I’m Juliana (aka Julie) Barnet, Activist Explorer.
Here’s the question I’m delving into:
Most of us carry a seed of activism. From a young age we recognize injustice. We cheer the underdog and want to protect the vulnerable. We thrive on belonging, feeling useful, and collaborating for a greater purpose. We feel fulfilled in collective movements, the motors of social change.
Stories are equally basic to our human culture. So, logically, we would expect to be surrounded by stories—movies, novels, TV shows—depicting people’s struggles, great and small, for justice, peace, and planetary survival. Especially in the present moment, when these things are at such risk.
Yet activist stories are scarce. Why isn’t there more fiction showcasing people uniting to tackle critical social issues? Where are the spellbinding narratives of people organizing to battle injustice? Where are the inspiring stories of people creating new ways of life in the midst of movements to right the wrongs humans face?
Everywhere–especially nowadays–I see real-life material for such stories.
But… to the wealthy and powerful, who control much of our current socio-political-economic system, people power is their worst nightmare. Which is why they suppress stories that show it in action, and marginalize or distort depictions of activists who organize it.
As activists–current and aspiring!–we need to push back against this narrative control to share our own stories about our work, lives, and movements as widely as we can. Stories that show activism not only as vital to planetary survival but also as normal, accessible, healthy, and fulfilling–which, despite the challenges, it truly is!
Activism is a fount of fascinating stories! Adventure, romance, mystery, drama, comedy, thrills…and much more. Help me seek them out and lift them up.
who control much of our current socio-political-economic system, people power is their worst nightmare. Which is why the dominant narrative, which they also control, tends to erase stories that show people organizing for change, and marginalize or distort depictions of activists who organize it.
As activists–current and aspiring!–we need to push back against this narrative control to share our stories about our work, lives, and movements as widely as we can. Stories that show activism not only as vital to planetary survival but also as normal, accessible, healthy, and fulfilling–which, despite the challenges, it truly is!
Activism is a fount of fascinating stories! Adventure, romance, mystery, drama, comedy, thrills. The beast in whose belly we all live, our antagonist in many guises, integral to activist stories. What could be more compelling than stories of how we seek to transform the beast and how this struggle transforms us?
Help me seek out these stories and make them part of our movement-building.
gently but incisively examining the field of fiction in general and particular works of fiction to illuminate how activists and social movements are represented (or not!)
Juliana Barnet is a lifelong activist, popular educator, and anthropologist. Many years immersed in the ups and downs of popular (and unpopular) movements inspired her to delve into the nature of activist culture. An avid fiction reader, frustrated by so few activist characters in novels and movies, Juliana writes, and encourages others to write, stories centering the adventures of activists.
She also writes essays on activist culture, novels featuring activists, and reviews of activist portrayals in fiction. She works with writers and activists young and old on integrating creative writing into movement building.
Juliana is connected to many fine communities of activist trouble-makers.
Groundskeeper and ex-union activist Marlie Mendíval and her nine-year-old granddaughter, Samantha, turn mildly haunted, ramshackle Rainwood House into a collective residence, hoping renters will overlook its quirks: crumbling rooms, whispers of past racial justice struggles, musical plumbing.
Radical garden enthusiast Demetrius moves in, offering friendly conversation and comforting meals that help Marlie cope with eviction threats, her newfound notoriety as a campus workers’ movement leader, and Samantha’s school troubles.
Then Marlie discovers her amiable new housemate is on the run, accused of cop-shooting. Should she turn him in? Or risk hiding him to help him find the truth?
As their lives intertwine, the collective residents find themselves increasingly depending on each other for encouragement, solutions, and perhaps even their lives.
Activist Explorer Newsletter is the place to read my essays exploring the activist experience, plus reviews and interviews. Check out the serialized preview of my upcoming novel Rainwood House Sings.
And you’ll find updates about my writing and activism, workshops on fiction featuring activists and collective writing, time and space travel, plus conversations and writing projects you can join.
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