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Your search for the tag 'culture' yielded 7 results

  • 1

    Interview: Mar 20th, 2014

    Outis

    Was there any specific reason why you chose to not have men not be able to read in [Roshar]?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, it relates back to the origin of where the safehand comes from and things like this.

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  • 2

    Interview: Jan 21st, 2015

    the_archduke

    Why can only women read in Stormlight Archive?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Immediately after the Recreance an old book was used to argue for the idea that only men should be picking up the blades and plate, fighting was a masculine art. Over a period of 20 or so years this became established and some women used the same argument to take back some power by taking literacy for themselves as a feminine art.

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  • 3

    Interview: Oct 9th, 2015

    Question

    How did you come up with the Lighteyes/Darkeyes thing?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I wanted to have some kind of racism in the books that was removed from the racism we have in our world, so I could talk about it in a more isolated way related to the books. So making it related to eye colour made sense because the Voidbringers have these glowing red eyes, the Heralds have these bright eyes. So the idea that of eye colour being related to your level of nobility – which is not true! – entered the culture and became the form of racism and prejudice that they use.

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  • 4

    Interview: Apr 2nd, 2015

    Ruro272

    Is there a reason why shadows go toward the light in Shadesmar, or is it just worldbuilding flavor?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There is a reason, but its not super important. It's like a cultural thing, things have reasons but they aren't always super relevant to the story. It's like safehands--do you know how safehands came to be? It's a cultural thing but it came from somewhere. This is something you probably won't read in the books but I can tell you. The idea of the safehand has to do with one-handed arts being feminine but two handed are masculine, and it all started after the Knights Radiant cast down their Shardblades. There was a huge power grab for these weapons and people quickly realized that the differences between men and women didn't matter when they had power armor, so the idea of one-handed arts being feminine and the safehand arose from that over many years of cultural evolution.

    Footnote

    Obviously this is very much paraphrased since it was a long answer and my notes and memory are not perfect, but I think I captured the important points without adding any of my own thoughts. Interesting that the safehands arose from the power grab after the Recreance as a way to maintain the division between men and women.

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  • 5

    Interview: Feb 25th, 2016

    Question

    Jasnah’s book, would an in world person consider that she is also advocating for gender equality for men?

    Brandon Sanderson

    In-world? Jasnah would, but I don’t think most people who read it would.

    Question

    Do they have a concept of alcoholism in Roshar?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    Question

    Does Dalinar’s family have it?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Hmmmm… That will be answered in the next book, but you should definitely be asking that question.

    Question

    Is there an abolitionist movement in Roshar? In any culture there?

    Brandon Sanderson

    In ANY culture? Eh...yeees.

    Question

    Are we ever going to find out about all of Adolin’s failed relationships?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Probably a little bit more. Not a ton. But a little bit more.

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  • 6

    Interview: Feb 22nd, 2016

    Question

    In SH, we see an Aon written in the steel alphabet, have we seen anything similar?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I don’t think we’ve shown you any, that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. For instance the Aon on the wall in Emperor’s Soul would probably not look exactly like an Aon, because it’s different culture.

    Question

    Similar to the Dakhor monks use different...

    Brandon Sanderson

    No, more like, if you started writing in Chinese characters, and they became popular here in America, they’d change so they don’t actually look like their origin. But I don’t think I’ve ever DRAWN one out like that, but there are references to other cultures across the cosmere.

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  • 7

    Interview: Feb 22nd, 2016

    Question

    With safehand culture, with one hand feminine, two hand masculine: is knitting considered masculine?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Knitting is not one of the prime arts, and so it would be considered either direction. It’s not one of the major arts, so men can knit their socks and things like that at war and not have to feel feminine, but women could knit if they wanted to, also.

    Question

    Okay. So, Dalinar can make baby socks.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, Dalinar can make baby socks and not feel- (we were walking away at this point, he stopped talking).

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