In Defense of Pop Culture References In Books

I conscionable finished a YA caller that I truly enjoyed, and I went implicit to Goodreads to permission a rating. One of the apical reviews said it was unreadable due to the fact that of the magnitude of popular civilization references successful it, thing I hadn’t noticed astatine all. Who bash authors support doing this, the reappraisal said; don’t they cognize readers hatred it?

Of course, conscionable due to the fact that immoderate readers hatred a trope oregon penning benignant doesn’t mean astir oregon each do. In fact, the astir complained astir authors are usually besides the ones that merchantability the most. It’s casual to spot a fistful of radical online speech astir thing and get the content it’s a universally agreed upon truth.

Personally, the hatred for popular civilization references successful books has ever baffled me. It’s usually described arsenic “cringey”. But why? What’s truthful embarrassing astir references to our existent media landscape?

In a YA caller written by an adult, possibly it comes crossed arsenic trying excessively hard, but I don’t spot this benignant of vigor for slang successful YA novels, which is — successful my sentiment — a overmuch much nonstop mentation of this.

The crushed I’ve seen utilized astir often arsenic a constituent against popular civilization references successful books is that it dates them. So let’s instrumentality a look astatine this successful 3 parts: bash popular civilization references day books? Is it the happening that dates books the most? And is grounding your publication successful a circumstantial clip a atrocious happening successful the archetypal place?

First, bash popular civilization references day books? In the astir literal way, definitely. If we cognize the Beatles are performing, past we cognize this isn’t a existent YA title. But there’s a large scope successful the kinds of popular civilization that get referenced and wherever they spot the publication successful time. Referencing a meme that was lone fashionable for a period volition consciousness dated betwixt the clip it was written and the clip it was published. Referencing Taylor Swift, though, could beryllium anyplace successful a 15-year clip frame, and there’s nary motion she’ll beryllium stopping immoderate clip soon.

I deliberation what irks maine astir the popular civilization notation complaints the astir is the thought that otherwise, a publication would beryllium wholly extracurricular of time. If you’re penning a modern story, though, it’s needfully going to beryllium dated. Do the characters person compartment phones, for instance? How bash they usage them? Whichever prime you make, you’re tying your publication to a clip period. The connection utilized successful dialog dates a book, and truthful bash their hobbies, their jobs, their values, and more. Some of those choices mightiness permission a wider scope of clip it could use to, but nary communicative acceptable successful our satellite exists extracurricular of clip completely.

And astir importantly, what’s truthful atrocious astir having your publication acceptable successful a definite time? Just arsenic humanities fabrication is grounded successful its setting, truthful are modern books. For YA novels especially, these characters are immersed successful a circumstantial media landscape, governmental environment, and day-to-day world that affects who they are. You tin take to acceptable the publication successful a satellite without COVID, for instance, but that’s an alternate universe, not ours.

In fact, trying hard to marque a YA caller not beryllium dated tin beryllium overmuch cringier than mentioning TikTok. If nary of your teenage characters usage immoderate existent slang, they’re not truly speaking similar teenagers. And they volition look overmuch little well-rounded if they can’t marque references to immoderate media. Even worse tin beryllium characters that inexplicably are each obsessed with euphony and media from decades agone — say, the clip play erstwhile the writer was a teenager? It tin travel crossed arsenic stilted and retired of touch.

So wherefore bash authors constitute popular civilization references successful books? For one, due to the fact that it makes consciousness to the character. A nerdy teen is going to marque fandom references; that’s practically a law. A euphony person is going to notation existent artists. And the people clown is astir apt going to marque jokes astir what’s successful the quality oregon connected their societal media feeds.

Besides, I don’t conscionable not hatred popular civilization references arsenic a reader: I often similar them. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is simply a publication brimming with popular civilization references, and fans emotion uncovering them. If I work a publication that references nary pizza, near beef, it volition person my bosom forever, adjacent if it’s present precise dated. Stale, even. Pop civilization references tin marque a publication consciousness much realistic and relatable; it tin beryllium amusive to stock interests with the main character. And spotting popular civilization references is satisfying. There’s a crushed they get written into books successful the archetypal place.

So please, I’m begging readers: retrieve that your idiosyncratic favored peeves successful books aren’t cosmopolitan rules. Just enactment down that publication and locomotion distant — don’t reason that it shouldn’t person been written astatine all. There are plentifulness of books that minimize popular civilization references for you to read. You don’t request to erase them from each stories. In the mean time, walk the ones you rejected my way.