2020s, culture, historical fiction, history, History in Films, In My Opinion, movies, writing

IMO: I can’t write.

Cindy Bruchman

When I was working on my MFA in Creative Writing, my first manuscript concerned an African American family in 1900. I asked my mentors, “How do I realistically create African American characters? How do I know how they felt?” Their answer for portraying people of color, gender, Jews, Asians, and Native Americans was to reveal the universal qualities intrinsic to us all. I took that to heart. So I created a Native American character in my second book. In the third novel, I’m creating Jewish sisters and exploring Japanese racism in the Pacific theater of World War II. Apparently, that’s a big no-no.

In the last decade, there is a backlash to my privileged life as a white woman. In fact, I am told, I am unqualified to write about diverse characters because I will inherently instill tropes and stereotypes that are insulting. Or, I will become the white savior who attempts to elevate the marginalized but in doing so, I discredit the group.

Though my heart is in the right place, it is misguided. While I want to showcase marginalized members of history, creating fictional characters unlike me is the wrong thing to do. When I started my academic journey in the early 90s, I rode the progressive wave–teach the history of the marginalized. Let’s change the canon. Now I feel like my surfboard cracked in half, and I’ve been kicked out of the club.

Well, shit.

I spent a great deal of time and money becoming a social historian. I love the research. Are the same issues facing white historians? Do I just give up writing, then? Or just write about white women? I am really fascinated by Jewish, African American, Native, and Asian history. I find their stories more interesting than my own. Here’s the informational article that got me thinking: https://yourtitakate.com/white-authors-write-poc/

I wonder how one respectfully gets around this writing obstacle? This extends to films, naturally. I just showed students Invictus as a way to connect my African American students to apartheid and racism. Nelson Mandela is certainly worth celebrating. Should Clint Eastwood have made that film? What about his film Gran Torino? Am I obtuse?

I’m not angry or pouting. I’m more curious in this day and age what is the answer?

Published by Cindy Bruchman

AZ educator, writer, traveler, movie buff

63 thoughts on “IMO: I can’t write.”

      1. I don’t know if this is acceptable or not, but personally I would find a nice, pleasant well educated member of the ethnic group in question, give them the book and then let them tell me where I have been offensive.

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  3. Although I’m not an author, and you are talking African American, I find my perspective is best learned by hearing a personal story. Perhaps you could get an interview from a Native American tribe in your area? Has a story there interested you?

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    1. Living in Arizona, as an educator and community member, I studied the Hopi, Yavapai, and Navajo. My son married a Navajo and my granddaughter and gson have grown up in white/Native worlds. That doesn’t make me an expert, by far. I have more experience with Hispanics and Natives than I do African Americans. Although, in my current school, 60 percent of my students are African American. So I’m learning…
      Anyway, the current dilema is Jewish and Asian (Filapino/Japanese) characters. I do the research and imagine their feelings. That’s the part where I wonder if I’m qualified.

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  4. Hi Cindy, this particular issue is one that effects us all. When I wrote my book, A Ghost and His Gold, I wanted to include an indigenous African and have that perspective included in the form of a main character. I didn’t do so, however, one because of this issue of cultural misappropriation and two because I could find enough historical support for this aspect of the war.

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  5. What is the answer? Just write. You didn’t grow up in a privileged community/society/family. You know what life is like. So write,

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      1. Right. Just write. Can you think of any signicant author who spent their time trying to please an ever changing, ever shifting fickle audience. Write your story and forget the rest.

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  7. The answer Cindy, is a raspberry to the know-it-alls. Was it a black man that wrote the character of Othello? We may have different cultures and life styles but we all have one thing in common, we are human beings.
    Keep up writing your diverse characters. They are believable.

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  8. I suspect we put too much faith in the academic community and not enough in the community of readers who don’t obsess on a daily basis about color and gender. A quick DNA test would probably reveal that somewhere in our gene pools we all carry genes of the abuser and the abused. That’s why in my novels I never back away from showing the human flaws of all my characters, no matter the color. If people want to cancel me, let them. I’m not going to cower to a few people who have too much time on their hands.

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      1. But this gets crazy. What if I said no one was allowed to write about rape unless they’d been raped? Or child abuse unless they had been a victim of abuse, and on and on. Part of writing is trying to make sense of the world and all the different players in it. Also, writers sometimes ruffle feathers if they are searching for truth. This after someone stalked me on instagram because I had the audacity to like the 1980’s film adaptation of Anne of Green Gables because it was very true to the novels which I loved. The stalker made it her mission to make me admit that the story shouldn’t be just about “some little white girl” (despite the fact that the book was about a particular little white girl. People are getting nuts.

        I think it’s actually more racist, sexist etc etc to treat different tribes as some sort of alien specimens we have to handle with kid gloves. Okay, I’m done. Sorry Cindy but this is a real pet peeve.

