Watching this while eating breakfast and my four year old asks “is she talking about kristoff from frozen?” I lost it. Although I wish you were talking about kristoff from frozen because he’s far less problematic.
Rin Chupeco publicly dragging “HF” into the callout without permission was insensitive and poorly thought out. I’m glad you pointed it out because I haven’t seen anyone else do it. We’re so caught up in public callouts we never stop to think about the people who get dragged in as victims. As someone who is mentally ill, if someone made a public callout post against someone who has wronged me and dragged me into it after I had already dealt with it privately years ago I’d straight up probably just KMS. Dragging people into your Twitter callouts and arguments without consent often has real life repercussions.
I couldn’t agree more. I’m glad Jess brought that up, cuz I was also sitting there confused, thinking ‘...Miss Chupeco’s tweet doesn’t totally seem like victim-centered justice, does it? :/‘
Fr... the amount of books i moved to the sell/donate pile or gave to my mom for decor* bc of authors being the worst is A LOT AND WAY TOO MUCH *she likes pretty book spines to display and doesnt care about the book itself
@@ladynoluck Haha love that! I have a pile to donate to my local library so that I can go back and read them when I get the chance (without them taking up space in my apt!)
Ok. As a Russian: Rodnoveriye is NOT the “actual” Slavic paganism, it is something modern that is loosely inspired by that. And it IS adopted by a lot of right-wing groups and based on nationalism.
@@JessOwens Seems to be, from what I understand. Again, it is very much a neo-pagan strain, very loosely based on actual folklore, and it does attract certain types.
The thing with Jay for me is, yes it’s obvious that he was being sarcastic and rude when making the pocky comment, but why would you want to support someone who is a self-professed asshole? He’s right there, telling you that he’s a mean person. I don’t know about you, but I prefer nice people. Nice authors. He also also comes off as a huge creep for me when he writes about wlw, and also in his tweets in general, and that’s a whole separate conversation.
I think Rin thought they were helping, but you’re right. I think it’s kind of embarrassing and overwhelming to be dragged into something you didn’t consent to. Especially when it seems like Hafsah stays off Twitter for this exact reason.
I was under the impression from some of Rin’s tweets that they were given permission before sharing, but if Hafsah was taken by surprise then maybe there were multiple victims and at least one encouraged Rin to share. They tweeted ‘received my benediction’ and ‘I’ve been unleashed in my dms’ which suggests that someone who had been bullied by ED told them it was okay to make it public
@@cerilouisereads I had the same impression. I thought Rin wrote somewhere in a tweet that they were only making it public because someone said it was okay. But then Hafsah sounded rather surprised so I don't know.
They did it for themselves, clearly, they seem to get a kick out of starting drama and then expecting applause. Very juvenile and “mean girl-esque” ironically.
I'm Polish and from what I've seen here about Emily Duncan's book it looks like - aside from being antisemitic -Russian anti-Polish propaganda. Most Western readers won't understand the layers of history between these two countries, who fought with eachother for centuries (resulting in very complicated relationship to this day). Polish empire had a freedom of religion act, so it was, in it's time, a home of BIG Jewish population, so making a prince of a Polish-inspired kingdom an alcoholic blood-mage is in line with Russian antisemitism and resentment of Poland.
I’ve seen so many people who are western readers feel bad they didn’t see the antisemitism (including myself about Nevernight) but so much of this history we aren’t familiar with. Not that it makes it ok but I feel the writers, editors and such should take more care in what they’re writing
@@JessOwens I’m Ashkenazi Jewish and first, you’re both absolutely correct, and second, I think it’s important to emphasize that NONE of this is new to us(Jews). We’ve been speaking out about antisemitic authors and tropes for eons but unfortunately, people tend to not believe Jews who speak about antisemitism (ironic, yes, but that in and of itself is another symptom of the pervasive undercurrent of antisemitism that runs through society). A lot of this stuff is so grossly normalized that many non-Jews don’t recognize it at all. For example, something that I don’t think you mentioned (and I’m sorry if you did and I just missed it!!) about JK and Adonai, the kind of magic he does, Ashkahi? That word looks an awful lot like Ashkenazi, doesn’t it? His antisemitism in Nevernight is 100% intentional. The specificity and concentration of his dogwhistles is terrifying. I love this video so much, you’ve laid out this whole issue in a great concise, thorough manner with all the receipts. I’ve shared it with lots of my friends who read because you did SUCH a great job reviewing this whole awful situation. I’m so glad this issue is finally getting traction, but it’s also a bit depressing that nobody took this seriously (Nevernight has been out for 5 years and Wicked Saints for 2) until it was tacked onto these authors’ anti-Asian racist and bullying issues. Thank you for using your platform to talk about this, it really means a lot.
@@JessOwens I agree. I was unfortunately one of those readers that didn't recognize the antisemitic tropes in Duncan's books and I felt so ashamed. I'm working on educating myself. The fact that someone could be so antisemitic and racist to the point that they would weave it into their writing is insane to me..
Something I really appreciate about the way you talk in these videos is that you are not trying to quickly draw conclusions or to say things that “sound good”. It feels like a conversation where we are understanding things together. And I really think you bring a lot of nuance into the things you talk about
When I saw that he used the name A*onai I literally GASPED. This is the holiest word in Judaism and you're not supposed to say it out loud except in prayer. I'm not even religious anymore, but the taboo against saying it is STRONG. I would literally never say it if not in prayer. Wow, shocked but also not shocked that he did this.
@@moustik31 I agree. I remember going to a Christian bible camp when I was a kid and one of the songs we sang had that word in it. It was the first thing I thought of because I was like "that word sounds familiar"
I’m sorry someone used that term so openly, so blatantly. It’s very insensitive and I’m sure it’s very frustrating for you. I’m sure the Jewish community is very hurt right now.
This whole thing with Emily and Kristoff made me realize how strong anti-semitism still is and how much I didn't know about it, I'm really glad that I'm subscribed to you, otherwise I wouldn't know about any of this, since I'm out of twitter, thank you!
I love how you tackle this series, Jess! You have the perfect mix of summarizing things, providing receipts, acknowledging lack of evidence without discrediting everyone, and providing your own opinions. Plus, Nigel is the cherry on top.
Just finished watching the whole video and I just wanted to say that I appreciate the effort you took to add nuance and context to this whole situation. Honestly this topics can be very hard to discuss even without people just straight giving the worst, most out of context reading possible; doing the latter helps no one in the long run. I think you raised very intelligent points all throughout, while being respectful of those involved.
I'm not on Twitter and I moved cities right before the panny and it's been a year of social distancing. The drama in your communitea series nourishes the nosey Nancy parts of my soul ☕
I randomly saw one of Rin Chupeco's tweets about the Emily Duncan mess, but couldn't make head or tails of it because I didn't feel like tracing the whole thread back to it's source. Making sense of twitter mess is so much work, and yet your videos are always clear, well-researched, and straight-forward. Just wanted you to know that you're doing an awesome job!
I don't go on Twitter because I realized a while back how detrimental to my mental health it is, so I really appreciate you bringing these issues to light and trying to have a nuanced conversation about them
Its not about what the authors may or may not have done or said that has them targeted, rather who they have supported, who they read, what they do, and their social, racial, and political stance. One wrong move even if their defending an innocent person their targeted by readers and trolls regardless. People have a right to block the authors and still love their books, not publicly support author or book but still has and reads book. Some people don't take the time to do their research on the author before condemning them, if the allegations year hear about are true then by all means decide for oneself, if the author is found innocent, their innocent. Your confused because many of the authors these people hate are innocent (Some are guilty I'm not denying that) and if you cant find anything then that gives you the answer, their lying haters. Haters will always be haters, always trying to get you and me to hate too but you made the right decision leaving twitter. It's toxic as hell, full of many, many people who would just love to burn the books of half the authors they hate simply because they hate them. Thiers absolutely no logic even though it makes perfect sense to them.
This is exactly why I’m unhauling the Illuminae Files 🙄 Definitely think Rin should not have put the initials in her tweet cause when you were reading it I immediately knew who it meant. I’m buying all of her books now because I’m so tired of people harassing her🙄
Hafsah Faizal’s books are so worth it, you won’t regret it. 🥰 I think her series just got picked up for TV, too. And she has a third book in a new series coming soon called A Tempest of Tea. Very exciting.
I've heard some good things about Illuminae Files but the more I heard about the author the more hesitant I am to actually pick them up and read. Are they, in your opinion, worth the read or should I skip them and focus on other books?
@@Emma-sj6wp I personally did not enjoy the ending of any of the books. The format of them is cool and you may like it if you like sci-fi. Depends on if you can separate the work from the authors. If you can, go for it
Lady, you consistently save my behind. I was on booktok and saw people remove Wicked Saints from their TBRs and I was like 'okay, if it's important Jess is going to cover it' and BAM. You are amazing, thank you for doing these long in-depth videos. They make my little Virgo research heart happy. Now I know I really don't want to read that series and it'll keep me mindful in my own writing.
The devil works hard, but Jess works harder 💪Thanks for making a super complicated situation more comprehensible! I was struggling to follow all the threads. And YES I screen shotted that Jeanette Ng thread, it was so good!
I'm an atheist Indian. and the jay kristoff thing, I cannot get behind criticizing him - because to me this is no different from Hindus protesting the use of anything related to hindu gods and goddesses in fiction. I dont think dieties and the concept of god, jesus, the prophet, etc etc should be held in such high regard that one cannot write reinterpretations or use the revamped characters anywhere. it's highly orthodox and we need to grow past this tendency where someones religious beliefs are made to seem so above all else. Also I get that commentary in countries where that religion is the majority is different from where it is practised by a minority. but providing social, legal, and political protections to vulnerabilities to minority religions should not mean that an author has to change a character name in his book because it alludes to a particular religion's folklore
I think it's part of free speech. I don't feel like this is really activism. It just seems petty in the grand scheme of things. Like this random fictional books isn't infringing on your religion or practice of it. Christians get poked at all the time and people consider it funny when we get upset over everything (it's valid some can be batshit) but it's nonetheless part of the experience. Part of getting along isn't always agreeing or thinking exactly alike.
