Are racism and discrimination are discussed as sub (or hidden) topics under the main plot?

Use this forum to discuss the September 2021 Book of the month, "The Fourth Kinetic: Clairvoyants Book 1" by Brady Moore
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Re: Are racism and discrimination are discussed as sub (or hidden) topics under the main plot?

Post by ej_author »

I believe the author was certainly making a point about not judging by appearances. I really appreciated that in addition to making a point about race, he also made a point about people who just seem odd or may have some kind of disability. It was nice to see all kinds of people included in this little message.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

RHD wrote: 03 Sep 2021, 06:34 Personally, I would go with both. One reader will interpret that Brady Moore was developing characters, while another will interpret the author was trying to discuss racism. In my opinion, the author intention is to hit two birds with one stone.
Actually we do not see much character building, do we? Though Moore has introduced many characters we do not see in depth descriptions about them. And many of such characters are not even mentioned towards the latter part of the book. I think, with the mere introduction of those characters, the author might have intended just to provoke thoughts about those different ones who were being treated differently by the society.
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Post by Kyle Hylan-Corcoran »

The author definitely made a conscious choice to discuss race and disability. As race and disability (as well as gender, sexuality, etc.) affect how everyone navigates the world, the characters in this book also have to grapple with their identities as well. I think authors are consciously choosing to have discussions of identity to get people to think more critically about the world around them.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Medhansh Bhardwaj wrote: 03 Sep 2021, 09:07 The author definitely touched the topic of racism and discrimination a few times throughout the book. But, he was quite subtle in his approach regarding these subjects. I think he wanted to just give a small buzz to the readers instead of going deep into these topics, as his main focus was on the storyline.
Though he did not want to, and also could not without loosing the flow of the plot, discuss about these matters, seemingly he wanted to keep it on a sideline throughout the story. Maybe that is why his protagonist was a Black boy, and the fact of him being balck was reminded several times including how white boys used to bully this poor fellow.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

ej_author wrote: 03 Sep 2021, 15:57 I believe the author was certainly making a point about not judging by appearances. I really appreciated that in addition to making a point about race, he also made a point about people who just seem odd or may have some kind of disability. It was nice to see all kinds of people included in this little message.
Even being of a different race is considered odd by the majority. And that is same for those who are differently abled as well. So the author has taken this group of odds together and reminded the reader of their presence. But it is sad how he have totally forgotten them in the latter parts of the book.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Kyle Hylan-Corcoran wrote: 03 Sep 2021, 23:21 The author definitely made a conscious choice to discuss race and disability. As race and disability (as well as gender, sexuality, etc.) affect how everyone navigates the world, the characters in this book also have to grapple with their identities as well. I think authors are consciously choosing to have discussions of identity to get people to think more critically about the world around them.
In addition to the discussion that the author provoked, he used these to identify his characters. The reader can get picture of the boy with a disabled leg, the girl with a constant sad face, and the dirty poor farm boy. He did not mke the reader sympathize for them for a long time, but simply included few characters to Rion's company.
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Post by Suzer6440 xyz »

The author was subtle with showing racism and discrimination. It seems to me that Brady Moore’s intention was to deliver the overall feeling of fairness and equality despite a persons differences.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Suzer6440 xyz wrote: 06 Sep 2021, 20:47 The author was subtle with showing racism and discrimination. It seems to me that Brady Moore’s intention was to deliver the overall feeling of fairness and equality despite a persons differences.
Ofcourse. He showed the fact how different people are differently treated, and yet how skilled and helpful they can be. Rion was a Black kid and he was the protagonist, still being the odd fourth telekinetic. Even he was an issue for his own kin, the Clairvoyants. But ultimately he was their savior.
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Post by Dimi1 »

I am not so sure about this. We are speaking about glimpses of discussions and glimpses, by definition, are not enough to justify a thorough discussion of the matter. I personally think that the author touched the matter with not actual intention to do so. It just happened.
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Post by Oye Timothy »

No. This is inappropriate. Using a black kid or a black person as a protagonist is inappropriate. The author should have, at least, not specify the color of the skin when describing the characters.
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Post by Emily_Jen »

Even before I saw this topic, I did think the author intended to address racism and discrimination in a subtle manner. What better way to address those topics than to integrate them into a fast-paced thriller that would keep everyone on the edge of their seats.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Dimi1 wrote: 08 Sep 2021, 01:47 I am not so sure about this. We are speaking about glimpses of discussions and glimpses, by definition, are not enough to justify a thorough discussion of the matter. I personally think that the author touched the matter with not actual intention to do so. It just happened.
We can say as 'just touches' for the mere references of side characters which were never even mentioned later. But what about the main protagonist? The author clearly mentions how he was discriminated because he was the only Black kid in his new neighbourhood. I agree that the author did not try to go into deep discussions about such matters, but he made Rion a Black hero with a deep idea than a mere mentioning of that.
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Post by Khushboo Barwar »

The moment I saw the cover with a black boy, I knew there will be these discussions. The author did these so subtly that these don’t raise any conflicts but at the same time are able to gain the attention of the reader. I think, in today’s scenario it made so much sense taking a black protagonist and displaying his difficulties. These subtle excerpts added value to the book.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Oye Timothy wrote: 08 Sep 2021, 12:06 No. This is inappropriate. Using a black kid or a black person as a protagonist is inappropriate. The author should have, at least, not specify the color of the skin when describing the characters.
Why do you say so? It is quite important for the reader to have a mental image of all the characters, and especially the protagonist. So if that image differs from what the author is having in his mind, then some of the points in the story may not be clear to the reader. We see a picture of Rion on the front page. But if it was not mentioned that he was black, how can we be sure whether that is him?
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Post by Kim Jek »

These hidden discussons are present and can't be ignored. Even Dee is presented as having curly hair and dark skin. This factor obviously influenced how they were treated by others in school.
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