culturewarreporters

[culturewarreporters]

Re: Meet The Poster Child For ‘White Privilege’ – Then Have Your Mind Blown

I have never been asked to “check my privilege”. That is by no means indicative of my actual status in life, one that’s already vastly higher than most by virtue of being born in a First World country. Not only do I come from a middle class family in a wealthy nation, but I also happen to be both male and straight. Those two facets of my person alone have freed me from a world of verbal [and potentially physical] abuse. It’s no mystery to me how good I have it going.

Replace “U. S. of A.” with “Canada” and this pretty much sums it up.

Taking all of that into account, and I really do dwell on the reality of how much better off I am than others on an almost daily basis, I can say with confidence that I would not enjoy hearing those three words. I acknowledge that they would feel like not only an admonishment for not thinking through whatever I had just said or written, but an outright dismissal of my viewpoints.

I want to state this as clearly as possible: no part of me supports the usage of anyphrase to “strike down opinions” or otherwise silence others. I am a strong proponent of discussion and this activity flies in the very face of that. My issue is that the purpose of the article I’m responding to appears to be the throwing out of these three words completely, and in generally appears to completely miss the point.

The article is, as the title of this post indicates, “Meet The Poster Child For ‘White Privilege’ – Then Have Your Mind Blown”. Before we get into the actual words of Tal Fortgang, a white 20-year-old Princeton freshman and the article’s titular poster child, we need to break down the language used in the introduction leading up to them. Written by associate editor Jennifer Kabbany, it emotionally primes readers, swaying them to one perspective through overgeneralizations and descriptions of injustice.

Firstly, there’s the assertion that those leveling the term against the young man in question are “ethnic and feminist studies college students and professors who frequently and vehemently complain that this country is steeped in racism and sexism and is only fair and just and equal for white, heterosexual males.” To start with, the United States of America is rife with racism and sexism. Donald Sterling may have received [what I hope to be a fraction of] his comeuppance two days ago, but he owned the LA Clippers for 33 years. There may be no place for him in the NBA now, but at one point there was, and that continues to be a problem. On top of that the assumption that every one of these individuals believes that things are “only fair and just and equal for white, heterosexual males” is a gross hyperbole.

Secondly, and this sums up the heart of Fortgang’s “powerful message”, is that associate editor Jennifer Kabbany informs us readers what those words are supposed to mean. She tells us that “check your privilege”:

“…is meant to remind white, heterosexual males that they have it so good because they’re white, heterosexual males. They haven’t faced tough times, they don’t know what it’s like to be judged by the color of their skin.”

Given an introduction that pigeonholes those spouting the phrase and asserts their intentions in doing so we can now move on to the meat of the article, or what Fortgang himself has to say to those people who are “sick of being labeled” and who “are the very same ones doing it to others.”

Read the rest-

[culturewarreporters]

There's apparently still one more "significant' female cast member who hasn't been nailed down yet, and thus was not included in the announcement.

Hi! Do you know if anyone is talking about the Star Wars VII casting yet re: Daisey Ridley being chosen after every rumor pointed to a black woman playing that role and the description being "young black or mixed-race woman who may be a descendent of Jedi Knight Ben Kenobi?"

Not sure, but surely someone is. I guess so far Abrams’s Star Wars isn’t less race progressive than Abram’s Star Trek. With Star Trek he replicated the exact same racial dynamics of TOS, with an added garnish of whitewashing.

With Abram’s Star Wars it’s the same formula: one white woman, one black man, several white men. We had that with Leia and Lando, too. It’s like how Marvel’s idea of diversity is adding white women (to represent women) and black men (to represent PoC). Forget intersectionality and forget women of color. We never had a chance.

-M

EDIT: I looked into this more closely and saw that Oscar Isaac was cast in Star Wars, too! So that’s an additional man of color…but yeah, one new lady character. Really?

[culturewarreporters]

The Context and Cultural Appropriation of Avril Lavigne’s “Hello Kitty” Music Video

Is this music video exemplifying Japanese culture? Seeing as how it was created by a fair number of Japanese people I think it was meant to be representative of a subculture within the country. The issue being that as literal outsiders [I don't know how many of you are reading this from Japan] we can’t help but view this as being extremely one-dimensional. Toshi Nakamura of Kotaku East, believes that “Avril Lavigne’s Latest Video isn’t Racist, But It is Disappointing“. In that article he says that “if anything, the video feels like surface-layer self-indulgence of the more stereotypical Japanese image as perceived by a foreigner. Not racist – just shallow.”

