The Ramayana section is complete.
While I greatly enjoyed reading the vastly different two versions, I am very
glad I do not have to read another. I am ready to move on to something new and
exciting. I'm incredibly intimidated though, because Wikipedia mentioned
something about the Mahabharata being the longest epic poem ever written (10
times the size of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined). I am not ready for that.
I'm not even ready to read a haiku right now.
My
storytelling for this was definitely a lot better than last week. I know I
didn’t delve too deep into my imagination for this week’s story, but it was
still a lot better. I also enjoyed writing it more, which is good. This is
probably because I didn’t wait until the very last second to do the assignment.
Oh the overnight lifestyle, it’s a real dilemma. As for other classes, I
thought my script for my class was really good! I mean, I definitely wrote it
up last minute, but during the class reading of it everyone really enjoyed it!
I thought people would think my rendition of my landlord to be too racist and
the class was half-and-half on whether she was perfectly stereotypically Asian
or too much. And then the one Asian guy in class read her lines and half of the
haters liked her.
It’s
just so silly how I, a white girl, cannot write a funny, almost stereotypically
(and she wasn’t, only her accent was stereotypical) Asian woman and everyone
thinks it’s racist, but as soon as the Asian person says it’s okay everyone is
on board and loving it. I don’t know. It’s just hard to deal with that sort of
thing as a writer. If you look at the state of books these days, the vast
majority of them have white protagonists written by white writers. It’s just
how things happen, but when these same writers try to represent these
minorities or people with disabilities then readers completely shoot them down
and say they did it all wrong. People get angry that there aren’t enough things
with people of minority or with disabilities as protagonists, but when people
try and do just that people get just as angry. It’s a fiery topic that’s hard
to fix. People are terrified of the lash back, but how can things get better if
we refuse to try and fix them? Okay well, sorry about the rant.
A bar graph from a diversity in YA post on Malinda Lo's blog
I, too, am ready to move onto something new and exciting. I enjoyed the Ramayana section greatly, but you're right - it's time for something new! You also hit on a profound concept: "People are terrified of the lash back, but how can things get better if we refuse to try and fix them?" If we don't face our fears - and the awkwardness of race - then the problems own't ever be solved.
ReplyDeleteHi Tia, I have to agree with you on about moving on to a new story, as I am also tired of reading the same storyline twice over. It sucked the second time because I already knew what was going to happen. And I am also dreading reading the Mahabharat since it is so long, which will take a lot more of my time.
ReplyDeleteHey Tia! I completely agree about being happy about being done with the Ramayana. Even though I really enjoyed the Ramayana, I can’t wait to read something new. I also agree that stories tend to turn out better when we don’t wait till the last minute and do the assignment before they are due. It is also such a great feeling since the stress of having to complete it before is due is not there.
ReplyDeleteHi Tia,
ReplyDeleteAlong the same lines as your final paragraph, I've always been conflicted when going from the book medium to movies. I always picture everyone way different, and sometimes it's because I didn't read into the details of their appearance. The first page of a book could say "Ron Weasley had red hair" and I could make it through an entire book seeing him as an African male with dreadlocks. My example is kind of awful because of the ginger-ness of the entire Weasley family, but I hope you get my point.