Racebending in The Last Avatar: Removing the Excuses

August 4, 2009 in Featured, Headline, Movies by lordsun

As a fan of the series, ‘disappointment’ is a definite and deep understatement! I mean for Hollywood to do this is nothing short of a shameful big F**K UP! I agree with Eric about Speculative or Fantasy Fiction writing. I’m a fan of fiction both science and fantasy and you can’t help but notice that the vast majority — I’m talking close to 100%– of fantasy worlds or planets inhabited by humans have people entirely if not predominantly white and have societies based on European culture!! The ONLY exception I could think of is the Earthsea novels by Ursula le Guin, but even then once her books get translated into movies (the Scifi channel), most of the leading roles are white!! Part of what made the series so popular was the uniqueness of having a fantasy world that is populated by NON-white people for a change and whose culture was NOT European based or influence!! And for Paramount to screw this up with white leads is as ridiculous as it is insulting!!

Racist Apologetics

By the way, I am sickened by the same racist apologist comments I’ve come across the net about this situation! Here are the three most common ones:

1. “It’s a fantasy world, with no ‘Asian’ continent or people; why not have some racial diversity…”

2. “Wouldn’t be unfair to whites to have all the lead roles go to Asians?”… (I laughed at this second excuse when I first heard it, but after a while of hearing over and over again these white idiots apparently were serious!!)

3. “The characters don’t look white in the cartoon; look at their eyes”

It’s a fantasy world

As for excuse # 1, I pretty much answered that above– when it comes to fictional stories and how all of them are populated by white characters especially in leading or starring roles. I mean in J.R.R. Tokien’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ series it was never stated that the peoples or characters were ‘white’ but what else were they suppose to be in a story based on Norse mythology?!! I mean you never saw New Line Cinema try to find “racially diverse” people even for the extras (save for the ‘Arab-like’ enemies) let alone leading roles, all of which were expected to non other than white!!

Would it be unfair to whites for all the lead roles go to Asians?

2. Is a no-brainer for anyone who has the most basic knowledge of Asians in the film industry. Even in movies and shows centered on or based on Asians the lead almost ALWAYS goes to whites! From David Carradine in Kung-Fu to the most recent movie ‘21′ whose starring roles were based on Asian Americans but were still portrayed by whites, while meanwhile having Asian actors play their sidekicks!! So don’t me about “unfair”!!

Look at their eyes

3. While the series is NOT anime, it was inspired by anime and manga/ Korean manwa drawing styles where the eyes are drawn large for convience of conveying emotional expression alot easier! As for eye color, the only reason why the characters Sokka and Katara have blue eyes is because they descend from water benders!! In the Avatar world, bright eye color is a sign of element bending– air benders have gray eyes, earth benders have green eyes, fire benders have yellow eyes, and water benders have blue eyes. It is NOT a “caucasian” trait as they are NOT caucasian. And of course “the eyes” are the ONLY thing these white idiots like to focus on because EVERYTHING else about them is obviously Asian!!

I know that such racist white people are in the minority but apparently it’s whites like these that continue to perpetuate this kind of bullsh*t in Hollywood!

Speculative Fiction Today #378 “Stargate: IDIC In Fandom”

April 22, 2009 in Podcasts, Speculative Fiction Today by Brian Logee

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Author Kevin J. Anderson sets his sights on Wonder Woman (via SCI FI Wire)

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The Reaction to a Lesbian in Stargate Universe (dashPunk)
Kings moved to summer (dashPunk)
How Dollhouse Made Me My Best (dashPunk)
Which sci-fi TV pilots will live and which will die? We take a look (via SCI FI Wire)
PBS Launches Video Portal (via NewTeeVee)

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The Reaction to a Lesbian in Stargate Universe

April 21, 2009 in Featured, GLBT, Headline, tv/series by Eric

This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series GLBT in SF and Fandom

I want to start by saying that not all of the reaction to the news of an openly gay character on Stargate Universe has been negative. Many fans of the series have stood up to the bigotry that is spiraling around the internet. It is not necessary to respond to positive statements, but it is incumbent on me to respond to the negative ones.

