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Muslims and Muslim Cultures-- accuracy
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From: Elsa Marston <elsa.marston_at_gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 10:21:15 -0400
Since Seemi Aziz has also raised questions about THE DAY OF AHMED'S SECRET, I'd like to say something more about accuracy. (I discussed this in a long letter in *Bookbird *a few years ago.) For the most part I think Ted Lewin did a wonderful job in capturing the essence of street life in the old city in Cairo; but there are errors, big ones, that I think are worth talking about.
Camels would be most unlikely in downtown Cairo, and as for
"caravans"--laden with goodness- knows-what and covered with trappings like camels that tourists ride at the Pyramids--No, definitely not! Both the text and the illustration, though charming to look at, are absolutely false. ("But in the city are the caravans of camels and their riders who have crossed it [the desert] many times.....} I'm tempted to think it's a joke. Anyway, it's false information that has been added, it would seem, just for exotic appeal. Muslims, and especially Arabs, are very sensitive about these hoary old stereotypes, which seem intended to push them out of the modern world and back to some sort of primitive or at best quaintly old-fashioned world.
What gets me even more excited isn't a stereotype sort of thing like the camels, but an error that defies common sense. Ahmed's job--unaccompanied!--is to deliver butagaz tanks to people's apartments.
Those canisters are made of cast iron and weigh a ton, much more than a small boy does (I could barely drag an empty one a little distance on the floor, let alone lift a full one). Yet Ahmed hoists them on his shoulder and climbs up flights of stairs, all day long.
Does it matter? Even if 19 out of 20 children and adults don't question these examples, for the one that does, the story loses credibility.
Something that looks even questionable may suggest that the whole story is not meant to be taken seriously. .
This story raises a more basic question. How important is it, in depicting specific peoples and places and cultures, to be as accurate as possible?
Wouldn't it make sense, in such cases, for the author and illustrator to work together, to some extent? How much leeway should an illustrator be allowed, for the sake of making a visually appealing book, to skimp on research or to falsely represent significant details? It's not always an easy question, since the visual aspects of picture books are so important.
I still admire AHMED'S SECRET because it was one of the very, very first books, produced by an eminent author and illustrator and a prominent publisher, to show contemporary "real life" in an Arab country. But I wish it had not sacrificed credibility and honesty for the sake of attractiveness.
Other thoughts on this question of "accuracy viersus aesthetic appeal"?
Elsa www.elsamarston.com
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Received on Fri 15 Aug 2014 09:21:53 AM CDT
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 10:21:15 -0400
Since Seemi Aziz has also raised questions about THE DAY OF AHMED'S SECRET, I'd like to say something more about accuracy. (I discussed this in a long letter in *Bookbird *a few years ago.) For the most part I think Ted Lewin did a wonderful job in capturing the essence of street life in the old city in Cairo; but there are errors, big ones, that I think are worth talking about.
Camels would be most unlikely in downtown Cairo, and as for
"caravans"--laden with goodness- knows-what and covered with trappings like camels that tourists ride at the Pyramids--No, definitely not! Both the text and the illustration, though charming to look at, are absolutely false. ("But in the city are the caravans of camels and their riders who have crossed it [the desert] many times.....} I'm tempted to think it's a joke. Anyway, it's false information that has been added, it would seem, just for exotic appeal. Muslims, and especially Arabs, are very sensitive about these hoary old stereotypes, which seem intended to push them out of the modern world and back to some sort of primitive or at best quaintly old-fashioned world.
What gets me even more excited isn't a stereotype sort of thing like the camels, but an error that defies common sense. Ahmed's job--unaccompanied!--is to deliver butagaz tanks to people's apartments.
Those canisters are made of cast iron and weigh a ton, much more than a small boy does (I could barely drag an empty one a little distance on the floor, let alone lift a full one). Yet Ahmed hoists them on his shoulder and climbs up flights of stairs, all day long.
Does it matter? Even if 19 out of 20 children and adults don't question these examples, for the one that does, the story loses credibility.
Something that looks even questionable may suggest that the whole story is not meant to be taken seriously. .
This story raises a more basic question. How important is it, in depicting specific peoples and places and cultures, to be as accurate as possible?
Wouldn't it make sense, in such cases, for the author and illustrator to work together, to some extent? How much leeway should an illustrator be allowed, for the sake of making a visually appealing book, to skimp on research or to falsely represent significant details? It's not always an easy question, since the visual aspects of picture books are so important.
I still admire AHMED'S SECRET because it was one of the very, very first books, produced by an eminent author and illustrator and a prominent publisher, to show contemporary "real life" in an Arab country. But I wish it had not sacrificed credibility and honesty for the sake of attractiveness.
Other thoughts on this question of "accuracy viersus aesthetic appeal"?
Elsa www.elsamarston.com
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Received on Fri 15 Aug 2014 09:21:53 AM CDT
