Back In A Groove

I finally feel like I'm getting back into a sort of rhythm again. The summer really threw off where I was going and what I had planned. It was like I was on a clear path for the first half of the year, and then everything just got knocked off the tracks. I'm trying to pull myself back on and adjusting the course as necessary, but still not sure where I'm going to end up.

I know that's all a bit convoluted, but that's because it's like that in my head - all muddled, with only a few sure things to lead the way.

In the meantime, a friend forwarded me this link to an interesting post by Amal El-Mohtar, which was in response to this post by author Elizabeth Moon. Just to sum up, Moon is to be honoured at Wiscon next year as an esteemed Guest of Honour. The issue at hand is that Wiscon is the "world's leading feminist science-fiction/fantasy convention." Moon's post, however, is very problematic, to put it mildly. The Wiscon conference committee released a statement that they did not intend to rescind Ms. Moon's Guest of Honour-ship, but that they hoped the conference would be a place for further dialogue on the issues.

I won't give additional credence to Moon's post by reproducing it here in any of its parts, but here's a bit from El-Mohtar's response:

"I can't help but wonder, if Moon had said that 'many Black people possess all the virtues of civilised persons,' there would have been any 'controversy' at all. Or, to forestall the 'race and religion are different!' arguments, if she had said 'many Jews possess all the virtues of civilised persons.' Basically, if she had expressed bigotry that can't masquerade as a political leaning or a concern for national security, would there be any soul-searching over what to do? Would the committee co-chairs still be 'committed to making WisCon a place where all may participate and be heard'?

For me, it's a tough call with regard to the conference because the other Guest of Honour next year is Nisi Shawl, whom I deeply respect and admire. At the same time, Wiscon is a feminist, progressive conference. It is one of the only spaces of its kind where people of like mind can gather and move dialogue forward. It is one of the few places where discussions around power and privilege are part of the programming and actually take place, front and center, in all their honesty, ugliness, mess and, at times, enlightenment.

Do read the posts if you get a chance. The comments after El-Mohtar's post are lengthy, but worth the read, too.

Feminist Sci-Fi; Links

The Rejectionist is having feminist sci-fi week on her blog and my guest post is up. Swing by there and add your thoughts.

Also, because of Le R's femscifi week, I have discovered author Clare Bell. I was intrigued by her comment on one of the comment threads. Although I have never been a "talking animals" fan per se, since my romance novels feature shapeshifters I went to her website to poke around. I stayed up way later than I intended, reading Ms. Bell's publishing history (it is in ten parts) which, while being heart-wrenchingly devastating, was also incredibly inspiring. *If you have any interest in publishing, sci-fi/fantasy lit, the writer's journey . . . go read Ms. Bell's path to publication*. As an author, all I could say when I finished was a stunned, "Wow." Lucky for readers, Ms. Bell is still getting her work out there and fighting for the fans who adore her characters. Do check out her website and read the first chapter in the series.

And, if you haven't checked out Ari's amazing letter to Borders, why the $%^& not??? You are hope and inspiration, Ari.

Have a great weekend, all!

Thoughts on Avatar

I wasn't sure I wanted to go, really, and fought feelings of not wanting to support another Dances With Wolves type of film that exalted the redemption of White Male Saviour. And Avatar certainly had that. I went fully expecting to hate it because of everything I'd read from respected colleagues and friends. And I'm far from being a Cameron fan -- though my guess is that, as usual, he had tons of input from plenty of other creative minds (who will, most likely, never get credit for it).

Could be that my expectations were so low, but I came out of the theater loving the movie. That's right, I said it: "loving." The movie was visually stunning--which I expected. After all, a budget of four hundred million dollars and a shooting location in Hawaii should buy you some pretty shots, shouldn't it?

[**WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD** ]

But I found the film to be slightly more than the racial cow-patty it has been in some discourses. It absolutely has that element--I'm not disputing it. That part DID annoy me. And maybe if I had gone in not knowing I'd encounter that, I'd be more enraged. But as it was, I went in expecting to be offended. But I was far less offended than I thought I'd be.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not excusing the inherent white male fantasy in the film. There was a most gag-worthy scene where these gorgeous, neon, jelly-fish type of "seeds" from a sacred soul-tree drifted onto the main character, Jake Sully, and settled on his skin, covering his arms, face, and torso and creating a very Jesus-like image. And of course, it was the white male channeled through the Na'vi who rode the biggest dragon in to save the day. So, if you go, DO be prepared for that. And the argument that all the main PoC characters are painted in blue throughout the entire film is totally valid. But, again, I went in knowing all this, so I wasn't surprised and didn't feel the need to retch as soon as I got out of the theater.

