When it comes to literary hoaxes and authorship ethics, I do think it is completely wrong for an author to pretend to be a race or religion they are not or write experiences they never had. Not only are you breaking the trust of their readers when that happens but they also hurt the people who felt understood and heard through their stories. However, it could be argued that the books should be separated from the author. For example, J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter Series. The Harry Potter series has sparked a love of reading in so many children, and even adults, through the years. Yet since finding out that J.K. Rowling is transphobic, many people have boycotted the series or hidden their love of the series. Because of this people argue that books should be seen as separate from the authors themselves since their books could have brought so much happiness and good that it would be horrible to remove that because of the author’s behaviors and ethics. This has been a controversial issue for readers and I can personally see it from both sides. I think the article “Literary Hoaxes and the Ethics of Authorship” shows how difficult this choice is.
I agree, it is a difficult choice. I see your point, too. Harry Potter is such a delightful, genius, and culturally significant work that it would be a shame to throw it away because of the author's actions. One can separate the work from the author (like the longstanding internet schtick that the real author of Harry Potter is Daniel Radcliffe), but there's the hidden dagger of Rowling continuing to profit off of official Harry Potter merchandise, book sales, and film ventures. Is it truly separate if Rowling profits? But then what is the choice if you want to enjoy Harry Potter and pass it on to the next generation? It seems that perhaps pretending Daniel wrote Harry Potter might have to be enough.
ReplyDeleteI like that you said it breaks the trust of readers to pretend to be a certain race or religion that aligns with the characters you wrote. I don't think there's anything wrong with writing characters and experiences that are different to your own race and culture, but care has to be taken to do it justice. Lying about your identity and profiting off of minorities is not it!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't think you can ever entirely separate the author from the work. Like with the Harry Potter example, it's important to have conversations about the harm Rowling is perpetuating (and directly funding), as well as some of the problematic things within the book series. But, at the end of the day, I too like to think of Daniel as the rightful author!