“As perceived by a foreigner” works on another level that I mentioned, that being us as a Western audience. If a performer from Africa came and created a music video for North Americans that was founded on certain preconceived [yet accurate] notions we wouldn’t view it as them boiling us down to a single series of images. It’s all contextual, and that’s what we’re really missing here.

It’s still a terrible song, though.

Source.

[culturewarreporters]

Don't mess with Tom Brevoort.

Tom, does it worry you that in 40 years time you will be dead and I will still be alive and happy that the world is richer without you in it?

Not if I kill you first.

[culturewarreporters]

I reviewed the new issue of Ms. Marvel, like I do. Paid particularly close attention to how Wilson is writing about Kamala's faith, which I think was the high point of a pretty amazing book.

[culturewarreporters]

So I put this together because tumblr really failed me when it came to providing gifs of this exact scene, which I needed for my review of the episode. 

[culturewarreporters]

Your actual opinion on chocolate raisins is inconsequential. This is the best visual aid for why we needracial representation that I have ever seen.

This is a jar full of major characters

Actually it is a jar full of chocolate covered raisins on top of a dirty TV tray. But pretend the raisins are interesting and well rounded fictional characters with significant roles in their stories.

We’re sharing these raisins at a party for...

[culturewarreporters]

POP QUIZ, EVERYONE!

I can’t

[culturewarreporters]

I'm not about to comment on the term as a slur against trans people because it's something I know next to nothing about, but the critique on the art itself feels . . . unnecessary.

Diversity in representation in all forms of media is something that I'm personally very passionate about, I'm basically writing about it every week, but calling out this artist because she [I'm presuming based on their url] Rule 63'd a few female Disney characters is ridiculous.

It's fan art, plain and simple. Is there fan art out there of male Disney characters being portrayed as females? Of course there is. Are they all cisgendered? Yes, but that's a choice on the part of the artists, and there's absolutely nothing stopping others of drawing fan art of characters, Disney or otherwise, as genderqueer. 

I finally finished genderbending some of my favorite disney girls ^———^

I’m not proud of some of those though…

[culturewarreporters]

6 Reasons to Pick Up Iron Patriot #1 Tomorrow

If you don’t like numbered lists [the internet does have more than enough] then try to look past the digits and view this as a general collection of items, free of any form of ran or order, as to why you should head over to your local comic book store and pick up a copy of Iron Patriot #1.

1. It’s a Jumping On Point For Movie Fans

I fully realize that many comic book readers do not like it when their medium of choice makes changes to appear more in line with what takes place on the big screen. That being said, Col. James Rhodes has been wearing the red, white, and blue power suit for a little while now and it’s led to some pretty great stories.

Let’s also not forget that Iron Man 3made $1.2 billion worldwide. That is a lot of people who know and understand Rhodey to look like the love child of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. If you loved the film and the characters this is a great place for you to get in on the world of comics.

2. It’s Relevant

The United States of America is a complicated place, and the flag doesn’t mean the same thing it did even ten years ago. Writer Ales Kot is not unaware of how over a decade of war and the fear of domestic terrorism has affected the nation, and has kept them in mind when penning the story:

“I look forward to exploring the effects of the modern American military complex on all of us as citizens and / or people who are affected by it. Exploring it through (and with) such an idealist — but also a military man — as James Rhodes brings insights from varied points of view.”

Americans have, for a very long time, considered themselves to be on the side of unequivocal right. Breaches of privacy and newfound knowledge of exactly how far the government will go to protects its citizens has caused this to weaken more than ever, making this a tale that hits closer to home than most.

Read the ressssssssssssssssst.

[culturewarreporters]

I watched two more episodes this morning, and as far as I can tell she wears heels because otherwise she wouldn't be much taller than the kids she's nannying.

That being said, they're definitely a very particular style of shoe.

So every time I catch an episode of "Jessie" on TV your name somehow comes to mind. Does it fall under the category of "Things Made For Teenage Girls That Chris Sims Loves"?

