Post by Tamrin on Mar 19, 2011 1:59:26 GMT
Cultural Theft for Fun and Profit
[Excerpt - Review of Mutant Message from Down Under - Linked Above]
[Excerpt - Review of Mutant Message from Down Under - Linked Above]
The book was a quick read about the experience Ms. Morgan claimed to have had living for four months with a tribe of Aboriginals called the "Real People." She travels barefoot and hatless through the Australian desert while experiencing a personal epiphany as the tribe members teach her about the ills of western society. Yes, you did read that right. Four months in the desert. No hat. No shoes. Pale skinned white woman. Does anyone see a problem here, yet?
If not, maybe you'll see a problem in her description of Aboriginal life, which includes such fascinating things as making dream catchers, tribe members having names like "Female Healer," and communicating primarily through telepathy. Sound like a sick twisted description of a white woman's perception of Native Americans? That's pretty much what it is.
Or maybe you'll see a problem in the "Real People" tribe calling non-tribe members "Mutants." Marlo never pauses to tell us just when the "Real People" decided to study genetics so that they could understand words like "mutant."
Because you see, we don't know if Ms. Morgan actually ever set foot in Australia, because her description of that country is so ridiculously wrong. In her version of Australia, people use quarters to make phone calls (Aussies don't even have a 25 cent piece... and they sure as hell don't call any of their coins quarters) and Australians didn't know what fly screens for windows were until she introduced them to the country in 1986. So, since she had no idea what Australian Aboriginal culture was like, she just kinda...made it up.
Making things up is okay, especially when you are writing fiction. But from the start, Ms. Morgan claimed that what she was writing was emphatically not fiction. In fact, she claimed to be the appointed spokesperson for Australian Aboriginals. Her little privately-published heap of twaddle was picked up by Harper Collins and became a best seller everywhere -- except in Australia...fancy that. And Ms. M began the lecture circuit as the "spokesperson" for Aboriginal concerns.
If not, maybe you'll see a problem in her description of Aboriginal life, which includes such fascinating things as making dream catchers, tribe members having names like "Female Healer," and communicating primarily through telepathy. Sound like a sick twisted description of a white woman's perception of Native Americans? That's pretty much what it is.
Or maybe you'll see a problem in the "Real People" tribe calling non-tribe members "Mutants." Marlo never pauses to tell us just when the "Real People" decided to study genetics so that they could understand words like "mutant."
Because you see, we don't know if Ms. Morgan actually ever set foot in Australia, because her description of that country is so ridiculously wrong. In her version of Australia, people use quarters to make phone calls (Aussies don't even have a 25 cent piece... and they sure as hell don't call any of their coins quarters) and Australians didn't know what fly screens for windows were until she introduced them to the country in 1986. So, since she had no idea what Australian Aboriginal culture was like, she just kinda...made it up.
Making things up is okay, especially when you are writing fiction. But from the start, Ms. Morgan claimed that what she was writing was emphatically not fiction. In fact, she claimed to be the appointed spokesperson for Australian Aboriginals. Her little privately-published heap of twaddle was picked up by Harper Collins and became a best seller everywhere -- except in Australia...fancy that. And Ms. M began the lecture circuit as the "spokesperson" for Aboriginal concerns.