I support free speech, but criticism is always fair in writing. I think if he had been more aware of the cultural significance of the names of entities he was using, the writing would have been stronger. If he had used it with the intention of commenting the religious tradition itself, if he were an insider to that religion for example, the use of the name would have meant something. But just to use it as a name of a generic villain, that opens it up to the anti Semitic interpretation too easily
I am 99% confident Emily Duncan subtweeted my middle-of-the-road-to-critical Goodreads review of their book last year. Which....was a choice, considering I followed them at the time and was planning to read the next book at that point. I ended up giving up on the series for numerous reasons, including the less than cool twitter behavior, and ultimately while I didn't recognize the issue in the text at the time I was reading it, the problematic (for lack of a better word) POV and behavior doesn't exactly surprise me. Ultimately it's disappointing all the same. Thanks for a great video on this topic. You followed a lot of threads here and it led to a greater understanding of the issue for sure.
Well...what a big fat hot mess... I am currently in the process of binging all your communiTEA videos and learning loads of things I was unaware of. Thank you for all your hard work!
The sad thing is that as a YA librarian, I have to supply the titles that our community is interested in reading. So despite knowing what I do, I still need to provide Kristoff and Duncan's books. However, I don't have a defined number of copies that need to be purchased for our system. And I also balance it out by providing BIPOC author titles, including my fellow Texan HF.
I'm I'm Texas who frequents the library. Thank you for putting BIPOC authors in the library. I have found some of the most beautiful and enlightening stories thanks to similar practices of my local librarians.
He co-wrote the book series Illuminae Files, but it's actually a wonderful series and I don't think there's anything problematic in it. I honestly don't believe he actually co-wrote it because his other series are terrible 😅. So don't feel bad for stocking that one
Jess thank you for taking your time and energy to bring these topics to light. You always make sure you provide examples and your openness to talk about it is refreshing.
That Nigel side 👀 deserved a separate like all on its own. 😱 I need 💭 bubbles with Nigel's deep thoughts on this ridiculousness, and by that I mean full metal snark that would make Trixie Matel and Katya say "we're not worthy".😂
This is an awesome video. Thank you for summing up the situation so neatly! A couple things that you probably touched on, but I think could maybe be cleared up a bit more: -The Slack channel that ED used to bully authors was a Slack channel specifically meant for debut YA authors who debuted in the same year, which is the reason for the suspicion that she lashed out who she deemed her "competition," fellow debut authors who wrote similar themes into their books as she did -"Rodnovery" is pronounced "rohd-noh-veh-ree" and in most Slavic languages it means something like "generational" or "pedigree" so in super explicit terms it's kind of like saying "the people's faith" or like, "the native people's faith," so even the name strongly alludes to nationalism, especially outside of a mundane context **edited to add that the right-wing nationalist pagan groups are not the only Slavic pagan worshippers out there, far far from it. I'm honestly shocked that ED didn't come across the many modern pagans and witches warning people against the nationalist groups in her purported research -Claire Wenz isn't an author herself, but she is a graphic designer or artist or both, and she has a blog dedicated to dissecting the design of the covers of YA books. She's either a friend or just a familiar acquaintance to ED. Wenz did post an apology on her Twitter and her Tumblr account Thanks again for the video!
Right? I was shocked, too, at the thought that ED referred to Rodnovery as a part of her research. Big yikes. It is a fringe cult that really has nothing in common with historical and cultural Russian paganism. Like whaaaaat. Who the heck is she talking to? Certainly not real Russians, I think.
The lack of research always shocks me! It almost feels like the authors just go on wikepedia and search for a ‘creepy european pagan cult’ and be like, yeah, im going to use that to fit the theme or whatever. Seems ignorant to me, and I am glad that people are looking at fantasy/YA genres more critically now. They have lot of impact on young readers and might encourage casual displays of discrimination or prejudice and stereotypes.
Rin should not have named Hafsah, or even said HF. It was immediately clear who they were talking about, and they must have known that no matter how much they protest. that wasn't their call to make and they sacrificed hafsah to stir up shit and get attention. i'm so sick of people saying they don't want to name names and then doing exactly that. also, Rin has lied a lot about their books getting one star reviews after these kind of things. they haven't gotten any one star reviews for any of their books as a result of this--you can look at their goodreads. the amount of harassment is grossly overstated. not saying duncan isn't in the wrong, but rin is a bullshitter too
@@JessOwens RC complained about it and asked people to report via twitter - twitter.com/RinChupeco/status/1380285463441723393. And ED's agent mentioned it in her statement about ED. it's so effing frustrating because it isn't true. Rin seems to do a lot of these call outs that aren't any of their business but end up centering themselves. this wasn't their shit to stir and it was horrible to see HF have to go through it all again after she'd made her peace with it. aggravating.
I was catching up on videos on a Sunday and didn’t expect to catch all these FEELINGS. This is too nice and I don’t think you guys understand, I WILL CRY.
honestly GOD BLESS YOU for this. I know this took a lot of time to prep, film, edit, etc., and I am so appreciative to have a concise version of everything that went down. you’re simply the best!
I’ve been wondering why Rory Power was on people’s lists and couldn’t find a clear reason. Thanks for clarifying! Also I love how you present multiple sides of stories! Love love love your videos! And your song to Nigel was perfection!
Thank god we have a girl that can keep up 🤣 I see all these subtweets and I’m like who? Who??? But very disappointed in Rory Power and Christine Lynn Herman 😫 they didn’t step up and take any responsibility for being friends with Emily Duncan and not calling out her awful behavior. Their apologies were lame asf and I felt like they googled “generic book community apology” and copy pasted.
First, just thought you’d be pleased to know that I got an ad for sunscreen while watching this 😅 But mainly - such a great video, as usual 😌 I do wish we could rebrand “cancel culture” as “accountability culture” cuz that’s really what’s at the core of this (or should be) - wanting to hold people with influence and power accountable for how they use said influence and power 😩
When you mentioned this in last weeks BookCommuniTea, I tried to do some Twitter stalking for info, and was so lost. I’m always amazed by the amount of work you put into this each work. And oh boy I cannot WAIT for Rachel Hollis next week. She is... a lot.
Why is the book community so full of drama? Like this is discouraging me from writing since there are so many problematic people that take away from other voices
Please don't let this discourage you, every community has it's A-holes, the book community and writing community is no different. Simply put those people have forgotten what it means to love books and writing and to share them, their work. Today these people are all about profit and image rather than the love of books/ and or writing. however you will find plenty who share your love of books/ and or writing and would love to have you join this community.
Thank you for making this awesome and informative video. I really enjoyed hearing the points you brought up. It also reminded me of a similar video made by WithCindy, branching off of the discussion surrounding A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik. I’m pagan, but not Russian, and the term Rodnovery rang a ball when it was brought up. Then I remembered-there is a Russian pagan creator on TikTok named Vlasta. She noticed some discussion about Rodnovery on pagan-TikTok and decided to make a video talking a bit about Rodnovery. She explained how it’s seen by pagan Russians as a racist/nationalist cult of fringe crazies which does not represent the traditions and values of actual Russian paganism. Very interesting stuff.
This is why I appreciate this series so much. You aren't gossiping or even really influencing; just informing us of what you've found. I like knowing your opinion on things, but I also like thinking for myself and deciding who I will support. I saw Bookslikewhoa's video and my own viewpoints about supporting artists are similar to hers. I appreciate the work you do to show more than one side of a story. In regards to the Duncan issue, I've seen a lot of people clumping her with Kristoff right now, but when discussing they are only talking about Kristoff and like a blip about Duncan and maybe one comment taken out of context. So thank you for putting it into context. One thing I've noticed as a trend is that any time there's an apology given, it doesn't seem to be good enough. For example, the C. Herman "plan" wasn't good enough for the person who asked for one. I'm not talking about Duncan's apology or really anyone's in particular, but like a general comment. How can an apology be worded to make people feel like it's authentic? I think mistakes should be acknowledged for sure, but "sorry" doesn't go back in time and fix things. The hurt has still been done. Someone can say they will try to do better in the future, and the response will be "well you should have been better in the past." It feels like a no-win situation. I'm sure there's some way to word the perfect apology, but I have yet to see one that has been accepted. Personally, I think that one snippet of someone saying the apologizer should say exactly what they did and apologize to specific people is getting close, but there will still be people saying it's not good enough. And that doesn't count in when you've hurt a group of people as opposed to one. I don't have a solution, I'm more just commenting on something I've noticed with apologies from not only people, but companies as well. I'm in no way saying that people shouldn't be held accountable for their actions.
Apologies seem to be a complex thing when I feel like it’s simple. My opinion is in an apology you need to state who you’ve harmed and what exactly you did and apologize. That’s the first step. Not everyone is going to accept the apology and that’s fine but it’s mostly meant for the people who were harmed, and you can’t force them to accept. Then you need to change behaviors and depending on the situation, that can be harder to do or show 🤷🏾♀️
@@JessOwens I agree for sure with the stating what you did and apologizing to specific people. Maybe that's why some of these apologies feel so forced...? Blanket statements such as "I'm sorry to anyone who I may have hurt for something I may have said/done" feel like a CYA and don't really address anything at all. Then there's the question of how do you know if they are changing for the better unless they do everything in a very public way. For instance, Duncan could apologize to Faizal specifically, but unless it's publicized no one would know that she made efforts and may still dredge it up. But then if she does it publicly, it could be seen as performative and just trying to get attention. And of course, no one has to accept an apology. I don't think that's stressed enough to people. Forgiveness is a 2 part process. You apologize and the apology has to be accepted! They need to teach that to people as early as possible. You don't get to get mad if someone doesn't accept your apology. All of this would be so much easier if people just aren't assholes. lol if only. I do not envy people who are in the spotlight, that's for sure.
We'll never know what was said in that Slack channel, but I think the "apologies" just point to the fact that these negative conversations happened. 🤷🏻♀️ The one "apology" by ED also acknowledges the antisemitism in her books.
@@JessOwens either she's self-destructive or she thought she could get away with it, which.... she kinda did and will. [Most readers don't investigate authors and she will continue to sell books and write more books, problematic or otherwise.]
