An open letter to Doug Cohen, aka Slushmaster, and other SF publishing gatekeepers
Backstory here - partial, since he has subsequently deleted the post from which these quotes were taken - and more here, where slushmaster proves that taking it down was kind of pointless when it comes to reputational retconnage.
--Suppose, for the sake of argument, the only representations of Jewish characters in genre fiction these days were to fall into one of two categories - rich arrogant bullies, and creepy grasping losers.
That's it. No other Jewish characters, at all. No positive references to Jewish culture or contributions to society. At best, a blankness onto which a Jewish reader could project themselves by dint of mental effort, a hero or secondary characters or even bystanders not specifically described as Christian, or anything else; at worst, only-somewhat milder recrudescence of the same vile stereotypes that hallmarked pulp and genre fiction, and even mainstream fiction, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries in the US and UK no less than Europe.
And suppose, too, that in this, genre only follows the lead of popular culture overall, and this trend is replicated in mainstream fiction and television and movies - no big name chick flicks with casual but integral Judaism of their main characters, no Woody Allen films, no Potok novels, no Maus or Michael Chabon getting published, no Schmendricks in fantasy stories, garnichts, nada, nothing.
Suppose, too, that when readers objected to this, they were told by the literary PTB that they were "oversensitive," and unreasonable - that this was merely good business practice, that this was what the mostly-Christian (if only ethnically-so) audiences wanted, and since Jewish-Americans are less than 5% of the population, it's not like their opinion matters when it comes to making publishing decisions. (And other, less polite accusations of "professional offense-taking" - I'm sure you can find examples easily from the mainstream media - as well as of artistic bullying, complete with hyperbolic claims of attempts to compel them to make all their stories about Jewish characters &c &c &c.)
And they go on publishing warmed-over genrified versions of Trilby and Oliver Twist and worse, and to write far-flung Terran empires where ne'er a menorah may be found, though many Paters and Aves are said, and the Space Marines still have their "padre" though he might be a she these days, and sentimental tales of Santa coming to space stations, and Yiddish is a thoroughly dead language, for all a reader can tell--
--But they continue to insist, very indignantly, all these cultural-Christian editors and publishers and editorial assistants, that they are NOT (how DARE you suggest it?!!?!1!) in the slightest bit anti-Semitic...
Now is it a little clearer? Or does the Speculum Mundi need to be polished even brighter?
--Suppose, for the sake of argument, the only representations of Jewish characters in genre fiction these days were to fall into one of two categories - rich arrogant bullies, and creepy grasping losers.
That's it. No other Jewish characters, at all. No positive references to Jewish culture or contributions to society. At best, a blankness onto which a Jewish reader could project themselves by dint of mental effort, a hero or secondary characters or even bystanders not specifically described as Christian, or anything else; at worst, only-somewhat milder recrudescence of the same vile stereotypes that hallmarked pulp and genre fiction, and even mainstream fiction, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries in the US and UK no less than Europe.
And suppose, too, that in this, genre only follows the lead of popular culture overall, and this trend is replicated in mainstream fiction and television and movies - no big name chick flicks with casual but integral Judaism of their main characters, no Woody Allen films, no Potok novels, no Maus or Michael Chabon getting published, no Schmendricks in fantasy stories, garnichts, nada, nothing.
Suppose, too, that when readers objected to this, they were told by the literary PTB that they were "oversensitive," and unreasonable - that this was merely good business practice, that this was what the mostly-Christian (if only ethnically-so) audiences wanted, and since Jewish-Americans are less than 5% of the population, it's not like their opinion matters when it comes to making publishing decisions. (And other, less polite accusations of "professional offense-taking" - I'm sure you can find examples easily from the mainstream media - as well as of artistic bullying, complete with hyperbolic claims of attempts to compel them to make all their stories about Jewish characters &c &c &c.)
And they go on publishing warmed-over genrified versions of Trilby and Oliver Twist and worse, and to write far-flung Terran empires where ne'er a menorah may be found, though many Paters and Aves are said, and the Space Marines still have their "padre" though he might be a she these days, and sentimental tales of Santa coming to space stations, and Yiddish is a thoroughly dead language, for all a reader can tell--
--But they continue to insist, very indignantly, all these cultural-Christian editors and publishers and editorial assistants, that they are NOT (how DARE you suggest it?!!?!1!) in the slightest bit anti-Semitic...
Now is it a little clearer? Or does the Speculum Mundi need to be polished even brighter?