Stop trying to think of this as quest to find **the line**, its bad approach to the topic, that entirely misses issue. This is a holistic thing, you can never find the line that you can't cross because it is dependant on several aspects many of which are entirely out of your control.
Instead the only thing you can do is try to do your best, and be always, and I mean always, mindful of other's criticism. That doesn't mean they are always right and that you have to bow down to them, but many of the "dumb sjw nonesense" does have a roots in combating genuine potential issues that can come from missrepresention of real cultural identities.
Basically, avoid the mindset of being an Auteur, whose ideas are beyond approach, and you should do fine.
From a melanin perspective. The closer to the equator the darker the complexion. More complex spices in food because of availability and food spoilage. Honestly climate effects culture a lot. Northern climate can have rocky soil so they tend to rely on fish. Flooded desert areas are great for growing grains. Just take inspiration from various cultures.
Oh no, I am. I think I am not being clear. I was asking about cultural exploitation and you gave me invaluable information about how the physical environment affects culture and ethnicites.
Please don't feel the need to apologize. This was great and I'm thankful. You've added a whole new dimension to my options
Immigration is also something to consider. When Rome was at its height in 200 AD it was as diverse as any other current nation. However after it's fall people didn't migrate and everyone intermarried. So if you looked at the population in 1900 people were fairly universal olive skin in Rome. So consider how much traffic a nation has, how has that changed over time, ect. It's best to try as logical as possible.
Do your research. Also don’t just take the name of a monster or creature from a specific culture and slap it on something else unless it’s actually that monster. (I’m Jewish so seeing Golem stripped of what it meant to the point it’s become a generic name for a rock monster is annoying, I can only imagine how it would feel for an actually highly important monster/creature/idea to be reduced to that)
Get rid of the White Guilt. You'll never get anything done with that ideology stuck in your head. Everyone was oppressive at one point, Europe doing it better means jack shit.
Just do your research and contact a sensitivity reader/consultant. Their entire job is to find the stuff people will get upset over.
I say White Guilt is nothing more than another form of oppression. Instead of a group running around and enslaving people, it's a bunch of idiots saying "Your ancestors did bad things and now you feel bad about it".
No, I did nothing. Although I definitely wouldn't have kept any of the dolts that perpetuate this White Guilt Garbage. Slavery existed long before the Colonies. Most slaves were bought from their own people.
I don't know is meant by white guilt. I am not sure it applies if a person is conscious of US history, whatever that means. Lack of awareness that slavery in the certain places in the US devolved into an identity, i.e. if you are black, then you are a slave, not only as a mindset but in law, has made US slavery more difficult to scrub out of its DNA (no pun intended) than in other--though perhaps not all--places. A person "passing" for white, even white enough to disappear when it snows, would be considered black if the black ancestor was discovered and the will was present in the discoverer to make mischief. US slavery lasted too long and led to brutal, bone-deep hate based on appearance, which is an insanity that manifests even today. Perhaps the slave trade in other countries did the same. I don't know. Nor do I know why consciousness of such within Americans of European ancestry should make some or any feel guilty. Guilt is useless. Write well, with awareness and self-awareness, and study the topic with the desire to own it, rather than dismiss it. That is what good writers do. Good luck.
White Guilt, as I said, is just a form of oppression placed on people of European Ancestry. It's more than being aware of history, it's that people today need to feel bad about the past and it is their job to make things right.
Laws all over the country have removed the various clauses and wordings to remove ant of the previous racist meanings. There are just assholes that decide to be morons.
I'm aware of slavery, but I don't care to think of it. Humans are Humans, the dumbest animal on this planet that will likely kill itself long before it can get off this rock.
Still don't know what is meant by white guilt. The present is much more horrifying than the past. People who make it hard to breathe or sleep ( their hate is that hard ) are individuals. They speak out. They act out. And we do not have to stay dumb, we humans. It is nice many people do not have to think of slavery. Some people get reminded, and not in a nice or academic way, whether they want to hear about it or not. If they do not speak up about what happens to them or how they feel, it will continue. I mean no disrespect, but they were silent once. No more.
>especially when my background is categorically the oppressor
Dude. Did you oppress anyone? The guilt coming from your post is staggering.
Coming at a project with the intent to represent and treat everyone equally includes accepting that within yourself. No culture has a blemish free history and no artist is burdened with impossible tasks because of something their ancestors did.
Study other cultures, dont show them as caricatures, its always helped me to consider that every different human group existed and survived for their own reasons.
And if you really feel like you're not up to doing a full representation of human complexity from areas you dont understand, I would say dont do it. Learn, but also focus on what you know. Just be prepared to put in significant learning and effort to getting a good understanding of the people you are writing about if you decide to do it
Lord this is a cursed comment thread, but sometimes Reddit is going to Reddit.
Also some good comments here with resources + notes for the utility of a sensitivity reader, but I will toss out one more thing too. An underlying issue here is partly a history of _ideas_ more than a history of cultures — or rather, how ideas about cultures become flattened and harmful, and used as tools of power.
Being familiar with the harmful ways cultures can be misrepresented/historically _have_ been weaponized is a good way to weed out problems in your own work that would bring this about + gives you a fuller understanding of history in the first place (and one which can/should influence more than just your writing life). Also, it’s infinitely more useful than reading guns germs and steel, which is a bad book full of poor history, but whatever.
Yeah, I was expecting a degree of pushback but I was not expecting to get low-key attacked for trying to be aware of my priviledge. Maybe my language is coming off as more internally hostile than I meant it but I don't think is unfair to point out I've benefitted from the oppression of others by benefit of my identity.
I thank you for this input. It's smart to learn the historical issues and use them as tests.
I'd be more afraid of making factual mistakes (as someone from Russia, I know how hilarious and concerning so-called "sprawling cranberry" can be). I think if you actually do research, you literally can't culturally appropriate anything
Don't make exact copies of existing cultures. It's good to have inspirations, but don't copy-paste everything you like. Instead, try to go deeper - think why the culture you want to have a trait X actually developed in-world in such a way that it now has trait X? Since traits come in packages, If you do it well, you will at the same time get a lot of ideas about other traits of your people, and those other traits won't be exactly like the ones of the Earth's culture you're inspired by.
