This might apply to almost everything I've written, unfortunately.
I've been thinking about this for a while.
In the current P.C. culture we've been dealing with for the last several years, I can't help but feel that the world of Calypso would sooner be cancelled than make any sort of positive impact.
Although it deals with some controversial subjects like prostitution and there's a handful of sex scenes in it, there are other things that people could consider fatal flaws.
Red flag #1: Cultural misapproriation
-the setting of Calypso is purely fictional but I picture it as an island in the Carribean that thrives on tourism. Many of the characters have Latin names, few of which actually have accents.
Considering nowadays where there's a lot of emphasis on diversity and people being true to their cultures, some people might not like the fact I'm writing about people from a background I don't belong to. And certainly not one I'm particularly knowledgable about.
Like with a lot of things I write, I get an idea and I run with it and having this cast of character just felt right at the time.
Red flag #2: Stalker Alert and "No means No"
- Through the first part of the story, Juan Paulo runs into Talia a few times. She repeatedly turns him down and tries to explain she has no romantic interest in him. But in the end, he wears her down and she finally gives him the time of day
Technically, there's only one instance in the story that could be construed as stalking. After meeting the first time, JP winds up meeting with Talia again through his friend, Javier, who is beginning a relationship with Scarlet. Following this, he brings flowers to her workplace and says he'll come by to see her next show.
But the fact she turns him down multiple times and he doesn't seem to get the hint could be problematic for some people... the fact he's a nice guy might not make this completely ok.
...the whole "no means no" thing is something I've taken issue with in a few movies, if I'm being completely honest.
But the whole stalking thing... not only have a lot of my favorite romantic movies apparently involved stalking by today's standards, but the confusion is making me rethink a lot of my writing.
A high school couple I first wrote about 20 years ago- Jonas and Nina- he suffers from social anxiety and for other reasons, has kept away from people for most of his life. She's the new girl at his school and something about her makes him want to break down the walls he's put around himself. But he's not entirely sure how.
And I'm not entirely sure how to go about it without it making it seem like he's a stalker or he's coming on far too strong.
The confusion is so bad- it's like I'm rethinking my entire life and everything I knew.
Red Flag #3- lack of diversity
If I was lucky enough to have this published and turned into a movie, I still imagine the cast being almost all white. Obviously, Talia and Alejandro would be played actors with distinct Spanish accents. And a handful of other characters.
If any of the characters was black, it'd probably be Amber. She'd be the easiest one to imagine being Afro-Latina.
There's also the question of queer representation. Any of the Calypso girls being lesbians wouldn't work in the grand scheme of things.
The one exception to this, again, would probably be Amber. She geninuely cares about Scarlet and misses the days when they were best friends. The way she acts toward her when they finally get to spend time together could be construed as her having feelings for her. Despite the fact Amber's one goal is to get Alejandro to notice her, part of me could imagine Amber and Scarlet being a thing. Or Amber having a one-sided crush on her.
I also considered the possibility of Ruby not being entirely straight. I gave romantic plot lines to several of the other girls but nothing ever came to mind for her. I wrote one line where she says Amber's an amazing dancer and she'd love to work with her. Maybe deep down she's harboring other feelings for her... I really don't know at this point.
My reality is 99% white so I don't see a lot of diversity with my fiction anyway.
But my stance about this has the following: I'm all for diversity but it shouldn't be forced just for the sake of it. It has to make sense in the context of the story.
I can't help the fact I wasn't around a diverse group of people growing up. I'm not going to change the outlook of what I write just to satisfy the masses. Would I object to some of my characters coming from different backgrounds? That ultimately depends on whether I have a vivid picture of them in my mind when I created them.
***
As of writing this, I'd read through my story from start to finish. There's a couple of sections I highlighted that need to be tweaked, fixed or connected to other parts of the story.
Then there's the ending... the final frame is perfect for the story I'm telling, but something about the last few chapters isn't quite as satsifying as I'd hoped. Maybe because things got especially dark and the ultimate bad guy in the story gets a heavy dose of karma thrown back at him... I'm not sure how the readers will take it, but even though it's a happy ending for everyone, I can't help but feel a little depressed about it. Maybe I'm just sad about the fact it's ending but I'm also kinda afraid that the end feels like a completely different story from the many chapters that went before it.
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