I’m rather certain that the answer is yes – they’ve always been impacted by culture.
The writing and other art that you do is a product of your environment.
Even when you are writing sci-fi and fantasy, the culture in which you live and have grown up, politics, economics, climate, and many other factors will have an impact.
The recent article about Star Trek suddenly being “woke” is utterly tone-deaf. Because truth be told – Star Trek has ALWAYS been that way.
The first-ever interracial kiss on television was on Star Trek. In the original pilot, the second-in-command was a woman – which is one of the things the network wanted to change. And if you think Roddenberry and his series were ever subtle about this – what rock have you been living under?
TV and movies are not the only places such things emerge. Lots of books have been controversial over the years because of their “woke” and like progressive postures.
You could choose to create art in a way that reflects fundamentalist values. But let’s be honest here – fundamentalism and artistic expression are opposites.
The arts are always impacted by culture
Across all of recorded history, there have been works of art that came out as controversial.
Some art even got altered to reflect the sensibilities of one time period over another. Take the placement of fig leaves over genitalia in some works, for example.
Art in its many forms has often been a catalyst for change. It’s been a way to express new ideas that frequently challenge the status quo. Or, in some instances, take a stand regarding some ongoing social issues like racism, equality, equal rights, and so on.
This is where fundamentalists and the arts come into frequent conflict. As Steven Pressfield writes in his brilliant The War of Art (and if you have not read this book, I highly recommend it),
“The fundamentalist (or, more accurately, the beleaguered individual who comes to embrace fundamentalism) cannot stand freedom. He cannot find his way into the future, so he retreats to the past. Fundamentalism and art are mutually exclusive. There is no such thing as fundamentalist art. This does not mean that the fundamentalist is not creative. Rather, his creativity is inverted. He creates destruction. Even the structures he builds, his schools and networks of organization, are dedicated to annihilation, of his enemies and of himself.”
Look familiar?
Is it any wonder that any film, TV show, or book that prominently features a leading POC, woman, LGBTQA+ character, or anything other than a white man gets a backlash presently?
Again, from Steven Pressfield,
“The fundamentalist puts his greatest creativity into the perfect avatar for the thing he most despises.”
That’s a near-perfect explanation of the backlash as I can conceive.
I choose for my art to be impacted by culture
When it comes to the writing that I do, I have made a very conscious choice to be impacted by culture.
What does that mean?
When I first began my Void Incursion sci-fi series, I chose to take some of the standard sci-fi tropes and either stand them on their head or otherwise mess with them. Thus, I created an alien species with no gender whatsoever – and invented my own pronouns to that end (pronouns I am reusing for a wholly different sci-fi series, FYI).
One of my main protagonists is a middle-aged lesbian. Another protagonist is revealed to be omnisexual (because bisexual is not wholly applicable when aliens are involved, is it?) And when it comes to my humans, I chose not to describe them. Hence, the reader can choose to see them however they want – black, white, Asian, mixed – whatever.
Similarly, for my Forgotten Fodder sci-fi series, though I again chose not to describe my characters, I make it rather clear that they are mixed-race via interesting blends of names. I figure, 500+ years in the future, spread across colonies light-years from Earth, humans won’t have any single racial identity.
Also, I’ve included several gender non-binary characters in the story. And one of the main focal points of the story is inequality – as the clones have, post-war, become an interplanetary underclass.
Why do that? Because that’s reality. People are numerous blends of race, culture, gender, sexuality, and what-have-you. Truth be told, when all is said and done, I’m rather certain that the white, cis-gendered male is the minority. Combine all the other possibilities and that’s a certainty.
Beware of a new dark age
There is another reason, though, that I choose for my art to be impacted by culture. And that is my role as what Paulo Coelho calls a Warrior of the Light – wherein I’m offering ideas and guidance for anyone and everyone to better themselves.
Why do I choose that label? Because if certain people in power get their way, we are heading right into a new dark age.
The dark ages, historically, were a period marked by religious zealotry, a lack of science, and disregard for the arts and new ideas. Western society – i.e. European culture – very nearly self-destructed during this time.
It has become increasingly apparent that we, as a culture, do not learn from the past. Hence why the phrase “avoid it like the plague” has gone out the window over the past 2 years. We are on the cusp of taking some rather major steps backward due to fundamentalist dogma embedding itself into our public domain and eroding the separation of religion and state.
On the one hand, we’re in a new and amazing information age full of potential and possibilities like no time before in all of history. On the other hand, we’re seeing reactionaries taking drastic and often deplorable steps to take us back to what they believe was a purer, better world – that never existed.
Since you cannot go backward and undo or redo the past, using the fundamentalist approach to move forward isn’t just illogical – it’s dangerous.
The arts are a gateway to building better
This is why we need to create art that is impacted by culture. To keep in the forefront the reality of our society and those who are in it. When the minority controls the dialogue and rails against progress, we creatives need to be at the forefront of the battle to lead the world to its greater potential and possibilities.
I certainly do not care to enter into another dark age. Mindful of this – I choose for the art I create to be impacted by culture because I believe that helps expand potential and possibilities for all. Even if you don’t read my work. My aim is to help with building a better world. And not just for a few – but for anyone and everyone.
To be sure, art is extremely personal. But the power of the arts is too important to disregard for its potentially positive impact on our culture.
Do you recognize where and how your work is impacted by culture?
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