#I’m not saying every tim stan is racist

[starlooove]

Can we stop calling 1/2 of the main brown boys in the family feral please.

[autisticcassandracain]

I have many thoughts on the weird phenomena in the DC fandom and the Batfam fandom specifically where probably the majority of people just straight up. haven’t interacted with the source material. and almost all of those thoughts can be summarized as ‘lmao that’s weird and mildly concerning’.

and because I’m annoying I will list them all here right now <3

1. To preface this post, I mean, obviously, comics are inaccessible as all hell, both in the disability kind of way and the ‘you need to understand the concept of hypertime to fully comprehend the DC timeline’ kind of way. Because of this, even if you don’t have a disability that prevents you from reading comics, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to look at the amount of comics you need to read to have even a base understanding of a character and go ‘no thanks <3′ and just enjoy fanart and fanfic in a vacuum. Ultimately, this is fandom, this is supposed to be fun, it doesn’t really matter.

2. That said, it’s VERY weird to me that the majority of this fandom just straight up hasn’t interacted with the source material, and moreover, that it’s considered rude to tell people that they should do so. It’s especially weird considering the amount of fanon-only fans I’ve seen who straight up have a superiority complex over canon. The idea that it’s gatekeeping to tell fans of something to actually interact with canon is just. so weird, and a fundamental misunderstanding of what ‘gatekeeping’ actually entails. 

3. But honestly I’m less interested in discussing the ways in which canon and fanon fans should interact with each other (personally, I think it would be helpful to create separate tags of some kind, but that’d require quite a big overhaul of the current fandom state) than in figuring out how this actually happened in the first place. On the one hand, it’s obvious; long-running superhero comics the way DC writes them have made themselves so thoroughly inaccessible that most people are simply too daunted to even try. Most media has a cohesive beginning and end (or at least, a planned end somewhere). Comics just... don’t.

But I do think it says something that, even among people who are clearly interested in the characters (since they have, you know, entire blogs about them), the effort to get into comics just seems to be too much to even bother. This really doesn’t bode well for the future of DC Comics. Obviously, I am no expert on anything at all ever, but I’d personally be surprised if DC survives beyond the few decades, at least in its current form/without a big overhaul.

4. But on the other hand, I don’t think the confusing state of DC Comics is the only thing to blame here. Fandom has a well-known problem with reducing any character down to archetypes to more easily ship and write fic/make content with. This problem is particularly prominent in fanfic, which, if you read enough of it, you’ll eventually start seeing not just the same tropes and trends, but essentially the same fics over and over again. And not just within the same fandom; everywhere, or every large fandom, at least. 

Fanon Batfam is entirely built on a bunch of those tropes; insecure/depressed sadboy Tim, team mom with optional hidden trauma/emotional problems Dick, bad boy with a heart of gold + sadboy combo Jason, abused sadboy Damian/angry easily-villified-for-fic-reasons monster Damian, good dad Bruce for found family fic and bad dad Bruce for angst fic, etc. This all culminates in a found family dynamic that’s generic and malleable to whatever fic the writer wants to write.

(This isn’t getting into the ship fic, which I avoid like the plague because the vast majority of it is incest, but I’d bet real actual money that the tropes in those fics fall under what is often preferred by the Migratory Slash Fandom.)

By having a decent excuse not to get into canon (the inaccessibility of comics) and a, by now, well-established fanon fandom, many fans feel free to use the batfam fandom as essentially an excuse to write whatever fic with reduced archetypes and tropes they personally feel the itch to write, without having to bother with even consuming a canon. This is compounded by the fact that canon itself is often contradictory and frankly bad, meaning that whatever interpretation of a character you want/need to go for your fic is at least theoretically backed up by canon (for example, you can just as easily cast Bruce as an abusive shithole dad who his kids need to get away from as a loving father figure who cares deeply for his children), which you can always use as a defense if people question your characterization.

5. This focus on fandom trends and tropes over actual creativity or care for the characters is also visible in the way bigotry manifests in this fandom; namely, in literally the exact way you’d expect. The female characters and characters of colour are shuffled to the side, non-existent, vilified, and/or reduced to harmful stereotypes. 