Oh man, so the Thanksgiving before last, I got INSANELY sick. Like, debilitating, spent-four-days-in-bed sick, dropping NyQuils and chugging gatorade. I lost all sense of time, but every time I would wake up and turn on the TV, JESSIE was on, so I ended up watching five or six episodes in this complete haze.

The only thing I took away from it, aside from the fact that it is Pretty Bad, is that — and this is going to make me sound like the biggest creep in the entire world, but I am seriously blaming being half out of my head for this — Jessie herself wears the most fetishy shoes on that show. Seriously, take a look next time you watch it. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. Girl is cold au pairing a bunch of multicultural kids in straight up dominatrix boots.

[culturewarreporters]

Shame Day: The White Man March

Two nights ago I posted an article to our Facebook page that listed tweets in response to some sort of White Man March. My first reaction upon coming across it for the first time, as I think most most people’s would be, was not so much what is this as why is this. My second was to ascertain that the tweets were in fact funny so that I could share them on social media and use them as a hook to create discussion [which they did not, but what are you going to do].

In coming up with today’s Shame Day post the march came to mind, but it dawned on me that I knew literally nothing about it besides the fact that the internet thought it was ridiculous.

I did what I consider to be the bare amount of research possible and determined that, yes, the White Man March is indeed worthy of its own Shame Day post.

Let it be known that I listened to the entirety of the 11-minute YouTube video organizer Kyle Hunt put together as an FAQ for the White Man March. This is the sort of sacrifice I’m willing to undergo for you.

- – - – - – -

Look, between that last paragraph and this one I began listening to the video, and what became bemusement quickly turned to outright rage. This post is going to take a vast tonal shift right this moment.

Now understand that I would never waste a Shame Day on a person or movement that was simply misguided or wrong. People are wrong every day and no matter how much I try there is nothing I can do about it. Every now and then, however, someone comes along whose ideas are so . . . so . . . stupid. I realize I’m resorting to ableist language but none of these opinions or beliefs appear to have any modicum of intelligence. I read through them and . . . and . . .

Kyle Hunt’s first answer as to what this march is ends with the following sentence, emphasis mine:

“The purpose is to spread information through activism, but also to make a statement that White people are united in their love for their race and in their opposition to its destruction.”

It’s not even just that he thinks White people are being picked on to the point of elimination, it’s that they’re disenfranchised too [I've disabled the links because they lead to other sites no part of me wants to support]!

“Whites are privileged to be unfairly discriminated against through affirmative action and diversity quotas? Whites are privileged to be victims of “the knockout game”, rape, home invasion, murder, and other forms of unreported (or under-reported) violence and hatred from non-Whites in our lands? Whites are privileged to watch TV shows, commercials, and movies, which portray White characters as utterly evil or bumbling idiots, and which also advocate race-mixing as a most noble act? Whites are privileged to have our countries (and only our countries) flooded with hordes of every different race under the sun? Whites are privileged to fund the housing, healthcare, schooling, food stamps, and booming birthrates for the non-White and illegal immigrant populations in our lands? Whites are privileged to send our hard-earned wealth to Africa and non-White countries around the world, while our people at home are starving and without homes? Whites in America are privileged since 2012 to have less than 50% of the babies born in the country? White children in America are privileged to become a minority in the school system by 2019? “

Excuse me, Kyle, while I-

Dude, you literally disgust me. I want to tear apart your words but that would imply me having to touch them. No, you know what, flooded with ****ing “hordes of every different race under the sun”? I realize that you probably wanted to hold your racist card a little closer to your chest but you are waving your wallet around.

Here’s the kicker, it’s not even a “boo hoo woe is me” sentiment, it’s that White people are being so bullied that it’s genocide.

“We will make it clear that we will not sit idly by as our race is discriminated against, mocked, displaced, and violently attacked, all of which amount to White genocide, according to the United Nation’s own definition of genocide. This is why one of our big messages, which will be displayed on many large banners, is “DIVERSITY” = WHITE GENOCIDE. These banners will spread the message to the public at large in the most effective way possible. This “diversity” agenda is being directed at White countries (and only at White countries) with various programs to ensure that there are less White people at schools and in the work force, which is unfair and discriminatory, taking away money and opportunities from the indigenous White people. “Diversity” is a codeword for White Genocide.”

