James Charles vs. Tati Westbrook! Is James Charles CANCELLED? Within a few days of this scandal, Charles lost millions of his subscribers and multiple brand deals. How could one scandal like this end a career? Well, that’s all thanks to Youtube’s notorious Cancel Culture. In recent years, it has even gained traction in the publishing world. Authors now fear for their career if they are not #ownvoices enough, causing unrest among authors about what to write. It really has gone too far. The rules of #ownvoices have become too strict and too politically driven, limiting the amazing books that could be. One should be #ownvoices, but only to an extent; if there is understanding and respect, it should really not be the reason an author is cancelled.
In the case of Kosko Jackson, the cancel culture was too extreme. Jackson, a black, gay male, already showed that his novel was #ownvoices enough by creating a character that was also a black, gay male. However, his novel was cancelled due to a setting. Now, that’s the extreme. One can understand that people who go through wars live in the harshest time; however, is it really so complex that one needs to tear down a whole career for? As authors with corporate publishing, they already go through a strict drafting process to ensure that it would not offend anyone. This means things are researched and authors try to write them justice. More than likely, Jackson has chosen the Kosovo War simply because he wanted a war setting and it was an event in history. He had no intent to cause disrespect to a culture. In addition, it should be considered that the storyline is not of the Kosovo War; it was about a black, gay man journey of love. Similarly, Alina Boyden, a non-Indian, chose her setting to be 17th century Mughal Empire and was attacked for it. Who even is still alive form the Mughal Empire? It’s history. Both Jackson and Boyden did not appropriate the setting; they used these settings as enhancing backdrops to their story line. Besides, if authors become so concerned with appropriating a setting, the only books that would be written are fantasy books with settings that no one can relate to. The entire genre of historical fiction could be cancelled. Is respect and effort to understand not enough? Or do authors still need to pay the price with their creative soul?
However, there are some extremes that do not respect #ownvoices at all. These are what should be cancelled. In the entertainment industry, it is not unusual to adapt a book for the screen; however, there are lines that should not be crossed, such as white washing. Ursula K. Le Guin, the author of the acclaimed Wizards of Earthsea, became a subject of this. Although a white author, she wrote her novel with characters that were blatantly described as people of color (In the sense of traditional #ownvoives, this could’ve been a violation; however, it seems it was not because it is a high fantasy novel, as I mentioned in the previous paragraph.) On the screenplay, all the characters were all white. What kind of injustice is that! Authors wrote their stories in their #ownvoices, but to have someone come by and completely change that voice is pure disrespect to the author. It should not be done.
In all honesty, the cancel culture of the publishing world and the #ownvoices movement has its benefits and hold authors accountable for their writing; however, some of its rules are simply too extreme. It is easy to understand why a white person should not write about slavery, or why an American that has never travelled there should not write about living in North Korea. They just don’t know enough about it and there is a lack of clear viewpoint. But a setting should not be what determines the fate of an author and their books. Settings are backdrops are not part of the main storyline; it is there for enhancement and the author’s rhetorical choice. To have the #ownvoices movement be this toxic would only cause fear among authors and a lack of creativity and diversity. Respect and understanding should be established, and then, move on. No need to tear down a life.
Writing About Magic - Angela Pham 