Barbara is probably the one I saw the most often in fanfic, but usually just as ‘Dick’s girlfriend’, and even then, she was often vilified for Dick angst (especially in fics about examining Dick’s trauma from his canon sexual assault; Kori also often gets the short end of the stick in those). After that, probably Stephanie, who fanon fans don’t really seem to know what to do with, so she’s basically just there as comic relief waffle girl, most of the time, though sometimes she can be used to either further Tim angst or further vilify Tim, whatever the fic calls for. Cass has gotten included more in batfam fics as of late, likely in response to critiques of fandom racism for leaving her out, but again, it’s clear people don’t actually know what to do with her. She’s often reduced to a racist stereotype of a quite, stoic therapist for whatever guy du jour needs it. That, or she’s in Hong Kong and just not there. Duke especially gets left in the dust in fandom, usually just being non-existent, but when he’s there, he’s almost always nothing more than the straight man for the actual fun characters to play off of. Talia probably has it the worst, though, and almost universally gets vilified by fanon stans in order to write sadboy Damian.

All of this is extremely predictable behaviour and falls entirely in line with general fandom misogyny and racism; ignoring or vilifying women and characters of colour, or using them as very minor characters at best. The only two characters of colour who aren’t regularly left out of fic are Dick and Damian, who are both also conveniently the two characters most often drawn and written in a whitewashed manner. In addition, there’s a real trend of demonizing Damian in fanon fics where he isn’t written as an abused sadboy, which I’d argue is in no small part due to fandom racism, considering Damian’s behaviour is in no way as bad as Jason’s, who doesn’t get anywhere close to the same demonization and gets woobiefied instead. I also find it convenient that Damian is probably the batboy who receives the most vilification in fic, when he’s the most obviously non-white of the batboys they’re willing to acknowledge.

Fandom often cries for more diversity in canon, only to ignore the diversity already there and focus on the same generic white guys. The batfam fandom is a brilliant example of this.

Which is not to say that fandom racism and misogyny isn’t present in the canon parts of the fandom (and canon itself); it absolutely 100% is. But I’ve found that canon fans are also more likely to like and care about at least one of the characters I’ve listed as ignored/vilified, and are willing to create and consume content for them, whereas fanon fans... aren’t, really. I’ve never seen a fan of fanon Cass the way I’ve seen fans of fanon Dick, for example. Obviously, this could just be by coincidence, or I’ve just surrounded myself with people like that, but it’s been a trend I noticed. Racism and misogyny is present in every part of this fandom and should be addressed as such, but I feel like it manifests the most blatantly in the fanon parts of this fandom. 

(I’d also recommend the articles Migratory Slash Fandom’s Focus and Beige Blank Slates, which expand more on the type of fandom racism I think is especially prominent in the batfam fandom, as well as literally every article in the What Fandom Racism Looks Like series.)

6. All this leads me to conclude that the majority of fanon fans don’t actually like the characters all that much; they’re convenient excuses for them to participate in fandom. Which I also think is, in no small part, a reason why so many of them react so negatively to being told to pick up a comic; they came to this fandom specifically to consume it as a fandom, because they wanted the fandom experience without having to consume a canon. 

This is not a phenomena unique to the batfam fandom (again, see the Migratory Slash Fandom), but it does fascinate me. While fandom is often said to be an experience focusing on transformative art, I think it’s also safe to say that, especially as fandom has become more mainstream, an increasing amount of people are looking to it less as a way to engage with their favourite pieces of media, and more as a type of media in and of itself. I think the reasons for this are similar to the reasons mass media entertainment like the MCU are so popular; you gain a lot of enjoyment out of it with very little risk involved. 

By consuming the same fics of the same characters (or the same archetypes) over and over again, you are rarely at risk of being challenged or even disappointed. It’s often very clear right from the start whether or not a fic will appeal to you, and if it isn’t, it’s easy to just look for another one. It requires less emotional investment than most other types of media, even ‘popcorn media’ like the MCU - or, yes, DC Comics. It’s safe, it’s enjoyable, it’s comforting, like McDonalds, but just like McDonalds, it’s ultimately bland and unsubstantial. 

7, TL;DR. Ultimately, I don’t think it’s like, wrong to enjoy the fanon version of the batfam without wanting to engage with canon, and I certainly don’t think it’s okay to harrass people over it. But I do think it’s in large part based on a desire to interact with fandom rather than other pieces of media because people are scared of being let down by those pieces of media (or worse, just uninterested in actually thinking), which is mildly concerning. 

