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Sir Kazuo Ishiguro warns of young authors self-censoring out of 'fear'

bbc.com

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Re: Sir Kazuo Ishiguro warns of young authors self-censoring out of 'fear'

#351

Post by solosoyokaze »

throwaway894345 wrote: post #347
solosoyokaze wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We live in a capitalist system, so yes the capitalists have a massive amount of power over our lives. People self-censor all the time, it's not just about getting fired.

It’s not “just” about getting fired, but termination is the minimum required evidence to support the claim that criticizing Biden (for being insufficiently leftist) would put one’s career in jeopardy.

Did you not read the original article? There's a million and one ways your career can suffer without being fired. Passed up for promotion, not getting funding, not hired in the first place...

Re: Sir Kazuo Ishiguro warns of young authors self-censoring out of 'fear'

#352

Post by AngryData »

c06n wrote: post #55
standardUser wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no era of Western history where unpopular opinions were more acceptable than today. In the past, dissenting opinions voiced loudly were often punished by blacklisting or excommunication or prison or death. Now, you get yelled at on Twitter and some companies won't work with you.

And fired from your job. And yelled at on the street. And prevented from working in your field ever again. And death threats. So, blacklisting: check. Excommunication: check. I'd rather not wait till it goes down further.

I agree with your sentiment, but it wasn't that long ago that people were being brought to court in the US just for accusations of being socialist or communist. Any there wasn't even anything against the law with have different economic ideals.

Re: Sir Kazuo Ishiguro warns of young authors self-censoring out of 'fear'

#353

Post by hertzrat »

> The 66-year-old said he was worried that less established authors were self-censoring by avoiding writing from certain viewpoints or including characters outside their immediate experiences.

Speaking as an occasional author, this is a true statement...

Re: Sir Kazuo Ishiguro warns of young authors self-censoring out of 'fear'

#354

Post by heterodoxxed »

dogman144 wrote: post #113

If you talk to someone who works/worked in publishing or the creative arts scenes (MFA programs, etc.), you'll see that KI is likely specifically addressing that crowd - his industry. I think a lot of the general populace is aware of the dynamics that he's talking about, but in publishing it's another world/level. Interesting example that's the norm in the space: the story "I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter…

| that's an insane dynamic to create in

What do you think Twitter would have looked like in 1956 when James Baldwin published Giovanni's Room?

Is the problem "cancel culture" (a nebulous term which means little) or simply the result of giving everyone on earth a place to complain?

Re: Sir Kazuo Ishiguro warns of young authors self-censoring out of 'fear'

#355

Post by TheCoelacanth »

dash2 wrote: post #203
RobLach wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hardly so. There's ample evidence that the current is the greatest opportunity for dissenting thought and opinion to have massive reach without much consequence or effort. The idea that we're in a dark age of thought is purely rhetorical and only serves to frame a narrative that further amplifies ideas that would never had a chance to propagate before the information era. Furthermore, we are living in a time of such…

"Dark age of thought" would be excessive (and is maybe a straw man). But there's plenty of people being cancelled: https://www.afaf.org.uk/the-banned-list/ https://sutherlandhousebooks.com/who-cancel/

That's a pretty melodramatic way of describing someone needing to find a new publisher or self-publish.

Previously, they may not have been able to disseminate their ideas at all or may have actually been jailed or killed to contain their ideas.

How would even prevent someone from being "cancelled" without taking away publishers' freedom of expression?

Re: Sir Kazuo Ishiguro warns of young authors self-censoring out of 'fear'

#356

Post by kennywinker »

_-david-_ wrote: post #285
kennywinker wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers." Incited by "violence" (mostly property damage, some clashes with cops trying to box in and disperse non-violent protestors) - but calling for dispersal of everyone. Using the military to crush a civil rights movement

Someone peacefully protesting is not a "lawbreaker". The quote you provided only refers to criminals. In fact "the right of the people peaceably to assemble" is explicitly allowed in the Constitution. Please show me where he said peaceful protestors should have force used upon them.

When he said send in the military to do "an overwhelming show of force".

