#i like chinese anime characters though I’m critical of where the stereotypes come from and what they communicate

[tianshiisdead]

I know I mainly focus on history and my interps can depart from canon quite a bit, but I do like canon’s clumsy and cheerful moe moe mr china as well. thank you hima for the latest chapter’s yaoyao who’s smirking while blushing and posing like a well-to-do young lady

[chorochororin]

Ah yes, Shanghai.

In regards to the ML Shanghai specials, I will not expecting Miraculous’s next Special to be like a ‘delicious meal’ (general, well created and plotted movie) that I will watch it multiple times, but at least it has to be edible. 

I was wrong. 

SPOILERS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

Now there are two problems raise for me and most audiences as well, notable A. representation, and B. (previewed plot)

Exhibit A: Asian Representation. 

I have the impressions that Shanghai will reveal the beauty of culture, art, history, and people of China like what they did in ML New York (ironically). And at the same line, due to the formulated plot of ML New York and how ML staffs likes to orderly mess things up, the ‘beauty’ of it will come with many mess and too much flaws regarding characters and settings. I was partially correct in my second thought. 

What I thought that Shanghai was going to explore to the audiences Chinese origin for our part-or-whole? Chinese characters, especially Marinette, since she is a Chinese-French protagonist, and the prominent deuteragonist, Fei, which I am more excited more. 

As a member of the Asian community, I was thrilled to see what the ML staff has their views on a Chinese woman who’s both strong as a citizen and a hero? That is...played on stereotypes but I’m sure that it’s edible (meaning the bare minimum)-

Yep, that’s her, Fei the Lady Dragon has appeared.

You know, I could forgive Uncanny Valley in the NY special for her transformation, reasons that I cannot fully represent the Black community about the issue about her, and I figured that white tin for her transformation was the usual material that was use for AIs in various commercials and technological photos, so I believe it is not necessarily whitewashing and it is just a material that human will probably stabilize it in the future to unload less stress (please correct me if I am wrong.) 

But this?! She’s white as a sheet, more actually. 

She’s whiter than Marinette! And that’s saying a lot. 

Keep in mind this is a result from a bunch of White people, sitting in a room, probably reading white-written Chinese books instead of observing actual Chinese people, and thought ‘hey! Let’s give her blond to match the color of red! As in good luck! And dragon!’ 

You know that this wasn’t really tolerable in Asian representation in media. The fact that she was blond during transformation as if the blond figure will be the eventual ending form when people idolize her in that blond form. Not too mention that in the trailers alone, we can see her doing some Asian Martial Arts and appeared quite skillful and strong, not sure if it was a common stereotypes for Asians (Kagami); and who knows this stereotype would tie in to her Dragon form as an implied ‘Dragon Lady’ stereotype (a stereotype of certain East Asian and occasionally South Asian and or Southeast Asian women as strong, deceitful, domineering, mysterious, and often sexually alluring,), you could’ve gone for a Giant Panda for her since it is also the National Animal for China, that would have been cute. Speaking of Dragons, there was once a post said that almost all Asians that are transformable heroes (sans Kim) are associated to dragons and all of them are woman? 

Maybe I have gone a bit too critical here, let us continue. 

Exhibit B: Plot. 

Remember some of us are salty because the New York came and that we see that the only reason Adrien could go was Marinette and vice versa? That the movie was pushing the ship not the story? Turns out it is also the same for Shanghai. 

Now a handful of officially-verified accounts (associated with ML staffs, VAs, and other officials) that has posted leaks about it, I’ll link you one right here:

https://twitter.com/ladyofacat/status/1372994794759278599

The ones I saw were on Instagram and this is on Twitter. 

Basically, the reason why Shanghai existed, not because what we were expecting about Marinette’s and Fei’s Chinese roots and origins at all, not because of introducing the beautiful culture and people of China. 

But Adrien was there, and Marinette just wanted to grab Adrien’s attention. 

Now first question: Why the fuck is Adrien there? This one special where there is a part of Marinette that she could be her own story, why is Adrien there? Secondly, why does every time that we were so close to have just once, just once about Marinette and only her, she would just take advantage on it because Adrien. 

This is really horrifying. By taking advantage of one’s parents, trust and money, to go far far away, highly implied, mostly alone to a land for one of your parents, hopefully to learn, only stalk your crush is insane. Even though Marinette was supposed to be the more prominent one in the Special, it seems that the writers don’t have a better idea centering her except if it revolves Adrien. 

Is this what the ML writers thinks? Are they actually okay in worsening our strong-willed and caring girl to the person that cannot live without her crush. Is this what the writers wanted to project? I mean, it is likely that she will learn something about her culture at the end since they still wanted to apply a heartful message to the show, but with her now intention to go and Adrien’s arrival to Shanghai, this is not going to be good. 

So between whitewashing representations and poorly written stories to push the ships, I will still watch the show, but even without the spoilers, the ML Shanghai Special would be too predictable now, badly so. 

[cosplayswitzerlandaskblog]

Unlike last time Hetalia got a new season, the response has not been particularly positive, and I’m seeing a lot of twisted feelings towards the show and the fandom to a point where it seems long time content creators are stepping away from it. I know anyone still active who follows me either are or were fans of Hetalia, so it should be relevant for all y’all.

As a fan who never fell out of the show, I find the response sad though healthy, and even if I know I ghosted you all on tumblr (sorry) because of time constraints and mental health, I still make the occasional CMVs. Fact is, I do not let go of special interests very easily. It seems a lot of you all started watching the show at 10-14 years old, where I myself was a bit older – 17 – and had grown a bit more. Long story short, my Naruto phase was your Hetalia phase, and no, it’s not pretty. You’re young and stupid and don’t know much critical thinking and make mistakes, and you have to forgive yourself for those mistakes, especially when the content you consume is associated with the real world in a sensitive subject.

But after seeing all these posts explaining all the bad we see from Hetalia, I wanted to make a post explaining what I learned from it – all the good that can come with a show like this if you stay aware of perspective. I am not excusing all the bad that came with it, for WWII is a serious event in history that should never be forgotten nor made fun of, but here goes:

I went from a ‘war-is-cool’ history buff to one who truly delved in and learned the intricacies of history, being fascinated with the ‘hows’ and the ‘whys’ as well as getting an excuse to look at the histories of nations which I’d never otherwise be interested in, and I know a lot of other people in the fandom did the same. This is how history should be known, as that is how we can truly apply it to the real world.

I learned to separate people from their countries. To give an example that’ll hit close to much of tumblr, when I started Hetalia I hated Americans with a passion because of the road “you” had put the world on, and I considered all y’all dumb and bad as a cause of it. Getting that excuse to take an ACTUAL look at how your nation functioned and what communities truly hid behind the borders, I learned instead that your government is corrupt as shit, your society is rigged against you and you have been forced to stand by and watch as chaos happens. It got applied to the world as a whole, where I considered other nations being as dynamic as my own, with people both good and bad, and the actions of the nation is even less of a reflection of the people in the cases of corrupt democracies or dictatorships.

I separated from Colonial world views. I was never actively racist, brought up in a proper home, and already before Hetalia I fiercely protected the rights of Muslims who are often mistreated in my nation and tried to hear them out when possible. But I was a Westerner, and even if the nation I came from had barely participated in invasions, I had learned to consider my culture ‘correct’ and native and African cultures ‘primitive’. While the journey was long, a step wise process of realizing things like there was nothing inherently ethically wrong eating dogs or partially incubated duck eggs, only in how the animals were acquired, that cultural progress is heavily dependent on perspective and that fucking genocide of native peoples still happen in this damn century, Hetalia was the stepping stone which gave me the interest in other nations to expand my world view. I probably ain’t done here – I have a whole life of outside influences to unlearn – but I’m further than most people I know in my near surroundings, and I’ve even managed to move my parents who originally taught me to respect people of all kinds in the first place.

I learned Nazis were people. This is a conversation which often comes up here on tumblr, and the demonization Nazi Germany and its government directly allows actual Nazis and fascists like Richard Spencer a free pass because they look groomed and proper. Until then, I’d simply assumed no one was ‘stupid enough to be a Nazi’ because of the atrocities of WWII and therefore looked at the world naively. Realizing how little true support Nazis had during WWII and similarly anyone could end down that pungent rabbit hole, I became careful of what I excused on social media and allowed myself to doubt seemingly normal people if their behaviour was alarming – such as the police man who is supposed to be a damn ‘hero’ of society.

I learned how to deal with material sensitive to others. A common problem in the fandom has always been the cosplaying and portrayal of Nazis, especially at cons and the like, and in a similar vein – I did blackface once because of Hetalia. The horrible thing about this is that blackface is immensely common in Europe – at least my own country – and blackface frequently happens at schools during ‘international’ events, where whole classrooms are assigned to portray a designated country. A whole of two times – in 6th grade as well as 2nd grade of high school – I was exposed to blackface as my class was given an African nation to portray – Somalia the first time, Kenya the second. No one, adult, teen or child, are aware of the history of race imitation in my country, but by the second time I was supposed to participate in dressing up as an African tribe, I’d understood the issue – thanks to Hetalia. My friend group of white, privileged, European teens discussed what symbolism was appropriate at cons or in videos – could we wear the Iron Cross? The Nazi flag? What if we burned it during the video? These thoughts are not usually a part of the mind of European youth, and I consider that a grave problem which leads to people making fun of ‘triggers’, downplaying racial issues and the like.