About not saying not to read a book: I agree and there's also a difference between reading a book and promoting it. My two favorite authors (Rory Power and Clarke, who wasn't included in the bullying but was very publicly friends with ED) were implicated in this all. Burn Our Bodies Down is a book that means so much to me and helped me process some trauma. Clarke's book is the first book I've felt lesbians have truly be represented in. I'm going to still read their books. However, I will not be promoting them on my channel bc even as a small booktuber my power as a book influencer is much greater as a my power as a book consumer.
The point about 38:05 is a very good one, and something I think perhaps should be taken into account more often (especially since it can't be assumed that an author endorses everything in their books, given the necessity of conflict). I'd also lean more towards accountability than canceling, though, because the latter allows no nuance and no growth. The point about messing with someone's livelihood is also important to take into consideration, given artists rely on reputation more than non-creatives and rumormongering can kill a career. I do have hope that the social culture surrounding this topic will continue to mature in the future, though, even if this recap has made me appreciate the fact that I stay off Twitter. I had no idea there was so much nonsense on there in the book circles. Thank you for sorting through it? 😅
I agree with accountability. I would love for these authors to learn from this situations and progress towards being less ignorant and more intentional but who knows if that’ll happen
I probably wont get to this live; I'm getting my first vaccine shot tomorrow morning! But I'll be sure to watch! Thank you for being such a positive force in my life during this really difficult time. You're witty, informative, and awesome! :D Nigel too!
Jess bringing her White Board Energy to the tea is exactly what was needed. Also, at this point in time, anytime an author is going to do *anything* social media-wise, they need to stop and think if they're going to have to issue an apology and take some time away from SM to "learn" for what they're about to do, and then NOT. FREAKING. DO. IT.
Thanks for covering all of this! It's becoming harder and harder to just read a book and trust that the author is a good human being. We almost need to do a google search before spending that money! I haven't followed this thing in detail, but I would say that, if the people who we're not really the ones actively doing harm, apologize for their supportive behaviour toward the ones who were, we should probably give them the benefit of the doubt and see if their actions change in the future. E. Duncan herself is obviously the spill figure and I don't think she needs to get off the hook lightly, but the 'complicits' who say they didn't knew this was going on... Unless there is proof (and I honestly don't know) I do think we could be lenient and give them the benefit of the doubt? But I'm saying this as someone who is not affected by this so it is very well possible I don't see the hurt they have caused. Best to take a step back and let the people who were actually harmed decide in this one.
Mara’s video was so good. Really helped articulate how I handle authors who publicly make mistakes and where to draw my personal line. Love the sing along 😂
Yesss, such a great video. And thank you, I serenade Nigel quite often 😂
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the problematic authors list remind me of the "golden" age of tumblr in the mid2010s with yourfaveisproblematic. i really wish we would retire that word and use our vocabulary to explicitely point out what kind of harm has been done. i mean as book people it's kind of the bare minimum! also!! one thing i do miss about tumblr is that people never subtweeted or were vague. they would make call out posts in form and fucking @ anyone, whereas twitter makes you retrace the steps like some kind of social justice cluedo. no thanks! i'm glad you're here to make sense of everything
Thank you for all the hard work you put into this Jess! It was nice to see this talked about with well researched and good supporting evidence. When things like this happen a lot of people jump on the bandwagon and then a lot of what is actually the issue gets lost in the mass of people just going off of what they heard someone else say. To a point where the information gets twisted. Booktok is the worst place I’ve seen for it. Noticing it’ll get them views but having absolute zero knowledge of what is going on and subsequently making stuff up because they think that’s what happened 🤦🏻♀️. All that does in the end is make it difficult for people to make their own informed decisions because they don’t have all the facts and it’s overwhelming because you don’t know what’s true or not. So again thank you for your unbiased and very well articulated way that you have approached this. 🥰💜
Thank you ❤️❤️. It’s so easy to get caught up in the popular tweets and just go with it, especially if it gives you views. But I tried to find and share as much info as possible so people can make their own decisions
Something that I found really telling about her whole apology is the claim that she knew what she was writing would be seen as Anti-Semitic due to her research but through some leap of logic thought that'd she be able to correctly portray it when how she portrayed it was putting these ideas in a position where makes it openly clear its meant to be anti-semitic. To me, it always sounded like it was more of an "I knew what I was doing but was relying on my ignorant market/ fanbase to not pick up on it" kind of situation than anything else.
all the antisemitism flew right over my head, I would have never known had this not come out. its so crazy how we got indoctrinated with racism/anti semitism/sexism etc without even knowing it sometimes.
Please do the video on Rachel Hollis. I keep seeing people mention that name, but I have no idea what it’s about exactly and I wanna know. Sounds juicy.
Wow, you are never going to run out of content because some people will never leaaaarn, haha! Wow. Also, Nigel must be in his 'teenage' years now- that sass during your serenade! Too funny.
Thank you so much for putting this video together! This recent discourse was so much more than “drama” and I really appreciated the nuance and explanations you gave to the allegations.
Your serie is truly helping me stay informed😂 I don't follow many people who tweet about issues - mostly cause I'm trying to keep twitter a positive space - BUT I VERY grateful for you videos. I love the time you take to go over evidence and don't just state opinions. The fact that you present these stories better then any journalist covering news is fucking amazing! But I honest wanted to say thanks because I know how much time you must invest to create such great videos !! Keep doing what you're doing❤️
So are these complaints saying that fantasy novels cannot create any magic system that involves blood because it is a direct attack on Jewish communities everywhere? (This is coming from someone of Hungarian-Jewish descent). I truly am not trying to trigger/hurt people or start anything, but I am aware of the history and disgusting propaganda concerning "blood libel", and think that - at least in part - these complaints are what is bringing negative attention to this topic rather than just the book itself, as now people, instead of innocently enjoying a book, will go searching for everything supposedly wrong with it. Are these authors telling us to hate the Jewish community? Or are they incorporating "blood magic" because it sounds gothic and edgy for a YA fantasy novel? I can't imagine any author (especially in recent years) actively sets out to write a novel that is hurtful to wronged (to understate it) minorities. What about V.E. Schwab's "Shades of Magic" series? Some of the characters use their blood for magic, and in one instance, it is even indirectly involved in a resurrection. Should everyone boycott this book because the author OBVIOUSLY wanted to take a shot at a real minority and not just write an interesting magic system. Sorry for the slight rant here, and I hope everyone is doing well. Edit: I am not speaking of how any author may have responded to these accusations or if they are A-holes in real life, I am simply addressing the validity of some complaints made about fantasy tropes that are seen as controversial. P.S. Please inform me if I have missed out on a point here, or if I am wrong on any account, as I am aware that there is always information to be made aware of.
I actually saw part of this happen and I appreciate the care and thoughtfulness you put into organizing all of this into a video!! and that you brought up some important related issues as well. Also totally unrelated but Jess you have such amazing skin!!!!
My biggest issue with “don’t read this book” is that it often leads to hundreds-thousands of people talking about a book that only 10-15 arc readers have read. Sometimes the accusations are true and sometimes it’s not and how can we know what’s true or not if we haven’t read it? (This isn’t in regards to A Gentle Tyranny bc past history is pretty indicative, but in cases of debut authors it’s hard to know)
Thanks for the work you do and how you provide as much context and nuance as possible. You are thoughtful. I especially appreciate it because I miss a lot of what goes on since I am not on Twitter at all. It just doesn't work for me and I don't have time or mental space for all of that. This is so helpful to the larger community. Also, the Nigel after show is everything we need after all that mess.
Girl, I’m gonna watch it anyway. You think I’m not looking forward to my ComminiTEA Tuesdays? 😂 This premier is teasing me! I was all excited and then NOPE! Not til the morning, B*****! ...I feel like Nigel just gave me the look. DENIED! 💀
I always learn so much in these videos outside of the drama!! I can’t imagine how much work these are with all the background and context you give so thank you for making these videos they’re my fave.
In my opinion, if you can't describe or show your world to your reader in the most basic of terms, that means you don't have the skill to do that. You can't pull out the "I'm so deep" card if you can't even explain it in basic terms. Brandon Sanderson's magic system is complex but he can explain it. I won't hold your hand. Just say it. I can't guide you since I'm making it up as I go.
Yes, one of my English teacher always told me is write to the basic level regardless on whatever your doing because you never know what your readers may or may not know
@@cirac7508 true. I got the same advice from my professor. It just seems so harmful as an author to think your work is so revolutionary that it can't be understood by the common masses. Funny how deep she is and she can't formulate a good apology. So much words with so little accountability. And she will take a social media break. Of course. Classic move.
@@derekkarofsky9694 you know how many authors I seen saying they readers are wrong because they didn't "understand" 🤦🏾♀️ That the new I'm listening and learning just like now just wait a few months till the next release for some of these authors and it would be out behind them
@@cirac7508 true. A good author can leave mysteries that won't make the book a mess. Plot hooks and cliffhangers are okay. But having no concrete plan and saying readers are too childish to understand is downright egotistical. Again, if you can't explain it in basic terms, don't even try to explain it in complex ones. They also need to remember that readers tend to read a lot. So for us to say something feels rushed or incoherent means we are cross referencing it.
Really enjoyed your POV on this situation! I got the special Owlcrate edition of EDs new book in the mail the day it all came out 🙃 it’s just sitting on my shelf now
This was an excellent overview and commentary on the whole mess. I agree that an overall lack of evidence severely impacted how folks on the outside read and interpreted these tweets, and a lot of the general discourse (if we want to call it that) honestly rubbed me the wrong way. Especially the "don't buy from these authors" lists, that just strikes me as so childish. Let people decide for themselves. Regarding some of the bad author behaviour exhibited here, my main takeaways are that Kristoff is full of himself, Duncan is a flat out ignorant bully (and perhaps believes this makes them seem more edgy?), and Chupeco is a bit of a shit disturber as well. The initial thread that brought victims like "HF" into the mix was super unnecessary imo.
