Jamal Little-Summerhill

Entertainment Critic

He/Him

Age 18 T-T / 36 E-E

(Little-Summerhill checks the smart-e-gram he is holding.)

CN: Name?

JL-S: My name is Jamal Little-Summerhill.

CN: Profession?

JL-S: I’m an entertainment critic by profession.

CN: Preferred pronouns?

JL-S: I prefer he and him.

(Little-Summerhill stops checking the smart-e-gram to drink from a glass with a reddish-gold liquid.)

CN: Age and by which planetary standards?

JL-S: Back on Earth I’m eighteen. Here on Eas-Enerang, thirty-six years.

CN: How long have you been a critic in entertainment for?

JL-S: Unprofessionally, I’ve been one for all my life. Grew up in appreciation of the arts. In terms of being one professionally, for about four years on this planet.

CN: Who are those people on your shirt?

(Little-Summerhill pulls flat and shows off the front of his shirt.)

JL-S: These guys? Only the greatest band of their kind out on the music scene, the Dethhed Hammerheds!

CN: Is that name an allusion to the trio of serial killer brothers?

JL-S: Sort of.

CN: Why would they do that?

JL-S: The band’s name and general aesthetic are mostly to attract the folks that are into the fatalism of gang cultures and ease them into a PROHU mindset with their songs’ overarching messages. That and because the members of the band thought it was edgecore.

CN: What is “edgecore”?

JL-S: Slang for being abrasively provocative and eye-catchy. Eh, sorry, I should’ve figured you wouldn’t know what that meant. Not being from around here and all. It’s hard enough for our own people to stay up to date with current pop culture trends.

(Little-Summerhill drinks.)

CN: That is okay. What genre of music does Dethhed Hammerheds play?

JL-S: They play a genre called, drigagoon. It’s a fusion of industrial-punk rap, deathstep, and vulgar anuh-kaj throat singing. I love the music, but fashion-wise I prefer the pskanda look, as that genre’s music scene blend of ska, banda, and bits of psychobilly look good on me.

(Little-Summerhill straightens out his hat.)

CN: I do have to apologize for the question I asked, since I have no idea what any of those genres are. I will just move on from that one. I do notice that the band members are almost all different race beings. Does their music appeal to more than just humans?

JL-S: It’s surprisingly popular with young anuh-kaj. That’s how I met Influencer Dh, who is the newest edition to our group of friends and is considered a work-in-progress. I could tell from looking into their eyes the attempts to do right are in earnest, but there’s things we’re going to have to have our new friend brush up on.

CN: What problems are those?

JL-S: Like understanding what constitutes cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation.

CN: I would like to know myself exactly. What makes cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation different from one another? There has been some argument that there is no difference, or that appropriation does not exist.

JL-S: There’s all the talk I hear about of how superior the Apiary is, despite the fact it’s been utilizing aspects and styles from the subordinate “degenerate culture” as it’s phrased. The subordinate culture’s members are disrespected – while said members are slowly pushed to the margins – until the Apiary can claim the cultural objects of interest originated from them.

CN: It is what you call cultural appropriation, correct?

JL-S: That’s what it is. What’s really some shit – uh – what’s really insulting is that once appropriated from their hated subordinates, whatever the Apiary took is then used to draw wider audiences into the belief of the Apiary’s superiority.

CN: What would be considered cultural appreciation?

JL-S: Almost the opposite of what I described. The members of the subordinate culture are respected and credited, through both words and actions by the dominant culture borrowing parts of said subordinate culture that interest them.

CN: The latter sounds very similar to what my civilization does, but we named it something else. Either way, it doesn’t seem hard to understand.

JL-S: Doesn’t stop others from making it more complicated than it is. They try to confuse and trick people into thinking it’s not the case. There’s this one argument I hear come up whenever this is discussed known as the Spaghetti Defense.

CN: Is it the one where it is said because a dish is made up of different ingredients from different cultures, no one culture gets to claim ownership over it?

