2 Days Later (Serious Spoilers)

As you can probably tell, I wrote this two days after another post on Angels & Demons.

In general, a number of fact jumps increased in intensity.  A few other things I mentioned in that post also got worse--Langdon and Vittoria chatted it up after finding out the killer was a few feet away instead of rushing in. They would have gotten him and prevented two killings. Possibly. It would've at least turned out better than them rushing in once everyone was dead, for the first time not considering that the killer might still be there, and then getting caught. Of course, none of these possibilities are true in the constraints of the story, but the odd chattiness makes it seem that way. It almost seemed too stupid to be realistic compared to their usual protocol. I mean, Vittoria was willing to rush two old ladies, but not rush the building where the actual killer is? 

It's a World of Pale Blond Hair and Blue Eyed Characters

And the other thing--pale and obviously handsome Langdon (I'm sorry--American White men don't tend to look that handsome. This is why you're not supposed to impose descriptions and impressions on the reader. Langdon is obviously the fraternity-type legacy professor who gives grades to White male athletes. If you know the type and Brown's background, you'd agree; if not, don't get offended!) instantly describes the Arab as a "dark monster." Okay, I only have to read that once, right? Nope. Ol' blue eyes then thinks it's horrible for him to have dark eyes (I always read stories when I was small about teenaged white female characters hating brown eyes and I never knew what that was about). It didn't mean dark and evil eyes... he just had "black" eyes. The "animal" he was later described as seemed less about his killing and more about his aforementioned appearance.

The things you notice when you aren't in the worship-blond-hair-and-blue-eyes group.

When I write my stories, I do not only write them for African-Americans, but I am aware that less open people will be turned off by descriptions of curls, curves, and thick curly hair. That is out of my control and also something that I should not cater to. However, I've read books that cater to White folk all my life. They hardly attempt to acknowledge there is diversity in the world. Sure, I threw in a black character, but if my other characters are surrounded by White people and only talk about "White ideals," is that a reflection of my environment?

I read back on stories I wrote years ago, where I describe pale skin and grey or green eyes like I'm describing the Holy Grail (luckily it was hardly ever blue eyes, but brown was sadly not that frequent either). Surrounded by White writers, I became used to my own exclusion. In order to think they were beautiful, I had to think I was not. It was hardly ever a neutral message and never told me both were beautiful. Which brings me to my next point.

The problem I see in books today is we aren't just excluded--we are excluded in a way that makes us seem subpar. If pale skin is so beautiful that it warrants a page-long description, the skin this person have before s/he became a vampire (for example) must have been ugly! (I make this sound like a deduction, but some of these stories do state it explicitly.) Similarly, reading one White person call another dark as if that is "exotic" is strange, but it sends a message.

Then there are authors who, whenever making a sci-fi species that is enslaved, decide to make them brown-skinned. I've even seen cases where only the enslaved have skin colors... But that's another story.

No one ever looks at it as, you are abnormally pale! Yet it seems to happen for all other groups.

It's understandable if this is the author's ideals manifesting, but my point is it's the majority of authors. In one of my manuscripts, I describe pale skin in ways it appears, similarly to White authors, but I do not glorify it. To people used to its glorification, the descriptions could come off as purposefully degrading. (Many authors will describe the pale skin and crooked nose of a character to a vivid T, then the label of "beautiful" or "ugly" they attach seems to be arbitrary, but they do it nonetheless.)

Back to Angels & Demons--I still love the book. I was just moved to put it on the chopping block as an example for some reason. It did raise good points outside of the strange fact-jump inconsistencies (unless it's a pattern!).