Babel-17 (5 Points)

I really love how counterculture is portrayed in Babel-17. The book almost presents transhumanist elements as something that’s inevitable. Like, of course people who don’t fit in will give themselves giant fangs or fleshy wings; we already pierce our skin and give ourselves horns, so it’s not like we’re far off. It really taps into that idea that some members of marginalized groups say “fuck it, if society’s going to put us down for being ourselves, we might as well give in to our wildest ideas.” It’s kind of a fun part of not being a part of the mainstream, right? Just being able to go nuts and have fun with your appearance and having that be accepted. I think that’s what the book really conveyed to me through its descriptions; a sense of fun and playfulness with self-image. I feel like that’s elevated when these people with out-there body mods are juxtaposed with the customs officer who’s put off by them. Basically, it’s like putting some weird people next to a narc and saying “do you really want to be the narc?” I definitely don’t want to be the narc, and I hope someday I can make myself look like a dragon too. 

Something else that I really loved is how being an artist is portrayed. The way the novel literalizes a lot of the anxieties of being an artist through Rydra Wong’s (not)telepathy is spot on. Her literally taking ideas from other people’s minds and using them for her poetry is such a perfect way of portraying the imposter syndrome someone can feel when they acknowledge their inspirations. I think that comes from the highly individualist nature of art analysis/discourse. Of course, the unique perspective of the artist is important, but we tend to vilify artists who wear their influences on their sleeve unless it’s for the sake of deconstruction. We like to pretend that ideas can come from thin air when that’s just not true. Even in fundamentally collaborative art forms, like filmmaking, we create things like auteur theory to force it into the individualist mindset. In reality, everyone who’s involved in a creative capacity has some input into the filmmaking process, and they each have their own influences and experiences that they draw from. Even if someone’s writing a book on their own, they’re not really doing it alone. They have an editor and they might get feedback from friends and colleagues, all of which have their own experiences and influences. In that case, yes the author’s voice is the most important, but those other voices are extremely important too.

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