JL-S: The same. It has been used to celebrate the importance of mixing cultures into something new that everyone can enjoy, which I can tell you from my own experience isn’t a bad thing. Then there are the folks that use it to justify cultural appropriation. They attempt to use it to insincerely reassure that if the dominant culture accepts a contribution to itself, it means they accept the contributors too. Funnily enough, these folks neglect the fact that the people involved in the evolution of spaghetti were still treated like trash.

And you want to talk about a disconnect? You know how many of my generation don’t know what spaghetti is? I had to look up what it was when I first heard of it, because the only ones who get to enjoy it are mostly human Apiary subjects since the ingredients are so rare. When someone talks to you about eating spaghetti, it’s a sure indicator that they’re subjects.

(Little-Summerhill drinks.)

CN: Are you familiar with what are called RIP n’ Tear Races?

JL-S: Yes, I’m familiar with those.

CN: I have been wanting to ask a non-subject on why there are so many humans in those races? Does its high risk of death between human competitors for spectator enjoyment not run counter to PROHU ideals?

JL-S: It does. Like much of the other modern blood sports, it was born out of a mixture of misery, desperation, and boredom. The difference was that there were anuh-kaj who gained an interest turning it into a popular pastime, after a few of them once witnessed humans attacking each other during a vehicle chase. One of the more infuriating assumptions I hear is that because there are so many humans competing, it must mean we manage and own the races too. From the conception of RIP n’ Tear, it’s been run by the Anuh-Kaj, plain and simple.

Contestants are enticed to participate for valuable prizes, which could be things like medication, hydroponic farming permits and licenses, or a societal status upgrade on rare occasions. It’s one of the best ways someone could improve their living without having to join a gang or be willing to botch up. I mean, cut up their face. However, different people since the beginning of the Great Troubles realized they could use the races to settle disputes, take out rivals, and use the competition as a platform for politics.

I remember this one time I seriously considered following the races more, when one of the top racers drove a vehicle painted with PROHU symbols and slogans. Sadly, when the corporations saw that racer was gaining popularity and vocal support, they co-opted the whole controversy’s traction into yet another virtue signaling campaign to pitch products to us.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

CN: What is “virtue signaling”?

JL-S: It’s when someone or something publicly expresses opinions or sentiments to show off how moral or socially conscience they are, usually as a cynical ploy to convince you that they’re worthy of trust and accolades or to shield themselves from any bad criticism. Ironically, it’s a word that is misused quite often against people who are sincere about what they do and speak.

Remember the race driver that stirred up the ruckus to begin with? Apiary loyalists got all angry from the paint job and used communications platforms to – not just accuse the racer of virtue signaling – but harass and send death threats. The driver sought to protect their identity off the track, which is why there aren’t many good records with their name. These folks considered themselves fans of RIP n’ Tear and were excusing what they did by saying things like, “If drivers don’t want to be targeted, they shouldn’t become celebrities,” or, “They’re rewarded handsomely if they win the race, so they have no business getting involved in politics.”

(Little-Summerhill drinks.)

CN: Sounds like they do not see the drivers as living beings with their own feelings and opinions, but as possessions with the sole purpose of entertaining and having the will of others imposed on them.

JL-S: That’s precisely what it is. Doesn’t help that much of the same underground news media from the Great Troubles, have now debased themselves into publishing gossipy garbage along with Apiary propaganda. They stopped targeting the people that needed scrutiny, instead going after entertainers to sensationalize and scandalize. Almost mythologizing them. Objectifying them. This crap is pretty prevalent in the movie industry.

CN: Mov-

JL-S: Film. The old Earth art of creating moving pictures.

CN: I got it.

JL-S: Fictional filmmaking has been going through a revival here on Eas-Enerang, and much of the films that have been garnering attention are by big producers. They make films that emphasize harmony between humans and anuh-kaj and have been known to use actual humans as characters too. There’s a problem though: Everyone behind the scenes are all Apiary subjects, and it shows. Characters that are anuh-kaj, cetacean, or human loyalists are the sympathetic ones; almost impossible to defeat. Heroes. Everybody else needs to be saved from their own ignorance, are expendable or villains. I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that the messages of harmony often go together with blind faith in the system.