Jeannette Ng is always so on point. So grateful for that perspective. And thank you Jess for doing so much research and treating this issue as seriously as it deserves.
Many thanks for all the work you put into these BookCommuniTEA videos. They are at once entertaining and informative. Also your serenade for Nigel at the end was inspired.
Ok, I definitely think it's a great thing to discuss issues of possible racism and bad representation in books. It's important to bring things into the light and examine them. However, I'm deeply concerned about the way these call-outs go down. It gives vibes of witch hunts/public shaming. It's also eerily similar the cultural revolution and religious fanatics confessing sins. All the sugar coating calling it a "call-in" doesn't change the fact that they're using shame and social pressure to control and destroy other authors. How is this itself not bullying? It stinks of a power trip, no matter how justified they think they are. The way this always happens when an author's book is about to come out is incredibly suspicious. It's one thing to discuss issues with a book right after it comes out or to call out bullying as it's happening. But somehow these controversies always come up just before the author's new book release. 🤔 How is it that she and others said so many horrible things and yet there's not even one screen shot? There's also zero evidence that she was behind that other account. The only screenshots that exist show her being inconsiderate, and, let's face it, almost everyone who's on social media has been guilty of that at some point. Sorry, but after seeing the stink about Blood Heir, and then actually reading it, I'm skeptical about these controversies. I've started to buy the books of author's who have been hounded in this way to support them and see for myself if any of the accusations about problematic content are true. Not one of them have been, unless you're willfully reaching reaaally hard.
I felt this way about the Veronica Hearth or whatever her name is that wrote Carve the Mark and the whole controversy around Naomi Navik over a dread head situation? It was such a throw away line and everyone in that book that's a student is essentially kind of filthy unless you're popular and rich.
Many Slavic pagans don't use or have stopped using the "rodnovery" label because it is associated with the nationalist/fascist/racist groups. Because there are pagans who worship the Slavic gods and are not racist/nationalist. So, I have no idea how Emily Duncan could just ignore the racists/nationalists in the rodnovery community nor how she could ignore those speaking out against it. She just wanted to be antisemitic in her series and is trying to hide behind religion.
I commend you for the effort you put into these videos because I tried to follow this situation on Twitter and got so lost. You sorted it all out perfectly 👌🏼
It's so hard to follow everything when it comes out on Twitter, so I really appreciate these videos. You are so clear and concise on what is happening. Keep up the great work!
I read Wicked Saints earlier this year and it was so confusing! I never knew what was going on. The whole blood magic system was also a huge SH trigger.
Nigel is judging us all, isn't he? :D (As a Polish person living in Japan I lowkey want to take a look at books by those authors, I'd just rather not give them my money.) About JK asking his Japanese friends while doing his research: When I was a student, I had Japanese professors who were routinely asked for their opinions and expertise not only by authors but by TV and movie producers. Their advice was very often ignored whenever the authors/producers felt that the truth didn't fit their "vision", to the extent that one of my professors actually asked for his name as historical consultant to be erased from the credits for a historical drama produced by NHK (which is the national television). It might be that JK did consult his Japanese friends, just didn't feel like using their advice or simply didn't show them more controversial stuff.
I'm so glad you get into some of the problems with problematic-ism, but also point out legit problems. It's such a complex issue. But I have a serious question: Are there examples of public figures making apologies that are both sincere, and accepted as sufficient? (So long as their actions back up the apology going forward.) It seems like there are endless examples of apologies that then get shot down as "disingenuous" or "not enough." Has anybody managed to succeed at this? I'd love to see--want to know it's at least possible, you know?
I tried reading Wicked Saints and it straight up felt like the first 100 pages were missing. You’re not ‘not spoon feeding’ your audience Emily that’s bad writing.
Best after-show on TH-cam tbh. Anyway, thank you for your video, you always have everything laid out clearly and are thoughtful with how you present things in this series.
Didn’t Emily Duncan call reviewers “pearl clutchers” because they were pointing out how the political/magic of the world didn’t sit right? I swear there was a tweet like a year or two ago
I always am thankful for these videos specially when they’re long bc you keep me company while at work lol but I’m also taking a break from social media rn and they help me know what’s going on without having to be on tt so ty for doing these!
I appreciate the work you put into these videos! It can be so confusing, especially when all I see on my timeline are the subtweets. At this point I don’t understand why these authors are even on Twitter. It’s like now that they’re published and have a following, they feel so powerful and are basically acting like the jerks from high school who thought they were superior because they used “dark” humor (that ended up just being bullying/racism masked as humor)
Do you think it's on purpose, as in anti-semitism on the individual level, or do you think it goes deeper than that--anti-semitism in the history of Fantasy writing being echoed now, perhaps unwittingly, simply because it's the formula familiar with fantasy readers and writers? I had a professor who would say, "If you want to be a good writer, read the books you want to write. That's how you'll learn your craft, by mimicking and then making it your own." So I'm curious if this problem goes deeper than the individuals and reflects the genre itself.
I think so. To be honest anti-Semitism is so hard to spot because we as a whole don't really know Jewish customs and culture. I never once thought that Jewish people shared or did anything with blood???
I’m not on Twitter so I appreciate these videos so much. Thank you for keeping me updated and aware. I can see it’s a lot of work and I’m extremely thankful.
This is probably the most compilation of what has happened I've seen. Thank you for making such an all-rounded report on this. Personally I don't think I'll support Emily Duncan or her friends after this. But I agree with what you said about when calling out authors, the person doing the calling out should Def think of what it would do to the victims and gain their approval first.
I LOVE Those frames! They're so cute and look great on you. Agree on taking the victim into consideration. Ironic that Jessica Cluess said "this is the stupidest thing I have seen in my hears on this hell platform" since that was my exact thoughts reading her little Twitter thread meltdown a few months ago. Thanks for covering this, it's a lot.
Another fantastic episode! Loved the premiere! Also unfortunate we have another author misbehaving a few hours later (Lauren Hough, got salty over people giving 4.5 stars on Goodreads).
Looking back on this it’s definitely a rant, but I know a lot of Jewish people including myself are tired of seeing all the new rebranded versions of nazi ideals and general anti-semitism, and then being gaslit by their supporters for calling them out as anti Semitic. Emily Duncan is a Neo-nazi, and at the very least an extremely anti-Semitic white supremacist. The things you showed in the video are absolutely disgusting, I’d bet the only reason they disagree with that Wikipedia entry is because it doesn’t cast their rebranded version of white supremacy in the positive light that their “Rodnovery” crowd usually does. To add to their open support to a white supremacy group (talked about in the video) Duncan has also recommended members of a neo nazi group as sources, and said that Jewish people from Russia etc are not allowed to write stories concerning Russia, the implication being that irregardless of how long their family has lived in Russia she would not consider them Russian because they’re Jewish. I think anyone who is currently supporting or (in the case of authors) friends with Emily Duncan needs to come to terms with the fact that they’re friends with/supporting a literal nazi and decide if that’s a person that when they look in the mirror they can accept.
![Book CommuniTEA: Ripped Bodice's Diversity Report, ACOTAR Fans Fat Shaming & Publishing Got $$[CC]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yqIjoNZSkv0/mqdefault.jpg)
![Book CommuniTEA: Ripped Bodice's Diversity Report, ACOTAR Fans Fat Shaming & Publishing Got $$[CC]](/img/tr.png)
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![Book CommuniTEA Tuesday: No Peace During Black History Month, Should White Authors Write POC? [CC]](/img/n.gif)
As someone who avoids Twitter, I very much appreciate this series because sometimes I really do feel lost...
If it makes you feel better, I am always on twitter and I'm still lost.
Oh my god, me too.
This is a mood
Same
@@SBrown-og3nr same here, Twitter is the only social media I actually do get on and I still really need these videos
Watching this while eating breakfast and my four year old asks “is she talking about kristoff from frozen?” I lost it. Although I wish you were talking about kristoff from frozen because he’s far less problematic.
Omg 🤣🤣🤣🤣
This is too cute and funny lol
Rin Chupeco publicly dragging “HF” into the callout without permission was insensitive and poorly thought out. I’m glad you pointed it out because I haven’t seen anyone else do it. We’re so caught up in public callouts we never stop to think about the people who get dragged in as victims. As someone who is mentally ill, if someone made a public callout post against someone who has wronged me and dragged me into it after I had already dealt with it privately years ago I’d straight up probably just KMS. Dragging people into your Twitter callouts and arguments without consent often has real life repercussions.
Yes, I really wish Rin had left the HF out because obviously Hafsah had moved on to healing and now Rin brought back up this trauma😫
I couldn’t agree more. I’m glad Jess brought that up, cuz I was also sitting there confused, thinking ‘...Miss Chupeco’s tweet doesn’t totally seem like victim-centered justice, does it? :/‘
Agreed.
Authors misbehaving and doubling down puts a larger dent in my TBR pile than my lazy ass ever could 💀
bsuhjecwojocihdeugcyuehiujibcreuybcryeuncwion oh i’m so lucky that i don’t read (a lot of) problematic authors so my tbr is still at 72 lol
Mentally Unstable My TBR is so hefty 😭😭 And I am in a perpetual reading slump so authors acting up happens way more often than me picking up a book 😂
Fr... the amount of books i moved to the sell/donate pile or gave to my mom for decor* bc of authors being the worst is A LOT AND WAY TOO MUCH
*she likes pretty book spines to display and doesnt care about the book itself
@@ladynoluck Haha love that! I have a pile to donate to my local library so that I can go back and read them when I get the chance (without them taking up space in my apt!)
Bahaha good point
The way that thumbnail make the video look like a True Crime Case video HAS ME DEADDDDD🤣🤣🤣🤣
Twas my goal 😆
Ok. As a Russian: Rodnoveriye is NOT the “actual” Slavic paganism, it is something modern that is loosely inspired by that. And it IS adopted by a lot of right-wing groups and based on nationalism.
Is that Wikipedia entry close to the truth?
@@JessOwens Seems to be, from what I understand. Again, it is very much a neo-pagan strain, very loosely based on actual folklore, and it does attract certain types.
