Nerdology 101: Fall of Freedom
Welcome back to Nerdology 101! I’m Maria, your fellow nerd, reporting from my desk as I cling desperately to my coffee (one of my cats is after it).
This week, I wanted to talk about the Fall of Freedom movement. If you don’t know what that is or why it matters, you’re in the right place.
The Issue:
Censorship is on the rise across America. According to the American Library Association (ALA), 2,452 different books were targeted for censorship in 2024. That’s a lot of books for a country that claims to free speech as one of its core values. These attacks will only increase as many continue pour fuel on the fire that leads to them. What’s so bad that they don’t want us to read it? Well, if the ALA’s 10 Most Challenged List is any indication, anything written about women’s issues, LGBTQIA+ issues, anti-authoritarism, or racial issues. As with anything, these challenges disproportionally target members of marginalized communities.
Beyond banned books, we’ve seen it in other aspects of life as well. Social media is another example. The censoring of certain language, particularly in a way that softens it (I.E. killed turned into unalived, rape turned into graped, pedophile turned into PDFile, protest turned into music festival.), has grown into a common phenomenon. There’s a danger in that. When we soften the language we’re using to describe such weighy subjects, we start participating in our own censorship and downplaying the seriousness of real issues.
Don’t think for a second this doesn’t apply to you too, anime and gaming lovers. Where do you suppose anime’s like One Piece, featuring powerful anti-government themes, are going to be accessible if speech in disagreement with authoritarian policies continues to be censored? Nerds are just as much a part of this as the rest of us. We’re a community that thrives on living outside of the normal social practices, oftentimes embrassing alternative lifestyles, hobbies, and interests. Censorship is a dangerous road and one that we’ve seen play out many times in media both media and history.
The Movement:
What Fall of Freedom is doing is putting out an urgent call to a community with a long history of getting louder when told to shut up. The artists, the writers, the creatives, and the nerds. They want the anime-loving painter making fan art and the aspiring writer who barely has a platform to speak out against this censorship alongside more prominent names. That’s what this movement is about. Together, we will use our voices through our chosen mediums to let those who target our passions know we will not be silenced.
What Can I do?
The answer to that lies in your creativity and knowledge. Authenticity is key in this movement because our point is that authentic, diverse, and yes—critical—voices matter. Whether you host a reading of a banned book, post on social media, paint or design an image of what censorship looks like—what erasure feels like—it matters. Express yourselves and be sure to put Fall of Freedom’s logo on it so everyone knows you stand with the other creatives who are expressing themselves. Your voice matters and I’m looking forward to watching as they sound off in solidarity with this movement.
Will that even work?
You may ask yourself why this plan would work? Because it always has. The Dark Ages didn’t end because the powers that be decided to stop censoring artists; The Dark Ages ended because artists decided not to comply. Anti-war art during the Vietnam War is another great example here. The unpopularity of that war wouldn’t have been nearly as widespread if not for journalists, artists, writers, and people who were willing to help the masses see and understand what the atrocities truly felt and looked like. Art has always been a match unhesitant to ignite change. That’s why all throughout history oppressive powers have sought to silence creatives. It’s the demonization of the Gaelic language and it’s literature. It’s the books the Nazi’s burned. It’s the information hidden in South Africa during Aparthied. It’s the Indigenous stories that were dragged from their ancestral homes and forced onto reservations with the people meant to tell them. Writers and artists of all kinds have always been able to create change. Those in power wouldn’t be attacking us if we weren’t a threat to their power.
We must once again take our stand against censorship with Fall of Freedom’s movement and beyond. Every voice matters and I encourage you to use yours. No effort is too small or too big. Share a post, make a post, write a poem or a blog, go to an event, host an event—it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you speak up. Fall of Freedom’s webite provides more information as well.
Don’t forget to comment and let me know how you decide to use your voice. I’ll see you back next Friday at 3PM ET for the next segment of Nerdology 101. Have a nerdy week!
The Authors Guild is supporting this movement. Visit their website for more information on how they are standing up against censorship.
