The banning of books has been a huge issue recently, especially in the US. As a result, notable horror author Stephen King has shared his hot take on the topic, especially when it comes to books that were culturally appropriated.
King posted on Twitter, where he compared the banning of books that have been accused of cultural appropriation to ones that deal with “Black and/or queer” identities. He claimed that neither group of books should be banned just because some people feel their “ideas should not be disseminated.” The author didn’t mention which books he was referencing, but some followers believe he may be referring to American Dirt, a 2020 novel by Jeanine Cummins.
American Dirt is a book about a Mexican woman who became an undocumented immigrant with her son and left everything behind to move to the USA. According to the Washington Times Herald, the author isn’t Mexican or of Mexican descent. It was also reported that Cummins didn’t talk to those with similar experiences before writing her book, hence the backlash.
King’s post caused a divide amongst his followers. Some believed that he may have a point because of “free of speech” and argued that it’s “cultural appreciation.” Others claimed that allowing culturally appropriated books to be published and sold creates “harmful stereotypes.” Some also claimed that it’s not right for someone without those experiences to have a successful novel while some are unable to share their stories.
Meanwhile, others argued with King, claiming that American Dirt or any other book that he may be referencing hasn’t been banned. They argued that there is nothing wrong with criticizing a novel, especially if it’s written by someone who doesn’t have similar experiences.
American Dirt debuted at number one on the New York Times best sellers’ list and was on it for several consecutive weeks. The book received mixed reviews from critics. Some claimed it was written with good intentions. Meanwhile, others, especially the Latinx community, were not happy because it they felt that it took away voices from those in that culture.
It’s not just books that face similar criticism, the same can be said for movies and video games as well. A notable example was when Ghost of Tsushima came out in 2020. Both the game and the studio, Sucker Punch Productions, received criticism for “culturally appropriating Japanese culture” since the developers were not Japanese. However, The Washington Post reported that the Japanese audience praised the game for its storytelling and how close it was to real-life Japanese culture.
At the moment, there’s no news to ban the book or pull it off shelves. But King’s tweet may have opened the doors once again for a conversation about the book’s content and who can share certain stories from certain cultures. Should people from those backgrounds only tell those stories? Or should other people have the right to do so?