The military isn't going to walk through the crowd picking out the few people smashing windows or throwing bottles. That would not be an OVERWHELMING SHOW OF FORCE. They would march on the crowds, and almost inevitably use lethal force on them. Even if the target is only the ones throwing bottles or smashing windows, the military cannot and would not make that distinction in the moment.

We don't have to imagine what it would be like, it's happened before https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings

Re: Sir Kazuo Ishiguro warns of young authors self-censoring out of 'fear'

#357

Post by [deleted] »

phendrenad2 wrote: post #182
RobLach wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hardly so. There's ample evidence that the current is the greatest opportunity for dissenting thought and opinion to have massive reach without much consequence or effort. The idea that we're in a dark age of thought is purely rhetorical and only serves to frame a narrative that further amplifies ideas that would never had a chance to propagate before the information era. Furthermore, we are living in a time of such…

Would love examples of popularly-disapproved-of speech that is flourishing online, and not banned and cancelled at every juncture.

[deleted]

Re: Sir Kazuo Ishiguro warns of young authors self-censoring out of 'fear'

#358

Post by fl0wenol »

IAmWorried wrote: post #69
BitwiseFool wrote: post #14

I genuinely wonder what cancel culture is going to look like in the next 5-10 years and beyond. Just about everyone I speak to about the subject agrees that cancel culture is bad but very few people seem willing to confront it. I sense that people hope the rest of society will come to its senses and we all stop being so judgemental. But as much as I loathe cancel culture and it's chilling effects on the free exchange…

I don't think it's limited to just what you say in public. Videos and audio recordings have a way of triggering human emotions that writing simply does not. To tell you the truth, I live in perpetual fear that some acquaintance could secretly record me saying some non-PC thing in private, and post it to Twitter to get me cancelled. I have deleted all social media to try to achieve "out of sight, out of mind" but I st…

Stop feeling sorry for yourself.

Just don't be an ass to people who you have locker room talk with and they won't have shit to say later.

Sure, there's always those lizard-brained people who will smile then stab you in the back, but they could also just as easily poison your dog or cut your brake lines vs. ruin your life on social media.

These are the choices we make. Or we can live as a hermits Ted Kaczynski-style.

Re: Sir Kazuo Ishiguro warns of young authors self-censoring out of 'fear'

#359

Post by techer »

missedthecue wrote: post #75
techer wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He was known before

It took effort to find him, and it was possible. But he wasn't public about his identity prior to this, and in fact was making a deliberate effort to mask it. just because someone with a lot of time on their hands could technically have found his real name does not conflict with the parent's point.

Well. I said he was known. Not publicly known.

From his hand: “To stay anonymous, I wrote it under my first and middle names – Scott Alexander – while leaving out my last name.”

This is hardly a major attempt at anonymity.

Not that it matters but I’m very much in favour of remaining anonymous. I also am a fan of his writing.

Re: Sir Kazuo Ishiguro warns of young authors self-censoring out of 'fear'

#360

Post by notadev »

whimsicalism wrote: post #342
undefined1 wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure that is an excessive description anymore. Jerry Seinfeld, a mainstream comedian, stopped playing at college campuses years ago already because he was getting picked apart and no longer welcome. at precisely the place that is supposed to be the most transgressive and open to ideas! a place to expand minds, remember? now it fully embraces orthodoxy and censorship. or take the case of Bret Weinstein. a libe…

I think what people need to understand is that there are dumb people on all sides of every movement every time in history. Someone calling you a eugenicist is not a "cancellation." Moreover, Weinstein was not fired, and has an arguably more distinguished career now than before.

Perhaps he wasn't "canceled", but he was repeatedly slandered and bullied by these "dumb people" who have outsized power due to the current state of identity politics that grants them a certain amount of power in modern society.

They slandered him unfairly, then prevented him from responding unless he met their demands of sending cash via Venmo for some supposed slight against black creators.

They did this in a semi-public forum without any concern for him or his reputation. They did it with zero fear of repercussions because they are emboldened by the fact that our current society makes certain people completely beyond reproach due to the color of their skin (or other identity characteristics).

It was wrong, and the fact that people won't call it out when they certainly would if the variables were changed, is exactly why these "dumb people" will continue to do it. Stop giving them a free pass.

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