At this point I feel it only right to apologize to Mr. Hunt, if only because these constantly taking the time to express my emotions is somewhat impolite of me. I’ll get back to you in one second, sir-

Genocide, dude? Yeah, I get that you’re tapping into the UN definition, but genocide? I want to find a gif or image that encapsulates the horrors of what that truly is but I feel like even embedding it in the same post as your words would somehow lend them even a hint of validity. No, an Asian girl insisting enough is enough, Will Ferrell vomiting, and cartoon tears all sum up well how I and anyone else should feel about what you’re saying.

I’m done giving his words any kind of platform, I think we’re good. If you’d really like to check out the rest of them without hearing his voice bore a hole into your skull you can check them out here, just make sure to keep a stress ball or paper bag close at hand.

The reason I wrote this post and spat my venom [which is more Gordon's deal, we all know] is because these ideas aren’t just wrong, they’re harmful. In no way am I saying that White people aren’t allowed to take pride in their racial and ethnic identity, what I am saying is that believe they’re getting the short end of the stick is FALSE. I shouldn’t have to go into why that is. Here’s a tumblr post to rest the eye-

When I was a lot younger I saw my cousin wearing a “Straight Pride” t-shirt, and at the time I thought it was funny and considered getting one. Years later I understand what’s so problematic about them. It’s the implication that your orientation, the one that is the majority and has never worked against you in any way ever, is worthy of touting to the world. You’re already in the express lane of life. Both that and this White Man March are like a group upset about disabled people getting all the attention ["SUPPORT THE ABLE-BODIED!"].

That’s why people are viewing this expression as racist, because it appears to equate the struggle of the White Man with that of the Black Man. I mean, it can’t possibly be true that this guy doesn’t believe that White people have civil rights?

“This is an honorable struggle for civil rights, which White men currently do not have.”

- VICE interview with Kyle Hunt

ARE.

YOU.

KIDDING ME.

I want to end with two more points as I try to scale down the rage threatening to overcome me. The first is that for a brief second I actually thought that this was all some sort of elaborate prank, because who should I see quoted in the sidebar of the site hosting the White Man March FAQ [which I've already linked to above] but Joseph “I’m A Nazi!” Goebbels. Then I scrolled around and saw that the site, which to be fair I don’t think Hunt is affiliated with, just drips with pure, unadulterated antisemitism. This. Is. Hilarious.

“We will also be showing that the old stereotypes about pro-White activists are false. The media would like our people to believe that pro-Whites are all Klansmen, Neo-Nazis, Skinheads, and the like, which discourages many White people from becoming advocates for their own interests.”

Lastly, in his interview with VICE [conducted via email, as he refused to speak over the phone], Kyle answered a question regarding whether or not he was “advocating for racially homogenous countries,” to which he said [emphasis mine]:

“I am not advocating for the United States to be 100 percent White,as other races have legitimate and historical claims to this country, but I do think we should protect our borders and not allow amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants, as this undercuts the labor of poor Whites, poor Blacks, and all other unemployed (or underemployed) Americans.”

To which I can only respond with:

He weeps at Hunt’s graciousness.

Everything that Kyle Hunt and the White Man March stand for are harmful to us as a culture and as human beings. It perpetuates a belief that those who are already on top are not only being kicked around, but that their struggle is, and I hate to even quote the comparison, tantamount to the wholesale destruction of a a racial group. I almost don’t care that the march was a resounding failure [it does bring joy], what I can’t get past is that these ideas exist and that people are actively trying to spread them.

I would say shame on Kyle Hunt, the White Man March, and anyone connected with either if I thought that “shame” were powerful enough a word. Now excuse me as I go decide whether to vomit again or flip a table.

-Source.

[culturewarreporters]

Right at the end of 2011 Todd VanDerWerff, who I unofficially inherited these reviews from after Pilot Viruet passed the torch, wrote an article on the AV Club discussing how some shows on TV existed as “Nice places to visit”.