It offered me a means to make history personal. The biggest struggle for good history teachers and the reason we are often made to read and write letters from the periods we study is to make it seem real and get a emotional connection to these past, lost peoples. Hetalia offered puppets for me to place into historical contexts to make them truly real – the main driver pushing me away from mere fascination of war, since I suddenly felt the horrors of warfare through the characters that I loved. Things like Elizabeth I’s court, the conquests of Rome, the dissolution of the Kalmar Union, the battlefield of Somme, the invasion of America, damn slavery becomes different when something you already know is a part of it and you can see them in there. Hearing of people of the past should in itself be enough, and for the closest parts of history (WWII and afterwards) it always was for me, but we are human. We cannot understand the size of a billion, and we struggle understanding the lives of those living centuries before us, unless we are offered context.

I’m not blind to the issues of the fandom or the show. I was here for ‘the r*pist, the pervert and the p*dophile’, I know of South Korean and Chinese issues with the show, and I heard the gassing joke in the show’s dub and got nauseous from discomfort and anger. I’ve always been in the fringe of the fandom due to my social disabilities, so I don’t know everything that happened, but I’ve seen many racist OCs and disrespecting of historical sites. It’s not pretty, but I will believe these people, who were likely young, likely learned in time. And I may have been able to learn these things by other means, but not in the same way, and not through personal interest and research that’s helped me become sceptical and analysing of the world around me.

At its core, Hetalia is about watching a normal, nerdy guy learn how to draw, using stereotypic country personifications mainly from the perspective of Japan. It’s natural he chooses Japan, since he’s Japanese, and WWII is unfortunately the automatic historical event for most common people to focus on – but Hetalia doesn’t even solely focus on that, but is an amalgamation of vaguely correct historical situations played out by the characters, and often it is with the intent of comedy rather than the grimness often associated with historical settings which allows a wider audience than merely history nerds.

What I want you all to do is learn from your mistakes and forgive your younger selves for not knowing better. Maybe reflect on what you got from the show, rather than what you lost. A new generation of young Hetalians is likely coming with the new season, and us old timers might be able to help them avoid pitfalls if we stay around to teach them. The best of the show is compassion towards the people of the world combined and love of history, as I believe Hima wanted it – the worst is Nazi apologetics and racial stereotyping. We decide in what direction we take it, and what lessons we bring into the future.

TL;DR: As a lot of media intended for older audiences, Hetalia is a show which has to be watched critically, which makes it dangerous for young people to watch unhinged, but it also opens up for interest in the world beyond the borders you live within. We should be aware of the issues and learn from them, but in and of itself the show has a lot of good to offer in learning compassion for other nations and cultural groups.

[angelinuhh]

adms from krps shouldn't feel like they need to put more race in their rps bc they are literally playing a whole ass rp with a race that died and still die in the hands of americans

(pt 2) ive come from a place where asian people are hated for absolutely nothing and they suffer from racism everyday, so claim that krp are not diverse is just bullsht, fuck whitey rps not asian rps! we should have a wakanda based rp or smth, but don’t go after krps like that. asian people are not white people for gods sake. and when it comes to sexuality it’s incredibly diverse in the country i play rps tbh no one is straight

(pt 3) you must be those whities who thinks that asians are white ugh just say you’re racist and go

Hi. So this anon was kind enough to give me three messages. I’m going to be responding to all three in this fun last one. 

But first, let me tell you a story about me. Because I hope no one ever fucking comes in with this stupid ass horseshit reasoning ever again.

(tw mentions of death, the vietnam war, racism)

I never met my uncle. He died in the Vietnam War when he was barely 18, a soldier for a war that I don’t know if he believed in. In every home that I’ve ever lived in, a picture of him sits on the altar—a reminder of all we left behind.

I never met my cousin. He was just a baby when he died. My aunt had just had him when she became a refugee from the country she loved. And though she lived to come to a new country and find a new home, he didn’t. There are no pictures to remember him by.

I am luckier than them.

The first time I really knew that I was asian, I was in kindergarten. There’s a clapping game we used to play. It involves saying something like “Chinese, japanese, dirty knees” whatever. The point is part of it is about using your fingers to make your eyes slanted. Someone told me that I didn’t have to do it, because my eyes were slanted enough. I didn’t understand. But, when the teacher came over and saw everyone with their faux-slanted eyes and me sitting there, she gasped and yelled at them. And, when everyone started crying, that’s when I knew it was wrong.

When I was in high school, a Vietnam War Vet came and talked to my history class. Someone asked him how he felt about the Vietnamese now. He said and I quote, “I still hate those Vietnamese sons of bitches. I wish I had gotten more of them.”

The teacher apologized to me after class. But that doesn’t matter. It had already been said.

So unfortunately, I am not, as you say, ”one of those whities who thinks that asians are white”. I have not had the privilege to be.

As you so helpfully put it, I am part of a race that died and still die in the hands of americans. I live in a place where asian people are hated for absolutely nothing and they suffer from racism everyday. When they graffitied my house and egged it, when they called me all those names, I never knew. For every microaggression and fetish-y conversation I ever had, when they told me “it didn’t really count that you did well because you’re Asian” or they told me I looked like an anime character or asked me “where are you from” or commented that I “speak English well” when I’ve lived in this country my entire life, I was completely oblivious.

Now that you’ve told me, this changes everything. /s

KRPs can still eat my fucking ass. Just make your fucking RP actually diverse, you racist POS cowards.

Honestly, your argument here is that Asians experience discrimination and, thus, writing them is diverse and good for the community. And I cannot criticize KRPs because I will thus be racist.

The only problem here is that I am well aware that Asians, as most POC do, experience discrimination and bigotry and, unfortunately for you, writing Asians doesn’t open you up to any of that. Just because your muses are Korean or your rp is set in Korea doesn’t suddenly make you part of the family, doesn’t make you understand what it means to be Asian, what people like me and many other have gone through to be proud of their skin. And so, when I or anyone else criticizes the existence of KRPs and KRPers— there is no criticism of Asian people or diminishing of their struggle. Only a criticism of people who feel comfortable enough to perpetuate harmful stereotypes, fetishize a race and continue to disrespect the thoughts and wishes of Asian people.  

All you do is wear the discrimination and pain of my people like a costume, and you defend yourself with it. This shitty defense you’re using?? It is the skin I wear. It is who I am. 

I will never meet my cousin. I will never meet my uncle. My family wrests with the burden of knowing that we are lucky but also knowing that colonization and western interference has taken so much from my culture and my country and my people. To me, that is what it means to be asian. 

This is not everyone’s experience. This is not even close to a general asian experience or even an asian-american one. I am so fortunate to have only experienced what I have experienced. I do not pretend to speak for the group and would never even dream of doing so. But you came into my inbox, so you get to hear my story. 

You can portray a muse of any background, but do it with respect. Don’t presume that you truly understand their struggle. Do not use it as an excuse to not address your own racism and your own problems. On my part, I will try to do the same.

So, in conclusion, make your RPs actually diverse. It’s fun. You’re going to love it.

one, sexuality and gender identity are not the same. i’m asking rps to be more inclusive of trans and nb muns. i don’t give a fuck about how “no one is straight”.

two, I never addressed how anti-poc and anti-black in particular your argument is, so let me do that now. yes, a wakanda rp would be dope. but wakanda is special bc it was made for black people by black people. the nuances are subtle and tbh i’m not going to go into it. but krps are not equivalent to wakanda. most of them are not made by asian people. there is a difference between a space that a poc group makes for themself and one that is run by outsiders. 

Asians are POC. We experience racism. But we also have substantial amount of privilege in most societies in comparison to other POC. Most countries in asia are extremely colorist and most rps reflect the same standards. 

LET ME NIP THIS IN THE BUD. No one is going to force you to play any type of muse or say that you’re racist for not playing anything. If you only feel comfortable playing kpop or Asians fcs, fine!! But when you’re consistently picking light-skinned Asian characters over other types of POC, particularly those that darker-skinned, it might be important to reflect on exactly why.

Asian people have been long regarded as “the model minority”. They are often regarded as “less intimidating” and “more acceptable” by outside culture. If you believe in any of these things, please understand you are only harming actual Asian people. We don’t exist to fit into your narratives.

PLEASE STOP DEFENDING YOUR ANTI-BLACKNESS BY USING US AS PROPS TO SHOW OFF HOW YOU LOVE DIVERSITY. 

Please don’t use the KRP label or tag as it reinforces the perpetual foreigner stereotype and is a breeding ground for fetishistic and racist portrayals.

My tag on the topic is HERE, it does showcase various other blogs and posts about KRP is harmful. If you would like further direction, I would be happy to point you in the right direction

And, lastly, NEVER fucking EVER come to me again telling me that  ‘don’t u know Asians experience racism and, thus, the people who write Asian characters also experience it!! And should be left alone. Bitch, I’m vaguely aware of what Asians go through. And, knowing that, KRPs can go fuck themselves.