I have decided to use comments from Scifi Wire because they have be responcible enough to remove the most vile, incendiary, and hateful comments from their site. These are some of the mild ones that remain.

Homophobia

Homophobia is the hatred, fear, stereotyping of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and the transgendered. “Homophobia is just another form of sexism. For most people, their problem with GLBT people is that we do not fit nicely into the culturally acceptable gender roles assigned to us (Where is the Diversity in IDIC?).”

There are five main flavors of Homophobia exhibited in the comments:

Blatant Sexism
Incomprehension
Fear and Ridicule
Hetero-centrism
Vile Hate

Blatant Sexism

Creno demonstrates this problem well:

Woot! Hot lesbo action FTW! Let’s see them make out. Make it happen guys (Scifi Wire).

The equation of a lesbian character with a perverse, masturbatory fantasy is a huge problem in our society. The notion that we are reducing a human down to nothing more than an object of puerile desire is repugnant!

The biggest problem with this comment is that they wanting their own ego stroked, and if the character were heterosexual, they would still be calling for meaningless sex for their own titilation.

Hopefully, the writers of the series will treat the character with more respect, and not succumb to the base lusts that would cheapen the series and rob it of the moral character the franchise has exhibted up to now.

Women are people and deserve respect regardless of their sexual orientation!

Incomprehension

Zaphod said:

I wonder why shows never announce characters who are “openly black” or “openly hispanic” or “openly heterosexual (Scifi Wire)?”

Most of the characters on Stargate (and all series) are assumed to be heterosexual.

Starting in the 1960’s, many characters were “openly black” or “openly hispanic” for the first time and were announced as such. For decades, shows have incorporated characters dealing with racism or what it means to be an ethnic minority in society. While there have not been enough, they do exist.

Among the actors I have met, one of the most common complaints I hear is that their are not enough “Openly Female” or “Openly Asian” characters for them to play.

We need more honest portrayals of minority characters on Television and film, not less.

Fear and Ridicule

Someone claiming to be Warwick Sabin said:

Geez. Just change the name to “Stargay Universe” and be done with it.

The best would be if the other gay character was male and the two of them are the only ones on the show without anyone to hook up with.

Why not introduce an asexual character or someone who is a chronic masturbator (Scifi Wire)?

Really, Stargay Universe is the only thing you could think of to say?

First of all, it would be just as likely that the heterosexual characters would find themselves dealing with loneliness in a galaxy far, far away as it would for the homosexual characters.

Personally, I hope they treat the character with the same respect as they do the other characters. The franchise has never been about sex, but relationships have always played an important part.

The real Warwick Sabin contacted me disgusted about this comment:

Someone used my name to post the idiotic comment you quoted in your blog post.

I am very distressed about this, because the comment is disgusting and is the polar opposite of anything I would ever think or express.

It is lower than low that someone would attack another’s honor and good name to say such vile things.

Hetero-centrism

Chris Shea said:

i personally dont wants gays in my shows but i dont want straight people either
i want peopel doign there job saving the world killing aliens helping people
cmon in 10 years of sg-1 there was barely any love stuff
they implied it and it was enought (Scifi Wire)

I bet none of the people upset about a lesbian on the show were upset about them flaunting Jack, Daniel, Carter, and Teal’c flaunting their sexuality, all of which played into the story.

