And Now For Something Completely Different: 'VGHS', Indie Publishing and Non-Mainstream Voices

I was recently introduced by the Lady Friend to a YouTube series entitled Video Game High School (VGHS). On one level, it's an affectionate parody of both geek culture and of formulaic high school dramas. On another, it has a much more realistic representation of actual high school students in terms of race and gender distribution than most high school dramas. It happily ignores a zillion annoying race and gender tropes-- the characters are themselves, rather than being 'the girl gamer' or 'the Asian guy'-- which is helped by the fact there are multiple representatives of various groups around.

In a world where a studio refused to greenlight a fantasy-action movie because it stars a woman, and all kinds of racist rubbish does get the go-ahead for production, VGHS is an example of how indie productions can bring a fresh perspective when the industry is disproportionately white, wealthy, heterosexual and male (and over 35). And it's not just YouTube: Netflix-sponsored series have also done a good job of bringing in more diverse, interesting casts. Notably Orange is the New Black   has earned well-deserved praise for its portrayals of LBGT folks, people of colour, and people of a variety of social classes.

It's not just movies and TV that can benefit by indie work shaking things up: the publishing industry in the west is disproportionately white, male, and upper-class, and it shows in everything from the novels that are accepted to the way material is presented (most noticeably 'whitewashing' of book covers). Independent publishing can serve as a platform for authors whose work brings in another perspective. Given the pattern emerging with TV shows, I'm optimistic that the rise of indie publishing will mean not just more books, but a greater variety of good stories about a greater variety of interesting, relevant characters.