Check the Box, You Say?

Politics aren’t the first thing I look for when it comes to reading a novel, going through an interactive story, or watching a movie.

But the truth is that some form of discourse among the characters about a certain topic here or there is unavoidable.

In a few Murakami novels, he tackles the horrors of war and politics in ways that might not be apparent on a surface-level analysis of what the book was supposed to be.

I’m writing a war story myself, where the music that makes up the universe is the weapon by which the characters wage war upon other nations and spheres (the world is set up like a Tree of Life with many factions on each sphere). Some form of monarchical structure in some of the governments is unavoidable.

𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘝𝘐𝘐 (which I loved as a kid growing up in the late 90s to early 2000s) is a story about a group of eco-terrorists trying to save the planet from an actual fascist government that quickly turns into a fight beyond the scope of the opening act. Unlike in our real world, the terrorists were actually right and doing something for the sake of Gaia. They had inspiring morals and life philosophies, not wanting to kill the innocent to instill fear (which the fascist power company did on multiple occasions).

Not liking the current president does not make him an actual fascist. I swear words have lost their meaning.

So, there are a lot of politics in that story, if we’re honest with the game’s premise.

But when people say that the entire goal of a medium should be to force leftist ideologies down your throat, because reasons and everyone I don’t agree with is a Nazi, sorrowful failure often follows.

I could make Stanzielle Quintette the poster lady for some agenda, or I could make her a person with goals and desires that conflict with the rest of the world to force her growth.

If a character is gay, for example, more power to them. I can’t fault something if that is a genuine part of the character’s persona and backstory.

But when you’re checking off a list and trying to rewrite things like The Odyssey and make it completely different for the sake of an agenda, that’s not authentic artistry.

I, by no means, want to only tear down the art of others. In fact, I suspect people who are only critical of art might not have even engaged with it to begin with, but I speak as someone with experience in said mediums (as in, I’m not a tourist in most respects).

I think of the uglification of characters in Western media recently when I see such art. Making characters ugly on purpose is a stylistic choice that is valid if the story demands it.

But if you’re only catering to some chronically online person who treats fictional characters as real people in the sense that might put you in a mental institution (not the writerly sense of making a character), there is room for being contentious about it. Getting jealous over fictional characters means someone needs serious help.

Real art should take bold risks, and it should also fit into people’s lives as something with something to say that they pick up on. But let the audience do it on their own.

Soapbox storytelling for an agenda doesn’t seem genuine to me, if I’m being frank about how I feel.

I’ve seen authors rejected by traditional publishers because the characters were too “white.” You know, because non-white people are oppressed by the so-called system.

Our merit should not be based on our skin color, and we are not oppressed for not being white. I’m not white, for example. But I’ve only experienced real racism one time in 36 years, and that’s because the guy was an actual Aryan Brotherhood convict at an old place of work.

That being said, I believe racism exists in our world. It’s a sad state of affairs, too, to say that and know it is true.

But how does it help anyone in minority communities to make a character a darker skin color to check off some box? Wouldn’t crafting a compelling entire persona be far more gratifying, especially if the character isn’t white?

Make a character a person first, and if they happen to not be white, awesome!

The same goes for all the other facets of certain agendas.

Sometimes I watch another storyteller deconstruct some stories I hold dear to my heart, and the guy is way on the opposite side of the political spectrum from where I’m at.

Much of what he says about stories is bold and deconstructed in a way that leaves politics out of it. Much appreciated, as I have made the mistake of being overtly political here and elsewhere a bit much myself.

But then there is the whole notion of being a radical socialist who believes that forcing rich people to pay poor people by force is a noble cause. This is something I often see in people in that camp.

I am a libertarian, classic liberal in many respects, and I don’t oppose helping others through taxation as I won’t usually be seeing the money again (so in that sense I’m leaning the other way).

That’s fine. But to say it is someone’s RIGHT to have another person’s money is ludicrous.

And they want stories where that concept is forced down the throat of the reader or player.

Robin Hood was done well. It wasn’t forcing us to capitulate to the agenda.

That’s my big issue with recent news in beloved spaces. If a character is a certain way because their character demanded to be written that way (discovery writers know what I mean), then that’s amazing!

But checking off a box isn’t respecting that which they claim to respect, and can appear as virtue signaling.

I believe in writing people and putting those people into situations that help them have an arc as a person.

But I won’t make a character a certain sexuality because I wanted to check off a box that morning session.

There are a few Islamic minor characters in Auminous, but I portrayed them that way because that is who they are.

I wasn’t checking off a list to signal how woke I am.

And even the anti-woke crowd is getting tiresome these days.

Stories will rise like a phoenix from the ashes of creativity. If they fail, they’ll fail.

I’m a bit of an oddball in what I believe. I’m a Christian who follows the Bible text itself, and not mankind’s opinions on what it says. I’m not a feminist, but I see the value in both sexes, as we are different, and that is a beautiful thing.

I support certain causes because I believe in loving others and in valid, lived experiences.

And I’m a bit of a nerd and want to write stories I’d want to read as someone who doesn’t consider himself a “tourist.”

I’m not looking for politics in my stories, and if they are there and cause the art to elevate based on the depth of the story’s construction, I’m all for that. I want to be entertained and to feel something deeper, whether intellectually or in my emotional psyche.

But let’s stop checking boxes because we want to check boxes.

You know what I mean?

Happy writing!