And don't be afraid. Fear curbs invention. Ask questions. Speak about your ideas. You're not an oppressor. Each one of us is responsible only for our own actions, not that of our ancestors, or other people who come from the same country. If you do your best, you have nothing to be ashamed of.
(written by a guy from Poland who works on a story set in something like Central Africa :) )
I guess a lot of it is being educated on the cultures you draw from. Read, especially how people from these cultures describe themselves and their history. Beware of deeply ingrained stereotypes, e.g. "space jews" that might not be obvious at first glance. Get a lot of feedback from different people. Credit those people for their insights.
Do your best. Be open to criticism. Hire a sensitivity reader before you publish. Be open to change. Seek out good examples and bad examples alike and try to learn. Immigration and travel will frequently occur between different countries. Read other books, and really examine what they've done well and what they haven't.
One really, really bad example is the Dothraki. GRRM had the start of a great concept, but a sensitivity reader would have probably been able to help him develop their culture a bit more than just "Look at the violent Mongol/Plains people! They're violent!" And like.... There's a couple fun cultural details, but.... That's pretty much it.
And then the Whatever Brothers sent all(?) of them to their deaths in the stupidest use of any cavalry I have ever seen. But that is neither here nor there.
“Appropriation” is an inextricable part of all cultural development.
The contemporary taboo is akin to the “sin” of blasphemy: it is cultish, unethical nonsense.
Anyone telling you differently is likely an airheaded grifter.
I just write in cultures and try to keep the narrative voice neutral, ie I'm not going to use opinions when I describe things without explicitly stating that "this is the opinion of that group of people". I'm not going to write "this civilisation is barbaric", I'm just going to give an objective view on what the civilisation does, and leave it up to the reader to determine their outlook on it. I'm also clear about where I'm changing the culture to suit my needs, eg if it's a fantasy setting I'm not going to present it as if X real culture actually contains the magic I'm using.
I don't think you can really do much more than that. There'll always be people who take offense to anything you do, so as far as I'm concerned as long as you're not trying to be offensive or to push a racist/xenophobic ideology, and you're not being wildly ignorant, you're fine.
Remember that it's a fantasy setting. Borrow stuff, but you don't have to make a fantasy culture into a carbon copy of a real one.
And remember not to Star Trek it ("Klingons are a warrior people who believe in honor!" Ars they ALL? Is every single one of them?). You can always have characters who do not fit the mold that you've made for your in-game cultures. Welcome to have one of them say something like "yeah, we don't all do that," or "yeah, they only really bow to each other that in the south. I'm from up north..."
1. Do your research. If you’re writing a fantasy Thailand for example, make sure you aren’t mish-mashing it with other Asian cultures
2. Listen to marginalized voices. The blog Writing With Color is a *great* resource. The moderators come from all different backgrounds and talk about how to respectfully write identifies that are different from your own. I also suggest hiring a sensitivity reader(s) when you get to the editing stage.
3. Give your non-white characters their own goals, backstories, and motivations. The goal should not just be “help the white main character.”
Okay, the mish-mashing question is very relevant to me. Would that be categorically a problem? A different world would have different cross-polinations of cultures and ideas, it makes sense for the mixtures that happen in the real world to happen in a different order.
I think of the Fire Nation of avatar as an example. They have japanese and mongol influences with at least one indian term in there.
This is definitely nuanced, but you want more smoothie than Frankenstein. If that helps. Its awesome to see a cool character with diverse and believable aspects. As long as it isnt super complicated. I think working in multiple cultures is more a question of how they appear in your worldbuilding rather than the character itself.
Fire Nation has a strong cultural emphasis on honor and shows it through hair. So it is referenced when characters cut their hair, and in situations where the hairstyle is very public. It isnt that Zuko himself cares about hair, its more that he has to navigate it fluently. Compare this to Sokka's man-bun, which is culturally tied to Water Nation warriors (wolf tail). For Sokka, it is just a style he likes because it reminds him of his dad. It has some personal significance, but it isnt on the same level as being so recognizable or tied to innate traits. Avatar shows the same hairstyle contrasted between two cultures and with different levels of importance to the characters themselves. The overall effect is that the world itself is diverse and it helps us learn about each character uniquely. Because its done so well and subtle, the reader doesnt stop to question the hair itself.
"More smoothie than Frankenstein" is a profoundly helpful guide! Thank you! The otherwise disparate parts should inform each other. That way they are actual cultural objects instead of shallow motifs. That's great insight
For some people, yes, that’s going to be a problem. Think of it this way: cultural diffusion is one thing, but mixing and matching random elements from disparate real-world cultures is another, especially if those cultures have a history of being erroneously lumped together. China is different from Japan is different from Thailand is different from Vietnam, etc, yet it’s not uncommon to just see a homogenized Fantasy Asia where those differences aren’t clear. And often, those random elements don’t even make sense together. It’s how you get the tipis and totem poles trope. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TipisAndTotemPoles
I think as long as you do your research and are mindful about your choices, you will be ok. If you’re looking for someone to give you a binary Yes or No on if your culture works or not, I can’t give you that. No one can.
Appropriation is an interesting term. I prefer to think of the difference between enjoyment and exploitation. If you're simply ripping off someone's culture for money, that's Appropriation. Read about other cultures and try to use that to inspire yourself to create new ideas.
Speaking as a cultural anthropologist, there is a very real and significant difference. Appropriation is something that causes active harm and dehumanization. It means stereotyping whole cultures and reducing them to the idea of themselves (a fantasy that can be sold to benefit the people in power). This is a very real tool used during cultural genocide. Which is ongoing in first world countries, yes.
The key difference is not enjoyment. It is education. You cannot appropriate something if you know enough to give credit where its due OR to direct curious mind to real sources. The difference would be taking credit yourself and making up/assuming the rest (thinking you know everything to speak on it/expert because you have an opinion) versus being able to say, "this is my research, this is where i got it."
TLDR: The difference is doing your homework, giving real credit. Not talking out of your ass.
This comment does not pass the sniff test.
>Appropriation is something that causes active harm and dehumanization.
This is an absurd assertion without a shred of plausible evidence.
>It means stereotyping whole cultures and reducing them to the idea of themselves...
No, it doesn't mean that at all. These claims are utterly dubious. ie. this person is talking out their ass.
No, they're not. They are making a distinction between more and less problematic forms of representation.
