On Whitewashing
I've been thinking a lot in light of the recent controversies -- specifically, the casting of The Last Airbender, and, more to the point, Bloomsbury's recent cover fails, wherein books about young women of colour have covers depicting white women. To my knowledge, there was no reason given for the chosen covers, but it got me pondering. There seems to be an underlying notion in Hollywood and in the publishing industry that white people, who of course hold the power and the money by virtue of being white, don't want to see or read anything starring people of colour -- or that such things are meant to be marketed only to blacks, or Asians, or Latinos, instead of the general public.
And then I remembered one of my favourite authors, Tamora Pierce. She writes YA fantasy books, set in a world not entirely unlike our own medieval period, with knights and the works. She also writes female heroes set in these time periods, strong role models for any girl. I remembered how I was introduced to her, as well.
Nearly eleven years ago (my God, has it been that long? D:), in the summer between the eighth and ninth grade, my parents paid my former math teacher to tutor me. I don't remember why, except that quite possibly I sucked at it. One of our sessions took place in the library, where a certain book caught my eye. I kept watching it throughout the session, all but stalking it, ready to dash over and snatch it up if it looked like anyone was too interested.
The session ended, and I all but flew to the book. I didn't bother to read the blurb and only had awareness of the title; I was much more focused on checking it out and making it mine for the next two weeks. It was a decision I would regret only in that it was the third book in the series; even then it didn't really matter, as the universe was rich enough to draw me in despite a lack of knowledge of what had gone before. The cover had captivated me, partly because of the fire depicted on it -- yes, I was a pyromaniac even then -- but also because of the image of the girl on the horse, looking back over her shoulder at the flames behind her.
To the left of this text, you can see the cover that so drew me to the book and one of the most enjoyable authors I have ever read. I won't say that I didn't notice that the girl on the cover was black, because that is a lie. But it didn't really matter. There was a girl on a horse, and she happened to be black. That was less important than the story. And the story, as promised by the cover to my thirteen-year-old self, was amazing. From here I picked up the first two books in the series, and then discovered the Tortall books, starting with the Immortals quartet.
I think that the race of people on book covers matters less than publishers think. More people these days care about the story and the people inside them, not what the people look like.
In conclusion, Bloomsbury can suck it.
EDIT: I can tell my right from my left, really.
And then I remembered one of my favourite authors, Tamora Pierce. She writes YA fantasy books, set in a world not entirely unlike our own medieval period, with knights and the works. She also writes female heroes set in these time periods, strong role models for any girl. I remembered how I was introduced to her, as well.
Nearly eleven years ago (my God, has it been that long? D:), in the summer between the eighth and ninth grade, my parents paid my former math teacher to tutor me. I don't remember why, except that quite possibly I sucked at it. One of our sessions took place in the library, where a certain book caught my eye. I kept watching it throughout the session, all but stalking it, ready to dash over and snatch it up if it looked like anyone was too interested.
The session ended, and I all but flew to the book. I didn't bother to read the blurb and only had awareness of the title; I was much more focused on checking it out and making it mine for the next two weeks. It was a decision I would regret only in that it was the third book in the series; even then it didn't really matter, as the universe was rich enough to draw me in despite a lack of knowledge of what had gone before. The cover had captivated me, partly because of the fire depicted on it -- yes, I was a pyromaniac even then -- but also because of the image of the girl on the horse, looking back over her shoulder at the flames behind her.
To the left of this text, you can see the cover that so drew me to the book and one of the most enjoyable authors I have ever read. I won't say that I didn't notice that the girl on the cover was black, because that is a lie. But it didn't really matter. There was a girl on a horse, and she happened to be black. That was less important than the story. And the story, as promised by the cover to my thirteen-year-old self, was amazing. From here I picked up the first two books in the series, and then discovered the Tortall books, starting with the Immortals quartet.
I think that the race of people on book covers matters less than publishers think. More people these days care about the story and the people inside them, not what the people look like.
In conclusion, Bloomsbury can suck it.
EDIT: I can tell my right from my left, really.