Dealing with politically sensitive issues in your Writing

Dec 11, 2008 17:11

Two things. Firstly I wanted to say there is a Hurley character discussion posted and it's only had two responses so far. Don't forget to show the big guy some love!

Secondly, I wanted some thoughts from my fellow writers on dealing with so-called politically-charged issues in your writing. Things like portrayal of gender, race, sexuality, etc.  ( Read more... )

het, politics, sexuality, disability, writing sex, religion, race, slash, gender

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janie_tangerine December 12 2008, 11:36:40 UTC
Mm. This is a very, very interesting topic.

1) I consider myself a feminist in the sense that I think that there's absolutely no difference between what a woman can do and what a man can do and I hate gender discrimination fiercely. And as elliotsmelliot said, if I were a better one I'd have more problems than I have with Lost, but I just take it as the show it is and just enjoy what I like and try to dismiss the rest (see after 1x20 policy). It could also be that I'm way more bothered with Heroes right now on both racism and women issues if I have to be sincere.

That said, I write men more than I write women, but since I mostly write slash (see #2) that'd be kind of implied. I also prefer to write men in general, with women I always feel like I can't say anything interesting about the character even if I love said character. See Juliet in Lost, I love her but whenever I write her it seems like I can't say anything intelligent (then maybe it's my impression, but still). Of course everything also depends from what show I write for (I mean, if I wrote.. let's say Ally McBeal instead of Lost I'd be writing a lot more for women since there were only two/three lead males at once while in Lost I'm more interested in the male characters). Anyway, when I write women I approach them as I'd approach men and I always try to be fair to the character regardless of the sex or of how much I like him/her.

2) I wrote het, I wrote slash and I wrote a couple of short femslash fics, but I definitely prefer the first two. I write mostly m/m slash though, f/f just never grabbed my attention enough. Also in that little original fiction I wrote my main characters were mostly gay men with maybe some het romance sidelined. About the last question.. I don't have an idea. I mean, I'm straight (even if there are a couple of women I'd totally switched sides for ;) ) and I write slash. The only person I ever knew who wrote/read m/m fiction and wasn't a straight woman was a gay man so maybe that would be the case, but I think it's a discussion deserving a topic of its own.

3) I never write people of my own nationality. Not even in original fiction. It just feels so weird and I can't even find them names.

How do you deal with portraying their cultural identity while avoiding racial stereotypes?

Well, I do research about where they come from or where they live or about anything I could use for it. If it isn't an original character, I try to understand him/her. I try to avoid any stereotypes I could fall into, even if I just try to treat everyone equally. Lost speaking, I love that they have a multi-cultured cast even if now that I think about it, of the non white-American/English/whatever characters, 98% of who I write is Sayid. But it's mostly because he's the one who's more interesting IMHO. I might have dealt with racism directly once or twice, not Lost fic though (I might have referenced it when I wrote Sayid's POV once or twice but it was never the pivotal point), but the day I'll write that WWII AU which I've been working on in bits and pieces for eight months seriously *sigh* I will definitely be dealing with the issue.

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janie_tangerine December 12 2008, 11:36:58 UTC
4) Ouch, I hate dealing with religion. I find it such a personal and private issue that I just don't feel like I should do it especially since it's not a topic I can say anything on.

How do you feel about writing atheist characters?

They are the only characters I can write on that aspect because being an atheist myself I feel like I can give my two cents on the issue.

Does your own belief system influence how you portray religion or spiritualism in your writing?

Yes because I feel like my atheism could make me portray religion in a negative way and it wouldn't really be fair. I'd just rather not deal with it at all and I carefully avoid it. Which is also one of the reasons for which I feel like I don't exactly get Charlie and, to be honest, the main reason for which I never really warmed up to Eko as a character even if I liked him just fine. And the reason for which the island part on Fire + Water bothered me like television has rarely bothered me, which is why I just try avoid it while writing Lost.

5) Yes, at least that fic where Boone survived without the leg. I also wrote someone dealing with heroin withdrawal and drug addiction (also Lost speaking, when you write Nirvana!Jack you need to deal with drug addiction and alcoholism).

I think one has to try and do some balance dealing with this. I think that realism is the most important thing. As aboutbunnies said up there, people with disabilities in RL have to face real issues on a real daily basis and not treating it realistically would be pretty much disrespecting. Realism is fair to how your character would really feel. I remember that story mentioned first as one of the hardest things I've ever written my whole life and more than once I felt terrible while writing it. I just don't think you can deal with the subject being mainly delicate or ignoring that when you have any kind of disability, acquired or not, life isn't and will never be a bowl of cherries. I also think one has to pay attention not only to the disabled character but also to the others' reaction/dealing, especially if you write from someone else's POV and not from the disabled character. I also agree with everyone that said that Locke's situation in Lost shouldn't really count regarding the dealing-with-disabilities issues, since it doesn't really deal with the issue and anyway you have the island curing it or whatever it is.