Plus, any sympathetic human they do have as a main character, is made to needlessly suffer in their stories to give the impression that those behind the production are in tune with the plight of humankind. Serves as a bonus whenever that character perseveres since it perpetuates the idea that non-subjects will always get by on their own gumption, which is a fallacy the ones with the ability to provide needed aid use to rationalize away not helping those less fortunate. When it comes to behind the scenes fuckery however, nothing compares to voiceover work.

CN: How so?

JL-S: That field is notorious for its inadequate representation of non-subjects in the industry. The casting directors often don’t seriously consider hiring or even looking at migrant workers for voiceovers. It wouldn’t be as insulting if those who do manage to get hired received benefits on par with their subject counterparts. Be it dubbing or imbuing a personality, the casting is generally handled poorly for characters as they tend to give all major roles to anuh-kaj. It doesn’t even matter if the character is human. Non-subject characters would be lucky to get the cold and emotionless robotic performance of a translated anuh-kaj. Some Anuh-Kaj voice actors would rather forego the translator altogether and speak in the species’ naturally undecipherable language. You have any idea how off-putting it is to watch a human character click, squeak, and shriek all their lines in what’s supposed to be a normal conversation?

There are times the casting directors get humans and huwaty, thinking that it somehow instantly balances things. I’ve noticed migrant voice actors usually try to handle whatever given characters with respect. Yet, from the time of “What A Crazy World,” a human character was nothing more than a mask to wear and mock us from behind them.

CN: Are there any filmmakers that are more ideal for migrants to work with?

JL-S: There are plenty out there. The movies that are commonly overlooked have a lot of ordinary humans and huwaty behind production, who managed to get the necessary time and equipment to do what they want. These smaller productions tend to put thought and care behind their creations. They’re often PROHU in theme too, so wide distribution of the films throughout the Apiary gets hampered because of it. Meanwhile, the big producers try to play to as many audiences as they can, so they get to spread pro-Apiary propaganda further and gain favor from people in authoritative positions.

And by all graces forbid the great offense of casting a non-subject to be any hero characters. Subjects completely ignore that they’re grossly overrepresented in the media but lose their minds over the idea of a big production with non-subject characters, voices, or both being the focus of the story. Their claims of believing in meritocracy fly out the window, and the reactions of those people descend into accusations of migrants trying to replace them and – as with the treatment of the Rip n’ Tear racer – cry of virtue signaling, commit to harassment, and send death threats.

One type of film subgenre that has seen an upsurge recently is the Flip Drama, which have cetaceans as paragons of law and order while those espousing PROHU views are hypocritical and villainous. They’re made to be the personifications of a tiresome argument I’ve heard time and time again.

(Little-Summerhill checks the time on his smart-e-gram.)

CN: What is the argument?

JL-S: “How can you be pro-human if you kill humans?” Whoever says that either has a shallow understanding of what it means, or they do fully understand but they’re being insincere. The only reason why anyone legitimately PROHU would kill another human, is because that human is knowingly threatening humankind’s personal being, future, or home planet, and willfully rejects changing for the better. It only seems counterintuitive because there have been people who worked to make it a vague philosophy for various motives.

CN: Like what?

JL-S: Other than malicious intent to sabotage movements? Mainstream appeal and marketability.

There has been backlash against the subgenre, which is partly why the term All Cetaceans Are Bastards has been on the uptick as of late.

CN: This is because of the rampant instances of corruption among them?

JL-S: It’s not just many of them being bastards for being corrupt. A few can be sort of decent when you get to talk to them alone, but they’re all bastards for upholding an oppressive system’s laws because it’s their job. You can get angry at a flip for planting illegal drugs on someone to unfairly fill an arrest quota, but what made carrying those drugs a punishable offense to begin with? Abuse is not a flaw, but rather a required feature within their career. They don’t want to admit out loud that they love the power it gives them over other people’s lives. They get to uphold law and order whenever it’s convenient for them, and they know it. There’s Va’ists and cetaceans who formed their ties with each other because both supposedly believe in standing for “law and order,” unless it is somehow backing something they don’t like.