The thing with Jay for me is, yes it’s obvious that he was being sarcastic and rude when making the pocky comment, but why would you want to support someone who is a self-professed asshole? He’s right there, telling you that he’s a mean person. I don’t know about you, but I prefer nice people. Nice authors. He also also comes off as a huge creep for me when he writes about wlw, and also in his tweets in general, and that’s a whole separate conversation.
Same, I didnt like what the answer said about him: using a racist trope "sarcastically" isnt a flex.
When people are overly sincere, it's cringe too
I don't think I've ever slammed a reminder button quicker than I did when I saw this
why’d she address “my bipoc followers” when her issues were about antisemitism and racism against asian cultures ???? i’m confuse
So am i
I think Rin thought they were helping, but you’re right. I think it’s kind of embarrassing and overwhelming to be dragged into something you didn’t consent to. Especially when it seems like Hafsah stays off Twitter for this exact reason.
Yeah, I think leaving out the “HF” would’ve been helpful
I definitely want to read Hafsah’s books now.
I was under the impression from some of Rin’s tweets that they were given permission before sharing, but if Hafsah was taken by surprise then maybe there were multiple victims and at least one encouraged Rin to share. They tweeted ‘received my benediction’ and ‘I’ve been unleashed in my dms’ which suggests that someone who had been bullied by ED told them it was okay to make it public
@@cerilouisereads I had the same impression. I thought Rin wrote somewhere in a tweet that they were only making it public because someone said it was okay. But then Hafsah sounded rather surprised so I don't know.
They did it for themselves, clearly, they seem to get a kick out of starting drama and then expecting applause.
Very juvenile and “mean girl-esque” ironically.
I'm Polish and from what I've seen here about Emily Duncan's book it looks like - aside from being antisemitic -Russian anti-Polish propaganda. Most Western readers won't understand the layers of history between these two countries, who fought with eachother for centuries (resulting in very complicated relationship to this day). Polish empire had a freedom of religion act, so it was, in it's time, a home of BIG Jewish population, so making a prince of a Polish-inspired kingdom an alcoholic blood-mage is in line with Russian antisemitism and resentment of Poland.
I’ve seen so many people who are western readers feel bad they didn’t see the antisemitism (including myself about Nevernight) but so much of this history we aren’t familiar with. Not that it makes it ok but I feel the writers, editors and such should take more care in what they’re writing
@@JessOwens I’m Ashkenazi Jewish and first, you’re both absolutely correct, and second, I think it’s important to emphasize that NONE of this is new to us(Jews). We’ve been speaking out about antisemitic authors and tropes for eons but unfortunately, people tend to not believe Jews who speak about antisemitism (ironic, yes, but that in and of itself is another symptom of the pervasive undercurrent of antisemitism that runs through society). A lot of this stuff is so grossly normalized that many non-Jews don’t recognize it at all.
For example, something that I don’t think you mentioned (and I’m sorry if you did and I just missed it!!) about JK and Adonai, the kind of magic he does, Ashkahi? That word looks an awful lot like Ashkenazi, doesn’t it? His antisemitism in Nevernight is 100% intentional. The specificity and concentration of his dogwhistles is terrifying.
I love this video so much, you’ve laid out this whole issue in a great concise, thorough manner with all the receipts. I’ve shared it with lots of my friends who read because you did SUCH a great job reviewing this whole awful situation. I’m so glad this issue is finally getting traction, but it’s also a bit depressing that nobody took this seriously (Nevernight has been out for 5 years and Wicked Saints for 2) until it was tacked onto these authors’ anti-Asian racist and bullying issues. Thank you for using your platform to talk about this, it really means a lot.
@@JessOwens I agree. I was unfortunately one of those readers that didn't recognize the antisemitic tropes in Duncan's books and I felt so ashamed. I'm working on educating myself. The fact that someone could be so antisemitic and racist to the point that they would weave it into their writing is insane to me..
Had no idea who Emily Duncan and her friends are before this stuff started happening.
LOL
Their but yeah... How do people still make excuses when told the entire plot of their book is just bigotry.
Something I really appreciate about the way you talk in these videos is that you are not trying to quickly draw conclusions or to say things that “sound good”. It feels like a conversation where we are understanding things together. And I really think you bring a lot of nuance into the things you talk about
When I saw that he used the name A*onai I literally GASPED. This is the holiest word in Judaism and you're not supposed to say it out loud except in prayer. I'm not even religious anymore, but the taboo against saying it is STRONG. I would literally never say it if not in prayer. Wow, shocked but also not shocked that he did this.
@@moustik31 I agree. I remember going to a Christian bible camp when I was a kid and one of the songs we sang had that word in it. It was the first thing I thought of because I was like "that word sounds familiar"
@@mybookishdelights4767 🙃
I’m sorry someone used that term so openly, so blatantly. It’s very insensitive and I’m sure it’s very frustrating for you. I’m sure the Jewish community is very hurt right now.
@@meghannpalmer7417 “I’m sure the Jewish community is very hurt right now” sweetie it’s just a book ☠️☠️☠️
@@the_ultracheese67 but it's an insensitive term towards a group of people..... wdym 'it's just a book?'
This whole thing with Emily and Kristoff made me realize how strong anti-semitism still is and how much I didn't know about it, I'm really glad that I'm subscribed to you, otherwise I wouldn't know about any of this, since I'm out of twitter, thank you!
I love how you tackle this series, Jess! You have the perfect mix of summarizing things, providing receipts, acknowledging lack of evidence without discrediting everyone, and providing your own opinions. Plus, Nigel is the cherry on top.
Just finished watching the whole video and I just wanted to say that I appreciate the effort you took to add nuance and context to this whole situation. Honestly this topics can be very hard to discuss even without people just straight giving the worst, most out of context reading possible; doing the latter helps no one in the long run. I think you raised very intelligent points all throughout, while being respectful of those involved.
Thank you, I'm so glad. I don't want to come off siding with either author but just trying to give as much info as possible
Just commenting that I agree. I really appreciate that Jess clearly does her best to add nuance and context to any of her videos.
I'm not on Twitter and I moved cities right before the panny and it's been a year of social distancing. The drama in your communitea series nourishes the nosey Nancy parts of my soul ☕
😂😂 glad to nourish you
I randomly saw one of Rin Chupeco's tweets about the Emily Duncan mess, but couldn't make head or tails of it because I didn't feel like tracing the whole thread back to it's source. Making sense of twitter mess is so much work, and yet your videos are always clear, well-researched, and straight-forward. Just wanted you to know that you're doing an awesome job!
Thank you 💕💕
I don't go on Twitter because I realized a while back how detrimental to my mental health it is, so I really appreciate you bringing these issues to light and trying to have a nuanced conversation about them
Its not about what the authors may or may not have done or said that has them targeted, rather who they have supported, who they read, what they do, and their social, racial, and political stance. One wrong move even if their defending an innocent person their targeted by readers and trolls regardless. People have a right to block the authors and still love their books, not publicly support author or book but still has and reads book. Some people don't take the time to do their research on the author before condemning them, if the allegations year hear about are true then by all means decide for oneself, if the author is found innocent, their innocent. Your confused because many of the authors these people hate are innocent (Some are guilty I'm not denying that) and if you cant find anything then that gives you the answer, their lying haters. Haters will always be haters, always trying to get you and me to hate too but you made the right decision leaving twitter. It's toxic as hell, full of many, many people who would just love to burn the books of half the authors they hate simply because they hate them. Thiers absolutely no logic even though it makes perfect sense to them.
"Marines always says it better" haha! She is always so eloquent. Great video Jess. It's a tough topic to navigate.
She is so eloquent. But thank you, I tried to do my best
This is too, too kind. 😭
Jess did a FANTASTIC job!!
This is exactly why I’m unhauling the Illuminae Files 🙄
Definitely think Rin should not have put the initials in her tweet cause when you were reading it I immediately knew who it meant. I’m buying all of her books now because I’m so tired of people harassing her🙄
Hafsah Faizal’s books are so worth it, you won’t regret it. 🥰 I think her series just got picked up for TV, too. And she has a third book in a new series coming soon called A Tempest of Tea. Very exciting.
I've heard some good things about Illuminae Files but the more I heard about the author the more hesitant I am to actually pick them up and read. Are they, in your opinion, worth the read or should I skip them and focus on other books?
@@Emma-sj6wp I personally did not enjoy the ending of any of the books. The format of them is cool and you may like it if you like sci-fi. Depends on if you can separate the work from the authors. If you can, go for it
@@BookmarkChronicles I think I can. I'll read the first one and see if I'm okay with it. Thank you!
@@Emma-sj6wp okay, hope you enjoy
Lady, you consistently save my behind. I was on booktok and saw people remove Wicked Saints from their TBRs and I was like 'okay, if it's important Jess is going to cover it' and BAM. You are amazing, thank you for doing these long in-depth videos. They make my little Virgo research heart happy. Now I know I really don't want to read that series and it'll keep me mindful in my own writing.
Happy to make your Virgo heart happy 💕
The devil works hard, but Jess works harder 💪Thanks for making a super complicated situation more comprehensible! I was struggling to follow all the threads. And YES I screen shotted that Jeanette Ng thread, it was so good!
I am so glad you're here to tell us what is happening on twitter because I for one can't face it, it's a scary place!
I'm an atheist Indian. and the jay kristoff thing, I cannot get behind criticizing him - because to me this is no different from Hindus protesting the use of anything related to hindu gods and goddesses in fiction. I dont think dieties and the concept of god, jesus, the prophet, etc etc should be held in such high regard that one cannot write reinterpretations or use the revamped characters anywhere. it's highly orthodox and we need to grow past this tendency where someones religious beliefs are made to seem so above all else. Also I get that commentary in countries where that religion is the majority is different from where it is practised by a minority. but providing social, legal, and political protections to vulnerabilities to minority religions should not mean that an author has to change a character name in his book because it alludes to a particular religion's folklore
I think it's part of free speech. I don't feel like this is really activism. It just seems petty in the grand scheme of things. Like this random fictional books isn't infringing on your religion or practice of it. Christians get poked at all the time and people consider it funny when we get upset over everything (it's valid some can be batshit) but it's nonetheless part of the experience. Part of getting along isn't always agreeing or thinking exactly alike.