        I’m sure your writings are respectful and thoughtful. xxoo

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        1. Adrienne, it’s a pertinent topic for writers and educators. I’m in the classroom trying to makes sense of the world for them, for me.
          What truly scares me is the erasing of history. 1984 is here. I tell my students all the time, how can you measure your today when you do not what happend in the past? In WW2, all the memoirs, books and articles–there was an incredible amount of anti-Japanese hysteria. I wondered about the Nisei – the American Japanese who enlisted in the war effort to defend America. Same, too, for the Navajo Code Talkers.
          How to exist in a society that hates you? Well, my fictional character is Nisei. Now put him in the Philippines where the Japanese have invaded Manila and treat the POWs dreadfully. Is it any wonder they call them Japs? Not to me. But, if my fictional characters say the word “Jap” I know I’ll be condemned for condoning degenerate language. I’m just trying to convey the historical climate at the time.

          Well, there’s a lot here. I’ve scrambled. But these ideas worry me.

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  9. I read the long article before replying.
    My own thoughts are not so popular these days, but I consider Political Correctness to have not only stifled talent and progress, in extreme cases it has destroyed lives. It might have been a good idea at the time, but it has now got seriously out of control.

    It obviously applies heavily in the genre of historical fiction. Why should a writer born in 1970 be able to write anything about an historical event like the Battle of Waterloo, for example? He wasn’t there, didn’t live in the early 19th century, and never fought in a war.

    Was Bret Easton-Ellis a serial killer? No, but he wrote American Psycho very convincingly.

    Add the extra factor of writing from the point of view of a member of a different race, and you open the modern version of Pandora’s Box.
    Complainers should always remember that they are not compelled to read anything (or watch anything).

    Some of the greatest books in history were written by people who did not experience the period or way of life lived by their characters.

    So you keep writing, ignoring the politically-correct ‘police’, and rewarding your readers with intelligent, thoughtful, and well-researched books written with the sincerest intentions.
    Best wishes, Pete. X

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    1. I have enjoyed everyone’s opinion thus far. It’s a topic of our times. My readership are older. We tend to think similarly, yes? As far as WW2 goes, I just wanted to showcase the heroes. Too many no little about the events in the Pacific theater. I find their heroics inspirational.

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  10. I feel for you, Cindy. I’m going to got out on a limb here and suggest your main obstacle is being in a college environment where I think identity politics tend to run amok. People need to look beyond that and embrace our common humanity, to find the “Golden Middle Way” and rise above both the truly ignorant and venal on one side and the easily offended virtue-signalers on the other. Just stay true and hope for the best.

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      1. Thanks, Cindy. Actually, I’m not a professor but I am an author and working on a graphic novel. I keep these issues in mind but don’t let them rule over me. And though I’m usually against virtue signaling, I will say I just bought one of your books in support!

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  11. I agree with James Lindsay’s arguments and research that these aspects regarding ‘White Privilege’ and ‘Critical Race Theory’ are associated with a Neo Marxist & Post Modernism form of Gnostism so essentially they can get back into the saddle again. Herbert Marcuse started it all in the West in the 1960s. It’s been making big inroads since the Pandemic and China’s ability to convert Western Culture into a Stakeholder Capitalism mode of being.(with the support of the World Economic Forum). I cannot recommend more highly Lindsay’s recent podcast on ‘Stakeholder Capitalism and the End of History’. I’m a highly critical reader and I couldn’t find anything that I disagreed with in his essay. I could only respond, yes, yes and yes. It was scary stuff to be honest.

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  12. I agree with everyone who says you should be allowed the creative freedom to tell a story other than your own…Pete makes a great point and I’ll add to it: should Anthony Hopkins have been allowed to portray a cannibal serial killer NOT being one himself? I am all for shining a spotlight on inclusion and allowing other voices to be heard, and I am fully in support of giving the spotlight to those who haven’t had it in the past – and I want to understand the obstacles others have had that they feel I haven’t…for example, I never worry about a police office shooting me at a traffic stop – but far too many have that very valid concern..but if you continue to take this to the extreme, there is no longer any historical fiction because the Author couldn’t have lived then…as with so many other things today, it’s all extreme and no compromise and moderation…

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    1. I concur with you, John. As a women and a mother, my heart melts whenever I read or study a woman from the past, regardless of race or ethnicity, who birthed and lost, barren or barred. Or, I am the byproduct of strict German heritage. I am veteran–I understand patriotism and nationalism but I’m not extreme. Or, I do not know what it feels like to be a gay man, but my best friend from school was and I wept for him as he struggled with his feelings. He commited suicide. I feel I could tell his story faithfully.
      In other words, humans aren’t very originial. We have been suffering and pursuing and gaining and losing for eons. I am a firm believer in tolerance and empathy is my middle name. It’s what makes me feel whatever talent I have as a writer, it comes from that.

