through Walls</i> contained a 1979 entry of the author's diary in which she had described Australian Aborigines (whom she had recently met for the first time) as being like "dinosaurs", with "sticklike legs". Notwithstanding its being a "first impression", that passage was obviously racist. So after the controversy arose, Abramović agreed to remove the offending passage. <i>Now tell me</i> about this "patience" thing, Ms. Drake.Sam Jonsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06037969317578064759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-17307154961888711822018-02-12T19:21:18.758-06:002018-02-12T19:21:18.758-06:00I would say: Has Drake *ever* heard of The Black W...I would say: Has Drake *ever* heard of <i>The Black Witch</i> by Laurie Forest? Talk about patience! Also, has she heard of James Cameron's Avatar? That film takes place on a planet inhabited by tall blue aliens, yet that film *still* has racist tropes. <br />(It's so sad...I would really like that film if it weren't so racist. I blame Cameron's love of Edgar Rice Burroughs's books, which have plenty of racist stereotypes in them.)<br />And why can't she just make either the Topi/Xoe or Aven'ei *suggest* the towers/wall to Vaela? Even better, make one or both nations act racially prejudiced towards the other (imagine: Nazi Germany versus Zionist Israel). (Yes, I know of BDS and JVP and the good work they do to combat Israel's "settlement by brave pioneers" of the West Bank.)Sam Jonsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06037969317578064759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-72145332476219031402018-02-08T20:04:45.701-06:002018-02-08T20:04:45.701-06:00Comment re: Japanese names: Drake wasn't just ...Comment re: Japanese names: Drake wasn't just "inspired" by Japanese culture, Drake outright lifted directly Japanese names, Japanese words, ninjas, and of course the ever cringe-worthy "almond eyes" description. Drake did almost nothing except give them an imaginary tribe name.<br /><br />And with everything else... sigh. [I deleted much angry ranting.]Ava Jarvishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01777180628319261015noreply@blogger.com