[outrunningthedark]

(This isn’t towards you I promise) I feel like sometimes I find posts for 911 and have to take a minute cause people put so much effort in to like complaining about a show. And I’m not talking about taking the time to point out valid criticisms of a character because lots of people seem to be over looking them but like not understanding that in the end it’s a tv show and they are going to make decisions that might not make 100% sense like skipping over recover a lot (even with buck and his broken leg) it just doesn’t make for a good story line for an average viewer and what they want to do ya know? Like I want these arcs but I also know that they’re probably skipping them for a reason. Also just bad takes I’m really tired of blatantly racist ableist you aren’t allowed to dislike any female character takes. (I’m sorry this makes no sense I’ve just seen you, I think, make some posts about stuff like this before and the more I engage with the fandom the more I agree)

“You aren’t allowed to dislike any female character!” hot takes make me laugh because they always come from the same viewers who praise 911 for the diverse ensemble cast.

I think we need a refresher on what ensemble cast actually means:

An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This differs from productions which develop and focus on certain main characters more than others.

If you’re begging for more Taylor Kelly because you’re gay and want to appreciate her beauty, that means Buck would need more screen time since he’s the reason she’s on the show. And if Buck gets more screen time...which character is getting pushed aside? The Mexican with the physically disabled son? The black lesbian (and her wife)? 🤔

Another problem with having so many characters week after week is that not every viewer is going to watch the show for the same reasons. There are Buck stans, Eddie stans, Maddie stans, etc. and each group expects their fave to be prioritized.

Buck stans got angry when he was “mocked” by Hen and Eddie after they learned about his childhood antics and wasn’t included in the ending Parenthood montage. Not a day goes by where someone isn’t analyzing his abandonment issues and dragging the Buckley parents.

Eddie stans are beginning to resent his bestie because the shooting storyline “became about Buck” (we’re ignoring the Buddie implications, I guess?) and are now pissed that Tim (allegedly) doesn’t plan to devote time and energy to a PTSD arc.

Maddie stans are expecting her post-partum depression to take center stage in season five because why introduce such a serious topic if there’s no follow up? She’s also a white woman, and her race no doubt plays a role in how she is perceived. Her biggest supporters will tell you that JLH’s presence is the main reason the average viewer (aka non-tumblr audience) tunes in.

This show only runs for slightly over 40 minutes each week, and unlike other popular network series that have 22/24 episodes per season, 911 sticks with 18. That is simply not enough time to accommodate Bobby, Athena, Eddie, Buck, Hen, Maddie, Chimney, and now Albert (who is officially part of the firefam), nor should it be enough time to find room for Taylor Kelly and Ana Flores (the fandom faves!!!) when Tim already doesn’t know how to incorporate characters such as Michael, David (if we got more Michael we would need to see his partner, too), and Karen on a regular basis.

tl;dr Stop saying you love every shiny new character!! It’s only gonna encourage even more neglect of the original cast!!

[thattimdrakeguy]

You know It is really funny how that person said Tim/Kon is a bad ship because the shippers are racist and hating on Cassandra but... I have seen some people saying Stephanie should've been the Batgirl in DCeased Unkillables instead of Cassandra because she is more important as Batgirl, should I assume that every Steph stan is racist too then? Or they just wanted a reason to hate a mlm ship because it is not about their blonde favorite? People are weird

I’m still stuck on trying to figure out why they think it’s a thing for TimKon fans to hate Cassandra Cain because I’ve literally never seen it, and even then who even says it’s a racist thing, and even after that why act like it’s a vocal majority thing?

Cuz it’s just not, and it feels so random to me to make up, but they like using buzzwords that’ll get more attention.

It’s dumb.

[gl2814-3]

How bout 17 or 10 for yj ask

Thanks for the ask! I never get asks and I love them. Forgive me if I ramble (I’m gonna ramble).

17: You can make your own team, 6 members, who is on it?

Subjectively, if I were just picking my favorite characters, it would probably be: Kaldur, Tigress, Rocket, Static, Red Arrow and Nightwing...

Objectively though, if I were trying to build the most effective team possible?

1. Miss Martian: The Team needs a telepath and M’gann’s the best in the game. On top of that, she has a truly remarkable and versatile power set. Shape-shifting, density shifting, camouflage, telepathy, telekinesis. Low-key, she’s one of the most powerful people on the Team. I’d rather have her on my side in a fight than Superboy tbh. 

2. Halo: Another hero with an amazing power set. Even without the holograms and force fields and healing, she can come back from the dead! It was gruesome, over the top and sometimes racist on the show but in theory, it’s really cool. Also she has the Anti-Life Equation or is the key or...the show lost me a little during that part but I’m sure it’s important, whatever the hell it is. Halo also just really wants to help people so that’s great. 