I hear people saying All Cetaceans Are Bastards is a bad slogan because the full meaning must be explained, but what slogan throughout history never needed to be explained to others who were not familiar with the related matters? Not every important issue can be squished down into a pithy and easily digestible term or saying. Sometimes humans place the convenience of informational shortcuts over actual substantive education, and that’s a bad habit. It’s how the Apiary gets away with turning words like ‘pro-human’ into meaning something like ‘anti-human’ for people who aren’t all too familiar with those issues. Some are guilty of taking those shortcuts more than others, but we all do it, nonetheless. In the case of that term for me, it’s not bad since it’s true even on face value. I learned at an early age the flips were bad news, during my years growing up with a community of orphans and runaways.

(Little-Summerhill drinks.)

CN: Are you an orphan or runaway?

JL-S: Oh, no, no, no. I’m grew up knowing a community of orphans and runaways. They were near where I and my family lived, and we helped them out when we could. Places like those were common back on Earth, thanks to all the messed-up stuff the Apiary put humanity through. With a combination of experience from the older kids and networking with trustworthy folks, communities like theirs kept themselves healthy and safe from being captured and taken to educational/behavioral institutions.

My family and them would trade, and my parents said we didn’t want anything from them in return. It wasn’t like any of us had plenty to go around but the kids would insist. They knew that we all loved art, so we would be given art supplies they scavenged. We survived some hard times with the help of art. It gave us hope and I have those kids to thank.

CN: Were there any that you knew well enough to become friends with?

JL-S: I never knew any individuals long enough because they would either leave to hide in a new community, or something bad would happen to them. They were treated horribly by so many, just to grow up and then worry about getting unjustly tossed into prison or deported to a penal colony on the Moon, like the rest of us non-subjects. I grew up wanting to do more to help, but we left Earth by the time I was old enough.

CN: Is that the reason why you and Nic took in Rajitha Bakshi?

JL-S: Perhaps.

Seeing how that community was mistreated also taught me that your very identity can be incorporated into a game. What makes you, you, can help others determine if you get social aid or nothing, housing or harassment, love or hate. You may not want to play and rather just live your life, but the ones in charge have the final say over your participation. Living under them with nowhere else to go, you either play by their rules or they’ll have the all-too-willing players eventually destroy you. Get what I’m saying so far?

CN: I do believe so.

JL-S: When Nic and I get into arguments over the question of identity within a revolutionary setting, I try to get them to understand that it is something that can’t be ignored, no matter how much one wants it. For who we are, our identity is a fact of life that this body politic will remind us less privileged of regularly. There have been plenty of instances where certain interests and issues that affected smaller groups were left unaddressed within a larger movement. What was left unaddressed would lead to a fracture and that fracture would be taken advantage of, taking down the rest of the movement. Corrupting influences can’t be properly extinguished if some of your own learned behavior under that system gets relegated to a blind spot.

If we hope to build up a substantial and robust front to challenge the status quo, we need to be defensively aggressive for our existence before someone weaponizes our own identity against us. We need to find a way to hold on to who we are, shine it under the public spotlight and say, “This is who we are, this is what affects us, this is how you can help.” If somebody complains and says that we’re shoving our existence down their throats, then we’re doing something right. It is why I believe that there should be more inclusive representation in the media. We take advantage of what little is granted to non-subjects under the Apiary and do what we can to embolden resistance. Seeing a migrant human even in a pretend position of power can influence the downtrodden more than seeing yet another commoner pinned to the ground by a cetacean.

(Little-Summerhill checks the time on his smart-e-gram, then quickly finishes what is left of his drink.)

JL-S: Hey, it was nice talking to you but listen, I’ve got to go. I need to attend a concert to review a new band. You want me to bring back a recording of their music for your travels? I could give it to the bartender afterwards and you can get it from him.

CN: No, thank you. Thank you for your contribution.

JL-S: No problem and best of luck, Cirus Naut.

CN: Thank you.

- End of Recorded Interview -