[sodapixels]

The Skin Colour Wars (Trademark.)

I trademarked this so no one can ever contribute to a skin colour argument in the yandere simulator community ever again. ...That’s a joke ladies and gentlemen. it doesnt always wor-

Anyway the purpose of this post is just to spout my views on this topic because wherever i look, i see artists depicting yansim characters with darker skin, or saying why they draw them with darker skin, and then i see anti-SJWs yelling their noggin off. and I quite honestly do not want to reply to that even when i disagree. in fact i am kinda nervous about the responses i’ll get on this post but thats not gonna stop me!

The most argued point of the critical artists of the yansim community is that “anime/yansim is whitewashed, there should be variety” or something to that extent. people who are anti-this-notion argue that “Asian people are generally light skinned people, therefore anime is generally accurate” and honestly? i would not say either are wrong! HOWEVER. both arguments can also be argued against with more valid points. if that makes sense...

BEFORE YOU READ THIS (or dont) AND MAKE A RESPONSE: please please PLEASE be a decent human being, state your agreements or disagreements with respect to those that do not share the same viewpoint as you, and just be nice. I dont want anyone to be yelling YOU FUCKING SJW/BROWN-WASHER/ASSHOLE SBIUVKFUE because frankly that is rather childish, and honestly if you’re in this community (of a game that is to be 18+) you should know better than to act in such a way.

Argument of the critics:

Variety:

Decided to do some googling for this. Now, the variety of different racial groups in terms of numbers differ A LOT depending on which country you are in. If i remember correctly, the country i was born in and still live in to this day, South Africa, has a sort of population like this: Black people make up +/-80% of the total population. coloured people make up 8.8%, white people make up 8.4% and indian people/asian people make up 2.5% (Please note that Coloured is not a racist term in this context as it is an official term used to refer to people of mixed race, typically black/white.) while Black people are the majority, you still will see a few white/coloured people in stores or on the street. not nearly as many black people, but still a few. Putting those percentages into fractions (ooo we’re getting mathematical here!) In every group of 100 people in south africa, there are 80 black people, 9 coloured people, 8 white people, anddd lets say 3 indian/asian people. That equates to a very large racial Ratio, and shows that there arent exactly that many non-black people in the country. 

Now lets look at Japan shall we?

I could not find a racial population chart of some sort for Japan, BUT i did find this!

https://www.indexmundi.com/japan/demographics_profile.html

The demographics of Japan, including Ethnicity! 

...There are not many non-japanese people in japan. 

According to this chart (and Wikipedia, i checked and theyre about the same) 98.5% of the population is Japanese. Round that up like you’re taught in maths and you get 99%. that is actually quite unusual, being someone from a country where there is a LOT more diversity in the population. the remaining 1% of the population are: Koreans (0.5%), Chinese (0.4%) and Other (0.6%). Putting these into fractions: out of a group of 100 people, 99 are Japanese, and 1 is a mix of Korean, Chinese, and other. So therefore it would make sense that the majority of people in anime, or other japanese media would be, of course, japanese! In terms of variety of students in Akademi (if we were to go by the statistics i found), it would make sense if, in a school of say... 800, there would be about 8 students who are NOT Japanese. Though the chance of them being people who are not Asian is rather slim (not impossible, but slim).

With that, we come to the conclusion that majority of the characters would make sense to be japanese! 

But does that make the arguments of people that are anti the critics the correct argument?

Now we come to:

Colour

Let’s turn to our trusty friend, Google, and search for some images of Japanese people!

Here’s the first japanese man that shows up. Interesting. What about a woman?

Interesting. 

Now lets look at some anime!

Dev mentioned K-On in a video once (he originally named the Rainbow 6 girls after the characters in K-On i believe), so lets look at them!

I see, I see...

Let’s look at another anime.

Interesting...

Yeah do you see what i’m getting at here? No? well then, allow me to elaborate!

The japanese people i found in google are kind of ‘pale’ but they are NOT close to pure white. Anime? I sifted through a few different screenshots in different anime, and many of the characters tend to be a very pale nearly-milky white. 

In fact, i selected the colours of each person in these images and put them on a canvas in Sai. on the left, we have the colours selected from the one of lightest parts of the Japanese people in the photos. on the right, we have K-On and Madoka Magica skin colours. 

:/

Anyway. My point is, There is no harm in people colouring a character in a different skin colour. When i went to kindergarten, kids would colour in pictures of santa and give him dark brown skin! are you going to go yell at them for not drawing a “canonically” white character with dark skin? No! You wouldn’t because hopefully you’re not that horrible. Although majority of people in japan are Japanese that does not equate into everyone being exactly like they are in anime. Yes, people who are japanese may very well have a milky pale skin colour, but that isnt always. There’s a stereotype throughout almost EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY, and that is: the more pale you are, the more beautiful you are. This stereotype is a very common belief to many people of every single race on this earth. This stereotype is commonly presented in many forms of media including, you guessed it, Anime. They make the characters pale so they look like the typical beauty standard. Not many forms of media go against this because it isnt typically beneficial from a monetary stand point (or so it’s believed). So yeah. Those are my thoughts. BYEEE

[parmesangirl]

on the new Iron Fist series

So after binge watching a ton of Marvel’s new Iron Fist series, I went onto tumblr, wondering what the fandom was up to now, what with all these new gifs and stuff to make. ‘Maybe I would find some fan art or something’ I thought innocently to myself,

BUT BOY WAS I WRONG

instead, I was greeted with SO MUCH DISCOURSE on how Iron Fist ‘needs a chinese-american actor’ or ‘has terrible dialogue and is slow’.

the best part is when I found out that some of y’all are trying to get this show boycotted like ‘????’

Now as a Chinese-speaking Asian female, living in Asia, with an Asian background and a good know-how of Chinese history, as well as a decent knowledge of comic books, (although I confess I got into the animated series first) I’m here to end the discussion before y’all get your full rage on and start fighting fans of the show like it’s Lord of the Flies up in here

So keep reading if you want to be educated or if you just want to fight me before you know what you’re even talking about

“THE SHOW INSULTS CHINESE CULTURE”

Uhhhh…no? I’ve seen a few episodes and I mean so far there isn’t really anything that screams ‘insult’ or even offensive in the slightest. Besides maybe the fact that they take the beliefs and twist them a little bit but honestly even that ain’t that bad as to what I’ve seen elsewhere.

I’ve read the boycott post and let me say that yea, they dressed him with an eye for Asian elements, but maybe that’s because it’s supposed to be resembling Asian clothing? I mean how is that offensive? Is it the part that it looks Asian? Or that you simply feel that white people that direct these shows should not be using Asian stuff for entertainment? Because I hate to break it to you but it’s still not offensive. Even the dragon tattoo is totally fine because it’s supposed to resemble Asian elements yea but also have y’all read the comics? Because he punched through a dragon and basically took it’s heart. So I mean a dragon tattoo kinda matches the theme.

I mean in the first episode they speak almost flawless Chinese for Pete’s sake! Hell, I was surprised that they even had it in them to have a non-Google translated line. Sure the accent was a little overdoing it cuz not even I have that thick a Chinese accent but I’ll excuse it since he was apparently learning and speaking 15 years. (I speak it maybe a few times a day for like the last 14 years or so only)

So no, the show doesn’t really insult Chinese culture, sure they might be ignorant, but you must understand that after generations of stereotypes and misconceptions that that can’t just go away with one show

“Danny Rand should be played by an Asian guy/be a Chinese-American”

I can’t even begin to tell you my frustration about this.

Y’all do know this show is based on the comics right?

You know, the one with the white guy.

I know Marvel is infamous for not including enough representation in their shows but seriously? This is like the Harry Potter thing all over again with Hermione being black, it’s not that we don’t want representation or anything, but it’s the fact that this hero that us comic fans have come to already love has been replaced. Or at least it feels like it. Like when a movie is made from a book and people go crazy because character XYZ suddenly has different traits or isn’t quite what was described as compared to the book.

Frankly, it sucks.

So even though yes, Marvel should have more Asians in their shows, don’t expect them to completely give the main character a makeover, even if the makeover was supposed to provide representation. And honestly? I don’t want them to change him because I really freaking love Iron Fist, just as he is.

“This show just villainizes Asians”

So you tell me that my race is being made villains because Marvel decided that most of their Asians on their shows are evil ninjas (aka the Hand) and at most there are like 3 sorta good Asians. Oh and I’m sorry, you want more Asian men that are good guys? You want a balance of Asian heroes?

Well I guess that would be kind of hard to fit into the story since, oh, I don’t know, everything happens in the USA?

If you want more Asian characters well then look no further because you do have them. Daisy Johnson from Agents of Shield? What about her extremely brave mom? Or maybe Colleen in Iron Fist? Everyone seems to be blatantly ignoring her badassery and only seeing the part where she’s a sorta love interest.

Facts are, there are Asian characters, you’re really just looking hard enough. I agree wholeheartedly when you say that more Asian men need to be in the Marvel universe that aren’t part of the bad guy team but you gotta say that they are still awesome.

