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[claryahn]

kinda annoys me that criticisms of representation in popular media were intended as a means to point out how people of colour, lgbt people, people with disabilities and other marginilised folks were systemically kept out of creative positions of power in the industry which lead to the creation of media that further marginilised them - but those conversations were mutated and co-opted. now, "representation" is mostly used as a shallow metric by which ppl judge the media itself rather than the system and people that made it. it's insane to me that people say "I won't watch succession because there's no lgbt/poc representation" or they'll say, "you have to watch xyz show because it has xyz representation". Representation and it's mere presence (or supposed absence) is not an indicator of quality in any way. moreover, discussing representation so reductively completely ignores creative intention and disregards real issues of systemic inclusion in favour of using aesthetics as a scapegoat. I need people to stop asking, "is this piece of media diverse?" and start asking, "who is telling this story, why is it being told, and who benefits most from telling it this way?". don't do yourself, art, or the fight the disservice of being reductive.

[claryahn]

so much grief in han kang's human acts (trans. deborah smith) when she writes, “after you died I could not hold a funeral, and so my life became a funeral.” 

[claryahn]

We interrupt this lovely readalong for more HarperCollins union news.

Namely, the union is on strike. HarperCollins, the second largest publishing house in the United States, has made record profits (in the billions) but refuses to pay its employees a living wage or negotiate in good faith. Unlike the one-day strike earlier this year, this will be an open-ended strike, to last until a fair, good-faith contract is agreed upon.

I cannot overstate the implications here. HarperCollins is a 200-year-old behemoth with over 120 imprints, owned by billionaire Rupert Murdoch. You have reads books from this company, I guarantee it. You have enjoyed movies and TV shows spawned by this company. The workers striking at the blood and sweat responsible for launching those properties you love. And as Harper goes, so goes the rest of the industry. If we raise the living standards for one, so the pressure increases on other companies to raise it for all.

The Harper Union need your support. They have a full thread here, but here’s the gist of what they’re asking:

EVERYONE:

- Donate to the strike fund if you can

- Politely email Harper’s HR (peopleteam@harpercollins.com) and the CEO (brian.murphy@harpercollins.com) to express your support for the strike and the union.

- Boost their message on social media and among your social circles (here are some assets you can use to do that)

- If you are in the NY metro area, come join the picket line at 195 Broadway in Manhattan!

BLOGGERS/REVIEWERS/BOOKSTAGRAMMERS/BOOKTOKERS:

- If possible, please hold all reviews of Harper titles until the strike is over. (And I would add, if you feel comfortable doing so, tell Harper why.)

FREELANCERS/INDUSTRY HOPEFULS:

- Don’t be a scab. Don’t take new freelance projects or temporary positions while the strike is ongoing.

BOOKSTORES/BOOKSELLERS:

- Share the “I Stand With” graphic

- Print and distribute the union bookmark at your store

AUTHORS/AGENTS:

- Do not submit or sign new contracts to Harper until the union’s own contract is finalized.

———

Please note they are not asking for a boycott on Harper titles. A boycott would harm the authors, who have nothing to do with this, so the union is explicitly requesting no boycott.

Also, please do not @ Harper social accounts to yell at them. Direct all feedback to that peopleteam email. The majority of folks watching those accounts are out on the picket line anyways, and their managers have already been warned that, as non-union members, they risk termination if voice any public support for the strike.

For more info, check out the union’s accounts on Twitter and Instagram. I also recommend this Twitter thread for some hard facts and figures.

Want something you can share on TikTok? Check out Carmen’s video here.

[claryahn]

Once again I come upon his famous definition of love: two solitudes that protect and border and greet each other.

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez

[claryahn]

When will we be able to live rather than just focusing on surviving?

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

[claryahn]

Listen, if there is a hell, we're in it. And if there's a heaven, we're already there. This is it.

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

[claryahn]

Franz Kafka, Letters to Milena

[claryahn]

Outside the Western Gaze: A Reading List on Womanhood in East Asia

Hi friends! Glad you could make it. So you want to read about womanhood and feminism in East Asia. Here are a couple recommendations to get started:

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo, a contemporary analysis of womanhood, sexism, and parenthood in Korea, as well as the pressures of duty and obligation placed upon working women. It caused a fair share of controversy among some male readers in Korea. Interestingly, Kim Jiyoung is a combination of two very common names, almost like the equivalent of Jane Smith in English-speaking countries, and her story speaks to as shared thread among many Korean women.

Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami, a Japanese feminist novel about bodily autonomy, female objectification, and class. I really recommend any of Kawakami’s work, especially Heaven, as Kawakami is a brilliant writer with great social and philosophical insights on the position of women in society, and also famously interviewed Haruki Murakami about his often misogynistic portrayal of female characters in his novels.

I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee, a self-help memoir about mental health and psychiatry in Korea. This novel ruminates on self-objectification in the face of the male gaze, internalized competition and hatred among women, and the pursuit of perfection. Plus, it was recommended by RM of BTS, so if you’re a K-pop fan, this is a good place to start!

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa, a science fiction dystopian novel that asks the question: what do we forget? How do we let ourselves forget so fast? Under the historical backdrop of the Japanese denial of war crimes, particularly those committed against women, the novel asks how our forgetfulness, or remembrance, impacts how we act - or don’t act - in the present.

Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin, an LGBTQ+ coming of age novel set in late 80s Taiwan, featuring college students as they come to terms with their sexualities and enter passionate relationships at a time when their sexual orientations are being debated in the political sphere.

[claryahn]

And as I retreated into the future, the only thing I could ever see was the past.

Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri

[claryahn]

When something was strange, everyone thought they had the right to come stomping in all over your life to figure out why.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

[claryahn]

But I wasn’t crying because I was sad. I guess I was crying because we had nowhere else to go, no choice but to go on living in this world. Crying because we had no other world to choose, and crying at everything before us, everything around us.

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami