Posted by laima on January 17, 2007, at 12:41:32
In reply to Re: let me add - Ll » gardenergirl, posted by one woman cine on January 17, 2007, at 10:15:06
What a bunch of nice posts right above this one!
I wanted to add somthing I was thinking of:
Reading Marjane Satrtapi challenged and diffused stereotypes about Muslims which I caught myself forming after 9/11. I met her at a book signing, and I told her simply "I learned a lot" from her books, and later in her talk she said she heard that a often and it made her happy- she saw that as one of her missions. I was so glad to hear- I initially felt rather stupid after I made the remark!
Reading authors such as Alice Walker prodded me to be more open minded about race when I was a college student.
Reading authors such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabelle Allende DID NOT cause me to believe all people who identify as Latin American believe in ghosts and magic. But they did make me more curious about the history and culture of South America.
Hearing about (though I never got around to reading or watching) "A Beautiful Mind" was a catalyst for challenging assumptions I didn't even realize I had about schizophrenia. (This one is still on my list.)
The list could go on and on. Even if someone's writing about their experience addresses stereotypes either directly or indirectly, a responsable reader knows each author is a single voice, and that there are many voices. Acknowledging diversity doesn't mean we have to place value judgements on who is better, right, or wrong. Reading diverse authors somehow helps one learn about the experiences of people who we think are different from us. We can identify with them readily, books can be so intimate and accessable. I am fascinated by the way someone else might describe an experience in comparison to how I might be inclined to describe it.
poster:laima
thread:721248
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20070112/msgs/723217.html