3. Blue Beetle: Again, incredibly versatile and effective. The Team needs a bruiser or two and he fits the bill alongside Miss M if she really gets into it. BB can bench-press Mongul. Remember that scene when he beat the shit out of the entire Team during Invasion? It was perfection. Jaime is a first-round draft pick, no question.

4. Robin (Tim Drake): Every team needs a bat-brat. I don’t know what Bruce is feeding them but they’re all super-effective ninja-soldiers. That’s the only reason everybody puts up with Batman and Nightwing’s bullshit, because they’re that good. Tim is probably the most mellow of them, perfectly willing to just be a good team player and tech-guy for everyone. 

5. Zatanna: We need a magic guy to make sure all our bases are covered here. I don’t really stan her like that and don’t have that much to say but she more than holds her own in every fight and has bailed the team and League out time and time again. Speaking of magic though...

6. Aqualad/Aquaman: Every team needs a leader and Kaldur’ahm of Shayeris is, for my money, the best possible option. I could write an essay on it, I really could. He’s led the Team, the League, his father’s Manta-Troopers and even Queen Bee’s Onslaught (Icicle, Tommy Terror,etc.) to victory. Remember in Summit when Vandal Savage is ranting about how annoyingly epic Aqualad is? Kaldur’s the embodiment of that Michael Jordan pic with all of his championship rings.

He also has an incredible understanding of people for a guy who’s not telepathic. In Drop-Zone, Kaldur is able to explain clearly and thoughtfully where the Team is going wrong and what they need in a leader. In Disordered , he lays out all of his teammates shortcomings without a drop of malice or ego. He knows when Superboy needs social graces explained to him, when he has to explain to the group why Wally’s such a dumbass about magic, when Artemis just needs a break... Let me be clear: If it weren’t for Kaldur’s leadership, the Team would have been dead in the water (pun intended) back in S1 several times over.

So yeah, that’s my team I guess! I like them, together they could probably take on everybody. Coming to you in S4, Young Justice: Don’t Start None, Won’t Be None.

[kaen-ace-of-diamonds]

SO LAST WEEKEND I WENT TO SEE IT AND NOW I’VE FINALLY GOT SOME OF MY THOUGHTS IN ORDER ENOUGH TO YELL ABOUT IT

FIRST OF ALL, HOLY SHIT

I mean, I don’t want to say that this movie kicked the shit out of the old movie in a dark alley, stole its wallet, and then lit it on fire, BUT, this movie kicked the shit out of the old movie in a dark alley, stole its wallet, and then lit it on fire. (The book then immediately ran both of them over in a semi truck, but that’s beside the point.)

Seriously, though, it’s crazy how much of an improvement this was. I think I’ll go through it bit by bit, so I can try and get everything. 

- I’ll start off with what everybody’s going nuts about: Pennywise!

As far as comparison goes, though I am hesitant to diss Tim Curry, because he is wonderful, the new movie’s version of the character is not only scarier, it’s much more true to the book. While Curry was clearly having a ball with his performance, Miniseries!Pennywise’s portrayal is severely hurt by lackluster writing, special effects that haven’t really aged well, and basically just looking like a guy in a cheap clown costume and makeup. 

Bill Skarsgård, on the other hand, not only knocked it out of the park with his performance (and is tall and skinny as fuck so that helped), but the writing and design definitely up the scare factor a lot more. I love so, so much that they’re putting more focus on what It actually is: not just a creepy clown, but a predatory Eldritch Abomination beyond human comprehension. With the much higher focus on Its shapeshifting, Its unnatural movements (the scene where It comes out of the box all twisted and unraveling Its limbs was so fucking cool, I shouldn’t have been grinning but I was anyway), the way It’s literally drooling over Georgie, how when It feeds, It pulls out all those rows of teeth and Its eyes roll back in Its head like a shark attack and the jaw unhinges like a snake...It’s feral, vicious, animalistic, fantastic.

(Side note: I lost my shit near the end when Its jaws opened past Its fucking forehead and I realized that not only does its mouth look like an unholy fusion of the mouths of a lamprey and a leatherback turtle, but those are the fucking Deadlights at the back! I am just praying to the horror gods that this time we’ll get a take on Its final boss form that actually looks scary.)

