I mentioned this briefly in class, but I’d like to keep
talking about it here. There was a game that came out in 2018 titled Detroit
Become Human, and it professed to be a race allegory in much the same way
as Fifth Season. The loose plot of Detroit Become Human was that
of a class of robots, sentient and built for servitude, had a “switch” flipped
in their heads that made them think and act more like humans and less like
glorified computers, vacuum cleaners, and food processors.
One of the reasons that this storyline does not work as a
race allegory is fairly obvious; racism is built upon the idea that someone is
fundamentally “different” from yourself, and thus worthy of ostracization, fear,
and forced submission. Racism as an idea falls apart the moment one realizes
that those they had considered the “other” are actually the same was them—there
are no inherent, fundamental differences to think of outside of, say, skin
color. With the robots in Detroit Become Human—and, I hazard to say, the
orogenes in Fifth Season—that reasoning is rendered moot, because these
beings are fundamentally different from human beings and, in the case of
both, are more than capable of destroying the world.
Now, I am absolutely not suggesting that these two storylines
are complete parallels; the androids in DBH were literally built to
be servants, and the only reason they began a revolution was because they were
suddenly able to think as humans. Orogenes were always human and were always
thinking as other humans do. But they are still different, and in a
pretty damning way at that; they have a terrifying power that can be used
against the entire world whether purposefully or not. To our modern sensibilities,
slavery is incomprehensible, because we understand that people of color are
just like us, and therefore the reasoning for slavery is invalid. Fifth
Season raises the question, “Is racism valid when people are different,
and in a powerful, terrifying way? How far is basic kindness for other living
beings meant to go?”
I am unsure how to answer this question. I obviously don’t
agree with how society has treated orogenes; it is inhumane and cruel. But, to
an extent, I can understand the fear of orogenes—their power is so much greater
than that of the average human, it seems counterintuitive to not be wary
of them, at least to some extent. Fifth Season does well in exploring
how non-orogenes and orogenes can work together as individuals, but what about
orogenes as a class? How much control over their power do they have? Can humans
trust them? I want to say yes, because I have grown attached to Essun,
Alabaster, and the other orogenes featured in the show, but…I am having trouble
sorting out how much control orogenes actually have over their powers, or
whether, once they gained power, they would want to seek revenge on humans for
their horrible treatment.
I believe Jemison has done well in crafting a story where
the answers aren’t as simple as we would like to think; it is folly to simply
decide that orogenes and humans can coexist peacefully if only the humans
stopped being so horrible, because it is more complex than that. I’m terrified
of the billionaire class because they have power and means I could never
imagine; it is the same for orogenes, I think. I wonder if such stark
differences can ever be resolved on a massive societal, rather than individual,
scale.
During our discussion in class about this subject, we talked about the in-book idea of an orogene-run future, and I think that particular discussion highlights your point about the genuinely dangerous potential orogenes have. Realistically, were the orogenes in this book to completely take over society, I don’t think it would be the idyllic paradise that the book shows Meov to be. In Meov, orogenes are valued, seen as a helpful tool, and celebrated, even. I think this is the future that we as readers want to think is possible for the society of The Fifth Season—we want to believe that there can be peace.
ReplyDeleteBut, as we discussed in class, this idea isn’t realistic. The power the orogenes have is too great and dangerous to, at a large scale, be actively worked into society. This is because, just as evil humans exist and are seen time and time again in this book, evil orogenes would exist. I think it’s interesting that the book redeems every orogene within the story. Even Misalem, who the readers are led to believe was an evil man throughout the whole book, is redeemed as a man who simply took revenge on those oppressing him. I think this works if it fits into Jemisin’s race allegory—it’s not hard to see real life examples of stories told by oppressive victors, turning the oppressed into villains—but it fails to capture a realistic world where sometimes…people are just evil. We even see, albeit briefly, an orogene run city which does not seem as idyllic as Meov: Castrima. Here, we might begin to see the less ideal outcome of an orogene-run society.
I think the obvious problems with orogene leadership really convey the point you’re making here. In reality, people of color helping to run our society isn’t a massive power imbalance which would lead to the destruction of the world. As you’ve said here, the race allegory present in Jemisin’s novel seems a little skewed, as the power the orogenes have begins to destroy their connection to real-life people of color.
I think that reading The Fifth Season as a race allegory may be a little easier than you suggest in your post. While I completely agree that the failure of the text lies in the fact that the orogenes have such a strong and untamed power that it does bring legitimate concerns as to their place in society, one cannot say that for example African-Americans have this power. Yet they have a shared history that is much different than other people of color and white people. Though inherently the same, the way racism has permeated into our society and culture has created a divide that we have to face. I think Jemisin argues that in face of these differences that we must still have an empathy and solidarity with one another. I also believe that Jemisin is aware of the allegory in the way in which she draws on other common plot points from novels about slavery. The scene in which Syenite smothers her child because she believes that she would have a better life that way recalls the pained past of Sethe from Toni Morrison's Beloved, "Better that a child never have lived at all than live as a slave. Better that he die. Better that she die. Alabaster will hate her for this, for leaving him alone, but Alabaster is not here, and survival is not the same thing as living," (441). While I agree with your point that the powers the orogenes have causes issues with the race allegory, I think that Jemisin meant for the novel to function that way and does in some aspects.
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