During the student led discussion on Monday the issue of Asian representation in Snow Crash was brought up. The concern was voiced that depicting Asians as a single race was reverting back to when Westerners refused to differentiate between Asians. While in many attempts the book does reject stereotypes, there are still unyielding definitions of race. While I wholly agree that these are legitimate observations, I feel that Stephenson made the subversive decision to not distinguish between any of the races. There is a sense, certainly in the Metaverse, that people no longer feel the need to use their ethnicity as a primary method of identification. In a world where money has lost its value and everyone is sovereign, geography and culture have become inconsequential. Not surprisingly, this translates to a lack of human attachment to one’s ethnic group.

In such a technically advanced world as Metaverse, self-representation is constructed in a new and bizarre way. The players may not be constrained by their race but their socioeconomic circumstances certainly play a factor. Avatars are still recognized by their class within the economy. People enter the virtual reality to escape their own reality but they cannot escape the fact that wealth equals power. The Metaverse does not allow one’s imaginations to run free; rather it reinforces the restraints of real life. On that note, I found it interesting that often, the avatars did not attempt to lead their lives that differently than they did in the non-virtual world. Also, was anyone else humored by the fact that one could make his penis as large as he so desired but could not be taller than he was in real life? Very odd…

Returning to the issue of blending ethnicities, I was interested in what the Mafia symbolized. Of course, it lived up to the traditional connotations of the Mafia with its emphasis being on the “family” and loyalty. Snow Crash’s Mafia, however, is not solely comprised of the stereotypical Italian gangsters. On the contrary, this Mafia’s family has Jamaicans, Mexicans and Asians. Having nothing to do with blood, the Mafia is an organization of many races that still bases its principles on respect and of course, hierarchy. Hiro Protagnoist exists within an array of ethnicities and cultures. His first job in the novel is delivering pizzas for the Mafia. He lives in Mr. Lee’s Hong Kong and has a Russian roommate. A underlying commonality between the characters is that they are not concerned with someone’s ethnic background. They are instead all driven by the Mafia attitude – how will this person help me get what I want?

Ultimately, I believe that, like the majority of the novel’s themes, the representation of race is satirical. How can one even place importance on ethnicity when the majority of time is spent in a virtual world where your persona is completely your own creation.