Blood Heir, first in a debut trilogy from author Amelie Wen Zhao, is back on track to being published in November after a – and how do I tread carefully here? – mob of Twitter young adult literature enthusiasts got the book shut down before it was published because some felt it was . . . icky.
Some felt the story was “an offensive likeness of American slavery and black oppression,” though it was set in a fictional world and though the author stated she was writing about contemporary human trafficking in a fantasy setting, per Slate.
Past life experiences intruding on present times, or so it seems, if I were a Ghostbuster.
Here’s what Slate says:
In hindsight, [Amelie Wen] Zhao’s handling of the episode is a master class in turning an online backlash into a boon. The move allowed her to make a public gesture toward taking her critics seriously, while also winning sympathy and support from the many people who view the YA community’s self-appointed representation police with distaste. Although the withdrawal looked like a defeat at the time, it also boosted Zhao’s profile significantly. The announcement of the book’s return was granted flattering coverage in the Times. And the novel itself will be published less than six months later than originally scheduled. The return of Blood Heir is a reminder that for all the agita about free speech and “Twitter mobs,” so-called cancellation isn’t always permanent in the wider world.
They’ve also got a pretty good run-down of other authors who have fallen into the Twitter machine, including one whose book was unpublished even after he was one who heaped scorn upon Zhao. I write a little bit about the situation here.
James Lileks – again – writes something on a similar vein, as he writes about modern cartoonists frowning on the then-countercultural work of cartoonist R. Crumb (I don’t much like his stuff, though I can see the place for it):
But don’t worry! Just because the culture deemed something anti-social, then made space for it to exist on its own terms, then deemed it anti-social again by the new standards that arose from the lifting of societal restraintsm - well, that doesn’t mean that could happen to you!
Just to make sure it doesn’t, though, create your art with an eye towards every possible objection from people whose identity status means they have absolute moral authority to cancel you and your work.
If you don’t, you are abetting future violence. Hell, you’re practically committing future violence.
Let's see what sort of art comes out of this. Let's see how brave that world will be.
It’s fun and games to crap on the creations of others until it’s your creation getting crapped on by the bandwagoners of today.
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