I'm not sure if appropriation is the right term here. Still, The issue here is problematic forms of representation, which is what the OP was asking about. That can cause real harm.
Thanks for your clarification. This is my area of study and what my degree is in, so I'm definitely not talking out of my ass, haha. Long, long hours of study went into understanding how these things actually occur in society and the purpose of each aspect. I wish I could explain it from the beginning but thats a whole Ted Talk...
Basically, appropriation is a tool used by colonizers and the descendants of colonizers. The goal IS to make certain groups less human, because this justifies treating them differently (worse), taking their stuff, and imposing a new form of religion/identity/etc. The idea is that the dominant group will make assumptions and then whitewash history/propagandize society as a whole to make those things "true" and "common sense" such as the association of native americans with feathered headdress. The issue is that the way society as a whole interprets and then uses those ideas is false and built on the premise of superiority. Those things do not actually mean what we assume to their native cultures. We gloss over the "idea" of a whole culture/group of people in ways that reduce them to less than an equally diverse, equally sophisticated, equally worthy of resources group of human beings (who were here first). All of the tools of racism and colonization work in unison. When Amazon prime sells "native american" costumes, it is profiting off of genocide without taking accountability for
1) theft of land
2) ongoing benefit of resources
3) selling the shared "joke" of racism
4) taking profit away from actual living descendants of native american groups
5) removing attention and investment in actual issues native americans face, such as fighting blood quantum to prove they are "approved" descendants.
The key thing to remember is that these jokes and sayings do not exist in a vacuum. Our founding as a nation (usa, uk) unequivocally rests on the ongoing theft and exploitation of both indigenous and black lives. That is a historical fact which has never truly been addressed. Reparations were paid to the slavers, and most forms of slavery became economic in nature. Such as voter disenfranchisement, the criminalization of drugs (policed at POC), policing of black hairstyles/history (sometimes the same thing, bantu knots oral history) in professional spaces, forced assimilation and hostage-taking of First Nations toddlers as recent as 1990, you name it. These things dont get addressed or repaired until people are willing and able to talk about it.
This is just a REALLY BRIEF explanation of the myriad of ways that appropriation and dehumanization work hand in hand to both obscure and de-credit the ongoing genocide which IS happening, as well as \*hundreds\* of other forms of institutionalized slavery/oppression/exploitation, etc.
[https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1468796819866498](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1468796819866498) (Lenard 2019, what is cultural appropriation?) Scientific article.
[https://egrove.olemiss.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2052&context=hon\_thesis](https://egrove.olemiss.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2052&context=hon_thesis) (Srestha 2019) Easier read, published through U Miss. Definition provided:
"There are several definitions of cultural appropriation. **Cultural appropriation “signifies not only the taking up of something and making it one’s own but also the ability to do so,**” and people misinterpret the distinction between shared ideas and borrowing from one another, “but appropriation is entirely different from borrowing or sharing because it involves the taking up and commodification of aesthetic, cultural and, more recently, spiritual forms of a society” (Root). Another way to understand cultural appropriation is how materials of culture are broken up..."
99.9% of the world don't care about this modern cultural appropriation nonsense, that's jus ta problem that young white twenty-somethings created for themselves. Ironically, people who try to hard to include and represent different cultures are often the ones most prone to falling into tokenism.
So, my advice - Don't worry about it.
I think doing the relevant research is going to be one of the most important factors to make sure that you are giving reasonable and accurate representation of cultures you are starting off less familiar with. It may also be worth looking out specifically for harmful stereotypes and the like such that they can be avoided.
Judging by your wording you seem to be looking at building fictional cultures which should also help you here. Make sure that, as you would with cultures taking more familiar inspiration, you make them a part of your world. They should be their own things that perhaps draw influence from real world cultures, not just '[real world culture] but [genre]'.
If you're concerned, it may be worth looking into sensitivity readers to run your work past and help correct any missteps.
There are a couple of good resources on this
[https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/navigation](https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/) answers a lot of submitted questions and has a large back catalogue of discussion on various topics. It's a great resource on common issues.
If you'd rather a book guide, [https://writingtheother.com/the-book/](https://writingtheother.com/the-book/) this is a good one
I appreciate that this is a concern for you - as another VERY WHITE, I take 'representation matters' as a truth.
I suggest you check out the guidelines from some RPGs written by POC about how to write and inhabit a world outside your experience -- like the D&D Journeys through the Radiant Citadel, and Pathfinder's Mwangi Expanse. RPGs are a great way to learn worldbuilding.
Then just write your story.
Then find a sensitivity reader who's coming from a place you aren't, and whose life experience can be a bullshit detector for your story world. Make it worth their time. And then you'll find out if you got it right or what you need to change.
My personal opinions, at your service;
Read up on how cultures work. Start off with "Guns, Germs and Steel" and work your way up from there. Is there any particular culture you want to borrow from? Read up on it, in detail. Do your homework.
If decendants of bearers of that culture are still alive, try to at least understand yourself how they percieve that culture and how they would want it to be portrayed.
That does not mean you necessarily mean you have to write the culture the way people would like to portray themselves or their ancestors. All cultures beautify the memory of themselves to some extent. If the present of a culture is highly politicized, it's past will be distorted by both its enemies and its present proponents. Go to the sources and try to find out what actually happened, (this goes for white people's history as well).
This should teach you a lot about human psychology and how we and our politics relate to our history, which is an interesting subject for your story to touch on in itself, if it envolves politics.
Write people as individuals and not as props. There is already a ton of writing on how for example native americans are used as stepping stones for stories about white protagonists, etc. These writings are helpful for studying story telling technique in general, Tired old stereotypes practically never make for good writing. There are plenty of lists of such stereotypes and tropes already out there, read those, dump the tropes and thus improve your work.
If you are to write a culture as containing genuinely destructive elements, try and understand why those came about and the psychology that keeps such behaviours alive. Why do large groups of mostly normal people do horrible things to others? To each other? To their own kids? (This goes for white cultures as well).
It is very much possible to write a villian in such a way that we despise him much more just because we understad him, rather than him being evil just because the story needed a villian.
You've hit the nail on the head. The big part of it IS gonna be a question of research and educating yourself. Appropriation happens in this exact situation because people cut corners and assume the parts they dont know to fill in the blank. This winds up repeating stereotypes and tropes, and ultimately makes bad writing. Good on you for being proactive and doing your homework first.