While the initial focus was on dramas he turns to sitcoms and describes how he divides them into two categories: “shows that aim for greatness and try to push the boundaries of the form, and shows that just want to create a bunch of characters that are fun to hang out with.” Happy Endings is my personal benchmark for the latter, with Parks and Recreation coming a close second. It’s not to say that neither show exhibits good writing [both do, in their own ways], more that they’re half hours of television in which viewers can relax, content to spend time with characters who are familiar and comfortable to them.

2 Broke Girls appears to want to be one of these shows.

The funny thing about this is that a mere thirty minutes before we join Max and Caroline for more of their latest financially-challenged escapades CBS’s most popular sitcom, an impressive hang-out show in its own right, takes centre stage. When compared to How I Met Your Mother it really isn’t much of a contest.

Where 2 Broke Girls feels necessary from time to time to remind us that Max and Caroline’s co-workers do in fact support them Max ["And the First Day of School"] How I Met Your Mother keeps all five of its main cast constantly interacting with each other [in pretty much every episode]. In the former the actual hanging out feels like a reminder, not only that the other characters care but that they exist; the latter has them interact organically to the point where it feels awkward to pull it apart describe it in this many words].

It’s not impossible for a show surrounding a primary cast of two [I've said it once and I've said it again, the girls are really the only ones driving the action] to be a hang-out sitcom, only that it makes it more difficult for us as an audience to react to them on that level. It’s easy to enjoy watching a group of friends enjoying each others’ company, but viewing two people can make you feel like a third wheel of sorts. So much one-on-one screentime and interaction inevitably creates some form of mild intimacy that I don’t personally want a show to be solely comprised of- like if The Office had been primarily Jim and Pam, or if Community revolved around Troy and Abed. This particular sentiment definitely isn’t true for everyone, so let me on and discuss how Han specifically holds the cast, and entire show, back.

This week’s episode is a celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, a holiday that apparently guarantees Han Lee a 100% chance of getting laid. While it’s a well-known fact that Asian men are not positively portrayed in the media when it comes to their sexuality the fact is that he gets the short end of the stick [not a pun, I swear] more often than not. “Is Han even a man?/Han is not a man” is the vast majority of dialogue concerning the character summed up in a few words. All that being said I was interested to see how this would work out for him.

About as well as I expected, it turns out.

Dressing up as holiday-appropriate mythical creature Lepre-Han is swarmed by women at the pub the gang heads to; for some reason that I can’t fathom Caroline can’t find it within herself to refer to them as female ["with all of those . . . I wanna say girls"]. Most of them are quite young and pretty, so of course Han initially opts for a “buxom paralegal” who “brought outside chicken”. That may sound appealing, but she’s not the most traditionally beautiful, if you get my drift.  He ultimately ends up going back to a woman’s “sister’s condo in Jersey City” where the two of them will have to be quiet.

It’s not enough that the woman’s entrance [seen above] is punctuated by the live audience’s laughter], Max makes a prophecy about their night together saying that it ”Looks like they’re going to be unlucky tonight.”

Han finally sleeping with a woman is not heralded with even a fraction of the woos that Sophie’s appearances garner, but is instead met with laughter. Han is a joke because he’s short, bossy, and ineffectual [we'll leave the uncomfortable racist humour back in Season 1] and, as a cherry on top, he ostensibly cannot gauge whether a not a woman is physically attractive.  

It’s not so much that we can’t have a character like Han, it’s that when a show takes said character and treats them a certain way it cannot attain that title of “hang-out sitcom”. Who was the butt of every joke in Friends? Was it Phoebe? Ross? Chandler? Monica? Joey? Rachel? Each one had easily mockable traits [except for Ross, because being a paleontologist is awesome] but were never reduced to them. They didn’t constantly lose in every aspect of life.

That’s all to say that if 2 Broke Girls wants to get there, to create a space where we can truly enjoy being around this group of people as a whole, at the very least Han needs to be handled differently.

Almost a thousand words in and I haven’t even really touched on what happens throughout the episode, which makes me feel like I’ve adopted more than just the burden of reviewing this show from Todd VanDerWerff. Allow me to do so in one long-ish paragraph and also apologize for overanalyzing a show that I’ve admitted to catering to the lowest common denominator and expecting more out of it. Tune in next week where I will be judging it on its own merits, as usual!

