Shadowshaper is what bell hooks would consider a postmodern black cultural artifact. Shadowshaper is a young adult fantasy novel written by Latino author and activist Daniel José Older. It was published by Scholastic Corporation on June 30, 2015. Its intended audience is for grades seven and up. Shadowshaper has won several awards including Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books of 2015, Young Adult, Booklist 2015 Top 10 Books for Youth, Arts, SLJ’s Best Books of 2015, Young Adult and The New York Times Notable Children’s Books of 2015, Young Adult. The novel tells the fictional story of a young Afro-Latina girl named Sierra Santiago who discovers her family history’s of supernatural powers and her ability to interact with the spirit
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With the discovery of her family’s history, Sierra struggles with her identity and self-image. Additionally, she faces racism and colorism because of her dark complexion. During the duration of the novel, Sierra accepts who she is and how she looks regardless of what other people say. ‘I’m Sierra Maria Santiago. I am what I am. Enough…More than enough’ (Older 80). By Older tackling the issue of identity in his novel, he brings race into the discussion of identity politics.
Although Shadowshaper is a novel written by a Latino author about a Latina character, it can be consider a postmodern black cultural artifact because it displays multiple black identities and various experiences, breaking away from the one-dimensional stereotype depicted by white scholars. Black culture and Latino culture are not mutually exclusive. There are a number of Latin American people who have Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Afro-Latin Americans are as much as a part of the African diaspora as non-Hispanic Black Americans/non-Hispanic Afro Americans …show more content…
This is devastating because this means that many young people of color are not reading books with characters that look like them and have similar identities and experiences. Some people will argue that authors, book critics and fans are responsible for spreading the word about a book, but the most responsibility for promoting a book relies on the publishing companies. If they do not accurately promote a book, they will not sell too many copies of say book. Based on bell hooks’ definition of postmodern blackness, Daniel José Older’s Shadowshaper is a postmodern black cultural artifact. The novel brings race, gender, class, and sexuality into the discussion of identity politics. With its diverse cast of characters, it provides a number of black identities and different cultural experiences, challenging the white supremacy’s depiction of blackness. Shadowshaper shows both how far we have come with cultural production of authentic postmodern blackness and how there is still work that needs to be done regarding the promotion of these cultural
With the discovery of her family’s history, Sierra struggles with her identity and self-image. Additionally, she faces racism and colorism because of her dark complexion. During the duration of the novel, Sierra accepts who she is and how she looks regardless of what other people say. ‘I’m Sierra Maria Santiago. I am what I am. Enough…More than enough’ (Older 80). By Older tackling the issue of identity in his novel, he brings race into the discussion of identity politics.
Although Shadowshaper is a novel written by a Latino author about a Latina character, it can be consider a postmodern black cultural artifact because it displays multiple black identities and various experiences, breaking away from the one-dimensional stereotype depicted by white scholars. Black culture and Latino culture are not mutually exclusive. There are a number of Latin American people who have Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Afro-Latin Americans are as much as a part of the African diaspora as non-Hispanic Black Americans/non-Hispanic Afro Americans …show more content…
This is devastating because this means that many young people of color are not reading books with characters that look like them and have similar identities and experiences. Some people will argue that authors, book critics and fans are responsible for spreading the word about a book, but the most responsibility for promoting a book relies on the publishing companies. If they do not accurately promote a book, they will not sell too many copies of say book. Based on bell hooks’ definition of postmodern blackness, Daniel José Older’s Shadowshaper is a postmodern black cultural artifact. The novel brings race, gender, class, and sexuality into the discussion of identity politics. With its diverse cast of characters, it provides a number of black identities and different cultural experiences, challenging the white supremacy’s depiction of blackness. Shadowshaper shows both how far we have come with cultural production of authentic postmodern blackness and how there is still work that needs to be done regarding the promotion of these cultural