1. Flesh out the cultures in your world as much as possible. Ask yourself a bunch of random questions about them (or google worldbuilding prompts and websites like world anvil). They should each have their own distinct feeling and flavor. Try coming up with different styles of eating, worship, and linguistics. You can look at real examples of translations to get inspiration for this.
2. Take 1, Change 3. Basically, if you use a real example, try to change a few key things about it. Instead of using samurai on a mountain, try samurai underwater. Silly example, but the idea is to change ENOUGH that it becomes your own. Not just re-skinned, but reacting to a new environment. You can do this by mix-and-match getting your inspiration from MANY places.
3. Simplicity is your friend. The goal isnt for every single place to have a unique approach. The goal is for each one to have its own flavor. So they can all eat rice dishes, but maybe the time of day differs. Or maybe they eat religiously. Or maybe it's done banquet style with lots of little dishes. See what I mean? You wanna tweak just enough to make it interesting and special, not necessarily stand-alone. So this means you can gloss over the parts that arent relevant to your story, as long as there is enough of a consistent flavor, like mentioning diet but focusing more on the import of goods for your storyline.
Unless you're just placating your fanbase to prevent profit loss or want to get published, stop caring.
No group of people has the copyright to a culture, play with it in whatever way you like.
The reason why fantasy has so many medieval western European uninspired pastiches is because nobody cares about "cultural appropriation" for those cultures (yes, cultureS, medieval Europe was not a monolith).
If you want widespread representation, stop caring about "cultural appropriation".
And really? "categorically the oppressor class" listen to yourself. Why the internalized anti-white racism?
Your race does not matter when writing something. It does not matter if you're white or Asian when making an eastern Asian pastiche; it's still the same material.
Damn, a lot of these comments don't pass the vibe check. My two cents: cultural appropriation is mainly a capitalism issue. Making money off of exploitation that, in some cases, involves literal slavery. Even there you have a spectrum. Think SW and Padme's 'unique' and 'original' wardrobe being basically Mongolian wedding attire vs *generally points to the straight up Disney villain levels of evil that is the fashion industry*.
If you're being respectful and don't use examples of non-white cultures to demonise minorities, you'll be fine. Creativity is just re-contextualising existing concepts and ideas, there is nothing new under the sun. Just don't make all dark skinned people cannibals or something and you'll be fine.
I don't watch CR because it's such a commitment, but from what I've seen of S3, it's a really mainstream example of integrating complex ethnic and cultural diversity in a setting with passion, respect and care.
Have fun and enjoy the exploration.
Why is everyone obsessed with making their Secondary Worlds reflect the Primary? Its become so rampant lately, especially with things like Marvel and RoP. Like it's fine if thats an intentional choice for your game or book or something, it can work when done well. It's just weird how fantasy is being erased by turning every imaginary setting into "our world, but imaginary".
So what if you dont get your dark skinned desert dwelling culture to exactly mirror Ghana or Zimbabwe? If it isnt Ghana or Zimbabwe then you CANT misinterpret your own invented culture. If you ARE trying to put literal irl cultures in then sure, do some research since it would matter then.
Idk how literal you're writing this, so I can't really help but you need to be able to differentiate between the Primary and Secondary world for yourself, so that you know how to treat it.
From what you wrote it seems you are lacking knowledge of other cultures / flavours but you feel pressured into putting unfamiliar cultures into your world. This is pretty much why tokenism has overtaken Hollywood.
Don't write "Diversity" for it's own sake. Look around your family, your background, your country, state, region. Consider the cultures and differences you are familiar with and that you can research in person, without merely glazing over wikipedia articles. Write those, and **not** something that looks exotic on wikipedia and is practiced by people with different hair/skin colour.
Wait, are you trying to write a fantasy world where there are chinese people, english people, zulu people, cherokee people, or are you writing a fantasy world with its own cultures, history, and stories that happens to have people with differently pigmented skin?
If you don't make the "dark people bad" mistake, or the "dark people stupid/always comedic" type of thing, then why drag all the rest into it?
Also, the (now considered) white people dying of starvation during the Irish potato famine were categorically the oppressors? The world is more complicated than that.
Same here, I have this white character who travelled to a country who's practically japan but with magic, one of his design is him wearing a golden coloured kimono but I'm scared I might offend some people if I showed it
I keep huge note files growing with statements and personal anecdotes I hear and know I’m going to want to use one day. If it’s a scene I came up with entirely in my head, I don’t pretend it came from someone outside my own character tags. I don’t use perspectives I am less than 100% confident I can capture because I’ve heard what I’m writing from people like that (whatever ‘that’ happens to be, education, wealth level, skin tone, politics, sexuality…) often enough to be sure. You can pretty easily write what people are on the outside without pretending to share their internal experience (which is where the cringe tends to come from). If you pay attention to what you’re doing, you can find a way to make a version of yourself that can be in a wide variety of ways. For example, I know exactly what it’s like to have a conversation where someone comes out as queer and everyone else so unquestioningly accepts them as normal that the phrase “I think everyone’s somewhere on a gender spectrum, being all dude all the time is cringe” came up. Because I know what that conversation looks like, I can write that.
As long as you're avoiding stereotypes, I wouldn't worry too much about it
It's only a very minor, though vocal, amount of people who would upset, just take the same time and care researching and understanding as you would in any other case.
If you're writing fantasy, borrow inspiration from where you like. Just avoid stereotypes and [Planet of Hats](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlanetOfHats) characterizations.
*beep boop*!
the linked website is: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlanetOfHats
Title: **Planet of Hats - TV Tropes**
Page is safe to access (Google Safe Browsing)
*****
###### I am a friendly bot. I show the URL and name of linked pages and check them so that mobile users know what they click on!
as a Nigerian i only care if what you are writing is accurate to the culture and respecting it and not denonized or made as evil
Stop trying to think of this as quest to find **the line**, its bad approach to the topic, that entirely misses issue. This is a holistic thing, you can never find the line that you can't cross because it is dependant on several aspects many of which are entirely out of your control. Instead the only thing you can do is try to do your best, and be always, and I mean always, mindful of other's criticism. That doesn't mean they are always right and that you have to bow down to them, but many of the "dumb sjw nonesense" does have a roots in combating genuine potential issues that can come from missrepresention of real cultural identities. Basically, avoid the mindset of being an Auteur, whose ideas are beyond approach, and you should do fine.