Does anyone even remember the Japanese ninja yakuza guy from Daredevil? Dude got set on fire and STILL came back to kick ass. That’s a plus in my book because even though he’s considered bad, he’s been proven to be cunning, smart, and overall awesome.

“The show has terrible stunts/acting/dialogue/fight scenes”

From here on out it’s mostly just me trying to explain why the directors and writers of the show made decisions in the show to make it what it is, so let’s dive right into it.

STUNTS

Actually the stunts weren’t half-bad. If you’ve seen other shows or movies that are heavily reliant on stunts and action, and compare it to this show, they really aren’t that much different. Sure it might seem a little unbelievable sometimes like they’re breaking physics or something, but he already has a glowing fist. I think we’ve crossed the line of believable long ago.

ACTING

I have nothing to say about this except that go and take some acting or drama classes before coming and criticizing these awesome men and women who did indeed try their best

DIALOGUE

Now I get the dialogue might be a little weird at times and what not, but you must understand that this show was partially written with the Defenders series in mind. So almost everything that was said in the show is meant to lead to something more. Thus, you must take it as a bigger picture. Sorta like how everyone said that Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them wasn’t as good as they thought it would be, that movie was also meant to lead on to a bigger story so you might want to excuse the weird speech and cryptic lines at times.

FIGHT SCENES & ACTION

Okay seriously people, please read the comics. Danny Rand is supposed to be an accidental hero, one that doesn’t want to fight unless he really has zero choice in the matter. So yea, the fight scenes won’t be that interesting, but only because the character in question is more interested in ending the fight than anything.

~

So there you have it, my whole slightly angry info-dump on Iron Fist and Marvel’s representation problem in general. If you want to correct me or scold me even then by all means message me or shoot me an ask. But just keep in mind that Marvel can’t make all your problems go away in one show, and please for the love of all that is good read the comics before coming to rant okay?

[pigeonacademic]

So because I got blocked:

@rooby-the-rapscallion @diaroon @saiyanhero 

yall sound so embarassing like ur fucking twelve bye

That's ironic..I'm not the one threatening to beat up people because of cosplay :) That is something bratty entitled children would say, you know, people like you.   You're not much, you know, in terms of maturity. I mean from the moment you opened your mouth (figuratively of course since we type on keyboards) I actually thought you were actually twelve or thirteen, you know, 'just out of elementary school'.

if you took maybe ten fucking seconds to google, you would get multiple articles about the subject of hiw disney has coded their villains to sound and act stereotypically gay: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/the-number-of-gay-animated-villains-will-surprise-you-456 http://colorwebmag.com/2015/05/21/queer-coding-scar-the-lion-king/

You do realize FAN THEORIES do not mean canon, right? Being dramatic does NOT equal LGBT, even if people like you love to drum up that stereotype.  I mean, you're pretty dramatic for a fifteen year old, even you dear beloved Scar would tell you to tone it down. I read the articles, and honestly, they're just pure bullshittery. I mean, I love to theorize about other characters and all, but talk about reaching for the stars.

For starters, the first part is all about how Scar LOOKS.

HOW HE LOOKS. I mean, Scar is a VILLAIN. What do the majority of Disney's villains look like? Tall, angular, sharp and exaggerated features and a certain 'evil' color scheme, you know, purples, greens, darker colors.

You know what else Disney Villains are known for? EXAGGERATION and being overly dramatic. I mean, its the main reason why everyone loves Disney Villains, because which would you rather prefer, cookie-cutter 'play-it-safe' princes and princesses, or "I'M READY TO SHAKE THINGS UP SO WATCH OUT' villains? Which holds your attention longer? Who's songs do you remember better if they get any? That's right, the villains.

Villains are supposed to be striking characters you won't forget about, so yes they're pretty dramatic assholes, and what the hell does this person mean by 'campy performance'? I mean, if its because Scar was SO DRAMATIC in his musical number (and the fact that he has a British accent, because the Brits make good villains) then I guess that damn near every other character song from ANY Disney movie can be considered so, because a lot of them are also dramatic in terms of how the character sings or if they're dancing or doing weird shit, like Quasimodo practically risking life and limb for a dramatic sequence of sliding down that gargoyle spout for "Out There", and in the same movie, Clopin's "Court of Miracles" song, the scene and his way of singing makes that perfectly clear. If you want any sort of 'queer coding' in the Lion King, then yes, Timon is a good example (AND NOT BECAUSE OF HIS VOICE ACTOR. Honestly, that would ALSO mean that gay characters played by straight actors would make those characters straight when they're obviously not) You want to know what makes Timon queer-coded? He's raising a kid (cub) with another male, they're a family. As for the dressed-in-drag, that doesn't make any sense. I mean, if people are going to use that as a queer-coded stereotype, then I guess that the three guys from Mulan (Who expressed interest in women through song and the sequel has them happily marrying three girls) are also queer-coded. I mean, they were more done up than Timon was, makeup and all, as well as flirty behavior with the guards. (Timon just sang and danced, it was nothing more than a distraction tactic-just like how he "proposed" to the female hyena to buy his friends more time. Distraction techniques.)

@saiyanhero​

oh no yeah its okay, irs not like minorites have been treated like fucking shit all their lives and are reduced to terrible characters thatre evil in media

I never said they were never treated badly. In fact I specifically said that yes, they were treated like shit in the past, BUT YOU should NOT deny that there hasn't been a slew of LGBT POSITIVE shows that are popping up everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. Speaking of minorites, yeah, I understand the feel because guess who's also one? Me. -Mother is Native American, Dad's half, so wouldn't that make me mixed? I'm pretty sure we're a minority (even the ones who are 'too pale' to pass. We exist you know) -I have ASD, a mental condition. -Consider this my offical coming out: I'm bisexual. You know, LGBT? A minority?

So yes, I am well aware how we're treated in the media :) But lucky for us, there's more and more LGBT-positive shows, as well as racially diverse and even inclusion of people with conditions! Also, in case you've forgotten, most shows who have even the slightest hint of any phobic behavior immediately gets called out for it. You're acting as if we're in the 90s with majorly homophobic/racist/abliest media all around us, and you're purposely ignoring all the shows that are LGBT positive.

Face it,we're not getting reduced to 'terrible characters' in media JUST for our sexuality/race/condition anymore. You need to face the fact that we're not special unicorns who get a free-pass from everything, and just because we're not a majority doesn't mean we don't get treated like EVERYONE ELSE. You want equality, right? Then guess what, LGBT and other minorities being treated as EQUALS in media (yes, including the 'bad' roles) counts and should not be criticized upon, because we got what we've been fighting for.

. have you not watched movies? or anything before?

That's funny because its obvious that you're watching whatever is in your grandparents' VCR collection. You see, Tumblr ALWAYS posts about new shit coming up, and yes, I'll check them out because I'm a junkie for media-related things. I'm getting into animation (pretty sure I'm better than what you can do) and also live-action things, because hey, why not? I have watched so many things that treat LGBT like normal that I'm genuinely surprised when a show DOESN'T have it. I mean, even KID TV CHANNELS are incorporating LGBT into their shows. And its not like any of these shows are off the grid and only discovered via Tumblr, these shows are super popular offline too! Example: Steven Universe. You have to be shitting my nonexistent dick to tell me that's not a LGBT positive show. The question is, HAVE YOU been watching anything?

because people who arent white are constantly giving the ‘thug’ role or evil dude or shifty thief role, because we all know those dirty minorites steal!

Okay, since you started with Disney, let's also start with Disney:

-The Shadow Man from Princess and the Frog: 

He is a villain yes-a African American villain who was up against African American protagonists.

-Shan Yu from Mulan is undoubtly of Asian descent (even though WHICH Asian ethnicity he is, I don't know) 

Also fights Mulan and Shang-you know, Chinese and not white-

I don’t think there are any other nonwhite villains in Disney, but you bet your kaboodle that the ones we have so far have not been pitted against white people.

(Unless you’re the kind of person who does the whole ‘race coding’ thing with animals, in that case just look at where their species originate from.)

Moving on to live-action wise: My goodness, you clearly have never ever watched anything in your life, at least not things that are from the past ten years. Here you go:

-Moonlight

-K.C Undercover (TV show)

-Fresh Prince of Bel Air (TV Show) -Brokeback Mountain -Malcom X -Remember the Titans

-Get Out (Surprised this one isn’t your favorite) -The Men In Black series

-The Ringer -The new Power Rangers movie (This one has LGBT, nonwhite AND mental condition representation as part of the main cast!) -Degrassey (TV show)

-Orange is the new Black (TV show)

-the new Ghostbusters -The Danish Girl -Grandma (2015) -Tangerine -Bessie -I am Michael -Boy meets Girl (Before you judge the title, there's a transgender woman.) -Girlhood

I could go on and on about this.

Newsflash: Every damn race, white included has played those roles, being a crook and bad person is NOT race exclusive, and goodness, especially the ‘evil guy’ part, I haven’t seen a movie that had a nonwhite villain against white protagonists in a loooong time. Do you honestly think people would risk it, considering how people like you throw the term ‘racist’ around casually at anything that displeases you?

like…id rather have legit every non white character be perfect and pure than to have yet again characters thatll be demonized by white fans lel

Nah, you just want special treatment, that's all. First of all, perfect and pure characters are not only boring (which means forced conflict with another person, especially in those 2000s high school movies where the protagonist, no matter the race is so utterly PERFECT that there's forced conflict between them and the School's Bitch) but have you considered that OTHER nonwhite fans LOVE these characters??

"demonized by white fans" LMAO bitch where?! I have actually never seen a white person on here demonize a nonwhite villain or anyone of the like. Ever. (Unless by 'demonize' you mean criticizing their CHARACTER and their BEHAVIOR, which is NOT race related. What, are you pissed Rotten Tomatoes' gave a bad score for your favorite movies?) You're forgetting there's a shit ton of nonwhite fans who are just as hungry for diverse characters (and by diverse I mean their roles and their personalities, aka them being HUMAN) and don't want perfect nonwhite characters.

Oh, and let's not forget practically every other animated show-ranging from Steven Universe to Samurai Jack, you can't deny that those are growing more popular too and are abundant. Also, (and this should be good news for you, but apparently you hate this sort of news) since a lot of these shows are also watched by kids, they're being shown not only LGBT is normal (Steven Universe, and if I think its heading to where I think its heading, Star vs. The Forces of Evil) its also very racially diverse. Then again, you wouldn't have anything to bitch about would you?

mmkay you fucking cunt i took kickboxing for six fucking years of my life yoi really wanna say im a pussy?

Since you've taken the liberty to start awful, awful namecalling, I guess now its free game! WOOHOO! Also, yes, you're a damn pussy. Kickboxing? Really?

Yeah, you may have spent six years doing that, but guess who grew up with family who was in the military? You don't think they'd let their poor little darling Piper venture out into the world without a few tricks up her sleeve, hm?

You have no idea how many times I got suspended for getting in fights and winning. Also, you're FIFTEEN, I bet you're smaller than me, so even then I can take you down just by sitting on you.

Anyways, I've been taught self defense and don't think I'll go easy on you for being younger. I also fight differently-I'm not sure what to call it, but its more or less a mix-mash of Beat Em Up style.

Let me tell you a little story: -Ninth and Tenth grade, I was the fucking Queen of gym class. Even the people who liked to fuck with me didn't dare do anything there, because you know why?

Our gym teacher was SUPER lenient with violence, as long as it was happening where he could monitor us. You know what that means? That's right, as long as we didn't knock out any teeth or put someone in the hospital, it was a free-for-all during sports. Our gym uniform shirts came in two colors: white-grey and yellow, and because I went absolutely ham on these fuckers, I ended up getting my yellow shirt bloodstained. Some of it was my blood, some of it was theirs, and I was almost always the victor. The funny part was since I couldn't afford to buy a new gym shirt, I had to go both years with a bloodied up shirt, and may whatever higher power have mercy on them if we were doing a sport that had equipment with it. I LOVED gym class, for the sole reason I could beat the shit out of the people who bullied me (and anyone who tried to) and not get in trouble. Sadly it wasn't like that outside of class (Where even shouting at someone can get you a detention) so I almost never skipped gym.

So yeah, I'm still sure I can beat your dinkey-donkey ass.

you fucking come to me and we will see who the fucking pussy is. i beat someone up once and ill certainly do it again lmao

Pretty sure you're still the pussy, lmao, and who did you beat up, your four-year-old baby sister? I mean, its the only way you'll ever win a fight-

. im an east coaster, name the time and place and ill fucking be there

I seriously doubt YOU will, lmao because you blocked me. (And because you're a pussy who won't be able to make it there because your parents will have to drive you) If by some chance you see this and really want to prove you're not a pussy, I'm actually interested. You clearly want to make this bloody and I've been itching for a fight! In fact, why not message me? We're obviously going to have some rules of course: -No friends, no parents, no anyone except us. (Considering you're fifteen I seriously doubt you'll be able to go anywhere on your own) -Obviously no going to the police once I beat your donkey-whomping ass. Otherwise, I'll just have to show them that YOU wanted this! -No sending anyone else in your place, it has to be you.

Seriously, if you truly want to fight me and you're not a pussy, then let's fight.

why the fuck are you even giving me ur life story i dont need to know you dumbass made up story lel

Only a true animal-fucking cunt would call another person's actual life 'made up'. You know what, that just gave me even more reason to pound your face into the concrete ^u^ Also, I'm telling you this because at least I have some proof that I'm not a pussy. What about you? You got nothing to say. ALSO BY YOUR OWN DUMBASS LOGIC- -That means you haven't taken kickboxing at all, have you? I actually think you don't even know how to kickbox. -You haven't been sexually abused at all. You made it up for pity. -You go by he/him /she/her pronouns, not them/they. -You're an actual anti-SJW. -That means that whatever you deny yourself as, THEN YOU ARE IT. Because after all if you think I'm making this shit up, then hey, that means you are too! (Even better if you actually ARE making shit up because you're the kind of person to pull that, lmao)

I can’t wait to fight. I’m going to bring this whole debacle down on your head, and it’s going to be biblical.

yes! i will beat up people who like media that fetishizes rape and fucking assault against gay people lmao.

Then I guess everyone should beat your fucking ass into goo for liking media that promotes violence and murder :))))))

Seriously though, KS does NOT fetishize that. Even the damn author made it clear that it wasn't a 'yaoi' or anything close to that. ITS A HORROR MANWA, its not gonna be sunshine and rainbows. "Assault against gay people" As if. How does it do so?? Because Yoonbum and that one man are Sangwoo's victims? Sangwoo's obviously LGBT too, so I guess he's promoting assaulting people like him?? Or are you pretending in that little fantasy world of yours that it will encourage people to beat up LGBTs, and you know damn well it doesn't and it won't??

FICTION IS NOT REALITY, you dung beetle.

sorry all us sexual assault survivors arent the same person lmao?

Get that through your skull. Damn, your head's thicker than a Kardashian's ass.

dont care if you can seperate it from fiction, because 1. there are people that cant seperate it at all and 2. ITS ABOUT RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT.

IT GLORIFIES SEXAUL ASSAULT AND RAPE AND MAKES IT OUT LIKE ITS HOT. THATS NOT FUCKING OKAY.

Among the people that don't separate fiction from reality, is you. (Seriously, you like a violent dude who beats people up AND NOW YOU WANT TO BEAT PEOPLE UP :)))) ) Also, YOU CAN'T BE A FAN OF DEADPOOL THEN AND YOU DESERVE AN ASS BEATING FOR LIKING IT BECAUSE IT INSPIRES PEOPLE TO KILL OTHERS AND BEAT THEM UP AND ALL THAT SHIT!! See how fucking loony you sound? if you scream "NUUUUU" because of the Deadpool thing, and still wholeheartedly agree with hurting others for liking KS, then you're not only a damn dirty mother-banging father-sucking uncle-fondling cousin-molesting hypocrite, but you actually do deserve to have your nose broken for exhibiting fascist behavior. In short, you're a goddamn Nazi.

Also, KS does NOT glorify sexual assault and rape, it clearly shows it as an awful traumatizing thing that fucks people up mentally, and believe it or not, as far as showing how abusive relationships work, its pretty damn accurate according to the MAJORITY of people who've experienced it. Hm, the majority against the minority..now does that only matter when it applies to something you like? Because realistically, it doesn't. I guess Deadpool glorifies murder and other shit then :))))) which means you can't be a fan of it and you deserve to be hurt for liking it :):):):):):)

Also, as someone who has a mental condition and has had this thrown at me, I shall call you retarded. KOOGI has already said that KS is NOT a yaoi, ITS NOT MEANT TO BE HOT. Just because YOU get aroused when looking at the images doesn't make it a BL. If you BOTHERED to actually read it through, you'll see its a damn horror/thriller type.

Also you wanting to beat the shit out of people DOES NOT MAKE IT OKAY EITHER. ITS NOT OKAY!!

like are you fucking proud of being a fan? god, i wonder how those conversations go ‘oh hey, whats ur fav thing right now?’ 'oh, killing stalking!’ 'really? whats it about?’ 'oh! this dude kidnaps another man and then rapes him and assaults him whenever! its so cool!’ ’…dont fucking talk to me ever again’

Yes: I'M PROUD TO BE A KILLING STALKING FAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also are you proud of being a fan of something that is just as fucking violent and shows an LGBT character as a murderous loony, and he does it because he LOVES his job which makes him out to be even worse because it shows that *gasp* LGBT can make their own choice to be evil if they want to?

