Other than journalists,
nobody likes what’s been going on with the Hugo Awards. Even though my fiction lies mostly within the
realm of horror, I’m a fan of science fiction, and like many of you, I just
want to read good genre books and not deal with the political angst behind
them. It’s extremely likely that what’s
happened to science fiction is going to start happening to horror (if it hasn’t
already), and I don’t want to end up as the last line in a Niemöller quote. So I will address this.
This is going to get political. If it offends you, ask yourself why, and then
feel free to discuss it with me.
Let’s Set the Table
There is not one element of modern life that has not been
politicized in some way or other. Politics
have infected everything from education to science to the environment to
professional sports to individual entertainment choices. That’s inarguable. Who’s responsible for it can be debated
elsewhere, but I defy you to find me one human endeavor that hasn’t been
touched by politics.
What the American Left has done is deny that their politics
are politics at all; that is, they’ve attempted to normalize their point of
view as a non-political viewpoint.
Leftism is, therefore, the natural state of things. This explains why so many Leftists self-identify
as independents, moderates or even apolitical despite espousing left-wing
ideas, supporting left-wing causes, and voting for left-wing political
candidates. They’re not being political,
they’re just doing the right thing. Leftists
have redefined politics as what other
people do, not them.
This, of course, excludes those individuals and
organizations that specifically identify as progressive, liberal, or
left-wing.
The American Right, vastly outnumbered in the entertainment,
education, and journalistic industries, tends to conceal itself among the
general public a little more than Leftists.
Outside of political environments, conservatives aren’t as explicit
about their beliefs, in part because the right-wing point of view hasn’t been
as successfully normalized in popular culture.
Right-wingers aren’t cool.
They’re sticks-in-the-mud who resist change, especially social
change. Who wants to be known as a
fuddy-duddy? A conservative might
identify himself as an independent, but he’ll rarely call himself a
moderate. He is sensitive to the
politicization of modern culture because
he resists social change. He has his
political viewpoints and feels about them as strongly as the Leftist, but
outside of places where conservatives gather, he tends to keep his cards closer
to the vest.
Until now.
Politics in the Hugos
Even the most casual observer will see that, over the last
decade or so, the selection process of the Hugo Awards has fallen victim to the
same politicization that so much else in our culture is subject to. Hugo award nominees have been selected, in large
part, on the
basis of diversity of author, not the quality of the stories, or even if
those stories meet the genre classification of science fiction (see: If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love).
When discussing diversity, almost nobody means diversity of
opinion, outlook, or imagination. They
mean diversity of race, skin color, gender, social status, or sexual
orientation, all of which are surface qualities that inform the intellect, but don’t define
it. They’re categories useful to those
who try to appeal to specific identity groups on the basis of their external
differences. If the Hugo Awards are
supposed to celebrate the best stories, then the author’s melanin content,
plumbing, and what he/she does with his/her plumbing don’t matter. What matters is quality. What matters is diversity of story, not race.
By elevating these surface aspects of diversity, the Hugos
have been politicized to deliberately exclude
authors based on their skin color, gender, and political viewpoint. White men need not apply, especially conservative white men. Or conservatives of any color and
gender. Scalzi and his allies have
altered the Hugo Awards to focus on message fiction written by people who fit their definition of diversity, not quality
science fiction. As Leftists, they don’t
(or can’t) acknowledge that they’re politicizing the Hugos; to them, they’re
simply doing what’s right and good and proper (and keeping the riff-raff out).
What’s amazing is that merely pointing out that the Hugos
have been politicized leaves one open to attacks of politicization, as though
the accusation is enough to condemn the accuser rather than the accused. So if I point out that Book A was nominated
for a Hugo because it espouses a particular viewpoint, not because it’s a good
story, I’m the one politicizing the
process. Combine this with how
progressives cannot or will not acknowledge that their point of view is
political, and you have a very comprehensive, if utterly transparent defense: it’s
the Puppies’ fault that the Hugos are a political football because they accused
the Leftists of politicizing the Hugos, which is impossible because Leftists
don’t practice politics. Also known as,
“I know you are, but what am I?” Hence,
the Puppies’ efforts to nominate stories based on their criteria are, de facto,
illegitimate. It’s perfectly fine to
nominate only Leftist message fiction written by Leftists, but it’s gaming the
system to nominate science fiction stories written by conservatives.
It may be that you like message fiction and think that
science fiction needs a broader diversity of authors to maintain the genre’s
relevance in the 21st century. In which
case it’s only natural that you would decry the Puppies’ efforts. Just know that you’re also engaging in
politics. You’ve decided to redefine the
Hugo Awards to celebrate a political viewpoint rather than promote quality
fiction.
The system’s already been corrupted, already been gamed,
already been politicized. It’s just that
now, the other side has decided to fight back.
If this is a problem for you, be honest with yourself about why: it may
be because your politics are being challenged, not that the process has become
politicized.
3 comments:
By elevating these surface aspects of diversity, the Hugos have been politicized to deliberately exclude authors based on their skin color, gender, and political viewpoint. White men need not apply, especially conservative white men. Or conservatives of any color and gender.
So conservative Mormon author Brandon Sanderson won two Hugos in 2013.
So conservative Mormon authors Brad Torgersen and Larry Correia were both nominated for the Campbell award, and Torgersen placed second.
White guy Charlie Stross won a Hugo last year.
Is John Scalzi kind of a white guy?
I just picked the biggest and easiest of your lies to dispute; your argument is basically a tissue of them, though.
;)
Wow. Actual, objective analysis of this whole process. Thanks.
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