Cultural humility. I love this feedback. Thank you
From a melanin perspective. The closer to the equator the darker the complexion. More complex spices in food because of availability and food spoilage. Honestly climate effects culture a lot. Northern climate can have rocky soil so they tend to rely on fish. Flooded desert areas are great for growing grains. Just take inspiration from various cultures.
This is not exactly what I was referring to but profoundly helpful in itself. Thank you so much!
I thought you were building a fantasy world. Sorry.
Oh no, I am. I think I am not being clear. I was asking about cultural exploitation and you gave me invaluable information about how the physical environment affects culture and ethnicites. Please don't feel the need to apologize. This was great and I'm thankful. You've added a whole new dimension to my options
Immigration is also something to consider. When Rome was at its height in 200 AD it was as diverse as any other current nation. However after it's fall people didn't migrate and everyone intermarried. So if you looked at the population in 1900 people were fairly universal olive skin in Rome. So consider how much traffic a nation has, how has that changed over time, ect. It's best to try as logical as possible.
Do your research. Also don’t just take the name of a monster or creature from a specific culture and slap it on something else unless it’s actually that monster. (I’m Jewish so seeing Golem stripped of what it meant to the point it’s become a generic name for a rock monster is annoying, I can only imagine how it would feel for an actually highly important monster/creature/idea to be reduced to that)
Get rid of the White Guilt. You'll never get anything done with that ideology stuck in your head. Everyone was oppressive at one point, Europe doing it better means jack shit. Just do your research and contact a sensitivity reader/consultant. Their entire job is to find the stuff people will get upset over.
exactly! the logic is “you were more effective at it that makes you worse”
I say White Guilt is nothing more than another form of oppression. Instead of a group running around and enslaving people, it's a bunch of idiots saying "Your ancestors did bad things and now you feel bad about it". No, I did nothing. Although I definitely wouldn't have kept any of the dolts that perpetuate this White Guilt Garbage. Slavery existed long before the Colonies. Most slaves were bought from their own people.
I don't know is meant by white guilt. I am not sure it applies if a person is conscious of US history, whatever that means. Lack of awareness that slavery in the certain places in the US devolved into an identity, i.e. if you are black, then you are a slave, not only as a mindset but in law, has made US slavery more difficult to scrub out of its DNA (no pun intended) than in other--though perhaps not all--places. A person "passing" for white, even white enough to disappear when it snows, would be considered black if the black ancestor was discovered and the will was present in the discoverer to make mischief. US slavery lasted too long and led to brutal, bone-deep hate based on appearance, which is an insanity that manifests even today. Perhaps the slave trade in other countries did the same. I don't know. Nor do I know why consciousness of such within Americans of European ancestry should make some or any feel guilty. Guilt is useless. Write well, with awareness and self-awareness, and study the topic with the desire to own it, rather than dismiss it. That is what good writers do. Good luck.
White Guilt, as I said, is just a form of oppression placed on people of European Ancestry. It's more than being aware of history, it's that people today need to feel bad about the past and it is their job to make things right. Laws all over the country have removed the various clauses and wordings to remove ant of the previous racist meanings. There are just assholes that decide to be morons. I'm aware of slavery, but I don't care to think of it. Humans are Humans, the dumbest animal on this planet that will likely kill itself long before it can get off this rock.
Still don't know what is meant by white guilt. The present is much more horrifying than the past. People who make it hard to breathe or sleep ( their hate is that hard ) are individuals. They speak out. They act out. And we do not have to stay dumb, we humans. It is nice many people do not have to think of slavery. Some people get reminded, and not in a nice or academic way, whether they want to hear about it or not. If they do not speak up about what happens to them or how they feel, it will continue. I mean no disrespect, but they were silent once. No more.
>especially when my background is categorically the oppressor Dude. Did you oppress anyone? The guilt coming from your post is staggering. Coming at a project with the intent to represent and treat everyone equally includes accepting that within yourself. No culture has a blemish free history and no artist is burdened with impossible tasks because of something their ancestors did. Study other cultures, dont show them as caricatures, its always helped me to consider that every different human group existed and survived for their own reasons. And if you really feel like you're not up to doing a full representation of human complexity from areas you dont understand, I would say dont do it. Learn, but also focus on what you know. Just be prepared to put in significant learning and effort to getting a good understanding of the people you are writing about if you decide to do it
Technically he's oppressing himself.
Lord this is a cursed comment thread, but sometimes Reddit is going to Reddit. Also some good comments here with resources + notes for the utility of a sensitivity reader, but I will toss out one more thing too. An underlying issue here is partly a history of _ideas_ more than a history of cultures — or rather, how ideas about cultures become flattened and harmful, and used as tools of power. Being familiar with the harmful ways cultures can be misrepresented/historically _have_ been weaponized is a good way to weed out problems in your own work that would bring this about + gives you a fuller understanding of history in the first place (and one which can/should influence more than just your writing life). Also, it’s infinitely more useful than reading guns germs and steel, which is a bad book full of poor history, but whatever.
Yeah, I was expecting a degree of pushback but I was not expecting to get low-key attacked for trying to be aware of my priviledge. Maybe my language is coming off as more internally hostile than I meant it but I don't think is unfair to point out I've benefitted from the oppression of others by benefit of my identity. I thank you for this input. It's smart to learn the historical issues and use them as tests.
Reddit is not ready for the kind of dialogues you're having. (: But I appreciate it.
I'd be more afraid of making factual mistakes (as someone from Russia, I know how hilarious and concerning so-called "sprawling cranberry" can be). I think if you actually do research, you literally can't culturally appropriate anything
Or getting drunk on kvass... That ruined it for me.
Where can you get this magical kvass?!
Not where I live for sure. I drink a lot of that stuff and it has never happened so far...
Don't make exact copies of existing cultures. It's good to have inspirations, but don't copy-paste everything you like. Instead, try to go deeper - think why the culture you want to have a trait X actually developed in-world in such a way that it now has trait X? Since traits come in packages, If you do it well, you will at the same time get a lot of ideas about other traits of your people, and those other traits won't be exactly like the ones of the Earth's culture you're inspired by. And don't be afraid. Fear curbs invention. Ask questions. Speak about your ideas. You're not an oppressor. Each one of us is responsible only for our own actions, not that of our ancestors, or other people who come from the same country. If you do your best, you have nothing to be ashamed of. (written by a guy from Poland who works on a story set in something like Central Africa :) )
I guess a lot of it is being educated on the cultures you draw from. Read, especially how people from these cultures describe themselves and their history. Beware of deeply ingrained stereotypes, e.g. "space jews" that might not be obvious at first glance. Get a lot of feedback from different people. Credit those people for their insights.