And actually, THOSE conversations go like THIS:

"Oh hey, what's your favorite thing right now?""Killing Stalking.""Really? What's it about?" "It's a horror manhwa that deals with a murderer and a stalker. The stalker is infatuated with the murderer and breaks into his house, in which the murderer keeps him kidnapped after smashing his ankles, and there's this detective guy trying to figure things out and he has a hunch it has something to do with the murderer. I won't spoil too much of it for you, but the series can be triggering for people and it's features rape, and obviously violence. Oh, and uncensored tits. A lot of people think its a yaoi, but the author of it confirmed it wasn't, and it's more or less a horror/thriller. If you want to read it I can show you the website."And then it goes either two ways from there: "Sure, what's the website?" or "No thanks, but it sounds okay."Not everyone turns down KS like how they turn down your offers to show them animal porn.

so yeah killing stalking is shit and ill happily beat the shit out of anyone who likes it theyre free to come to the east coast for their free ass kicking 😊

Deadpool is shit, and I'll happily beat the shit out of people like you who are wimpy ass pussy motherfuckers who think its okay to beat up people for liking fiction and since you're so willing to actually harm real living people over pixels, then I'll happily meet up with you and rerrange your face via a rough concrete and fist massage. ^U^

BONUS FROM YOUR PAL: “Who am I?I am motherfucking Piper “The Viper” Mmccloud” Pull the trigger piglet jfc. If this doesn’t become a new meme I’ll be soo disappointed.

Killing Stalking is fucking nasty, I’ve never met a fan of it who wasn’t some creepy yaoi fan.

Says the marshmallow machine gun.  What, is it so wrong for me to use a nickname that a friend of mine gave me because this isn't the first time I blew fuckers like you out of the water? Also, Marshmallow, I AM a meme. (Seriously, just ask anyone who's been here with me since 2015) I ran afoul of two very popular blogs, and I'm now known as a meme on the both of their pages. Hilariously, they're even still circulating those three year old posts to where I still see them from time to time AND I get anons about them. You know what else is nasty?

How you and your sticky little friend can't sepparate fiction from reality at all and then assume other people are just as loony and unhinged as you are, and how you're so willing to beat the shit out of people for enjoying fiction, you're actually acting like Nazis, and since you so willingly advocate harm against people who like FICTION then your ass  is grass and guess who's gonna mow it? (Spoiler: Damn near everyone with common sense) Don't act like you're not a fan of some sick shit too, lmao.

Oh, which website have you been hanging out on? The Desperate Housewives of Facebook? Ten-Year-Olds -With-Internet-Access on Q? I surf the tags frequently, so unless these so-called 'Yaoi fangirls' tag their posts with "fetish", then I am very surprised I haven't seen a lot of these. The only "Yaoi fangirl" post I came across that absolutely fetishized their relationship (and no, calling a character cute or my baby isn't fetishizing since its not about their sexuality or relationship :) ) was-surprise surprise, a fifteen year old, who immediately got her ass derailed by other KS fans. We get rid of our weak, it's easy and simple. Most of them don't have the brainpower to realize that fetishizing relationships is a bad thing, let alone one where its an abusive one.

OR are YOU a Yaoi fangirl who is just covering her own ass? I mean, looking at your blog you seem the type to fetishize gay male relationships.

Go ahead and claim that neither of you will be embarrassed once you get older, go ahead and say it as many times as you'd like but you best believe I'm getting the last laugh.

[sexierthanaheartburn-blog]

Evolution of Disney Princesses theory

Guess who’s back with another theory? Me! How did you know? Anyways, I’m going to be taking a break with my Harry Potter theories and venture out to one my childhood's fondest memories. Yes, Disney. More specifically, Disney Princesses.

Like every single living organism on this planet, everyone (even your beloved film characters and TV series) goes through a form of evolution. In this theory, I am going to be talking about the “Evolution of Disney Princesses” and how they adapt to our ideas of what a Disney Princess should be.

But before we get into all of that, we need to answer: how does one become a Disney Princess?

Simple, really. (sarcasm).

Each Official Disney Princess must meet the following requirements: A) has a primary role in a Disney animated feature film, B) is human or mostly human-like (e.g. Ariel), and C) does not appear primarily in a sequel. The actual title of Princess (or equivalent) is not necessary but certainly, helps.

Then, if they pass the requirements above: there’s more! Whereas the first set of requirements required you to meet all three, in part b) you only have to meet one of these criteria. A) You have to be born royal or B) you must be born royal or C) perform a significant act of heroism.

Then, the final test. The unspoken rule. Box office revenue.

As of 2017, the eleven characters considered part of the franchise are Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel and Merida. 

Fun Fact: Tinkerbell was revoked of her Disney Princess membership.

Disney Princesses are a massive thing for every young girl. They are role models for the next generation and as generations and generations pass, the ideas of roles of a Disney Princess becomes different.

Classic Era:

These are your “reactionary” princess who saw a lot of action but didn’t do much about it. They are very dependant of basically everyone else and victimised a lot - feeding into the stereotypical “women”. Granted, this was princesses that represented the era that “girls should be seen and not heard.”

Snow White

Snow White is the first and original Disney Princess. Snow White is a beautiful young princess, described by her evil stepmother's Magic Mirror as having 'hair as black as ebony, lips as red as the rose, skin as white as snow' and also dubbed by the Mirror as the 'Fairest Of Them All'. Then, somewhere along the movie, she seeks refuge in the Seven Dwarfs, eats an apple from an insecure witch and is saved with a true love’s kiss. Disney regards Snow White as kind, sweet and respectful, encouraging children to, "be a friend to all," in the same way she is depicted in the film.

Cinderella Cinderella is the second Disney Princess. She is often considered the "Leader of the Disney Princesses". Forced into servitude by her evil stepmother, Lady Tremaine, and her two cruel stepsisters, Drizella and Anastasia, after her father's death, her only source of happiness was her animal friends, which consists of birds and mice. While scrubbing the floors of her late father's mansion, an invitation to the Prince's ball is delivered, inviting all of the eligible women to attend so that he can find a wife. And, you know the story. There’s a godmother, a clock, about a dozen of songs and a glass slipper thrown into there.

Aurora Aurora is the third Disney Princess. She first appeared in Disney's 16th animated feature film Sleeping Beauty (1959). To be perfectly honest, I actually forgot what this movie was about. Blah blah, blah, a princess was born. Blah, blah, blah, the Holy Trinity appears in a fairy form. Blah, blah, blah, she gets cursed how she’s going to prick her finger on her 18th birthday. Ouch. Blah, blah, blah - she does. Blah, blah, blah, prince charming comes with a true love's kiss. Oh, what an excellent plot convenience.

Renaissance era:

Then, Disney introduced these princesses that had more independence, more complexity and depth in their character - challenging social norms (well done for being bold Disney.) Sure, they still had their critics but not as much as the classic eras.

Arial:

Mermaid. Sees the human world. Trades for voice to an octopus in order to experience the human world. There’s a prince in there sure but still, we see a more feisty and independent woman who wants to take charge of her own fate. You go, Arial!

Belle:

Everyone knows her. Her story can be best summed up by this mantra - “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Pretty sure there’s a handsome beast in there (who she helps saves), talking objects and Emma Watson thrown in there. But really, Belle is an independent, intelligent, headstrong and courageous princess - again challenging society and social norms.

Jasmine:

There’s a genie. Three wishes. A castle. The songs are amazing. Jasmine, despite she’s so independent and headstrong still has red flash marks as she “seduced” the villain or something and still depends on a man. Though on the positive side, she does challenge authority. Actually, her dad. Actually, that might not be a good message to parents after all. Oh well, still a great fairy-tale from Disney.

Pocahontas:

If you ever want to see an inaccurate, loved-up, innocent version of racial domination, you got it in Pocahontas! But seriously, her independence and bravery need to be commended.

Mulan:

She also does not fit in with the expectations of a young Chinese girl of the time; despite her natural beauty, she is clumsy, outspoken, and independent rather than graceful, silent and demure. After her meeting with the matchmaker ended in chaos, the matchmaker claimed that even though she had the looks of a bride, she would never find a match. However, her courage, intelligence, and determination helped her through her adventures, in which she disguises herself as a male soldier in order to fight in the Chinese army in place of her wounded father. 

Modern Era:

Get ready to see a storm of feisty and confident princesses who actually kick-ass!

Tiana:

Tiana offers a new perspective as simply a hard-working woman who bears no reliance on a man. She gets turned into a frog. Then becomes a human again. She then fulfills her dream to open a restaurant. She also does marry a prince but that’s not her intention in this movie - marrying a prince for her was just a “bonus.”

Rapunzel:

A princess. Long, blonde hair. Teams up with a thief called Flynn and go on a magical journey to see the lanterns and to escape the tower that her stepmother forces her to be in. We learn freedom.

Every girl’s dream. :)

Merida:

First Disney Princess to not have a love interest nor to sing in Brave. A huge achievement on its own from Disney. The best way of putting it: she is basically like Katniss Everdeen without actually competing in the Hunger Games and instead tries to reverse the spell that landed of her mother into a bear.

If you want to learn more about the history of Disney Princesses: I strongly recommend you to check this site :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Princess in which I got a lot of this information from.

As society progresses, our ideals for a Disney Princess changes. Who knows? Maybe we will have a LGBT+ Disney Princess, a plus-sized Disney Princess or even just an ordinary person - you don’t have to be royal to be a princess. (or something corny like that.)

Additionally, from the complaints Disney got about their line-up of Disney princesses, they teamed up with Kate Moss and created a poster called “The Princess Principles.”

It’s actually quite a clever advertisement endorsement. Checkmate, Disney. But you can’t deny, the poster DOES look pretty.

It actually sorts of makes sense. I would prefer to be blunt and say “thy shall not kill” but you know, each to their own.

