tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051848062156974901.post2445948721551385828..comments2023-12-30T06:35:43.958-05:00Comments on Feed My Need . . . For a Good Read: Perfect Chemistry: White Savior SyndromeLarissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02739647250724315874noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051848062156974901.post-41919008259145242142012-01-05T19:15:29.693-05:002012-01-05T19:15:29.693-05:00Hey Sybil and Mac! Thanks for stopping by and leav...Hey Sybil and Mac! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!<br /><br />@Sybil-Exactly! Why pay for something you don't support?! I certainly don't. <br /><br />@Mac-Oh yeah! I didn't like the Blindside either. I know it's a true story, but still, it's sad that they made a movie that glorifies a white family "saving" a black man from a negative black family. <br /><br />I don't understand why Hollywood fails to support minorities triumphing. Sad. <br /><br />Good examples!Larissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02739647250724315874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051848062156974901.post-4329045851065982332012-01-05T15:58:10.642-05:002012-01-05T15:58:10.642-05:00The Green Mile, monster's ball, any movie wher...The Green Mile, monster's ball, any movie where the white teacher teaches the black kids to shape up - they're all big box office and they're all shameless because of White Savior syndrome.<br /><br />I just saw "The Blind Side", which was worst of all. Yes, I know it was based on a true story, but the black character seemed to be... simple (being polite here). <br /><br />-Mac Campbell<br /><a href="http://iwritehorror.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Damn Fine Horror</a>Mac Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18025256806783821913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051848062156974901.post-13380250578952624822012-01-04T22:50:51.156-05:002012-01-04T22:50:51.156-05:00@Stephanie
In my Priscilla the Great series, Prisc...@Stephanie<br />In my Priscilla the Great series, Priscilla's arch enemy is of Chinese descent. She has a British accent, but she's still Chinese. I actually had someone ask my why she has a British accent if she's Chinese. As if there are no Chinese people in England. Wow, some people are so sheltered. Anyway, though the girl is a villain, it is an important role. Villains can be minorities, heroes, love interests anything that white characters can be as well.<br />@Larissa I definitely protest with my wallet. Though I read The Help, I refused to pay for it. I read it for free on my Nook while in a Barnes and Noble. I did the same thing with Something Borrowed. I refused to pay for it. They get enough money. If I shell out money for a book it is because I'm either supporting another Indie or minority.Sybil Nelsonhttp://www.sybilnelson.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051848062156974901.post-6897001543715481632012-01-04T21:54:22.168-05:002012-01-04T21:54:22.168-05:00Hey Donna Yates and Fall Into Books! Thanks for st...Hey Donna Yates and Fall Into Books! Thanks for stopping by and dropping a comment!<br /><br />@Donna-It's sad to see this stereotype and to see that people aren't really doing anything about it. I'm not talking about rising a big protest, but to vote with our wallets. To tell the traditional publishing industry that we will not support your book or your stereotyping by not buying your products. I think that's the only way the media will stop stereotyping. <br /><br />@Fall Into Books-Thanks for the compliment! I love your blog too. So much so that I'm now a new follower! Thanks for stopping by and don't be a stranger.<br /><br />Thanks again all for dropping by. I love the fact that other readers feel the same way about certain issues arising in books. :)Larissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02739647250724315874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051848062156974901.post-58548652422513561962012-01-04T21:50:38.557-05:002012-01-04T21:50:38.557-05:00Hey Stephanie! Thanks for stopping by and commenti...Hey Stephanie! Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my blog! <br /><br />Exactly my problem! I don't understand why it is required for a Chinese character be in a movie as soon as kung fu is mentioned. I don't understand why a movie is set in a certain place about a gang, it has to be a minority gang. There are white gangs but people seem to forget that. Anyway, you raise a great point about it being hard to find a book with a Chinese main characters. I feature a Korean-Japanese character in my book, Angel Diaries, but still. The only book that comes to mind that I remember that has a Chinese character in it is American Born Chinese graphic novel. So yeah.<br /><br />Anyway, thanks again for getting me to think about that aspect as well. Hmm, now I want to go look for a book with a Chinese main character . . .Larissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02739647250724315874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051848062156974901.post-75759143201602243682012-01-04T21:33:53.774-05:002012-01-04T21:33:53.774-05:00Hi, new follower here. Nice blog!
