Our Pillars in Popular Media
Cultural Diversity in Books
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World War Z
World War Z is a fictional novel that ponders the question: What happens after the Zombies are defeated? It is told in a journalistic way, with the main narrator being a journalist traveling around the world and gathering recordings from different people who survived the Zombie War. It is formatted in such a way that each chapter feels like a separate recording, all combining to complete a full picture of how the world reacted to a zombie outbreak. The characters interviewed are from many different regions and reveal how their country and culture affected the response to the zombies.
Additional Information:
Release Date: 12 September 2006
Author: Max Brooks
Content/Age Warning: 13+, violence, blood and gore, inappropriate comments.
Genre: Horror/Fiction
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The Name of the Wind
This book provides a much needed glimpse into the effectiveness of incorporating cultural diversity into a fantasy novel. The narrator openly provides context for certain behaviors based on the interactions between multiple cultures. The hero of the story, Kvothe, insists that a majority of his skills come from the study and practice of the varying cultures popular in the universe set up in these novels.
Additional Information:
Release Date: 27 March 2007
Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Content/Age Warning: 13+, language, suggestive content, and depictions of violence.
Genre: Fantasy
The Kane Chronicles
This is a series of books that incorporates Egyptian mythology into the modern day. The adventures undertaken by the main characters within the book requires that they understand and interact with multiple cultures. There are also acknowledgments surrounding the racism one of the main characters faces and how that has made him far more culturally aware. These books also cover the importance of preserving cultural items and ensuring that they are given the proper reverence wherever they are being kept.
Additional Information:
Release Date: 04 May 2010
Author: Rick Riordan
Content/Age Warning: 7+, mild descriptions of violence.
Genre: Fantasy
Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices
This a collection of retellings of Arthurian legends that seeks to bring in far more diversity than found in the original stories. These stories, told in three separate time periods, cover a variety of different cultures and introduce characters in new lights to provide them with new attributes that only heightens the consequences of their actions. It is done in such a way that the stories are given new life and yet maintain their integrity as stories of King Arthur.
Additional Information:
Release Date: 13 July 2021
Author: Anthology
Content/Age Warning: 13+, descriptions of violence, suggestive content, and language.
Genre: Fantasy/Fiction
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Ninth House
This the first in an ever growing series that focuses on the mysteries that guide the world. It reveals to readers a fictional world of control by a hidden magic society, and within the collection of societies readers are introduced to a wide number of cultural differences. One of the societies bases its roots in ancient Egyptian mythology and practices, while another finds its traditions based on those of ancient Rome. One of the main female characters is Latina and as such a good deal of her culture has been incorporated into her stylings throughout the book, in some cases saving her from certain death or, in the least, maiming.
Additional Information:
Release Date: 08 October 2019
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Content/Age Warning: 17+, language, suggestive content, descriptions of violence, and suggestion of sexual assault.
Genre: Fantasy/Fiction/Horror