Over the past several years, the US has become objectively more polarized politically. Have you accounted for this in your recent work in any way? If so, how?
My writing is political. Every book I have written and almost every short story or article has a kernel of politics at its heart. Political issues, in the general sense of how the world is, and is governed: the inequalities and the injustices, are the animus for most of my writing; the fuel which propels and compels me to write.
It’s been fascinating to read the posts of my fellow writers on this blog, and it’s clear that while some are motivated by some of the same factors as me, others use their writing as a means of escape from political issues. Isn’t it interesting how the act of writing achieves different things for different people? At the heart of it though, I think writing is a form of therapy. For me I write about political issues as a way of exorcising my own demons and dissipating my own rage.
My writing to date has been set in the past, specifically in 1920s colonial India, so the issues of polarization, seen most clearly in the United States, but certainly not limited to it – witness the Brexit split in the UK and the general and ugly rise of populism everywhere from Brazil to Hungary to India – have not been something I’ve had to focus on yet. However, the book I’m writing currently is set in the USA and deals in part with such issues.
The polarization of political discourse in America, seen from across the Atlantic, is something fascinating and troubling. To that end, I have a request to make of the readers of this blog and my fellow writers. I’d love to hear your thoughts on what’s going on in America at the moment. What do you think are the reasons for the rise in polarization, and what does the future hold? Of course, there are two sides to every story and I want to try understand both sides of it.
Please do leave me your opinions in the comments section below, or if you prefer, you can e-mail me at info@abirmukherjee.com . I'll do my best to respond to everyone who writes to me.
Cheers!
Abir
5 comments:
Great question. There has always been plenty of disinformation. What’s different now is how easily and widely it spreads due to social media. Another significant factor are the changes in television, where once there were three news networks who strove to focus on facts rather than ratings, controversy, and churn. Where can you go for objective news today?
Thanks Richard. I think you're right. Social media and a 24 hour news cycle definitely add to the sense of constant outrage. So is it all about ratings and money or is there something deeper? Surely those who are making a fast buck out of generating controversy must realise the damage being caused to the fabric of the nation?
Abir
I would refer you to my much-enjoyed stint on your much-appreciated podcast, The Red Hot Chili Writers....
:0)
That was indeed an enjoyable evening!
i want a good story, well told. i want to be entertained, not lectured to. if i want politics, race/gender discussions, or 21st Century PC concepts inappropriately applied to the past, there are plenty of places I can get that - too many places, in fact - without it diminishing my enjoyment of my fiction reading. Which is why most of my genre fiction reading is either older works or current work in that vein. I'd rather reread something by Raymond Chandler than one by the currently popular S.A. Crosby, for instance.
Post a Comment