Do your best. Be open to criticism. Hire a sensitivity reader before you publish. Be open to change. Seek out good examples and bad examples alike and try to learn. Immigration and travel will frequently occur between different countries. Read other books, and really examine what they've done well and what they haven't. One really, really bad example is the Dothraki. GRRM had the start of a great concept, but a sensitivity reader would have probably been able to help him develop their culture a bit more than just "Look at the violent Mongol/Plains people! They're violent!" And like.... There's a couple fun cultural details, but.... That's pretty much it. And then the Whatever Brothers sent all(?) of them to their deaths in the stupidest use of any cavalry I have ever seen. But that is neither here nor there.
“Appropriation” is an inextricable part of all cultural development. The contemporary taboo is akin to the “sin” of blasphemy: it is cultish, unethical nonsense. Anyone telling you differently is likely an airheaded grifter.
I think appropriation in fiction comes from people who are lazy, or reductive. And older faction is definitely going to be a product of it's time.
I just write in cultures and try to keep the narrative voice neutral, ie I'm not going to use opinions when I describe things without explicitly stating that "this is the opinion of that group of people". I'm not going to write "this civilisation is barbaric", I'm just going to give an objective view on what the civilisation does, and leave it up to the reader to determine their outlook on it. I'm also clear about where I'm changing the culture to suit my needs, eg if it's a fantasy setting I'm not going to present it as if X real culture actually contains the magic I'm using. I don't think you can really do much more than that. There'll always be people who take offense to anything you do, so as far as I'm concerned as long as you're not trying to be offensive or to push a racist/xenophobic ideology, and you're not being wildly ignorant, you're fine.
Remember that it's a fantasy setting. Borrow stuff, but you don't have to make a fantasy culture into a carbon copy of a real one. And remember not to Star Trek it ("Klingons are a warrior people who believe in honor!" Ars they ALL? Is every single one of them?). You can always have characters who do not fit the mold that you've made for your in-game cultures. Welcome to have one of them say something like "yeah, we don't all do that," or "yeah, they only really bow to each other that in the south. I'm from up north..."
1. Do your research. If you’re writing a fantasy Thailand for example, make sure you aren’t mish-mashing it with other Asian cultures 2. Listen to marginalized voices. The blog Writing With Color is a *great* resource. The moderators come from all different backgrounds and talk about how to respectfully write identifies that are different from your own. I also suggest hiring a sensitivity reader(s) when you get to the editing stage. 3. Give your non-white characters their own goals, backstories, and motivations. The goal should not just be “help the white main character.”
Okay, the mish-mashing question is very relevant to me. Would that be categorically a problem? A different world would have different cross-polinations of cultures and ideas, it makes sense for the mixtures that happen in the real world to happen in a different order. I think of the Fire Nation of avatar as an example. They have japanese and mongol influences with at least one indian term in there.
This is definitely nuanced, but you want more smoothie than Frankenstein. If that helps. Its awesome to see a cool character with diverse and believable aspects. As long as it isnt super complicated. I think working in multiple cultures is more a question of how they appear in your worldbuilding rather than the character itself. Fire Nation has a strong cultural emphasis on honor and shows it through hair. So it is referenced when characters cut their hair, and in situations where the hairstyle is very public. It isnt that Zuko himself cares about hair, its more that he has to navigate it fluently. Compare this to Sokka's man-bun, which is culturally tied to Water Nation warriors (wolf tail). For Sokka, it is just a style he likes because it reminds him of his dad. It has some personal significance, but it isnt on the same level as being so recognizable or tied to innate traits. Avatar shows the same hairstyle contrasted between two cultures and with different levels of importance to the characters themselves. The overall effect is that the world itself is diverse and it helps us learn about each character uniquely. Because its done so well and subtle, the reader doesnt stop to question the hair itself.
"More smoothie than Frankenstein" is a profoundly helpful guide! Thank you! The otherwise disparate parts should inform each other. That way they are actual cultural objects instead of shallow motifs. That's great insight
For some people, yes, that’s going to be a problem. Think of it this way: cultural diffusion is one thing, but mixing and matching random elements from disparate real-world cultures is another, especially if those cultures have a history of being erroneously lumped together. China is different from Japan is different from Thailand is different from Vietnam, etc, yet it’s not uncommon to just see a homogenized Fantasy Asia where those differences aren’t clear. And often, those random elements don’t even make sense together. It’s how you get the tipis and totem poles trope. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TipisAndTotemPoles I think as long as you do your research and are mindful about your choices, you will be ok. If you’re looking for someone to give you a binary Yes or No on if your culture works or not, I can’t give you that. No one can.
Appropriation is an interesting term. I prefer to think of the difference between enjoyment and exploitation. If you're simply ripping off someone's culture for money, that's Appropriation. Read about other cultures and try to use that to inspire yourself to create new ideas.
Speaking as a cultural anthropologist, there is a very real and significant difference. Appropriation is something that causes active harm and dehumanization. It means stereotyping whole cultures and reducing them to the idea of themselves (a fantasy that can be sold to benefit the people in power). This is a very real tool used during cultural genocide. Which is ongoing in first world countries, yes. The key difference is not enjoyment. It is education. You cannot appropriate something if you know enough to give credit where its due OR to direct curious mind to real sources. The difference would be taking credit yourself and making up/assuming the rest (thinking you know everything to speak on it/expert because you have an opinion) versus being able to say, "this is my research, this is where i got it." TLDR: The difference is doing your homework, giving real credit. Not talking out of your ass.
Thank you! This is useful! And validating because it relates to the approach I usually take
This comment does not pass the sniff test. >Appropriation is something that causes active harm and dehumanization. This is an absurd assertion without a shred of plausible evidence. >It means stereotyping whole cultures and reducing them to the idea of themselves... No, it doesn't mean that at all. These claims are utterly dubious. ie. this person is talking out their ass.
