Why I'm NOT Boycotting Ender's Game (and why I don't think anyone else should, either!)

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I first read Ender’s Game when I was in college. It was recommended to me by a friend, and I was instantly hooked. I went on to read pretty much everything Orson Scott Card had written at the time, and have continued keeping up with his new books as they are released. It was only much later that I learned that this beloved favorite author of mine was a radical fundamentalist whose political views are almost 100% opposed to my own. I was devastated to learn that he writes strongly anti-gay pieces periodically for some religious publications and has spoken out publicly against gay marriage. However, that did not, does not, and will not in the future stop me from reading his books. And when they announced the long-awaited (by us fans) release of the Ender’s Game movie this weekend, and I heard that some LGBTQ rights groups were planning a boycott, I knew immediately that I would absolutely still go to see this movie. In general, I try to avoid political discussion as much as possible, but in this case, I’m making an exception. It’s that important to me. So I encourage you to continue reading, and hear me out, even though my opinion may sound ridiculous at first glance.

There are several reasons why I think this boycott is misguided at best, and harmful at worst.  First of all, if we judge a book/movie by its author, how are we any better than those who would judge us? He’s entitled to his opinions just as much as we are entitled to ours, as long as none of us are forcing our opinions onto others, or acting on our opinions in a way that is harmful to others. Orson Scott Card generally keeps his political views to sources that are really only read by others who already share his views, and it’s all talk, no action. I realize this argument can be debated, but I’m a firm believer in freedom of opinion AND freedom of speech as long as no one is being directly hurt by it.

Secondly, and this is what truly befuddles me about Orson Scott Card: how can someone who is so outwardly anti-human rights (when it comes to certain groups) write the human condition so much better than any other author I’ve ever read? Every single one of his books preaches tolerance, acceptance, and understanding towards ALL people, and even towards other species! The message of Ender’s Game is SO much more important than the political/religious beliefs of its author, and by boycotting the movie, we are potentially depriving millions of people of that message, and instead showing them through our actions that intolerance, lack of acceptance, and worst of all, hate go BOTH ways. We can only gain love by giving love. Hate in any direction solves nothing, and in fact, only makes the problem worse. And anyone who’s ever read Ender’s Game knows that the moral message of the book is exactly that!

My own biggest worry about the Ender’s Game movie is that the previews seem to be advertising it as a straight-up action movie. I know the movie is never as good as the book, but I really hope that they haven’t eliminated the morality, ethics, and humanity aspects (which far overshadow the action in the book) from the story entirely. They are, after all, not only the foundation of the character development, but the catalyst for the plot and the action! To remove that from the story would detract so much that audience members who haven’t read the book would have no inkling whatsoever of the true meaning behind and power of the story. The book didn’t become a modern classic because of the action. It became a classic because Orson Scott Card writes humanity better than anyone, and seeing the truth of your own self written far more eloquently than you could ever hope to write it is one of the most powerful experiences on this earth. By the time I post this, I will have seen the movie, so I’m writing this all ahead of time so that the movie doesn’t influence what I wanted to say here.

But back to the issue at hand – this boycott. There are situations in which boycotts can be an extremely effective way to protest a policy or action that is discriminatory. However, in this particular case, I think the boycott completely misses the mark. The underlying message of Ender’s Game is in no way discriminatory, and in fact, can work very much in our community’s favor! Getting this message of tolerance, acceptance, understanding, and LOVE out into the world is a huge part of what we strive for on our continuing march towards equality for all. So I choose to look at the contribution of the actual work, rather than the private politics of the person who happened to create it. That’s what the public is being exposed to through the movie, and the world will be a better place if even one person takes that message to heart. So let’s give that possibility a chance!