My Response to Deepad's Open Letter:

My response to Deepad's Open Letter:

Hi.

First and foremost, thanks for responding, especially considering your initial reactions, and how you find it unproductive engaging with strangers. To be honest, I was looking for constructive feedback, and the only place that linked to my essay was http://intranationalities.dreamwidth.org/, and it's a locked community, so I didn't know if people were praising me or ranting at me (and based from the comments in your post, it seems more of the latter).

Right from the outset, let me admit my faults. Heart of Darkness was a bad choice on my part. And it's a bad choice because I haven't read it. Shoot me now for using it as an example, not because of the points you raised, but because of the fact that I used a book I hadn't read as an example. People will mock me for this, and they deserve to.

(And at this point, it strikes me that I'm digging my own grave the more I speak.)

Okay, The Good Earth, that I've actually read. Haven't seen the movie though, so can't really comment on how it's being used as a precedent to for the upcoming Avatar movie. Did I find some of the text problematic? Yes. Is it perfect, in whatever context you prefer? No, definitely not. But I'd like to think it has some merits, no matter how small. Although each reader does have to ask the question whether the good points of the book outweighs the bad. For me, I'd like to think of it like Star Trek. Progressive for its time, not so progressive when viewed from today's paradigm.

For the sake of establishing culpability, my essay used horrible examples. Let me be transparent about my faults.

As for Vikram Seth, haven't read his works, and for all I know, he should indeed be lauded. But as you pointed out, we don't live in an egalitarian world. But I understand your point. Buck gets praised because she's a privileged writer, Seth isn't. Still, that brings me to my thesis: is it permissible for writers to write about a culture that's not their own?

As for my usage of small awareness of the literature of other cultures, well yes, I'm making a generalization, but here's how I see it: yes, each nation is aware of its neighbors to a certain extent: China is aware of Russia's literature, Korea is aware of Japan's literature, etc. But compared to the entire world, that's just a few countries out of hundreds. I'm from the Philippines for example, and I know a bit of Chinese literature and Japanese literature, and I'll be the first to admit that I know nil when it comes to Indian literature, Romanian literature, Australian literature, etc. (And yes, it is also unfair that Western literature is prominent in a disproportionate amount compared to other countries.) I think I was fair in my statement that there is a "small but growing awareness" and that's not tied to any specific culture or nation.

As for placing writers above readers, as I cited in my essay, cultural mistakes aren't excusable. If you feel someone did something wrong, people are free to correct the author. Which is also why we're having this exchange, and why I want to thank you for taking the time to point out the flaws in my essay. Instead, what I'm calling for is level-headed discussion. You could easily have rambled and used many swear words in your open letter (and some would say you're justified in doing so). But you didn't. That's what I want to espouse. It's not placing writers above readers (although my writing might be that bad that that's the impression you're getting), or that writers automatically get a free pass when making mistakes.

As for Germany and ethnocentrism, I'd like to think the latter led to ultranationalism, hence anti-Semitism and genocide, but at this point, it feels like nitpicking for me. It's almost midnight here, and I'm too tired to argue this point, so feel free to chide me on not doing enough research on this part if you want.

This entire response, however, sidesteps my thesis. So what's your opinion on what was supposed to be my main theme, which is whether it's permissible for someone to write about a culture that's not their own? Is it bullshit, or if the answer is yes, what are your qualifications before one does so?