Diversity and Representation in Media

I'm getting a migraine.

EDIT: Well, that's a pagetopper.

Edited by erazor0707 on May 20th 2019 at 2:36:38 AM

Toxic Masculinity strikes again.

Well...it might not be as bad as it sounds. As usual: Let's wait and see! Unless they actually insert some white dude into the story. I don't see how you can do THAT inoffensive.

I personally blame the fetishization of any sort of platonic kindness as having homosexual undertones, which the latter inevitably reacts to toxically. I think until people can be confident in their interactions not being used to accuse writing or what not of being gay, this trend will continue.

At least everyone realizes that’s a terrible idea.

Edited by Beatman1 on May 20th 2019 at 5:58:06 AM

In a time when bi people were (and are) almost never depicted in stories, save as “freaks”, “cheaters”, or “won’t pick a side”, I don’t blame bi viewers for imagining a tiny bit of character’s affection to be something more, just to feel that they belong in this world. Disney seemingly trying to stamp that out is unwarranted.

Edited by Tuckerscreator on May 20th 2019 at 2:58:30 AM

Well, until the media stops being so cowardly about depicting gay relationships and intimacy overtly, you're not going to see queer people stop reading homosexual undertones into same-gender relationships where they can find it, even if it's not canon. It only becomes a problem among those from the Vocal Minority who insist the relationship is 100% explicit canon and harass those who view it differently but otherwise have been minding their own business (otherwise, they're the ones doing the harassing of the former). After all it's not like people ever stopped reading it into platonic opposite-gender friendships either.

People will read subtext into literally everything under the sun and even those which are in another solar system so if the relationship between the male-seeming Ping and Shang really is purely platonic affection, then Disney has nothing to fear anyway. They can't control what the fans see (let's be real, with this new relationship people will just start reinterpreting it as a form of Armored Closet Gay Foe Yay instead), so there's no reason to erase that relationship unless they're actively fearful of queer readings for whatever reason. It's clearly a matter of Vaguely Gay-Seeming Panic, not Disney nobly fighting the good fight against toxic masculinity.

Only way to avoid some portion of the audience reading queer subtext into a work is to avoid allowing characters of the same gender to have any kind of positive or emotionally intimate relationships altogether. Would you actually enjoy something that emotionally sterile, and also, how just how pathetically insecure does it make them for resorting to that? Disney is already one of the wealthiest companies in the world, and has an audience starving for queer representation and tired of the few crumbs that get thrown their way. Whatever portion of rabidly homophobic viewers they'd scare off is a relative pittance.

And as far as romantic relationships in Disney movies go, I always thought Mulan/Shang was one of the better-executed ones. Precisely because the Ping setup allowed it to go through a more natural progress from war comrades to lovers. If bi people want to read Applicability into Shang and see him as a Bi Icon the way lesbian fans view Thor and Carol Danvers as Lesbian Icons, then it's their right, and Disney's refusal to greenlight queer text and insistence on erasing past subtext reeks of cowardice.

Edited by AlleyOop on May 20th 2019 at 10:38:40 AM

...People view Thor as a lesbian icon???

I guess it's the bit where he admitted that he always wanted to join the Valkyries?

I thought it was because they saw him as a Shipper on Deck for Carol/Valkyrie.

He’s consistently supportive of women and non threatening, basically.

Article on the relevance of The Adjudicator, the non-binary character in John Wick: Chapter 3. (don't read the comments).

Plus interview with their performer, where they discuss how they came to the character and The Adjudicator's importance.

Actor Jason Mitchell dropped from various projects over misconduct allegations. These allegations besides what the article mentions must be quite serious, for so many different projects to remove him so quickly. This reminds me a lot what happened to Kevin Spacey when those allegations about him came out. This Jason Mitchell seemed to have a developed a promising career and following and now he's ruined it and tainted the various projects he's worked on, I almost feel sorry for him, in a pitiful kind of way.

Reminds me of how Josh Trank quickly became radioactive and got canned by Disney after all the stories about him being a nightmare on the set of Fant4stic, wwhich I can't remember if they were ever explicitly confirmed.

Huh… I had no idea Ezra Miller was genderfluid. I learned something today.

Anyway, it's interesting. Having minority characters played by actors of said minority is always preferable, but it's even more true for non-binary ones… since I don't think anyone can properly portray such an identity other than non-binary people themselves. The vast majority of people aren't even aware non-binariness is a thing, and even I can't entirely grasp what it means. I know the tecnical definition, but I'd have a hard time spotting a non-binary character or person if not told outright. So that makes me even more curious to see this movie.

(also, I ignored your advice regarding the comments; I regret it now.)

Edited by Lyendith on May 21st 2019 at 4:56:27 PM

The Adjudicator is awesome and one of the most chilling foes in the series. While prior villains have been mostly individual mob bosses, the Adjudicator wields power across the entire setting. In short, everyone follows their orders, and those who decide not to are basically gambling with war.

Edited by Tuckerscreator on May 21st 2019 at 8:49:06 AM

Well, define confirmed. The main actress was very clear about being on the set of that movie NOT being any kind of fun.

I don't think the stories about what went on backstage of F4 were ever officially confirmed but I don't remember anyone involved bothering to deny it which is pretty suggestive to my mind...

According to this, Rocketman will be the first major studio film to depict gay sex.

Well, that Kate Mara had to endure a lot from Josh Trank because she was forced on him is all but confirmed. In: Nobody ever bothered to deny it and while nobody ever went into details, there were some suggestive remarks made.

She was forced on him? What?

Heh. I remember a certain gay youtube critic who loathed Call Me by Your Name, one reason being that depictions of gay sex in it were extremely short and tame compared to het sex scenes, as if the actors didn't want to fully commit to their gay roles (according to him). I wonder if it'll be the same in this one…

Edited by Lyendith on May 21st 2019 at 9:26:56 PM

Josh Trank didn't want her for the role but the studio apparently insisted.

according to Taron Egerton, definitely not. But then you have to say he WOULD say that so we shall have to wait and see...

Alabama, as a part of their ongoing campaign to return themselves to the 18th century, has refused to air the ''Arthur'' episode featuring Mr. Ratburn's gay wedding.

Trailer and premise for the Arabis supernatural drama, Jinn, from Netflix.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinn_(TV_series)