Amber
http://fa...Hi, new follower here. Nice blog!<br /><br />Amber<br />http://falln2books.blogspot.comFall Into Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11420957223360840257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051848062156974901.post-79468223364659766042012-01-04T20:34:42.886-05:002012-01-04T20:34:42.886-05:00Excellent points! I agree with you on this. I...Excellent points! I agree with you on this. I'd love to see the media stop stereotyping.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08311305166391446029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051848062156974901.post-52852317087791637232012-01-04T19:15:40.044-05:002012-01-04T19:15:40.044-05:00Excellent post. Though I enjoyed it, I had a lot o...Excellent post. Though I enjoyed it, I had a lot of issues with Perfect Chemistry for a number of reasons, and this is one of them. It always bothers me that minority characters are underrepresented in general, but then overrepresented when we're dealing with negative aspects. I'm not from America, so the cultural makeup of my country is different, but the same issue is prevalent here. I'm marrying a Chinese guy, and I always wonder where the books featuring kids of a Chinese background are. I only ever seem to see those where a Chinese background is used to introduce mythology, and I find this both disappointing and frustrating.Stephanie @ Read In a Single Sittinghttp://www.readinasinglesitting.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051848062156974901.post-82252162146851697692012-01-04T19:13:34.937-05:002012-01-04T19:13:34.937-05:00Hey Sybil! Thanks for the post (I can't call i...Hey Sybil! Thanks for the post (I can't call it a comment, because good Lord, it's a nice long blog post) and for dropping by! <br /><br />Wow, there are so many things in there I don't know where to begin. I have to say I'm so glad somebody agrees with me and sees the same thing I do. It's just really annoying that people love this book, but fail to see that minorities are getting bad character roles. The fact that Brittany "saved" Alex is completely ignored in reviews of that book. Instead they talk about the love story as if that is all that matters, and it's not. <br /><br />Race matters. And unfortunately, just like you said, not a lot of positive minority characters are out there as a main character. And when we do get a "token" (that could start a whole another post) they are the funny black person or the ghetto black person or even the quiet black person that barely says anything. So it just says a lot about our culture that we are still dealing with stereotypes. <br /><br />I was actually tempted to include The Help as one of the examples, but I haven't read the book and I wasn't interested in it. I was going to watch the movie since the girl from Easy A (I forgot her name) was in it, but I haven't. But that's the perfect example of the white savior syndrome. <br /><br />Funny thing about the Black History Blog Hop: I think the person you are talking about may have been me! :) I don't get a lot of requests for African American works. And I was wondering where I would get some (for the giveaway). So, lol, funny how that happens, right?! Anyway . . .<br /><br />Amen on that! I want a positive female African American woman model in the theaters. What am I suppose to tell my kids (when I get some anyway, lol): Um, Hollywood is racist and decided that all African American females are the same? It's heart wrenching that we are poorly represented in theaters other than the stereotypical mad black woman and the funny sister. <br /><br />Man, that's one of my complaints actually about the YA section. You see all of these black covers but there aren't any black people in these paranormal romance books (like Twilight, like you mentioned) which is a crying shame. That is why I support Dia Reeves who's an African American writer who writes YA paranormal fantasy books and I will continue to support writers like you and Dia Reeves. <br /><br />No please keep ranting! :) It's nice to see someone else worked up about this too. It seems like people pick up books without thinking about the message behind them. So anyway, thanks for stopping by, and please feel free to drop by again.Larissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02739647250724315874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051848062156974901.post-11644658640347012712012-01-04T13:57:39.712-05:002012-01-04T13:57:39.712-05:00AMEN! This is what I'm always trying to say! O...AMEN! This is what I'm always trying to say! One of my biggest pet peeves is that there are never any main black characters. In the rare case that there is a token black character, it is usually a male. Where are the black females. There are no role models for girls. This is why as Leslie DuBois, I write interracial stories that feature a variety of races in several different situations. I think the thing with White Savior syndrome is that people find it easier to swallow and believe that a white person is saving a black. Even the book The Help annoyed me. While it is a great book and I loved it, I honestly do not think the book would have been as popular if a black person wrote it. And once again in that book, it is a white person saving blacks by telling their story for them. I've been trying to get people together to do a Black History Month blog hop which would entail doing book reviews for books with black main characters or giving away a book with a black person on the cover. The response has been slim to none. One person who was interested in helping asked if I could give her a list of such books because she didn't know any. Ahem! That's the problem! It makes me want to scream sometimes. I just want a book or a movie to feature an African American women who is not a hoochie or hood rat. This is why I started writing. I wanted to read mainstream books that featured characters like me. And the book doesn't even have to speak about the black experience. Why can't regular books just throw in a black character once in a while? Why couldn't one of the Pretty Little Liars have been black? I haven't read Twilight but apparently Bella can find a Vampire and a Werewolf to hang out with but not one black person? Okay, I need to calm down and stop ranting. Thanks for the post.Sybil Nelsonhttp://www.sybilnelson.comnoreply@blogger.com