How Important is Authenticity in Literature?

On Tuesday, I posted my Yellowface review, a book that touches on many important conversations around authenticity in literature and who gets to tell what stories. This reminded me of this post, which I wrote over a month ago. Some of the references are a bit dated now, but the issues still stand. 

I recently had a conversation with a friend on trauma’s role in literature, and we were talking specifically about a book called A Little Life. A very traumatic book. Now I will not give any more attention to that book than this mention. Read at your own risk,  I would never recommend it. However, it got me thinking about how certain themes are handled in literature and what that means for the story being told. 

Trauma Porn

I believe in the importance of media literacy. Every piece of art is trying to tell us something, especially books. I remember being a 16-year-old in English Lit class and my teacher asking us, ‘What does the weather tell us about the mood?’ or ‘What did the author mean when they used a certain language technique?’. Back then, I would say, but what if they just wrote it and they aren’t trying to tell us anything? I was wrong, they are absolutely trying to tell us something, and it can be glaringly obvious or very subtle. How writers choose to convey this is up to them, and the audience can also decide whether they want to consume this in a meaningful way or not. There is always a deeper meaning at play, whether you choose to see it or not. 

However, I find trauma very interesting; it is a very obvious way to approach teaching a lesson. Whether it’s adversity, healing or self-discovery, etc. When someone experiences something traumatic, there is always a wider lesson at heart, it could be the circumstances that facilitated that experience or how the survivor responds to it. I think it is essential to include very real lived experiences in writing. However, it is also important for the use of trauma to be informed, especially in cases where it is not the experience of the author. As readers, we seek to get different things from the books we read. Some, just like movies, are for escapism, light enjoyment, or deep-seated analysis of an art form. Regardless of the needs of the reader, the authors have an obligation to their readers to be well-researched and thoughtful if they seek to utilise certain themes in their books. 

Now, just because they should does not mean they do. What tends to happen, especially with trauma, is that it is used in the story purely for the sake of it. It doesn’t necessarily inform the reader in any way, nor does it form any connection with people who have been through these things. Trauma porn focuses on the visceral, blood and gore of violence and trauma. It is more about the act itself than the person experiencing it. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes, some acts are violent and need to be portrayed in such a way for the severity to be communicated. However, it often feels like it is written for the non-traumatised to consume and live vicariously through rather than for the actual survivors to tell their stories. There’s an article called The Case Against the Trauma Plot’ the writer says this when it comes to including trauma in art 

Cultural Sensitivity

I know this has focused heavily on trauma, but it stands for pretty much any major theme in works of literature. Recently, there’s been a lot of discourse around the casting for the film adaptation of Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. The book is set against the backdrop of Yoruba culture (Nigeria), and there have been a lot of criticisms for the lack of Nigerian actors amongst the main cast, especially young up-and-coming ones. There are also issues of colourism as one of the main characters is meant to be dark skin (a trait which is integral to the plot) but has been cast as a light-skinned actress. 

Now, these are all valid criticisms; however, if you have read the book or at least tried to, you will see that though the book is set within Yoruba culture, it is not an accurate representation of it. Not just in simpler things like the inaccuracies in the cultural clothing or the food, but bigger issues like a misrepresentation of very real places that exist or even the fact that the main character’s name starts with a Z despite the letter not existing in the Yoruba alphabet. The author has picked and chosen random aspects of the culture and inserted them haphazardly within the book. Though this is a fantasy book, a world that the author has created, it is still inspired by a very real culture, and I believe there is a responsibility to the people of that culture. While some might see this as just appreciating the culture, to many people of that heritage (myself included), it feels like a mockery. The irony here is that the author is Nigerian herself. Now, I will never aim to discredit someone’s ties to their culture, especially those who grew up primarily in the diaspora (also like myself), but in cases like this, it will always feel inauthentic when culture is watered down and even altered, as it now loses significance and lacks credibility. 

If you are going to write about something that you have not experienced yourself, you have a duty of care to the very real people who know and live the lives you are referring to. Especially as many of the readers will not have experienced that directly. Artists have responsibilities to their audiences and must be held accountable for how they present that material to others. Artists are not higher thinkers or superior to their audience (often the argument is always that you just don’t get it), but I do get it; it just was not done well. Artists doing their due diligence and being mindful of how they tell stories isn’t censorship or infringing free speech. You can do or write whatever you like, just do it well, and if you aren’t going to do it well, remember freedom of speech isn’t freedom from consequences. Critique comes with the territory.

Even in something as simple as this blog which is very much my opinions and my thoughts, I wouldn’t write about a book I haven’t read or haven’t at least researched, it’s not only a disservice to me but to my readers. 

I guess the moral of this story for anyone, not just writers, is that knowledge is important. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, don’t talk like you do, and invite others to take your word as truth or a representation of reality.

This has been a topic heavy on my mind ever since I aged out of Colleen Hoover books and realised some themes are either glorified or just never handled with care. Definitely a heavier topic than my usual but it felt important to touch on.

I hope you enjoyed this read, and always happy to discuss it in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

Signed,