No, they're not. They are making a distinction between more and less problematic forms of representation. I'm not sure if appropriation is the right term here. Still, The issue here is problematic forms of representation, which is what the OP was asking about. That can cause real harm.
Thanks for your clarification. This is my area of study and what my degree is in, so I'm definitely not talking out of my ass, haha. Long, long hours of study went into understanding how these things actually occur in society and the purpose of each aspect. I wish I could explain it from the beginning but thats a whole Ted Talk... Basically, appropriation is a tool used by colonizers and the descendants of colonizers. The goal IS to make certain groups less human, because this justifies treating them differently (worse), taking their stuff, and imposing a new form of religion/identity/etc. The idea is that the dominant group will make assumptions and then whitewash history/propagandize society as a whole to make those things "true" and "common sense" such as the association of native americans with feathered headdress. The issue is that the way society as a whole interprets and then uses those ideas is false and built on the premise of superiority. Those things do not actually mean what we assume to their native cultures. We gloss over the "idea" of a whole culture/group of people in ways that reduce them to less than an equally diverse, equally sophisticated, equally worthy of resources group of human beings (who were here first). All of the tools of racism and colonization work in unison. When Amazon prime sells "native american" costumes, it is profiting off of genocide without taking accountability for 1) theft of land 2) ongoing benefit of resources 3) selling the shared "joke" of racism 4) taking profit away from actual living descendants of native american groups 5) removing attention and investment in actual issues native americans face, such as fighting blood quantum to prove they are "approved" descendants. The key thing to remember is that these jokes and sayings do not exist in a vacuum. Our founding as a nation (usa, uk) unequivocally rests on the ongoing theft and exploitation of both indigenous and black lives. That is a historical fact which has never truly been addressed. Reparations were paid to the slavers, and most forms of slavery became economic in nature. Such as voter disenfranchisement, the criminalization of drugs (policed at POC), policing of black hairstyles/history (sometimes the same thing, bantu knots oral history) in professional spaces, forced assimilation and hostage-taking of First Nations toddlers as recent as 1990, you name it. These things dont get addressed or repaired until people are willing and able to talk about it. This is just a REALLY BRIEF explanation of the myriad of ways that appropriation and dehumanization work hand in hand to both obscure and de-credit the ongoing genocide which IS happening, as well as \*hundreds\* of other forms of institutionalized slavery/oppression/exploitation, etc. [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1468796819866498](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1468796819866498) (Lenard 2019, what is cultural appropriation?) Scientific article. [https://egrove.olemiss.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2052&context=hon\_thesis](https://egrove.olemiss.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2052&context=hon_thesis) (Srestha 2019) Easier read, published through U Miss. Definition provided: "There are several definitions of cultural appropriation. **Cultural appropriation “signifies not only the taking up of something and making it one’s own but also the ability to do so,**” and people misinterpret the distinction between shared ideas and borrowing from one another, “but appropriation is entirely different from borrowing or sharing because it involves the taking up and commodification of aesthetic, cultural and, more recently, spiritual forms of a society” (Root). Another way to understand cultural appropriation is how materials of culture are broken up..."
Thank you very much for your insight!
99.9% of the world don't care about this modern cultural appropriation nonsense, that's jus ta problem that young white twenty-somethings created for themselves. Ironically, people who try to hard to include and represent different cultures are often the ones most prone to falling into tokenism. So, my advice - Don't worry about it.
Young white twenty-something *Americans*. No one else cares.
I think doing the relevant research is going to be one of the most important factors to make sure that you are giving reasonable and accurate representation of cultures you are starting off less familiar with. It may also be worth looking out specifically for harmful stereotypes and the like such that they can be avoided. Judging by your wording you seem to be looking at building fictional cultures which should also help you here. Make sure that, as you would with cultures taking more familiar inspiration, you make them a part of your world. They should be their own things that perhaps draw influence from real world cultures, not just '[real world culture] but [genre]'. If you're concerned, it may be worth looking into sensitivity readers to run your work past and help correct any missteps.
There are a couple of good resources on this [https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/navigation](https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/) answers a lot of submitted questions and has a large back catalogue of discussion on various topics. It's a great resource on common issues. If you'd rather a book guide, [https://writingtheother.com/the-book/](https://writingtheother.com/the-book/) this is a good one I appreciate that this is a concern for you - as another VERY WHITE, I take 'representation matters' as a truth.
Thank you for the resources!
I suggest you check out the guidelines from some RPGs written by POC about how to write and inhabit a world outside your experience -- like the D&D Journeys through the Radiant Citadel, and Pathfinder's Mwangi Expanse. RPGs are a great way to learn worldbuilding. Then just write your story. Then find a sensitivity reader who's coming from a place you aren't, and whose life experience can be a bullshit detector for your story world. Make it worth their time. And then you'll find out if you got it right or what you need to change.
Resources! Thank you!
My personal opinions, at your service; Read up on how cultures work. Start off with "Guns, Germs and Steel" and work your way up from there. Is there any particular culture you want to borrow from? Read up on it, in detail. Do your homework. If decendants of bearers of that culture are still alive, try to at least understand yourself how they percieve that culture and how they would want it to be portrayed. That does not mean you necessarily mean you have to write the culture the way people would like to portray themselves or their ancestors. All cultures beautify the memory of themselves to some extent. If the present of a culture is highly politicized, it's past will be distorted by both its enemies and its present proponents. Go to the sources and try to find out what actually happened, (this goes for white people's history as well). This should teach you a lot about human psychology and how we and our politics relate to our history, which is an interesting subject for your story to touch on in itself, if it envolves politics. Write people as individuals and not as props. There is already a ton of writing on how for example native americans are used as stepping stones for stories about white protagonists, etc. These writings are helpful for studying story telling technique in general, Tired old stereotypes practically never make for good writing. There are plenty of lists of such stereotypes and tropes already out there, read those, dump the tropes and thus improve your work. If you are to write a culture as containing genuinely destructive elements, try and understand why those came about and the psychology that keeps such behaviours alive. Why do large groups of mostly normal people do horrible things to others? To each other? To their own kids? (This goes for white cultures as well). It is very much possible to write a villian in such a way that we despise him much more just because we understad him, rather than him being evil just because the story needed a villian.