What takes place is yet another episode where Caroline comes to understand that her new life is better than her old one. After a rather unpleasant time at the pub the blonde opts to take the extra money they made selling Guinness and Irish cream cupcakes and take Max to The Plaza where they can drink Bellinis in peace. There she realizes how boring it is and they return to where all the fun is. To keep it from taking up too much of the Stray Observations Caroline is kissed several times on the mouth by an overly friendly drunk nicknamed Blarney Bill which is, suffice to say, probably an all-too-real occurrence for women on this holiday and as such doesn’t work as a joke for me personally.

Current Total: $824.

New Total: $1,150. Caroline gives Han $50 for the cab to Jersey City, so I’m not even sure if this total makes sense.

The Title Refers To: Kilts, St. Patrick’s Day, y’know. Earl wears one as well. I don’t think the play on “guilt trip” plays out in the episode at all.

Stray Observations:

In the cold open we are reminded that Irish Catholics do not engage in birth control.

“No one gonna pinch me today because I got all this green.”

Eric Andre still AWOL “snowboarding somewhere called “Vale” with something called “a family.”

The Ukrainian Oleg argues with a Russian taxi driver. This levels of political commentary are off the chain.

His St. Paddy’s Day merch includes “Kiss Me I’m Irish” crotch t-shirts and “disposable funnel for upwardly mobile elegant young ladies who want to stand and pee in the street like a man.”

Earl learned to play the bagpipes and drive stick after an acid trip.

“Just so you know, if you’re an orphan, I’m interested.”

“Are you over here making money off of me you wolves of Wall Street?”

Lindsey Kraft, who played the drunk girl Monica, is a treasure.

“You guys, I just threw up.”

“I think I’m gonna need some water. I need to drive a school bus in four hours.”

“You’re a great American.” “I know what I am.”

“That was before I discovered the sensation of a cool breeze circling my bag and my pipe.”

“Told you girls, a hundred percent.”

2 Broke Girls Cheesecake Menu: Nothing really worth mentioning. Sophie wears some kind of sexy shamrock outfit, I guess.

-Source.

[culturewarreporters]

It is embarrassing to me how few likes/reblogs/whatever this has. Race in comics is important, and the fact that this guy has to point out that he's straight and white and also believes that is likewise a terrible thing.

Suck it up

Very nearly stopped this early.  There are a lot of questionable things here:

-the courageous stand against racism.  I know it’s a risky gambit to take such a stance in the 21st century etc etc

-preaching to the converted.  There is little chance that the sort of person who should read this will, much less that they might consider it if they did.

-no matter what, if this were shown to 1,000 people, someone on either side of the discussion will call me an idiot.

I enjoyed drawing super-heroes.  I almost never do.  I loved them growing up, and still read them, but the mainstream reading community is not something I can proudly be part of.  I will say, the podcast I mention here (Poptards) is one of the few mainstream comics ones that I enjoy and is not embarrassing to listen to (House to Astonish being another).  

Unfortunately, I didn’t have space to add my concept of how to get a black Human Torch into the Marvel 616 continuity:  The Fantastic Four travel the multiverse and meet a black version of the Fantastic Four.  100% the same but black.  They have an adventure together, and yadda yadda yadda, the machine explodes, and they are left in our world with the black Johnny, for five years in our time until they reboot the movies again, and white Johnny inevitably comes home.  No Mephisto needed.

Marvel can make the check out to cash.

Square Comix on Facebook

Square Comix March reblog contest 

[culturewarreporters]

My unabashed crush on Sophie aside [please cast Karynn Moore in everything], this episode of Farmed and Dangerous wasn't great. They did try to learn us a few things, though, and my review touches on that.

Farmed and Dangerous, S1E3 “Raising the Steaks”: A Web Show Review

[culturewarreporters]

In which I discuss a pretty clear writing error that I have a lot of trouble getting past, I mean, seriously. Also, is it just me or is CBS/the 2BG writers room really trying to pander to this site?

2 Broke Girls, S3E18 “And the Near Death Experience”: A TV Review

I would watch an entire show about Han's experiences with the spider communities. Fan art of that, please.

[culturewarreporters]

Why? Because people are still watching it in spite of that.

2 broke girls really does make a rape joke once a week

sigh