I support free speech, but criticism is always fair in writing. I think if he had been more aware of the cultural significance of the names of entities he was using, the writing would have been stronger. If he had used it with the intention of commenting the religious tradition itself, if he were an insider to that religion for example, the use of the name would have meant something. But just to use it as a name of a generic villain, that opens it up to the anti Semitic interpretation too easily
I am 99% confident Emily Duncan subtweeted my middle-of-the-road-to-critical Goodreads review of their book last year. Which....was a choice, considering I followed them at the time and was planning to read the next book at that point. I ended up giving up on the series for numerous reasons, including the less than cool twitter behavior, and ultimately while I didn't recognize the issue in the text at the time I was reading it, the problematic (for lack of a better word) POV and behavior doesn't exactly surprise me. Ultimately it's disappointing all the same. Thanks for a great video on this topic. You followed a lot of threads here and it led to a greater understanding of the issue for sure.
Well...what a big fat hot mess...
I am currently in the process of binging all your communiTEA videos and learning loads of things I was unaware of. Thank you for all your hard work!
thank you !
Yeah, I find them so informative. I want my money going to unproblematic authors. Money talks.
The sad thing is that as a YA librarian, I have to supply the titles that our community is interested in reading. So despite knowing what I do, I still need to provide Kristoff and Duncan's books. However, I don't have a defined number of copies that need to be purchased for our system. And I also balance it out by providing BIPOC author titles, including my fellow Texan HF.
I'm I'm Texas who frequents the library. Thank you for putting BIPOC authors in the library. I have found some of the most beautiful and enlightening stories thanks to similar practices of my local librarians.
He co-wrote the book series Illuminae Files, but it's actually a wonderful series and I don't think there's anything problematic in it. I honestly don't believe he actually co-wrote it because his other series are terrible 😅. So don't feel bad for stocking that one
Jess thank you for taking your time and energy to bring these topics to light. You always make sure you provide examples and your openness to talk about it is refreshing.
That Nigel side 👀 deserved a separate like all on its own. 😱 I need 💭 bubbles with Nigel's deep thoughts on this ridiculousness, and by that I mean full metal snark that would make Trixie Matel and Katya say "we're not worthy".😂
Oh my God yes 😂 Nigel thought bubbles!! 😍
I second this! We need to know how Nigel really feels about these topics!
This is an awesome video. Thank you for summing up the situation so neatly!
A couple things that you probably touched on, but I think could maybe be cleared up a bit more:
-The Slack channel that ED used to bully authors was a Slack channel specifically meant for debut YA authors who debuted in the same year, which is the reason for the suspicion that she lashed out who she deemed her "competition," fellow debut authors who wrote similar themes into their books as she did
-"Rodnovery" is pronounced "rohd-noh-veh-ree" and in most Slavic languages it means something like "generational" or "pedigree" so in super explicit terms it's kind of like saying "the people's faith" or like, "the native people's faith," so even the name strongly alludes to nationalism, especially outside of a mundane context
**edited to add that the right-wing nationalist pagan groups are not the only Slavic pagan worshippers out there, far far from it. I'm honestly shocked that ED didn't come across the many modern pagans and witches warning people against the nationalist groups in her purported research
-Claire Wenz isn't an author herself, but she is a graphic designer or artist or both, and she has a blog dedicated to dissecting the design of the covers of YA books. She's either a friend or just a familiar acquaintance to ED. Wenz did post an apology on her Twitter and her Tumblr account
Thanks again for the video!
Right? I was shocked, too, at the thought that ED referred to Rodnovery as a part of her research. Big yikes. It is a fringe cult that really has nothing in common with historical and cultural Russian paganism. Like whaaaaat. Who the heck is she talking to? Certainly not real Russians, I think.
The lack of research always shocks me! It almost feels like the authors just go on wikepedia and search for a ‘creepy european pagan cult’ and be like, yeah, im going to use that to fit the theme or whatever. Seems ignorant to me, and I am glad that people are looking at fantasy/YA genres more critically now. They have lot of impact on young readers and might encourage casual displays of discrimination or prejudice and stereotypes.
Rin should not have named Hafsah, or even said HF. It was immediately clear who they were talking about, and they must have known that no matter how much they protest. that wasn't their call to make and they sacrificed hafsah to stir up shit and get attention. i'm so sick of people saying they don't want to name names and then doing exactly that. also, Rin has lied a lot about their books getting one star reviews after these kind of things. they haven't gotten any one star reviews for any of their books as a result of this--you can look at their goodreads. the amount of harassment is grossly overstated. not saying duncan isn't in the wrong, but rin is a bullshitter too
I really don’t like how Rin went about it and including Hafsah. I hadn’t seen Rin talking about one star reviews ..
@@JessOwens RC complained about it and asked people to report via twitter - twitter.com/RinChupeco/status/1380285463441723393. And ED's agent mentioned it in her statement about ED. it's so effing frustrating because it isn't true. Rin seems to do a lot of these call outs that aren't any of their business but end up centering themselves. this wasn't their shit to stir and it was horrible to see HF have to go through it all again after she'd made her peace with it. aggravating.
“I need Marines to vocalize what I’m trying to say.” I too wish I can speak as good as Marines does. 🤣
I need her to launch a public speaking/ speaking on camera course😂
I was catching up on videos on a Sunday and didn’t expect to catch all these FEELINGS. This is too nice and I don’t think you guys understand, I WILL CRY.
I'm looking forward to this!!! It premieres at 7:30 in the morning so I might not be awake for the premiere but I'll watch it as soon as I can.
honestly GOD BLESS YOU for this. I know this took a lot of time to prep, film, edit, etc., and I am so appreciative to have a concise version of everything that went down. you’re simply the best!
That’s such a mess. I feel bad that “HF” seemingly got dragged into it without permission
Me too, I don’t like that part of it
I’ve been wondering why Rory Power was on people’s lists and couldn’t find a clear reason. Thanks for clarifying! Also I love how you present multiple sides of stories! Love love love your videos! And your song to Nigel was perfection!
Thank you 🥰
Thank god we have a girl that can keep up 🤣 I see all these subtweets and I’m like who? Who???
But very disappointed in Rory Power and Christine Lynn Herman 😫 they didn’t step up and take any responsibility for being friends with Emily Duncan and not calling out her awful behavior. Their apologies were lame asf and I felt like they googled “generic book community apology” and copy pasted.
I already live on Twitter , so I might as well
Organize the mess for y’all 😂
First, just thought you’d be pleased to know that I got an ad for sunscreen while watching this 😅
But mainly - such a great video, as usual 😌 I do wish we could rebrand “cancel culture” as “accountability culture” cuz that’s really what’s at the core of this (or should be) - wanting to hold people with influence and power accountable for how they use said influence and power 😩
When you mentioned this in last weeks BookCommuniTea, I tried to do some Twitter stalking for info, and was so lost. I’m always amazed by the amount of work you put into this each work. And oh boy I cannot WAIT for Rachel Hollis next week. She is... a lot.
Why is the book community so full of drama? Like this is discouraging me from writing since there are so many problematic people that take away from other voices
It’s a lot but don’t let it discourage you !
Please don't let this discourage you, every community has it's A-holes, the book community and writing community is no different. Simply put those people have forgotten what it means to love books and writing and to share them, their work. Today these people are all about profit and image rather than the love of books/ and or writing. however you will find plenty who share your love of books/ and or writing and would love to have you join this community.
Thank you for making this awesome and informative video. I really enjoyed hearing the points you brought up. It also reminded me of a similar video made by WithCindy, branching off of the discussion surrounding A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik. I’m pagan, but not Russian, and the term Rodnovery rang a ball when it was brought up. Then I remembered-there is a Russian pagan creator on TikTok named Vlasta. She noticed some discussion about Rodnovery on pagan-TikTok and decided to make a video talking a bit about Rodnovery. She explained how it’s seen by pagan Russians as a racist/nationalist cult of fringe crazies which does not represent the traditions and values of actual Russian paganism. Very interesting stuff.
Also your song for Nigel was the most precious thing!
This is why I appreciate this series so much. You aren't gossiping or even really influencing; just informing us of what you've found. I like knowing your opinion on things, but I also like thinking for myself and deciding who I will support. I saw Bookslikewhoa's video and my own viewpoints about supporting artists are similar to hers. I appreciate the work you do to show more than one side of a story. In regards to the Duncan issue, I've seen a lot of people clumping her with Kristoff right now, but when discussing they are only talking about Kristoff and like a blip about Duncan and maybe one comment taken out of context. So thank you for putting it into context.
One thing I've noticed as a trend is that any time there's an apology given, it doesn't seem to be good enough. For example, the C. Herman "plan" wasn't good enough for the person who asked for one. I'm not talking about Duncan's apology or really anyone's in particular, but like a general comment. How can an apology be worded to make people feel like it's authentic? I think mistakes should be acknowledged for sure, but "sorry" doesn't go back in time and fix things. The hurt has still been done. Someone can say they will try to do better in the future, and the response will be "well you should have been better in the past." It feels like a no-win situation. I'm sure there's some way to word the perfect apology, but I have yet to see one that has been accepted. Personally, I think that one snippet of someone saying the apologizer should say exactly what they did and apologize to specific people is getting close, but there will still be people saying it's not good enough. And that doesn't count in when you've hurt a group of people as opposed to one. I don't have a solution, I'm more just commenting on something I've noticed with apologies from not only people, but companies as well. I'm in no way saying that people shouldn't be held accountable for their actions.
Apologies seem to be a complex thing when I feel like it’s simple. My opinion is in an apology you need to state who you’ve harmed and what exactly you did and apologize. That’s the first step. Not everyone is going to accept the apology and that’s fine but it’s mostly meant for the people who were harmed, and you can’t force them to accept. Then you need to change behaviors and depending on the situation, that can be harder to do or show 🤷🏾♀️
@@JessOwens I agree for sure with the stating what you did and apologizing to specific people. Maybe that's why some of these apologies feel so forced...? Blanket statements such as "I'm sorry to anyone who I may have hurt for something I may have said/done" feel like a CYA and don't really address anything at all. Then there's the question of how do you know if they are changing for the better unless they do everything in a very public way. For instance, Duncan could apologize to Faizal specifically, but unless it's publicized no one would know that she made efforts and may still dredge it up. But then if she does it publicly, it could be seen as performative and just trying to get attention. And of course, no one has to accept an apology. I don't think that's stressed enough to people. Forgiveness is a 2 part process. You apologize and the apology has to be accepted! They need to teach that to people as early as possible. You don't get to get mad if someone doesn't accept your apology.