Edit #1 - 26/06/2017: So, I was walking and I saw this awesome display board at my college. It was basically pictures of Disney Princesses with motivational quotes such as, “off to work we go!”, “you got to dig a little deeper”, “i am not a prize to be won” to show that Disney Princesses are role-models despite their heavy criticism (as we discussed the Classic Era). I feel like the need for this display board was mainly due to geographical factors. I live in a poverty-deprived area where a small number of people go to higher education and universities and such, and so, this display board was made just to inspire us - seeing that I attend an all-girls-school. I still have multiple theories in my mind about who was responsible for this display, none of which I confirmed. Either way, I sort of love this display board and the idea behind this was pretty damn cool.

MY FRIEND: What are you doing?

ME: Can you move?

MY FRIEND: Why?

ME: I’m trying to take a picture of a Tumblr post.

MY FRIEND: What’s Tumblr?

Me: *sighs*

Avoir un lieu magique et une journée incroyable!

-sexierthanaheartburn

[michellesimpressions]

Fresh off America

For some, to live in America means to belong to a nation that is accepting of all cultures and provides everyone a place to belong in. However, for others, in order to find somewhere they belong, being “American” is simply not enough. For many who choose to live in America, the sense of belonging does not apply to them because their ethnicity prevents them from fitting into the classic idea of the American Dream. Asian Americans are one group who has struggled to find a place in America’s social structure where they will be able to have a voice in society and equal chance at opportunity without being herded into a stereotype. Since the Chinese immigration to America during the Gold Rush in 1850, stereotypes have typically grouped Asian Americans into different categories that keep them from integrating fully into the America narrative. This often results in them feeling excluded, out-cast, and almost always, feeling an absence of true belonging. In turn, the media industry has adopted their own idea of what it means to be Asian American and often portray falsifications, such as giving Asian males feminine qualities, having exaggerated accents, and being math geeks. Typically, this can lead to misrepresentation, as Asian characters are often given stereotypical supporting roles and are further herded into the narrow idea of what their culture is. However, the recently running ABC TV show, Fresh Off the Boat, has attracted attention for its new take on Asian American representation and the voice it gives to a group that has never taken the spotlight in the media. It is the first TV show in twenty years with an all-Asian cast, and one that has garnered both approval and harsh critique from Asian Americans and non-Asians alike. Inspired by the autobiography of chef and personality writer, Eddie Huang, it is a show centered on what it was like to grow up as a second-generation Asian American in the 90s. The shows starts when the family moves from Chinatown in Washington D.C. to a white suburban town in Orlando, Florida and tells the story of how they adjust to this new environment. The reception of Fresh Off the Boat has been widely mixed since some praise the show as extremely relatable to the experiences many Asian families go through in America, while others condemn the stereotypes portrayed in the show. Regardless, this TV show has taken a shot at telling the Asian American story and has the responsibility and power to be a voice for them in society. In Fresh Off the Boat, though the representation of Asian Americans within a white-washed industry is met with varying opinions that are either for or against the stereotypes that are portrayed, it ultimately offers a more accurate picture of the Asian American story in the form of a relatable TV show that gives Asian Americans a voice, a chance to understand what part they play in the American narrative, and shares about the opportunity to create an identity between cultures. When considering the current state of Asian American portrayal in the media, it is important to understand how this representation came to be. The lack of an authentic voice for the Asian American community in media can be traced in part to the established Asian stereotypes and the absence of accurate storytelling. The problem with Asian American stereotypes has only been encouraged by the media and has led to a very narrow range of possibilities and opportunities for Asian American actors and actresses. Often times white actors are chosen to play Asian characters, which eliminates roles for Asian Americans to represent themselves in a story based on their heritage. For example, furious reactions surrounded casting Scarlett Johansson as the main character in a movie based on a Japanese anime series, Ghost In The Shell (Wakeman). Many expressed outrage at the white-washing that will continue to contribute and encourage the misrepresentation of Asian Americans and keeps them out of the spotlight. To many, it seemed that even when Asians have a chance to tell their story, it is overshadowed or changed by white-washing in the media. In most cases, when Asians do have a part in TV shows or movies, they are given lines and roles that are from writers who are not Asian themselves, or writers who have little to no experience with Asian culture. These writers respond to what they think the audience would want, and typically in American TV shows, the audience is used to Asians having a specific archetype. Not only are Asian Americans usually cast as side characters in films and TV shows, they are also often attached to the archetype of being the nerdy best friend, or having heavy accents with a limited understanding of English. Thus, Asian Americans are typically portrayed in the media as never being simply American because of the stereotypes that are attached to the characters they play.

This issue continues to be a hindrance in the Asian American community, and with the recent rise in number of Asians being raised in an American culture, a new generation and problem has also risen with it. Second generation children face the challenge of growing up in an Asian-influenced American culture. In other words, they have the task of combining the values of their native culture with the values of American culture and determining how much each should be a part of their identity. Often times, this includes a natural human instinct to adopt the environment around them, yet still attempt to stay in tune with their heritage, which can be considered a social construct, as a significant influencer in their lives. Thus, Asian Americans are left to construct their own narrative in America. Author Morris Young states in the article “Narrative Space,” that this space is “where identities are constructed and negotiated and responses to particular conditions are generated” (67). However try as they might to create an American identity, Asian Americans are seen as foreigners and have always been seen as foreigners. Over the years they have been labeled as being the model-minority and though this comes with seemingly good connotations, it prevents many Asian Americans from being able to completely integrate themselves into the American culture. Young examines what prevents Asian Americans from blending smoothly into American culture and observes that “what complicates Asian American rhetorical space is the apparent necessity, or imposition, of defining Asian America against the Nation rather than constitutive of it… [or] to imagine them as foreign against the domestic space of the United States” (69). Asian Americans are seen as relevant or valuable to rhetoric and storytelling as long as they fit into the American narrative as foreigners. Victor Villaneuva in “Storylines on the New Racism” observes that, “the natural order of things is civilizations and the cultures they contain, and the natural order of things is to resist contamination by other cultures” (125). Thus, these second-generation children eventually learn that they somehow to not belong due to their heritage and to the culture in which their immigrant parents raised them. In most cases, the children try to erase their Asian heritage once they realize that this is what sets them apart from the other children. In an effort to find their identity in a country that does not seem to culturally accept them as their own, Asian Americans struggle to insert their own story into this exclusive narrative, even if this means abandoning the values of their families. This is demonstrated in Fresh Off the Boat by one of the main characters, 12-year-old Eddie Huang. In one scene, Eddie’s mom asks him how his “Xiao Long Bao (a type of dumpling)” that she packed him for lunch, was and he responds that it was good; in response she tells him that she did not pack him Xiao Long Bao. Eddie admits that he threw his packed lunch away and that “[he] needs white people lunch [because] that will get [him] a seat at the table” (“Pilot”). Once Eddie realizes that his lunch is different from that of the other kids, he attempts to hide his culture’s food and proclaims, “I’m not trying to be a janitor for the rest of my life, I got big plans” (“Pilot”). Eddie is essentially equating being successful to being accepted by the other kids and “getting a seat the table” and if this means getting rid of his Asian background, he is more than willing to do so. This is a problem that many second generation children faced growing up in American schools. Asian American children often experience grocery trips taken with their parents that largely consist of begging their parents to buy the Lunchables and to forgo the packed Asian-food lunch boxes that make them feel excluded or not accepted by the other kids. Eddie finds himself in a place where he is able to “[create] a life in America, and [have] opportunities that his parents have struggled to earn” and so he embraces it, not even stopping to consider keeping his native culture a part of his identity (Young 75). This attempt to combine the American and Asian culture is seen in another episode in Fresh Off the Boat, where Jessica, who is played by Constance Wu, portrays the mother of Eddie as a typical first-generation Asian mother with an exaggerated accent. Though she spends much of the show attempting to reconnect her kids to their Asian heritage, even she has an identity crisis and finds herself joining the country club and dressing like the other women in her neighborhood in an effort to fit in. When she realizes how much she has shied away from her native culture, she desperately grabs onto whatever she has left of her Taiwanese heritage. In her mind, this consists of dressing in a traditional Taiwanese dress and hanging up a frame with a picture of Buddha in her house. She criticizes Louis, her husband, for joining the country club, which was her idea in the first place, and states, “we need to reconnect with our culture, not surround ourselves with white people doing white things” (“So Chineez”). Louis responds, “You know what’s a white thing? Hanging up a Buddha picture” (“So Chineez”). Though Jessica seems to feel an obligation to stay connected to her heritage, she is herself confused on what that means. In her attempt to reconnect with her ethnicities’ culture, she draws from an existing narrative of what she thinks is her culture, but does not necessarily match up with the narrative that her native culture, or her environment is encouraging. Jessica’s effort to revert completely back to her Taiwanese culture seems out of place and awkward because her environment plays a large part in understanding whom she is, thus it is not possibly to ignore it.