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elliotsmelliot December 12 2008, 16:47:52 UTC
Your story about Boone surviving and living with one leg is so memorable. You addressed the pain involved in this tragic act, and how it was complicated by their poor living conditions. Plus I like how you handled Jack responsibilites there too.

That's an interesting comment about Fire & Water. I actually found the religious imagery the most interesting part of that episode.

Do you think the final episode will have the Flying Spaghetti monster besting Jacob and turn the islanders into rollicking pasta-eating pirates!

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janie_tangerine December 12 2008, 22:05:41 UTC
♥ Thanks again. I kind of didn't spare him anything there and it was probably the hardest thing I've ever written in emotional terms, but there I figured it was the only way I could deal with it. Especially regarding the responsibilities. ;)

You know, maybe Fire + Water could have been interesting, but I found the whole on island Charlie story ridiculous (baby stealing? *rolls eyes*), the whole 'what do you know about baptism' issue pretty implausible and in the end it just felt forced.

Do you think the final episode will have the Flying Spaghetti monster besting Jacob and turn the islanders into rollicking pasta-eating pirates!

If it happened it would make the BEST FINALE EVER IN HISTORY. And I'm sure that Sawyer would be on board as soon as he knew that he was going to get strippers in Heaven!

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falafel_musings December 12 2008, 22:07:13 UTC
Interesting that you never write Italian characters. Have there ever been any Italian Lost characters? Ooh, I loved your Boone fic where he lost his leg. Like I said, my favourite BSG character is missing a leg now too. Things like phantom-limb syndrome are very intense to write about.

F+W's religious themes bothered me too. I was never clear whether the 'Baptism of Christ' visions came from the island or just Charlie's insanity. The situation just made Charlie look like a religious nutter and Eko really didn't help matters. In the end the religious visions seemed meaningless. They didn't go anywhere. It just seemed like an episode where Charlie goes crazy. And what does Lost say you should do if you have a crazy person in your community? Beat them!

I don't get Charlie's faith either. The last thing he does before drowning was cross himself? Charlie, your "God" has been purposefully trying to kill you for weeks. He's screwed over your heroic sacrifice too. Yet you are still a devoted little Catholic boy? Whatever. The same goes for Desmond. The flashes should really have given them more of a crisis of faith.

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janie_tangerine December 12 2008, 22:34:11 UTC
Oh, sure they are. Sayid's target in The Economist (who also was excellently casted I must say, he was exactly your average Italian businessman going to the Seychelles for holidays) and Jack's... mh, I don't know what it was, anyway, the daughter of the guy he couldn't cure whom he kissed and then left there in The Hunting Party. (ETA: also, why the hell did they call her Gabriela when here it doesn't exist as a name and it'd be Gabriella I've never understood, but still.) Clearly if I had to stick with them I wouldn't go anywhere. ;) But writing characters of my own nationality just feels weird. I'd feel like an idiot even trying to pick names if they were original characters.

Things like phantom-limb syndrome are very intense to write about.

Oh, indeed. At certain points I was feeling terrible.

Glad that you're of the same opinion about the Fire + Water thing. I had exactly the same impression and Charlie just didn't seem like Charlie to me in there. I mean, fine if he's religious, but that was excessive and everyone seemed completely crazy. Also, I found it completely implausible that Claire would ask people if they knew about baptism. I mean, where did she live twenty years not knowing enough about it that she has to ask information? :// it seemed like they were giving the religious angle an importance that didn't seem there.

Agreed also about the Charlie-while-he-drowns thing. I mean, in that context it was a meaningful gesture and I guess that I could get why as a Catholic he'd do it, but in his place I'd have been pretty angry way before. I guess I just can't get what's behind it. Regarding Desmond, I think he should have had the crisis of faith at least from the hatch times, if not with the flashes. Unless you assume that he already had it after the monastery or sometime before.

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falafel_musings December 12 2008, 22:55:46 UTC
Desmond also made the sign of the cross before turning the key and supposedly dying. I just think they like to throw in religious references into the show here and there but they don't have much depth to them. Crazy fans (like me) can anaylise the Verrocchio painting in Charlie's dream, but the writers don't commit any real meaning to it. Ditto with the Abraham/Isaac reference in Catch-22. I don't mind religious symbolism in stories, but with Lost the religious elements just seem pretentious.

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zelda_zee December 13 2008, 07:41:45 UTC
Although even lapsed Catholics will automatically cross themselves when they enter a church if they aren't thinking about it - just a personal observation. I think Catholicism is a religion that gets into people on a very deep level and it seemed natural to me in both cases that Desmond and Charlie would make the sign of the cross.

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falafel_musings December 13 2008, 09:36:27 UTC
Yeah, it IS in character for both Desmond and Charlie as lapsed Catholics. This is just a good example of how I often have to go with the characters feelings about their faith and put my own feelings aside.

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