So, having said all that... there were some things I was truly impressed with -- not just because my expectations were significantly lowered, but because no one has really touched on these in a lot of the conversations I've been privy to:

1) The women were kickass. Neytiri (played by Zoe Saldana) was FIERCE. If this was a film I could take my girls to (can't, they're too young), I would LOVE for them to see Neytiri. Why can't we have more Neytiris on celluloid? On covers of books? On television? She was strong, full of integrity, beautiful, sensual, confident, protective, nurturing, and did I mention FIERCE? Her number one priority was her people. She didn't just see this exotic white boy and fall madly, deeply in love; completely and utterly giving up her own destiny and her people. Her allegiance was clear from the first moment she met the outsider -- who, for the record, looked *exactly* like her people because he was a hybrid, an inter-species mix of human and Na'vi. Neytiri is totally my shero. She could fight. She knew how to tame and ride a horse AND a dragon. And she didn't need anyone to save her. In fact, she was the saviour, in the end. NOT the white male.

In fact, I'm trying to remember if there was a negative female portrayal at all, and my mind is drawing a blank. The scientist, the pilot, Neytiri, her mother . . . all intense, powerful, principaled women.

2) The spiritual sensibility woven throughout the film. The idea of ancestral connection really resonated with me. This is a concept I grew up with as an Indian woman, a Sikh woman. It's a concept indigenous peoples all over the world are intimately familiar with. And it's a basic Truth of life that the west is only now, perhaps, beginning to embrace. But nonetheless, it's an important concept that should, in my opinion, be incorporated into daily life.

All of the spiritual threads hit home for me. The idea of real, biological connections between the earth, animals, plants, and humans; the concept of Earth as mother (there is an old Bollywood film called Mother India in which Dharti Maa -- Mother Earth -- is repetitively enforced throughout); the idea of energy flow among all living things.

And the fact that all of the spiritual elements were led and upheld by women were another point of resonance. Something I rarely see in mainstream media in any form. In fact, spirituality that is not reduced to a tool of capitalism is something not often portrayed in mainstream media.

3) The exalting of collaborative effort over individual gain. This was a value of the Navi (who seemed to be a mix of indigenous cultures from all over the globe, but a most identifiable similarity was with the Maasai of Eastern Africa--the dress, body type, jewelry, etc.). Connection was a sacred belief. That we are all a connected, bonded network, and what happens to one, affects us all.

5) There was some obvious critique of colonization. Those of us who are aware of the horrors of colonization and imperialism were, in all likelihood, not shocked by the destruction of Pandora at the hands of the colonizers. But for people who never have to face these realities, it very likely was a revelation. And there were clear references to the Bush agenda and approach to foreign relations throughout.

When I left the theater, I caught an older white woman's conversation on her cell phone: "Oh, my gawd, it was horrible. SO depressing, I can't even talk about it." [think Long Island accent]

I wracked my brain to find where the depressing part was, and the only thing I could come up with was the devastation of colonization. Because to me, the end was somewhat inspiring. And the whole film was about resistance--relentless, unceasing resistance which culminates in ultimate victory for those under siege. How unusual to see that in a Hollywood film--particularly when the enemy is a depiction of the American military (for contrast, see this site for a detailed timeline of Paramount's casting decisions for the upcoming film, Airbender. The villains are all PoC, and the heroes are all white).

In the end, this is the way I see it: if we want films (books) to truly and accurately represent us, we need to own our own production houses (publishing houses). There are enough of us out there who are gainfully employed that getting together and starting something could be a reality. But, instead of doing that, we spend all of our energy elbowing our way into the Big House.

This is one film from the Big House that actually got some things right. It got some things wrong, too, but that is to be expected when we are not at the reins, no? It wasn't an independent production. Its aim was to appeal to the masses. And yet, it still portrayed some unpopular ways of looking at life, women, spirituality, American militarism, the Bush agenda, colonization and imperialism. When we're looking to others to represent us, then we have to keep fighting for them to get it right. OR, we can say, "You know what? Fark you. You keep screwing up, so I'm doing my own sh*t."

And since none of us have done that yet (on the scale of Twentienth Century Fox), I'm going to say that I loved this film for what it did get right. Plus, I am a serious sucker for awesome special effects. I was able to get over Keanu's gawd-awful acting and the White Male Saviour concept for the Matrix trilogy for similar reasons.

But the stuff that Avatar did get right is now being viewed by the masses--teenagers who are addicted to female heroines like Bella from Twilight (please don't let my daughters ever try to emulate her), construction workers and wall street types who couldn't give two craps about spirituality, waitresses and lawyers who spend more money on their fingernails and hair than they do on healthy food. All kinds of people are going to see this movie, and it is showing some important perspectives not normally portrayed on the big screen. Or any screen, for that matter. And I, for one, think that is pretty cool.