- Speaking of which, the movie’s scary parts get special kudos for making the poor girl behind me in the theater jump so hard the seats shook a little on two or three separate occasions. I could hear her like quietly crying for a little bit, she was so scared, I felt so bad! :(

- Now, on the other side of things: The Losers’ Club. Long story short, I LOVE THESE KIDS SO MUCH OH MY GOD THEIR FRIENDSHIP IS THE BEST PART OF THE MOVIE

I will actually die for Beverly Marsh

You go girl, kill that abusive father, you’re doing amazing sweetie, 10/10

EDDIE IS FUCKING PRECIOUS

I actually think I love Movie!Eddie more than Book!Eddie, he is an actual adorable puppy

“they’re GAZEBOS!!!” mY BOY <3

And I definitely love Movie!Richie more than Book!Richie, because they dumped out all his racist jokes from the book and made him brighter and more cheerful than Miniseries!Richie 

He goes from friendly sweetheart to pure awesome in a second and he’s honestly one of the best parts of the movie

“Derry started as a beaver-trapping town.” “And it still is, amiright boys?!?”

“wHAT THE FUCK”

“Go blow your dad, you mullet-wearing asshole!” bURN OF THE GODDAMN CENTURY

“Now I have to kill this fucking clown!”

Stan left the Losers first as a kid and 27 years later he’ll leave them first again and I’m going to lose it

All I could think during the lamprey-mouth-sucking-face scene and the ensuing trauma was, “Oh shit, they’re having Stan get hurt the worst here for a reason”

Ben Hanscom is darling and deserves the world

Every time he smiled I just wanted to hug him

SPEAKING OF DESERVING BETTER:

Mike is probably my second favorite Loser (right behind Bill), and while they gave him a nice character arc, I wish to God that he’d gotten more screentime and that they hadn’t given his Thing as the one who researches Derry’s history and figures out It’s pattern to Ben, because, you know, that’s kind of important since he’s the one who stays in Derry to be their lookout up to adulthood

But hey, if they let him keep that role, he’ll probably get more of the spotlight in the second movie, so we’ll see

I did love that he was the one who got to fight Henry and knock him down the well, maybe as a nod to the bad blood between the Bowers and Hanlon families from the book

- Special props go to the beginning scenes (Bill and Georgie at home right up to where Georgie gets it...ah, no pun intended). In my opinion, IT has the best opening that Stephen King ever wrote, and the movie definitely did it justice. 

While the miniseries kind of skimmed over their brotherly relationship, here, it’s focused on like it should be, front and center, and was genuinely deep and touching. Maybe this is just me as an older sister talking, but watching the two of them together, clearly loving each other, and knowing that this is the last time Bill will ever see his brother alive seriously got to me

I liked how they had Georgie actually be creeped out by the clown in the sewer, like any normal child, enough that he almost ran off

And unlike the book or miniseries, his actual death here wasn’t just scary, it hurt my heart to see Georgie panicking and crying and trying to get away

“Billyyyyyy!” fucking kill me

And while Book!Bill will always be my favorite (he just seems to have more depth to him there), he’s definitely a lot more compelling here than he is in the miniseries

We actually get to see believable grief and denial, and a seriously heartbreaking speech about how walking into the lair of a murdering monster, with no guarantee he’ll come back out alive, is easier than walking into a home without his little brother

And then at the end, when he gets the undeniable proof that his brother died a horrible death and there was no way he could have saved him (btw, that shot of the raincoat came out of NOWHERE and HIT ME LIKE A BRICK), and finally breaks down crying -- !

Fuck. Me. Running; that all hurts

I don’t care that the online quizzes say I’m most like Ben or Bev, I’ve always identified with Bill the most. I’m not a natural leader, but I’m reserved, usually thinking hard, sometimes have trouble speaking, and if I ever lost my little brother, I don’t know what I’d do without him. His is the story I feel most connected to, and I’m glad it was done so well.

- (One more note on Beverly’s big scene, though: as much as I loved it, I have to say, I’m wondering how it will affect Chapter Two. If I remember correctly, Book!Beverly only ended up with Tom Rogan because she never got over what her father did, much less stood up to him when she was just a kid, let alone friggin killed him. The only reason I don’t have too much of a problem with her being damsel-in-distress captured to rally the boys together is that half the point of that scene is to show that since she’s already physically fought and killed her worst fear, she isn’t affected in the slightest by It. One could make an argument that it would be a result of all the kids’ memories of what they did fading as they grow up and leave Derry -- and Bev’s already leaving by the end of this movie -- but if she isn’t at all intimidated by the literal embodiment of everything humans fear while still a child, I don’t know that I’ll be able to buy that she inexplicably ended up trapped by a run-of-the-mill shitbag like Tom as a grown adult.)

- As for the human villains! Let me just start off by saying PATRICK HOCKSTETTER GOT FUCKING ROBBED. 