All of this would be so much easier if people just aren't assholes. lol if only. I do not envy people who are in the spotlight, that's for sure.
The real gift is that rendition of My Nigel at the end.
🤣💕
We'll never know what was said in that Slack channel, but I think the "apologies" just point to the fact that these negative conversations happened. 🤷🏻♀️ The one "apology" by ED also acknowledges the antisemitism in her books.
It’s very weird that Emily acknowledges that she knew the topics/ tropes were anti Semitic but kept going with it
@@JessOwens either she's self-destructive or she thought she could get away with it, which.... she kinda did and will. [Most readers don't investigate authors and she will continue to sell books and write more books, problematic or otherwise.]
About not saying not to read a book: I agree and there's also a difference between reading a book and promoting it. My two favorite authors (Rory Power and Clarke, who wasn't included in the bullying but was very publicly friends with ED) were implicated in this all. Burn Our Bodies Down is a book that means so much to me and helped me process some trauma. Clarke's book is the first book I've felt lesbians have truly be represented in. I'm going to still read their books. However, I will not be promoting them on my channel bc even as a small booktuber my power as a book influencer is much greater as a my power as a book consumer.
The point about 38:05 is a very good one, and something I think perhaps should be taken into account more often (especially since it can't be assumed that an author endorses everything in their books, given the necessity of conflict). I'd also lean more towards accountability than canceling, though, because the latter allows no nuance and no growth. The point about messing with someone's livelihood is also important to take into consideration, given artists rely on reputation more than non-creatives and rumormongering can kill a career. I do have hope that the social culture surrounding this topic will continue to mature in the future, though, even if this recap has made me appreciate the fact that I stay off Twitter. I had no idea there was so much nonsense on there in the book circles. Thank you for sorting through it? 😅
I agree with accountability. I would love for these authors to learn from this situations and progress towards being less ignorant and more intentional but who knows if that’ll happen
Here's hoping.
I probably wont get to this live; I'm getting my first vaccine shot tomorrow morning! But I'll be sure to watch! Thank you for being such a positive force in my life during this really difficult time. You're witty, informative, and awesome! :D Nigel too!
Jess bringing her White Board Energy to the tea is exactly what was needed.
Also, at this point in time, anytime an author is going to do *anything* social media-wise, they need to stop and think if they're going to have to issue an apology and take some time away from SM to "learn" for what they're about to do, and then NOT. FREAKING. DO. IT.
Thanks for covering all of this! It's becoming harder and harder to just read a book and trust that the author is a good human being. We almost need to do a google search before spending that money!
I haven't followed this thing in detail, but I would say that, if the people who we're not really the ones actively doing harm, apologize for their supportive behaviour toward the ones who were, we should probably give them the benefit of the doubt and see if their actions change in the future. E. Duncan herself is obviously the spill figure and I don't think she needs to get off the hook lightly, but the 'complicits' who say they didn't knew this was going on... Unless there is proof (and I honestly don't know) I do think we could be lenient and give them the benefit of the doubt? But I'm saying this as someone who is not affected by this so it is very well possible I don't see the hurt they have caused. Best to take a step back and let the people who were actually harmed decide in this one.
Ugh it’s so hard these days but honestly don’t put that pressure on yourself to try and look up every single author to see if they’re “good” or not.
Mara’s video was so good. Really helped articulate how I handle authors who publicly make mistakes and where to draw my personal line. Love the sing along 😂
Yesss, such a great video. And thank you, I serenade Nigel quite often 😂
the problematic authors list remind me of the "golden" age of tumblr in the mid2010s with yourfaveisproblematic. i really wish we would retire that word and use our vocabulary to explicitely point out what kind of harm has been done. i mean as book people it's kind of the bare minimum!
also!! one thing i do miss about tumblr is that people never subtweeted or were vague. they would make call out posts in form and fucking @ anyone, whereas twitter makes you retrace the steps like some kind of social justice cluedo. no thanks! i'm glad you're here to make sense of everything
Problematic is a word I now despise 😂 but yes, love a good tumblr call out
The Nigel Aftershow needs a whole video XD
😆😆
Thank you for all the hard work you put into this Jess! It was nice to see this talked about with well researched and good supporting evidence. When things like this happen a lot of people jump on the bandwagon and then a lot of what is actually the issue gets lost in the mass of people just going off of what they heard someone else say. To a point where the information gets twisted. Booktok is the worst place I’ve seen for it. Noticing it’ll get them views but having absolute zero knowledge of what is going on and subsequently making stuff up because they think that’s what happened 🤦🏻♀️. All that does in the end is make it difficult for people to make their own informed decisions because they don’t have all the facts and it’s overwhelming because you don’t know what’s true or not. So again thank you for your unbiased and very well articulated way that you have approached this. 🥰💜
Thank you ❤️❤️. It’s so easy to get caught up in the popular tweets and just go with it, especially if it gives you views. But I tried to find and share as much info as possible so people can make their own decisions
Something that I found really telling about her whole apology is the claim that she knew what she was writing would be seen as Anti-Semitic due to her research but through some leap of logic thought that'd she be able to correctly portray it when how she portrayed it was putting these ideas in a position where makes it openly clear its meant to be anti-semitic. To me, it always sounded like it was more of an "I knew what I was doing but was relying on my ignorant market/ fanbase to not pick up on it" kind of situation than anything else.
all the antisemitism flew right over my head, I would have never known had this not come out. its so crazy how we got indoctrinated with racism/anti semitism/sexism etc without even knowing it sometimes.
Please do the video on Rachel Hollis.
I keep seeing people mention that name, but I have no idea what it’s about exactly and I wanna know. Sounds juicy.
It’s coming ! She’s TRIFLING
Kept hearing people talking about Emily Duncan on Twitter and couldn’t wait until your video came out about it! They’re always so helpful lol
Wow, you are never going to run out of content because some people will never leaaaarn, haha! Wow. Also, Nigel must be in his 'teenage' years now- that sass during your serenade! Too funny.
Honestly, the bookish community wants to keep me busy for life 😂. Nigel is beyond sassy, like let me sing to you!
@@JessOwens my dog is the same! It is a PRIV👏🏻I👏🏻LEGE to be serenaded by your mother, Linus!! 😒😂
Thank you so much for putting this video together! This recent discourse was so much more than “drama” and I really appreciated the nuance and explanations you gave to the allegations.
Your serie is truly helping me stay informed😂 I don't follow many people who tweet about issues - mostly cause I'm trying to keep twitter a positive space - BUT I VERY grateful for you videos. I love the time you take to go over evidence and don't just state opinions.
The fact that you present these stories better then any journalist covering news is fucking amazing! But I honest wanted to say thanks because I know how much time you must invest to create such great videos !! Keep doing what you're doing❤️
Omg thank you ! 🥺🥰
@@JessOwens ❤️❤️❤️❤️
So are these complaints saying that fantasy novels cannot create any magic system that involves blood because it is a direct attack on Jewish communities everywhere? (This is coming from someone of Hungarian-Jewish descent). I truly am not trying to trigger/hurt people or start anything, but I am aware of the history and disgusting propaganda concerning "blood libel", and think that - at least in part - these complaints are what is bringing negative attention to this topic rather than just the book itself, as now people, instead of innocently enjoying a book, will go searching for everything supposedly wrong with it.
Are these authors telling us to hate the Jewish community? Or are they incorporating "blood magic" because it sounds gothic and edgy for a YA fantasy novel? I can't imagine any author (especially in recent years) actively sets out to write a novel that is hurtful to wronged (to understate it) minorities.
What about V.E. Schwab's "Shades of Magic" series? Some of the characters use their blood for magic, and in one instance, it is even indirectly involved in a resurrection. Should everyone boycott this book because the author OBVIOUSLY wanted to take a shot at a real minority and not just write an interesting magic system.
Sorry for the slight rant here, and I hope everyone is doing well.
Edit: I am not speaking of how any author may have responded to these accusations or if they are A-holes in real life, I am simply addressing the validity of some complaints made about fantasy tropes that are seen as controversial.
P.S. Please inform me if I have missed out on a point here, or if I am wrong on any account, as I am aware that there is always information to be made aware of.
I actually saw part of this happen and I appreciate the care and thoughtfulness you put into organizing all of this into a video!! and that you brought up some important related issues as well.
Also totally unrelated but Jess you have such amazing skin!!!!
My biggest issue with “don’t read this book” is that it often leads to hundreds-thousands of people talking about a book that only 10-15 arc readers have read. Sometimes the accusations are true and sometimes it’s not and how can we know what’s true or not if we haven’t read it? (This isn’t in regards to A Gentle Tyranny bc past history is pretty indicative, but in cases of debut authors it’s hard to know)
Thanks for the work you do and how you provide as much context and nuance as possible. You are thoughtful. I especially appreciate it because I miss a lot of what goes on since I am not on Twitter at all. It just doesn't work for me and I don't have time or mental space for all of that. This is so helpful to the larger community. Also, the Nigel after show is everything we need after all that mess.
Yes Twitter can be a negative place for many. I’ll have to add in Nigel after shows to lighten the mood ☺️
Lol at Nigel's stare into the middle distance as he processes your song! 🎶 🎵 ❤
He didn’t love it, it hurt 😂
The amount of RESEARCH you put into these communiTEA videos, incredible. Thanks for filling me in on all the details!
❤️❤️❤️
Girl, I’m gonna watch it anyway. You think I’m not looking forward to my ComminiTEA Tuesdays? 😂 This premier is teasing me! I was all excited and then NOPE! Not til the morning, B*****! ...I feel like Nigel just gave me the look. DENIED! 💀
I always learn so much in these videos outside of the drama!! I can’t imagine how much work these are with all the background and context you give so thank you for making these videos they’re my fave.