There is so much more to say on this film and the issues it raises, or doesn't raise, and I'd love to engage in dialogue with others who've seen it. Feel free to comment or email.

Oh--one more thing: if you're going to see it, you MUST see it in 3D. The cinematography is something to be experienced.

On Women, the "Other," Sci-Fi, and Spirituality

Speaking of Octavia Butler . . .

I was thrilled to be asked to guest post on Alma Alexander's blog. I decided, in honor of her genre of writing, to do a post on something I've been wanting to explore for some time--my passion for certain types of fantasy/paranormal/sci-fi writing. And here is the post I came up with (cross-posting from her site):

Octavia Butler once said “Every story I read practically had, as its main character, a white man who drank and smoked too much and who was about thirty. So I began writing, for my submission, about white men who drank and smoked too much and were about thirty. It’s not surprising that these were rejected.” If you want to see the video where she says this, it is here. In the same clip, Robert Silverberg says that Star Trek, with its portrayal of women characters and people of color, caused a giant leap in the readership of science fiction. In other words, people who normally were on the margins, saw a reflection of ourselves in the center.

I was first introduced to the works of women authors of science fiction in my early twenties. Octavia Butler, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Diane Duane were among the first I read. They were presented to me as “feminist science fiction authors” at the time and, at first, they hardly registered on my radar.

I’d been writing for pretty much my whole life, but until then, I had never really thought I could write a book. And when I finally ventured to read the first book—Marion Zimmer Bradley’s THE FREE RENUNCIATES trilogy, I was enthralled. I inhaled the rest of the titles and went out in search for more. Reading the works of these women showed me that the kinds of things that moved me—stories featuring strong women and people of color, living lives they created according to their own definitions—were valuable. Books about these characters were important, and people wanted to read them. It suddenly struck me that there was a huge market for these kinds of novels. And that these novels were more than just stories . . . they were doors.

I absolutely walked through a door the first time I read WILD SEED by Octavia Butler. I fell so utterly and hopelessly in love that I changed course one hundred and eighty degrees, and have never looked back. Part of the reason her book left such a deep imprint on me is that the themes in her books, and those of the women I’ve mentioned above (as well as Marge Piercy (WOMAN ON THE EDGE OF TIME), and the relatively newer voice of Nalo Hopkinson), is that they not only portrayed the “other” as complex, fully realized characters, but also because they explore themes of rebellion, resistance, challenge to systemic oppression . . . and spirituality.

The use of magic (as discussed on this blog in previous posts), the age-old battle of life and creativity versus death and destruction, shape-shifting, time travel, eternal life, a journey of searching, visiting other worlds . . . all of these are allegories of transcendance, re-birth, the life-death-life cycle, that colossal battle within us all for inner balance, and faith. Where else do we most commonly see these themes, other than in religious texts?

The books I read by women authors of science fiction and fantasy incorporated a spirituality that included and exalted women, honored the ancestors, and implied a reverent relationship between the self, others, the earth, and the cosmos.

Octavia Butler and Nalo Hopkinson explicitly use spiritual imagery and reference in their works. In WILD SEED, the protagonist Anyanwu/Emma clearly adheres to her old, African ways and beliefs, even as she enters and spends centuries in slave-era America. In KINDRED, the setting of the American antebellum South depicts a different kind of spirituality: one of holding on to humanity and dignity, believing in the unknown . . . and clutching faith close. Nalo Hopkinson also uses elements of her Caribbean upbringing in her novels—BROWN GIRL IN THE RING incorporates many Caribbean Voudun rituals and beliefs into its text, and THE NEW MOON’S ARMS seamlessly threads a Caribbean spirituality into its text.

Marion Zimmer Bradley, Marge Piercy, and Diane Duane focus on the most immediate site of devotion: the Self. Their stories all involve discovery of the Self—the age old journey of moving away from the Self, wandering lost and alone and in the (symbolic) woods, then seeing the light and making one’s way back to the Self: life, death, resurrection—all using stories told with masterfully written allegory.

Science Fiction and Fantasy will never die as a genre. It speaks to everyone because it is so often about the journey we are all on: discovery. It is universal in its specificity. It is a door. And it is one that more and more women, people of color, and other “others” are walking through because, as a result of women authors and women of color authors, it is now part of the great Possible.

Writers On Writing: Octavia Butler

I love this video because there's Octavia Butler at a panel where ALL of the other panelists are white and male. And she is not giggly, or girly, or deferring to them in any way. She is outspoken, opinionated, funny, and engaging. Awesome.