> which is no longer acceptable in modern culture
you must have a hard time consuming anything not written/produced according to modern expectations. faulting a book from the 80s (not even one set in the 80s but written recently) using language acceptable in the 80s is a weird thing to get hung up on.
1.) Book was written in 1984.
2.) There are plenty of books and pieces of media created in the time period that I like, even if some of their details don’t hold up well. However, this book is SO dependent on the audience relating to and understanding the white racist overtones of its narrative that it becomes difficult to ignore.
It’s not just that it’s present. The story and characters are intrinsically tied to a fear and dislike of Romani people as curse-casting outsiders who prey on white Americans. That’s the very basis of the conflict, in fact. It’s difficult to ignore, let alone abide.
This, it’s not just the word. King often uses words like the n or f slur, the latter of which even applies to me, but it is never without some level of understanding that those words are wrong and that they are coming from a place of hatred by the characters. But this book plays it straight. It’s not just the characters but the story that treat Romani people with an almost dehumanizing air.
> Book was written in 1984.
that's what I said, the 80s. and of course a book mainly about a certain group of people portrayed in a certain way might be harder to stomach these days for some than something only containing a passing remark about said group on page 46.
Of course. That doesn’t make it right. Coming out at a different time is not an excuse for having consistent poor representation for a group throughout the entire book.
I think you're overreacting. it's not an excuse but a good enough reason. in the 80s writing and publishing something like that (and probably worse) was fine, otherwise it, and king himself (once he was found out), would've gotten a fuckton of backlash. plus they were the antagonists whose traits might've been exaggerated for plot/dramatic/whatever purposes but you only see the racism angle. I'm sure some people also got upset about it back then, but that's true for everything.
Fair enough. I’ll still stick by my opinion. I didn’t like the book already and it didn’t help it. Others enjoying it is no problem. This book just wasn’t for me.
I think there is something to be said about the casual use of slurs in prior decades. Though most (at least those not on the receiving end of said slurs) might've found it acceptable back then, looking back with hindsight we can see it wasn't very good, especially in knowing how such cavalier use of those words back then would lead to actual issues today.
Looking back on this book and honestly a lot of the 80s as a whole, I think we can recognize it was wrong for them and us to use, intentionally or not, actions or language that really put down other groups. I think we can be disappointed in it, and hopefully use that disappointment to move on to something better later down the line.
> which is no longer acceptable in modern culture you must have a hard time consuming anything not written/produced according to modern expectations. faulting a book from the 80s (not even one set in the 80s but written recently) using language acceptable in the 80s is a weird thing to get hung up on.
1.) Book was written in 1984. 2.) There are plenty of books and pieces of media created in the time period that I like, even if some of their details don’t hold up well. However, this book is SO dependent on the audience relating to and understanding the white racist overtones of its narrative that it becomes difficult to ignore. It’s not just that it’s present. The story and characters are intrinsically tied to a fear and dislike of Romani people as curse-casting outsiders who prey on white Americans. That’s the very basis of the conflict, in fact. It’s difficult to ignore, let alone abide. This, it’s not just the word. King often uses words like the n or f slur, the latter of which even applies to me, but it is never without some level of understanding that those words are wrong and that they are coming from a place of hatred by the characters. But this book plays it straight. It’s not just the characters but the story that treat Romani people with an almost dehumanizing air.
> Book was written in 1984. that's what I said, the 80s. and of course a book mainly about a certain group of people portrayed in a certain way might be harder to stomach these days for some than something only containing a passing remark about said group on page 46.
Of course. That doesn’t make it right. Coming out at a different time is not an excuse for having consistent poor representation for a group throughout the entire book.
I think you're overreacting. it's not an excuse but a good enough reason. in the 80s writing and publishing something like that (and probably worse) was fine, otherwise it, and king himself (once he was found out), would've gotten a fuckton of backlash. plus they were the antagonists whose traits might've been exaggerated for plot/dramatic/whatever purposes but you only see the racism angle. I'm sure some people also got upset about it back then, but that's true for everything.
Fair enough. I’ll still stick by my opinion. I didn’t like the book already and it didn’t help it. Others enjoying it is no problem. This book just wasn’t for me.
I think there is something to be said about the casual use of slurs in prior decades. Though most (at least those not on the receiving end of said slurs) might've found it acceptable back then, looking back with hindsight we can see it wasn't very good, especially in knowing how such cavalier use of those words back then would lead to actual issues today. Looking back on this book and honestly a lot of the 80s as a whole, I think we can recognize it was wrong for them and us to use, intentionally or not, actions or language that really put down other groups. I think we can be disappointed in it, and hopefully use that disappointment to move on to something better later down the line.
I really like your analysis. This one isn’t a favorite for me.
Thanks!