Okay, to be fair, I’m not invested enough in his character to be actually irritated about it, and if they decided that the underage sewer orgy couldn’t be filmed (a decision I fully approve of, the blood bonding scene alone was a lot cooler and I don’t care what Stephen King says, the damn story didn’t need an underage sewer orgy), then Patrick murdering his baby brother out of solipsistic spite and jerking off Henry in a junkyard wouldn’t fly, either. His scenes add nothing to the plot, anyway; the guy is there purely to be fucked up and creepy. (Though I must admit, it was cool to see what It would do with a victim that could feel neither fear nor pain.) 

But on the other hand, if you’re not going to include any of the parts that made him fucked up and creepy, then why even have him in the movie? It just seems pointless. 

Seriously, this was my train of thought during that whole scene:

“Wait, Patrick? This whole time, I thought that was Victor...Wait, he’s clearly going to die, they’re not going to kill him off so soon?! They’re not...Oh, nope, yep, there he goes. He’s dead. And not a leech to be seen. Shame.”

Henry’s other friends didn’t leave much of an impression on me, but then again I didn’t care about them in the book or miniseries either. It was pretty much the same with Beverly’s father, except it was a great move to remove Bev’s mom to make it so poor Bev is trapped with just her father, in a much more vulnerable position than the book or the miniseries, with no one to stop him from hurting her

However, I did like how they did Henry; he’s a lot easier to take seriously as just a fucked-up kid now that he doesn’t look like Walmart Danny Zuko

While I feel like I prefer how his father was portrayed in the book, this is an interesting twist on his character: he can play the part of the strict but good cop in public, to make sure his son doesn’t make him look bad in the guise of keeping him on the straight and narrow, but in private, abusing and humiliating him as he pleases, and since he’s a cop, there’s no one Henry could go to for help and so he’s doomed to end up just as vicious and cruel as his father, just more obvious about it

“Ain’t nothing like a little fear to make a paper man crumble;” oh my god what an asshole but what a good line

(Side note, I kept thinking I recognized Henry’s face from somewhere, but I looked up Nicholas Hamilton on IMDB and I haven’t seen anything he was in. Weird.)

Also: since Henry didn’t stay in the picture long enough to be used as the scapegoat for the murders and end up in an asylum, I’m wondering how they’ll bring him back for the second half, since the creators confirmed that yeah, like the book, he isn’t quite dead

Oh God, what if they have it so It was keeping him unnaturally alive in the sewers for 27 years?! That’s some horrible I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream shit but if that’s how they want to go it might work!

Granted, though, having no asylum leaves the filmmakers without the impossible problem of trying to make a dog in a clown suit scary...

- I don’t think there’s any more characters I have any opinion on and it’s the middle of the night and I’m too tired to say much else but yeah, all the kudos to the cast and crew for being so amazing

- AND! MOST IMPORTANTLY OF ALL!

AFTER OVER A HUNDRED YEARS AND COUNTLESS ATTEMPTS, THIS MOVIE HAS FINALLY GIVEN US THE BEST MOMENT IN ALL OF CINEMA HISTORY:

LIKE, I SAW THIS GIF BEFORE I SAW THE MOVIE AND I WAS CONVINCED, 100% CONVINCED, THAT IT WAS AN EDIT

BUT NOPE, THAT’S THE ACTUAL SCENE. THE ENTIRE THEATER BURST OUT LAUGHING. NOW, AS MY FRIEND WHO WAS WITH ME SAID, “WE AS HUMANS HAVE ASCENDED TO THE HIGHEST FORM OF ART.” THERE’S YET ANOTHER ENDLESS SOURCE OF FUEL FOR MY BAD DECISIONS AT 2:00 AM:

(if you listen very closely, you can hear me and my undone homework sobbing in the distance)

(there’s over 20 parts to that series now, as of the typing of these insane ramblings)

(just in case anyone else would like to make some Bad Choices)

- I’m looking forward to the second half and how they’ll handle the adult Losers’ stories, because I now have 100% faith in all involved to do it just as well as they did the kids’ half

All I’ll say on what my expectations are for Chapter Two is, I will go into it knowing damn well that if they stay faithful up until the end, the ending will break my heart just like the book did and I’ll end up crying shamelessly in the theater like Les Miserables all over again

“I loved you guys, you know. I loved you so much.” fUCK YOU STEPHEN KING, YOU AND YOUR FUCKING ENDINGS, DONT PLAY WITH MY FEELINGS LIKE THIS

[infernallewords]

Stereotypes

I’m sick of them.  I’m sick to death of them.  If I see one more show, movie, or book with a stereotype of a minority in it, I will scream and pretend that piece of garbage doesn’t exist.  If you have to add a commonly used adjective to your minority to describe it (one you’ve seen used previously), you are writing a stereotype.  I have dropped show after show after show because of this.  At this point I just watch silly videos online, because almost every show has this, with the exception of The Flash, because that show is apparently being written by people who actually interact with minorities.  The story line may be a little hackneyed, but the minority characters are gold.  And people need to take a page from its book, because fucking hell it’s beautiful.  