Asian Americans are perpetually trying to establish their own narrative within America, but many only succeed in hitting the walls of both cultures, unable to decide which culture to be a part of. Jessica explains to Louis that, “Our parents made sure we knew where we came from, we need to do the same thing for the boys” (“So Chineez”). Here, Jessica is portraying the struggle that comes with choosing to adopt an existing culture, or create a completely new culture and identity. In Fresh Off the Boat, the latter result seems to be the favorable solution. According to Joseph Davis in “Narrative and Social Movements,” Jessica is an example of an individual attempting to “search for self-understanding by imposing narrative structure in [her life], an interpretive process that both looks back in times and projects into the future” (20). Jessica sees the family’s ethnicity as having value when it comes to shaping one’s culture and view on life, thus she is placing her identity in the arms of what she believes is necessary to her, regardless of the society they are living in. Davis states that: Identity cannot be detached from the individual’s beliefs about what things have significance, from his or her fundamental evaluations with regard to questions of the good in life… what is good, what is worthwhile, and what has meaning… The past is interpreted in light of an anticipated future (more or less distant), the possible self that one might be or become (20). Jessica places value not on the current “white” culture they are living in, but in a preexisting narrative; one that is based on a cultural myth and has existed in previous generations, like her parents. The Asian American struggle with determining identity comes with the acknowledgment that identity is “not some inner essence but rather an ongoing story that emerges in and through the selection and emplotment of experience” (Davis 21). Asian Americans discover that they cannot base their identity solely on their heritage nor on the environment that they are living in. Neither is it possible to thrive on an attempt to mesh two cultures into one. Essentially, an identity is found upon appreciating and integrating both cultures into their lives and seeing them as separate, but still wholly a part of the narrative they build for themselves. Asian American audiences often praise this show for being able to portray a side of their story that usually goes unseen in the media, but are also disappointed with the seemingly unavoidable tendency to include Asian stereotypes. The Asian American community is still exploring what it’s like to have this voice and story be represented along other white dominated shows. However, often times this can come with a combination of stereotyped portrayals as well. While this show combines comic relief with empathetic characters for Asian Americans, it also cannot seem to resist throwing in stereotypes to satisfy the society and audience that demands a familiar stereotype. Young states: The minority experience does not yield itself to accurate or complete expression in white man’s language. Yet the minor writer, specifically the Asian American writer, is made to feel morally obligated to write in a language produced by an alien and hostile sensibility. His task, in terms of language alone… [is to] codify his experience in the form of prior symbols, clichés, linguistic mannerisms, and a sense of humor that appeals to whites because it celebrates Asian American self-contempt (70).

Thus, even Asian writers feel the need to appeal to audiences by garnering and somewhat encouraging these “clichés” and “linguistic mannerisms” in an effort to form a sense of rhetorical space in as an American citizen. The stereotypical language and rhetoric that surrounds the Asian American narrative largely contributes to the way they are perceived and are expected to act in the media. For example, many have called attention to whether or not the accent that Jessica has is necessary in the show and what it does to her voice and representation of an Asian mother. Jessica spends much of the first season attempting to reconnect her kids to their Chinese culture against the influence of their white neighborhood. A strong and defiant female character, she is the one in the family who has the most trouble integrating herself into the American culture and but also does not necessarily concern herself with how this might make her an outcast. Because most Asian Americans are taught to shy away from their cultural heritage at a young age, seeing their culture embraced in full force on a TV show is rather shocking. This in combination with the blatant stereotypes that Jessica portrays causes some to wince at the over-emphasized antics. Eddie Huang, the person whose autobiography Fresh Off the Boat is based on, has heavily criticized the show for what he sees as atrocities to his race and his story. Though he used to be the narrating voice for 12 year-old Eddie, he has refused to play the part anymore stating that, “his edgy memoir got turned into an ABC sitcom…This show isn’t about [him] nor is it about Asian America. Randall was neutered, Constance was exoticized, and Young Eddie was urbanized so that the viewers got their mise-en-place” (Moraes). Huang’s reaction to the show his own auto-biography inspired is extreme disappointment because he believes that his intention to create a safe rhetorical space for Asian Americans to express their life without the stereotypes was a failure and that the fight to stop these false portrayals seems never-ending. Huang accuses the Persian American writer for this show, Nahnatcha Khan, of succumbing to telling a “universal, ambiguous cornstarch story about Asian Americans resembling moo-goo-gai-pan (a Taiwanese noodle dish)” (Moraes). He is full convinced that if the show was written by a Chinese American or Taiwanese American writer, stereotypes would not be a problem. However, in contrast to Huang’s opinion, Constance Wu (Jessica) and Khan, do not see it this way and rather see it as a rare opportunity for Asian Americans and minorities to share their culture with the world. Similar to how blogs and social media can provide a community of relatability, this show has proven to showcase a plethora of experiences that many Asian Americans go through while growing up. Wu states in an interview that the biggest part of this show was “breaking through the anxiety that the Asian-American community felt in having their own story, which is something they’ve never had” (Jung). This show is seen by many as a huge step for Asian Americans in the media and adds immensely to the narrative and rhetoric that they occupy. Khan states that she tried to embody sympathy with any minority who felt like they did not have a voice in American society and wanted to “create a diverse room with diverse experiences. Whether they’re Asian or Indian or gay, people who have ever felt like an outsider for any reason” (Hill). Wu also disagrees with Huang, and chooses instead to approach the issue with a method of embracing the stereotype. For example Asian mothers are often stereotyped as being “tiger moms”; mothers who are constantly pushing their kids to do well in school and apply the pressure necessary to do so. Wu fully embraces this with the intention of correctly representing how this stereotype is not necessarily a negative stigma. Wu states that this role: [Made] me think about what it must be like to have a kid you are responsible for, especially if you came to a country and people gave you s**t for your accent or decorum and you don't want your kids to feel that bad. Also, you kind of want to say "F**k you!" to the haters. How do you do that? By saying "Well, you know what? My kid got a 1600 on his SATs, and he's better than yours." That's your way of showing up all the haters. So that's how you open up the stereotype into a person. I almost think it's impossible not to have a stereotype (Jung).

Because a stereotype will always exist, the only solution is to embrace it and to show the positive side to what people would normally see as negative or limiting. Much can be achieved if only Asian Americans choose to see themselves not as victims of their stereotypes, but as proud bearers of their culture. Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason and they are unavoidable. Thus in order for Asian Americans, or any minority for that matter, to move forward in society and have a voice, they must be able to embrace their perceived image and use it as a platform to keep building their own narrative space and story wherever they are. Through all of this, the last struggle that these minorities are constantly going through is the adaption to an American culture that differs from their ethnic cultural myth or preexisting narrative. Throughout the show, the family is confronted time and time again with the decision to either embrace their Taiwanese heritage, or to adopt the American culture in order to fit in. In one scene, Louis and Jessica examine how far they’ve come since moving to Florida and Louis realizes, “Oh my god… we are Patrick Swayze in Ghost. Stuck between two worlds, part of both, belonging to neither” (“Coming From America”). A new identity is being created, one that forces the American story to adapt to and combine with an Asian American’s, but doesn’t necessarily change the core of who they are. They find themselves in this in-between that causes them to belong to neither culture completely, yet they don’t see this as a bad thing. The two different cultures that fought to be a part of their identity forces them to understand themselves and allows them the chance to find their own narrative in America. Part of the Asian American story is also their story of success and what “making it” means to an Asian American family. In the same wedding scene, Louis and Jessica are talking about an opportunity they have to move from Florida back to Taiwan, and how it would be easier for them to move back to the comfort of their heritage. However, Jessica states, “You have worked hard for everything you have, you’ve earned it, no one’s given you anything. We did it, Louis. We moved to America and we made it. We are the success story” (“Coming From America”). In most cases where Asian Americans have often felt excluded from the American Dream, through Fresh Off the Boat, we see a scene that not only encourages striving for success, but also provides the attainability of achieving the American Dream. The show goes beyond just the use of stereotypes and tells a story of how a minority group was able to overcome all prejudices and come out successful. Often times, it is a natural inclination to shy away from the stereotype that surrounds a native culture. Stereotypes can push a whole ethnicity or group into a small corner where they will forever be perceived and accordingly judged. It is what prompts and often inhibits Asian Americans from creating their own narrative space in America. Fresh Off The Boat offers a glimpse of what it’s like to grow up in a society that tells you that success lies in a narrow path that depends on where you come from and that everyone must conform to. It also works to expand this American Dream so that it is achievable for everyone who desires to be successful, no matter what your ethnic background is. Minorities who have been conditioned to accept the fact that they will never have equal opportunity in America because of their cultural heritage are able to see a minority group defy the odds and live the American Dream. The struggle of adapting to an American culture while still embodying one’s native culture has resulted in the creation of a new identity that can be found in the rhetorical spaces of embracing stereotypes and having a voice in the media. This struggle that many minorities can relate to prompts a journey and a challenge that produces a unique story for every individual. Minorities and immigrants living in America have the chance to understand and experience two radically different cultures, and have the opportunity to call both a part of their identity. They have the chance to create their own identity and narrative in a space and a country that not only allows for this to happen, but also encourages it. Though many of them have been labeled as “foreign” in society, there will always be a chance to fight against this stigma and their voice will eventually be heard. Perhaps someday, minorities will be able to be seen as constitutive to the American Dream, mark their place as American citizens in history, and be known simply as Americans.