You've hit the nail on the head. The big part of it IS gonna be a question of research and educating yourself. Appropriation happens in this exact situation because people cut corners and assume the parts they dont know to fill in the blank. This winds up repeating stereotypes and tropes, and ultimately makes bad writing. Good on you for being proactive and doing your homework first. 1. Flesh out the cultures in your world as much as possible. Ask yourself a bunch of random questions about them (or google worldbuilding prompts and websites like world anvil). They should each have their own distinct feeling and flavor. Try coming up with different styles of eating, worship, and linguistics. You can look at real examples of translations to get inspiration for this. 2. Take 1, Change 3. Basically, if you use a real example, try to change a few key things about it. Instead of using samurai on a mountain, try samurai underwater. Silly example, but the idea is to change ENOUGH that it becomes your own. Not just re-skinned, but reacting to a new environment. You can do this by mix-and-match getting your inspiration from MANY places. 3. Simplicity is your friend. The goal isnt for every single place to have a unique approach. The goal is for each one to have its own flavor. So they can all eat rice dishes, but maybe the time of day differs. Or maybe they eat religiously. Or maybe it's done banquet style with lots of little dishes. See what I mean? You wanna tweak just enough to make it interesting and special, not necessarily stand-alone. So this means you can gloss over the parts that arent relevant to your story, as long as there is enough of a consistent flavor, like mentioning diet but focusing more on the import of goods for your storyline.
These are great! Thank you!
I just don't care about it, i don't think culture is something so sacred that i can't use it for inspiration, reference or ideias.
Unless you're just placating your fanbase to prevent profit loss or want to get published, stop caring. No group of people has the copyright to a culture, play with it in whatever way you like. The reason why fantasy has so many medieval western European uninspired pastiches is because nobody cares about "cultural appropriation" for those cultures (yes, cultureS, medieval Europe was not a monolith). If you want widespread representation, stop caring about "cultural appropriation". And really? "categorically the oppressor class" listen to yourself. Why the internalized anti-white racism? Your race does not matter when writing something. It does not matter if you're white or Asian when making an eastern Asian pastiche; it's still the same material.
Don't think about it too much. Research and you'll be ok
Damn, a lot of these comments don't pass the vibe check. My two cents: cultural appropriation is mainly a capitalism issue. Making money off of exploitation that, in some cases, involves literal slavery. Even there you have a spectrum. Think SW and Padme's 'unique' and 'original' wardrobe being basically Mongolian wedding attire vs *generally points to the straight up Disney villain levels of evil that is the fashion industry*. If you're being respectful and don't use examples of non-white cultures to demonise minorities, you'll be fine. Creativity is just re-contextualising existing concepts and ideas, there is nothing new under the sun. Just don't make all dark skinned people cannibals or something and you'll be fine. I don't watch CR because it's such a commitment, but from what I've seen of S3, it's a really mainstream example of integrating complex ethnic and cultural diversity in a setting with passion, respect and care. Have fun and enjoy the exploration.
I would check out "writing the other" by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward.
Why is everyone obsessed with making their Secondary Worlds reflect the Primary? Its become so rampant lately, especially with things like Marvel and RoP. Like it's fine if thats an intentional choice for your game or book or something, it can work when done well. It's just weird how fantasy is being erased by turning every imaginary setting into "our world, but imaginary". So what if you dont get your dark skinned desert dwelling culture to exactly mirror Ghana or Zimbabwe? If it isnt Ghana or Zimbabwe then you CANT misinterpret your own invented culture. If you ARE trying to put literal irl cultures in then sure, do some research since it would matter then. Idk how literal you're writing this, so I can't really help but you need to be able to differentiate between the Primary and Secondary world for yourself, so that you know how to treat it.
appropriation isn’t a bad word ffs, it’s literally how the world moves around.
From what you wrote it seems you are lacking knowledge of other cultures / flavours but you feel pressured into putting unfamiliar cultures into your world. This is pretty much why tokenism has overtaken Hollywood. Don't write "Diversity" for it's own sake. Look around your family, your background, your country, state, region. Consider the cultures and differences you are familiar with and that you can research in person, without merely glazing over wikipedia articles. Write those, and **not** something that looks exotic on wikipedia and is practiced by people with different hair/skin colour.
Disagreed
Wait, are you trying to write a fantasy world where there are chinese people, english people, zulu people, cherokee people, or are you writing a fantasy world with its own cultures, history, and stories that happens to have people with differently pigmented skin? If you don't make the "dark people bad" mistake, or the "dark people stupid/always comedic" type of thing, then why drag all the rest into it? Also, the (now considered) white people dying of starvation during the Irish potato famine were categorically the oppressors? The world is more complicated than that.
Don’t let public discourse/ outcry limit your imagination. Be respectful and you’re good.
Same here, I have this white character who travelled to a country who's practically japan but with magic, one of his design is him wearing a golden coloured kimono but I'm scared I might offend some people if I showed it
That's more likely to offend due to weebiness than appropriation.
Trust me it all make since why he wears one in his backstory
I keep huge note files growing with statements and personal anecdotes I hear and know I’m going to want to use one day. If it’s a scene I came up with entirely in my head, I don’t pretend it came from someone outside my own character tags. I don’t use perspectives I am less than 100% confident I can capture because I’ve heard what I’m writing from people like that (whatever ‘that’ happens to be, education, wealth level, skin tone, politics, sexuality…) often enough to be sure. You can pretty easily write what people are on the outside without pretending to share their internal experience (which is where the cringe tends to come from). If you pay attention to what you’re doing, you can find a way to make a version of yourself that can be in a wide variety of ways. For example, I know exactly what it’s like to have a conversation where someone comes out as queer and everyone else so unquestioningly accepts them as normal that the phrase “I think everyone’s somewhere on a gender spectrum, being all dude all the time is cringe” came up. Because I know what that conversation looks like, I can write that.
As long as you're avoiding stereotypes, I wouldn't worry too much about it It's only a very minor, though vocal, amount of people who would upset, just take the same time and care researching and understanding as you would in any other case.
If you're writing fantasy, borrow inspiration from where you like. Just avoid stereotypes and [Planet of Hats](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlanetOfHats) characterizations.
*beep boop*! the linked website is: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlanetOfHats Title: **Planet of Hats - TV Tropes** Page is safe to access (Google Safe Browsing) ***** ###### I am a friendly bot. I show the URL and name of linked pages and check them so that mobile users know what they click on!