If I can watch a movie/show or read a book with a minority, and predict exactly how they will behave, that thing will be dead to me.  

Example: I was so excited to read a Christopher Moore book.  Super excited.  I’d heard so many good things about Lamb.  Everybody I knew loved it.  Well, I wanted to read a horror story, and he had written a horror comedy called A Dirty Job.  This book was set in San Fran’s Chinatown district.  The main character, a white male, was written with some depth (goofy, beta male stupidity, but some depth).  His lesbian sister was written as just that.  Her entire story line revolved around her being a lesbian.  Not her as a person, but just her as a lesbian.  Okay, I said, and continued on.  His Chinese landlady spoke in broken English, stole his many pets to eat them, and screamed in Cantonese at him.  His female Russian neighbor constantly talked about fighting bears.  The one black guy in the book, who could also sense the dead, always dressed like a pimp, is called “Minty Fresh”, and pretends to be gay to lure in gay men to buy all his Cher albums.  Also, the main character is constantly “talking black” to him.  He’s also super physically strong.  His creepy fellow shop keeper is constantly searching for “desperate Filipina girls” on dating websites and fetisizes them.  There’s some ugly “trans humor” attached to it that makes me cringe.  And the women are all fuckpuppets.  One of the female souls gets attached to her breast implants.  

Do you see the problem here?  I will never read another fucking book by this author, because the method by which he wrote his minority characters was stunningly bad.  Not all black men have to be big, burly pimps dressed in pimp suits.  Not all Asian people “eat dog”.  I guess he was trying to throw you off the scent with the Russian lady and “wrestling bears”, but fuck man, you don’t make something better by doubling down on it.  And if you’re trying to comment on stereotypes, you have to subvert them in a well-written way.  This author does not do that in the least.  All he needed was the sexed up, saucy Latina character with her big hips and “feisty attitude”.  Thank god there was no “sassy Black woman”, or the many, many stereotypes depicting Black women as either whores, mammies, or non-sexed magical characters for the main character’s benefit (though Minty did come off as a bit of a magical negro character to help guide the story line).  Also, if the main character hadn’t been portrayed as a “beta male”, I’m sure there would have been some white savior complex a la every main white male character Hollywood throws in with a bunch of minority characters.  

“Oh, stop talking down about white people!  That’s just racist!”

Well, I am talking about minority stereotypes and the inherent racism therein, so it makes sense to talk about the opposite problem, y’know?  You can’t improve upon a problem without talking about the problem.  Also, stop getting cringey when somebody talks about white characters and their juxtaposition with minority characters in pieces of entertainment.  The troupes are already proven and they are well-worn.  Besides, I’m talking about representation, and it matters.  White characters get amazing representation with depth, personality, romance, wants, goals, dreams, and hopes for their future.  All I want is to see is that with minority characters, which rarely happens unless it’s written by a minority.  And then if it’s a movie, expect a slave narrative, which I pretty much will not watch (#nomoreslavenarratives).

Example: While I did enjoy the movie Logan (went to the theatre and everything), its WSC was off the scales.  I still enjoyed it, but why?  And if anybody rolls their eyes at me mentioning this, just take a look at the way Hollywood furthers this standard.  Avatar, The Help, The Blind Side, The Last Samurai, Dangerous Minds, etc.  Hell, martial arts films made by Hollywood have a straight up complex when it comes to the Asian master who teaches the non-Asian to fight and be the best there ever was.  I can direct you to Iron Fist, the Netflix show that does this, but everybody says, “Hey man, that was the original story!”  Okay, but that’s actually not better.  The fact that this has been going on forever doesn’t make it excusable.  The movie Man of Tai Chi doesn’t exactly endear me to the concept, either.  And I won’t even go into everything wrong with that horrific Dragonball movie.  