Jack O’Neill was married and the death of his son is the reason he became involved in the Stargate Program. Not to mention his relationship with Carter and a couple aliens.
Daniel Jackson’s wife was the only reason he continued his work with the SGC.
- Shyla
- Ke’ra/Linea
- Sarah Gardner/Osiris.
- Vala Mal Doran
Samantha “Sam” Carter had many relationships that played heavily into the plot arcs of the series.
- Jack O’Neill
- the Tok’ra Martouf
- Orlin
- Agent Malcolm Barrett
- Narim
- Pete Shanahan
- Dr. Jay Felger
- Jonas Hanson (her former fiancé)
- Joseph Faxon (her husband of a possible future)
Teal’c’s relationships with:
- His wife Drey’auc
- Shau’nac the temple priestess
- Ishta the leader of the Hak’tyl
Vala Mal Doran was the most sexual character on the show

I haven’t even finished with the major characters in SG-1, not to mention Atlantis. There was a lot of love stories in SG-1 and Atlantis. If one of the characters is gay, I can’t imagine it being any different.

Vile Hate

Facepalm chose to attack the Mentally Challenged!

If nothing else sells your show, then bring in the lesbians.

I wonder when the Stargate Universe will introduce the first openly retarded character? Part of the Stargate initiative for the better integration of the mentally challenged into the work force, this openly dumb person will be in charge major decision throughout the entirety of the series.

Executive producer Brad Wright pointed out: “We no longer only depict villains, played by black actors in alien rubber costumes, as mentally deficient, we want to raise awareness for general stupidity anywhere. Our team of highly skilled writers is looking forward to the groundbreaking shift of paradigms a retard will bring to the show (Scifi Wire).”

My neice has Down’s Syndrome. Personally, I would love to see Stargate or any series feature a reallistic portrayal on someone like her. Anything that would make a good story should be considered.

What does this mean for fandom?

It means we have a lot of work to do. Science Ficition is a genre that is suppose to be about IDIC: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination, progress, and Making a better world. The mere fact that people with such bigoted opinions can call themselves fans means that the writers have not been doing their job.

It is time to shake things up!

Coming Out in Fandom

April 2, 2009 in Fandom, Featured, GLBT by Eric

This entry is part 2 of 4 in the series GLBT in SF and Fandom

My personal experience in fandom is a mixed one. I was raised in a conservative, Baptist home. When I was ten, I realized I was gay. I hated myself, and never felt like I fit in anywhere, until I attended my first convention.

My first convention

shoreleave Coming Out in Fandom I was a geek in school, and we hadn’t lived in Maryland for every long. One day, my friend Suzie invited me to go to a convention with her.

It wasn’t easy. My mother wasn’t keen on me going out for a day trip to a convention north of Baltimore with people she didn’t know very well. I begged and pleaded, and though I don’t remember them, I am sure I threw in some hissy fits and tantrums just to get the point across.

When we arrived, I felt like I entered the promised land. Thousands of people who all loved the same things I did. I didn’t have to lie about anything.

For the first time, I felt like I found a place I belonged. If you have never been to a convention or participated in a fan club, they are amazing things. At a convention, you know that you are a de facto friend with most of the people there. Our mutual love for the same franchises, movies, and books ties us together in a way that is hard to explain. I have made connections with people that have lasted for years.

Coming out

My convention friends were the first people to know that I was gay. I was open and honest. Something about being surrounded by so many like minded people empowered me.

I was very lucky. I never faced or felt any kind of discrimination at the conventions until many years later. When I first entered fandom, IDIC was not a slogan or piece of jewelry. It was a philosophy people took to heart.

Conventions are some of the few places that we can be ourselves… or are they?

Are all conventions safe?

It depends from convention to convention, but in general, speculative fiction fans are more open minded then the general population, except in periods of mass popularity for speculative fiction, or when a convention slips into the mainstream.

Popularity often brings more closed-minded people into fandom because they liked the special effects in movie x and have not been exposed to the ethos of open-mindedness which usually pervades fandom.

For me, conventions were a sanctuary from the homophobic world, until I started writing.

P:SI #362 “A Spud, A Dud, and Diversity”

March 31, 2009 in Podcasts, Project: Shadow Informant Show Notes by Brian Logee