Racism in Blu's Hanging
Yamanaka Controversy
In 1997 Mrs. Yamanaka won the award for best fiction from the Association of Asian-American Studies for her novel Blu’s Hanging. The following year however, the award was revoked because of complaints from the Filipino community about the novels racist portrayal of Filipinos. Were they right in the removal of her award just because racism was present in the novel? That question is a hard one to answer, as racism, while a big part of society, is something most people turn a blind eye too--preferring to pretend that it instead does not exist. Novelists like Yamanaka are in a serious predicament then when writing about racism. Should they write of this idealized perfect world or should they instead write, as Mrs. Yamanaka would say, “without fear”? I for one support and defend Yamanaka. Just because something is racist does not mean it should be censored or taken away. When a writer has to compromise his or her artistic vision in order to appeal to an audience, then we the audience are getting cheated. A recent example of this is the censorship of the n- word from Mark Twain’s classic Tom Sawyer. The replacement of the n-word with slave significantly downplays the bigotry and racism displayed in Mark Twain. We have to see all the messed up things to feel the full effect. The same thing can be said for Blu’s Hanging. The novel itself isn’t racist, it instead just shows racism. Part of the novel’s power is the racism and tension present between the diverse cultures of Hawaii: The Filipinos, The Natives, The Japanese, and the Haole’s. The novel builds around these racist portrayals and shows the reader what the sentiment was at that time in Hawaii through the eyes of a scared Japanese girl who has some racist pre-conceived notions of the islands inhabitants. Racism will always be present, and censoring a book or taking back an award will never change that.
I agree that censoring a book because of a racist topic does not make it better. It is simply saying that there is not a problem or issue when clearly, there is one. This does nothing positive for humankind as a whole, but only give more negative strength to the issue at hand.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the book does not express racism, which many people who thought the award should have been rescinded felt. Yamanaka was using examples of racism in a community to help get her message across, not endorsing it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the fact that the book is not meant to be racist, but taking away an award is not censorship in true form. The award was bestowed by AAAS, a society whose sole purpose is to unite the diverse racial groups that constitute Asian Americans. While Blu's Hanging is not a novel that revolves around racism and purposefully exploits people based on race, I do believe that the award should not have been awarded based on the grounds stated in the society's constitution. For the most part, Filipino/as did not want to book to be burned, as stated in the article "Locals Must Listen To Locals", they just didn't agree with the assertion that the book is "Outstanding" in terms of AAAS' constitutional standpoint.
ReplyDeleteI agree that censoring a novel because someone deems it as racist downplays the emotional weight of the book. By allowing someone's art whether it be writing or anything else, cheats the audience out of something that could be inspiring or life changing. The author should be the one to decide whether their work is acceptable for society to view.
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