And so you know I’m not pulling this out of my ass.

http://feministfilm.tumblr.com/post/6608112156/a-brief-list-and-analysis-of-white-savior-films

All I’m saying is this: I just want to see some realistic depictions of minorities in Hollywood and beyond.  I’m sick of the stereotypes.  I’m sick of being super excited to watch or read something, only to be hit over the head with stereotypes anytime a minority is introduced.  And I’m also sick of people refusing to even write minorities in lead parts, because they don’t want to offend or have “tokens”.  As Tim Burton put it, “Nowadays, people are talking about it [diversity] more ... things either call for things, or they don’t. I remember back when I was a child watching The Brady Bunch and they started to get all politically correct. Like, OK, let’s have an Asian child and a black. I used to get more offended by that than just… I grew up watching blaxploitation movies, right? And I said, that’s great. I didn’t go like, OK, there should be more white people in these movies.”

First of all, lol.  This is why I haven’t watched a Tim Burton film since he fucked up Sweeney Todd.  Second, “a black”?  Blaxploitation films?  Oh man.  Third, minorities aren’t just people you sprinkle in stories for the sake of diversity.  If you have a diverse group of friends, they aren’t there just because you “sprinkled them in”.  You have them because you like them and what they bring to the table as human beings.  You have friends from different backgrounds, because you have things in common.  It’s those commonalities that cause you to come together and experience life.  Why people who write these scripts and screenplays and books seem to completely forget the real people they know in real life when they put pen to paper is beyond me.  If you have black friends, are they are sexless mammies who are magical negroes that merely exist in your life to further your story?  Are they all thieves or pimps or gangstas who have at some point involved themselves in criminal activity?  Do the young black women you know all resort to drugs or having a bunch of kids for child support or welfare?  Are they turning tricks?  Are the guys all players who fuck women and leave them with kids?  Are the black women in your life all neck-swiveling Shaniquas who wag their fingers and eat fried chicken and talk about “oh no you didn’t!”  

I certainly hope none of the people I know who write would try to shove me in any of those boxes, because I don’t fit in any of them.  I’m childless, in a long term relationshipand have hopes and dreams and a love of creativity, writing, and books.  I also have mental illnesses that affect my ability to be social and end up staying at home all day trying to parse my own reality while struggling with existential dread and nihilism.  I have the type of personality that would never be attributed to a black woman in many scenarios.  I’m not strong and independent--I’m a sad, depressed girl with anxiety issues who spends her time fumbling through life while trying to be successful and artistic.  That black girl never gets written, and it’s a shame.  That Korean/Chinese/Filipino/Indonesian girl never gets written.  That Latina girl never gets written.  That Indian girl never gets written.  Same with minority guys.  That guy, as a minority, never gets written, and I know so many going through the same ups and downs as me.

Minority characters are fucking human.  When I see us get written as humans in a movie or show or book, I inhale it and support it with all my might.  I will stan for these things.  I get excited about them.  I tell everybody about any piece of entertainment that does this and does it right.  And if you don’t know how to do it (I’m looking at you, again, Hollywood), then just write a character and make them a minority second.  Again, take a page from The Flash, who does this marvelously.  They wrote people first, and minorities second.  Did they have some slip ups (the absent mother who becomes a drug addict arc for Iris West), yes.  And it was stupid.  Did they make up with it with Iris’s brother in a way when they introduced Kid Flash?  Absolutely, and his character is awesome.  He was a little hotheaded at the beginning, but when they found his voice and disposed of certain stereotypical aspect (illegal drag racing), it was much better.  And really?  Even the drag racing played into him becoming Kid Flash due to his motivation for speed.  Even the mild stereotypes made some sense.  He’s a college student now with a job and a loving family, and that makes me so happy.  Why can’t more shows and movies do this?  Why is this so hard?  Joe West is a hard-working detective in the show and a black father who supports his kids.  He doesn’t have some edgy past with drugs and other crap.  He’s just ... amazing.  Why is that so hard?

Why is this so hard to comprehend?  I’m not complaining to be controversial or aggressive or mean or hateful (though many will obviously see that, regardless of how politely I structure my argument simply because I am mentioning race).  I’m complaining about it because I am none of these stereotypes, nobody I know or love are these stereotypes, and nobody I’m around are purely and only these stereotypes.  Whether or not you choose to believe that “stereotypes come from somewhere”, those same stereotypes can be found in any group of people.  So why are they only attributed to some and not others?  Or, if they are attributed to others, why do those others get to redeem themselves while the minorities who have these stereotypes don’t?  That’s where my frustration lies.

[starlooove]

Realizing the adultification and demonization of Duke and Damian is just. Not gonna stop. El oh el