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  13. Pingback: Special Edition Post – Cindy Bruchman’s post IMO: I Can’t Write & James Lindsay’s ‘Stakeholder Capitalism and the End of History’ podcast. | Observation Blogger

  14. Hi Cindy, when interviewing someone from a specific culture, keep in mind that some cultures behave differently depending upon where they live. I learned several differences between Montreal and Toronto Jewish people from a friend who is Jewish and lived in both cities. Her insight was really interesting.

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  15. Great post Cindy 🙂 So far, I think you have done a fantastic job of representing people of color or who come from different religions. In fact, I think you have treated the topics with as much sensitivity as you can and that is to be highly applauded. Just keep doing what you are doing 🙂 Anyway, keep up the great work as always 🙂

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  16. From my point of view there is only one race and we are descended from one source with our original DNA cleverly constructed to send us in different directions which we now erroneously classify as separate races. I know that belief doesn’t sit well with the so called scientific community of our day but that’s my belief and it makes for a happier life for me because I read up all about the different cultures before venturing into them and rely on people from within that culture to mentor me into what may not be acceptable within that culture. I still make mistakes and learn from them. It takes time before people within the culture you are moving into accept you and that’s natural as we are all cautious as human beings. But after some time of observing you can be accepted and loved if you are humble and willing to learn at their feet. So I don’t subscribe to woke philosophies being promoted in our schools now as that causes unnecessary divisions. Your interest in understanding other cultures shows you are willing to learn but don’t let the woke agenda discourage you from trying and under no circumstances consider yourself guilty of offending anyone by trying. Be proud of your own heritage too.

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  17. When you said, “Well, shit”, I understood. I grew up in the south, the comfortable white beside the black. In my day, they were ‘colored’. How terrible. A few of my smart friends went off to prep school, which was a really big deal coming from West Virginia. One of my friends who headed off to prep school came home with a book, “Black Like Me” by John Howard Griffin. It’s classic now, but not back then. The author felt he had to live like a black in order to understand. That was a monumental step. It worked. I have read everyone’s comments, and they are wonderful. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t write about a different culture. Still, if you can you make any connections with people within that culture, it might be your missing link.

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      1. I am sincerely sorry Cindy that my site did not accept your comment – I did not see anything under spam or a comment pending, maybe I should look into that problem? 🙂 I am glad you loved my blog entry, but Kim Novak was not in The Birds and Marnie, that was Tippi Hedren 🙂

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  19. a writer’s greatness is based on the breadth of their world view. Look at the characters created by Shakespeare, Hugo, Tolstoy., and the other witers accepted as great. They did not stick to writing about people like themselves. It is only now, in the self centered society we live in, that writers write promarily of their own experiences They are not writers. They are diarists. If you aspire to greatness as a writer, broaden your horizon, dont limit them.

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      1. it is not that you are getting old. i belong to a group of global songwriters ranging from age 7 to 92..and most of them feel as you do.. the world actually is chaotic. and all the sense has been taken out of it. people cannot thing straight because the basic truth at wwhich point all thinking must stem have been twisted into lies, the result being that all conclusions drawn from these false premises are false. the media lies about everything. they made an issue of books being banned when a book has not been banned in the united states since 1965. what they refer to is the removal of some texts from school cirriculums, something that has been happening every year since schools began. or they lie about the nature of critical race theorym saying it is an advanced course in african american history. it is not. critical race theory is a marxist theory that believes and teaches that slavery is the foundation of capitalist society , and that no part of american history can be understood unless the plight of the african american is the sole basis for the historical analysis. I believe we have a long way to go in teaching the hisotry of the african americans , but that is not what critcal race theory is. if you look up critical theory, you will find that any marxist reinterpretation of any element of capitalist society, from film criticism to gender studies, will be some kind of critical theory.

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        3. At our school, this is the first year teaching AP African American History which I’m sure you are aware is under attack for teaching critical race theory. I asked my colleague how it was going and he said fine. It was not a critical race theory class but the history of African Americans. I got the impression it was as if one took a Hispanic course or Russian or Jewish studies and not how slavery is the seat of Capitalism. It’s confusing.
          Capitalism may be an overcooked turkey, but I don’t feel enslaved. I like my choices and I have earned all that I have. Could I should I make more money? It always helps, but I wouldn’t give up my bourgeois life to become one of the one percent. I cherish my freedoms, limited as they are at times.

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  20. You said you’re white, but what is “white?” Do you have knowledge of your ancestry? Your ancestry might surprise you! I myself am Spanish, Native American, and African… and yet wholly unqualified to write about any of those 😅 I would say research and do everything respectfully, but that’s just me.

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    1. Welcome lovely Panda. Yes! You bring up a good point. I’m German and Irish. Our family did the DNA test. I am a vervent believer we are all of mixed blood and better for it. I feel uncomfortable when discussions go to “black and white”. The world, we, are gray.

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