In my opinion, if you can't describe or show your world to your reader in the most basic of terms, that means you don't have the skill to do that. You can't pull out the "I'm so deep" card if you can't even explain it in basic terms. Brandon Sanderson's magic system is complex but he can explain it.
I won't hold your hand. Just say it. I can't guide you since I'm making it up as I go.
Yes, one of my English teacher always told me is write to the basic level regardless on whatever your doing because you never know what your readers may or may not know
@@cirac7508 true. I got the same advice from my professor. It just seems so harmful as an author to think your work is so revolutionary that it can't be understood by the common masses.
Funny how deep she is and she can't formulate a good apology. So much words with so little accountability. And she will take a social media break. Of course. Classic move.
@@derekkarofsky9694 you know how many authors I seen saying they readers are wrong because they didn't "understand" 🤦🏾♀️
That the new I'm listening and learning just like now just wait a few months till the next release for some of these authors and it would be out behind them
@@cirac7508 true. A good author can leave mysteries that won't make the book a mess. Plot hooks and cliffhangers are okay. But having no concrete plan and saying readers are too childish to understand is downright egotistical.
Again, if you can't explain it in basic terms, don't even try to explain it in complex ones. They also need to remember that readers tend to read a lot. So for us to say something feels rushed or incoherent means we are cross referencing it.
I love that you break all of this down with nuance.
Thank you 🥰 I tried my best
That side eye that Nigel is giving at the beginning is *chefs kiss*
Really enjoyed your POV on this situation! I got the special Owlcrate edition of EDs new book in the mail the day it all came out 🙃 it’s just sitting on my shelf now
This was an excellent overview and commentary on the whole mess. I agree that an overall lack of evidence severely impacted how folks on the outside read and interpreted these tweets, and a lot of the general discourse (if we want to call it that) honestly rubbed me the wrong way. Especially the "don't buy from these authors" lists, that just strikes me as so childish. Let people decide for themselves.
Regarding some of the bad author behaviour exhibited here, my main takeaways are that Kristoff is full of himself, Duncan is a flat out ignorant bully (and perhaps believes this makes them seem more edgy?), and Chupeco is a bit of a shit disturber as well. The initial thread that brought victims like "HF" into the mix was super unnecessary imo.
I think Kristoff and Duncan think they’re super edgy 🥴
Jeannette Ng is always so on point. So grateful for that perspective. And thank you Jess for doing so much research and treating this issue as seriously as it deserves.
Many thanks for all the work you put into these BookCommuniTEA videos. They are at once entertaining and informative. Also your serenade for Nigel at the end was inspired.
Ok, I definitely think it's a great thing to discuss issues of possible racism and bad representation in books. It's important to bring things into the light and examine them.
However, I'm deeply concerned about the way these call-outs go down. It gives vibes of witch hunts/public shaming. It's also eerily similar the cultural revolution and religious fanatics confessing sins.
All the sugar coating calling it a "call-in" doesn't change the fact that they're using shame and social pressure to control and destroy other authors. How is this itself not bullying? It stinks of a power trip, no matter how justified they think they are.
The way this always happens when an author's book is about to come out is incredibly suspicious. It's one thing to discuss issues with a book right after it comes out or to call out bullying as it's happening. But somehow these controversies always come up just before the author's new book release. 🤔
How is it that she and others said so many horrible things and yet there's not even one screen shot? There's also zero evidence that she was behind that other account. The only screenshots that exist show her being inconsiderate, and, let's face it, almost everyone who's on social media has been guilty of that at some point.
Sorry, but after seeing the stink about Blood Heir, and then actually reading it, I'm skeptical about these controversies. I've started to buy the books of author's who have been hounded in this way to support them and see for myself if any of the accusations about problematic content are true. Not one of them have been, unless you're willfully reaching reaaally hard.
I felt this way about the Veronica Hearth or whatever her name is that wrote Carve the Mark and the whole controversy around Naomi Navik over a dread head situation? It was such a throw away line and everyone in that book that's a student is essentially kind of filthy unless you're popular and rich.
Many Slavic pagans don't use or have stopped using the "rodnovery" label because it is associated with the nationalist/fascist/racist groups. Because there are pagans who worship the Slavic gods and are not racist/nationalist. So, I have no idea how Emily Duncan could just ignore the racists/nationalists in the rodnovery community nor how she could ignore those speaking out against it. She just wanted to be antisemitic in her series and is trying to hide behind religion.
I commend you for the effort you put into these videos because I tried to follow this situation on Twitter and got so lost. You sorted it all out perfectly 👌🏼
After that Twitter mess, the after show was exactly what I needed. 😂
I'm glad I get most of my book recommendations from you at Mara and rarely read newly published books. There's certainly less mess involved 😂
It's so hard to follow everything when it comes out on Twitter, so I really appreciate these videos. You are so clear and concise on what is happening. Keep up the great work!
appreciate you breaking this down and taking the time to lay this all out because it was a lot. take care of yourself!
I read Wicked Saints earlier this year and it was so confusing! I never knew what was going on. The whole blood magic system was also a huge SH trigger.
Nigel is judging us all, isn't he? :D (As a Polish person living in Japan I lowkey want to take a look at books by those authors, I'd just rather not give them my money.) About JK asking his Japanese friends while doing his research:
When I was a student, I had Japanese professors who were routinely asked for their opinions and expertise not only by authors but by TV and movie producers. Their advice was very often ignored whenever the authors/producers felt that the truth didn't fit their "vision", to the extent that one of my professors actually asked for his name as historical consultant to be erased from the credits for a historical drama produced by NHK (which is the national television). It might be that JK did consult his Japanese friends, just didn't feel like using their advice or simply didn't show them more controversial stuff.
I'm so glad you get into some of the problems with problematic-ism, but also point out legit problems. It's such a complex issue.
But I have a serious question: Are there examples of public figures making apologies that are both sincere, and accepted as sufficient? (So long as their actions back up the apology going forward.) It seems like there are endless examples of apologies that then get shot down as "disingenuous" or "not enough." Has anybody managed to succeed at this? I'd love to see--want to know it's at least possible, you know?
I need to think about this bc I can’t remember the last time I saw a legitimate apology 🧐
I tried reading Wicked Saints and it straight up felt like the first 100 pages were missing. You’re not ‘not spoon feeding’ your audience Emily that’s bad writing.
Best after-show on TH-cam tbh. Anyway, thank you for your video, you always have everything laid out clearly and are thoughtful with how you present things in this series.
Thank you ! Will have to make the after show longer 🤣
Didn’t Emily Duncan call reviewers “pearl clutchers” because they were pointing out how the political/magic of the world didn’t sit right? I swear there was a tweet like a year or two ago
I always am thankful for these videos specially when they’re long bc you keep me company while at work lol but I’m also taking a break from social media rn and they help me know what’s going on without having to be on tt so ty for doing these!
I appreciate the work you put into these videos! It can be so confusing, especially when all I see on my timeline are the subtweets. At this point I don’t understand why these authors are even on Twitter. It’s like now that they’re published and have a following, they feel so powerful and are basically acting like the jerks from high school who thought they were superior because they used “dark” humor (that ended up just being bullying/racism masked as humor)
You would think authors would have learned by now to get off Twitter or just be quiet ... but nope
Do you think it's on purpose, as in anti-semitism on the individual level, or do you think it goes deeper than that--anti-semitism in the history of Fantasy writing being echoed now, perhaps unwittingly, simply because it's the formula familiar with fantasy readers and writers? I had a professor who would say, "If you want to be a good writer, read the books you want to write. That's how you'll learn your craft, by mimicking and then making it your own." So I'm curious if this problem goes deeper than the individuals and reflects the genre itself.
I think so. To be honest anti-Semitism is so hard to spot because we as a whole don't really know Jewish customs and culture. I never once thought that Jewish people shared or did anything with blood???
I’m not on Twitter so I appreciate these videos so much. Thank you for keeping me updated and aware. I can see it’s a lot of work and I’m extremely thankful.
This is probably the most compilation of what has happened I've seen. Thank you for making such an all-rounded report on this. Personally I don't think I'll support Emily Duncan or her friends after this. But I agree with what you said about when calling out authors, the person doing the calling out should Def think of what it would do to the victims and gain their approval first.
I LOVE Those frames! They're so cute and look great on you. Agree on taking the victim into consideration. Ironic that Jessica Cluess said "this is the stupidest thing I have seen in my hears on this hell platform" since that was my exact thoughts reading her little Twitter thread meltdown a few months ago. Thanks for covering this, it's a lot.
Thank you, I love these frames too 🤓. Jessica Clueless is something else 😒
Another fantastic episode! Loved the premiere! Also unfortunate we have another author misbehaving a few hours later (Lauren Hough, got salty over people giving 4.5 stars on Goodreads).
Oh boy, I can't wait for Jess to cover that one!
waiting for a full ep of talk show with Nigel 👀
... also, great video, thank you for putting so much time into this !!
Looking back on this it’s definitely a rant, but I know a lot of Jewish people including myself are tired of seeing all the new rebranded versions of nazi ideals and general anti-semitism, and then being gaslit by their supporters for calling them out as anti Semitic.
Emily Duncan is a Neo-nazi, and at the very least an extremely anti-Semitic white supremacist. The things you showed in the video are absolutely disgusting, I’d bet the only reason they disagree with that Wikipedia entry is because it doesn’t cast their rebranded version of white supremacy in the positive light that their “Rodnovery” crowd usually does. To add to their open support to a white supremacy group (talked about in the video) Duncan has also recommended members of a neo nazi group as sources, and said that Jewish people from Russia etc are not allowed to write stories concerning Russia, the implication being that irregardless of how long their family has lived in Russia she would not consider them Russian because they’re Jewish.
I think anyone who is currently supporting or (in the case of authors) friends with Emily Duncan needs to come to terms with the fact that they’re friends with/supporting a literal nazi and decide if that’s a person that when they look in the mirror they can accept.