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Brought up by Aruna...
I've hit this wall a few times too when writing about PoCs more than say Europe, or the dominant class. Is there a way to get a pass from editors when we hit this wall?
When the cultures are different, is there a way to get past this wall without insulting the readers that are part of the culture and already know those cultural values?
For example:
Or as small as where repetition in the language is seen as emphasis...
I also have some doubts about translating the modern Korean version of communication to the dominant Western audience. ^^;; (If I take out the Korean words completely, I still have cultural hurdles, like the seemingly random yelling at a long time friend...)
Is it suck it and deal with it? Is it play grand translator? What is your thought and approach when the dominant culture thinks their way is often the only way?
Edit: The title might be sucky. Sorry. Change at will.
In retelling and reading these ancient tales it's so important to understand the mentality from which they emerge.
I've hit this wall a few times too when writing about PoCs more than say Europe, or the dominant class. Is there a way to get a pass from editors when we hit this wall?
When the cultures are different, is there a way to get past this wall without insulting the readers that are part of the culture and already know those cultural values?
For example:
We must remember that in Hinduism, the so-called female attributes of selflessness, forbearance and gentleness are seen as positive, whereas the so-called male characteristics of assertiveness, domination and control are considered negative, being traits of the ego that must, eventually, be surrendered to God.
Siva and Shakti, male and female energy, are seen as two halves of a whole, each valuable in its own right, each needing the other as a complement. God can be mother as well as father, and the Mother is, finally, divine. Ideally, women are seen as the invisible backbone of society; it is that backbone that holds society upright, and when it falls, so too, according to traditional Hindu thought, does society. Of course this ideal, humans being as flawed as they are, is seldom realised, and women all too often trodden underfoot in India as everywhere in the world. But it is there, a goal to be aspired to.
In Sons of Gods I’ve tried to get under the skin of the few women, so that the reader understands their inherent, though perhaps quieter, strength.
Or as small as where repetition in the language is seen as emphasis...
I also have some doubts about translating the modern Korean version of communication to the dominant Western audience. ^^;; (If I take out the Korean words completely, I still have cultural hurdles, like the seemingly random yelling at a long time friend...)
Is it suck it and deal with it? Is it play grand translator? What is your thought and approach when the dominant culture thinks their way is often the only way?
Edit: The title might be sucky. Sorry. Change at will.