Diversity and Representation in Media

It's fairly well-known that Moore regrets a lot of the influence his older stories had on the medium. Even outside of the Barbara thing he doesn't think very highly of TKJ in general.

Reminder of what Di Dio was rumored to have said in Identity Crisis. Some things just don't seem to change.

They probably though Moore would just do a sidestory os something like that.

Moore was kinda to good and it kinda afect the whole thing.

I'd also point out that Batman himself is an anti-thesis to the Killing Joke and a lot of people miss that. Batman had one of the worst days a child could imagine and he didn't become some psychopath, but instead became a hero.

Of course, given how writers took all the comments of people who act like they are too smart for heroes...

Given how Batman has been depicted in recent decades, it's hard to see him as a hero, much less an antithesis to Joker's philosophy. Gordon and Dick Grayson work as a far better rebuke to the Joker's "one bad day" view.

Edited by windleopard on Mar 23rd 2020 at 9:04:46 AM

If anything he come as another sort of insanity: trying to impose some sense of order by force in order to give the death of is parent some meaning, after all the joker said so "what else would you dress as flying rat?"

I think it's somewhat telling that the incarnations of the character that tend to soften or excise the more problematic aspects are the campier/deliberately more lighthearted ones.

For example in the adam west show, Batman isn't really a vigilante and he doesn't patrol Gotham stopping petty crimes. He's deputized by the police and only acts as Batman when Gordon calls him.

More in line with the thread subject, I was somewhat surprised at how relatively well-written Eartha Kitt's version of Catwoman was - the show started only two years after the Civil Rights Act was passed. Admittedly it was probably for that reason that the Foe Yay between her and Batman was removed, but otherwise she was pretty well-handled.

You know if the writers were more daring that would have been very groundbreaking. Seriously, 60's executives be insane not to have Adam West romancing Eartha Kitt. Seriously, Eartha Kitt was divine and we were all robbed with the image of a superhero like Batman pursuing a woman of color. Yeah, she's a villain, but she was a kickass one.

Edited by firewriter on Mar 23rd 2020 at 9:48:15 AM

An interview with Madam C.J. Walker's descendant, regarding the new Netflix series about the Black American entrepreneur.

After seeing Madam CJ Walker, I want Octavia Spencer to do an biographical based movie on Nancy Green (The first woman to portray Aunt Jermima). I know Aunt Jermima is a controversial figure even after her 1989 revamp. However, I do think Nancy Green is an underrated woman of interest. Even though she played the (mythical) archetype of the Mammy, she used her money to become a philanthropist (one of the first black ones) and improved the lives of her fellow Afro-Americans.

http://solefocus.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-portrait-of-nancy-green.html

Today I learned that before Wonder Woman debuted there was an Indigenous Canadian female superhero named Nelvana. Like Wonder Woman, she too was a Semi-Divine superhero who fought nazis.

Canada, do you mind giving her own movie? Or selling her rights to DC?

I would watch that movie.

Marvel or DC though?

They should give her a cartoon or something.

Speaking of DC they had a Canadian Indigenous character named Equinox (Miiyahbin Marten). She probably could have gone somewhere but sadly she appeared in the much maligned New 52 era.

Eh, comics (and adaptations) pick up good characters from bad runs all the time. A lot of the MCU is based on Ultimate, for example, despite Ultimate having a bad reputation for unnecessary edginess.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevalier_de_Saint-Georges

Another idea for an obscure black figure getting his own movie would be Chevalier De Saint Georges. I say go the extra mile and give him his own anime, because when he was as student at Tessier de La Boëssière’s Académie royale polytechnique des armes et de ‘l’équitatio he beat a Alexandre Picard, a fencing-master, who was mocking him for his mixed raced heritage. Even better the match was used as a bet between pro and anti-slavery factions. Seriously, this is such a shonen anime moment where some arrogant asshole talks trash about the protagonist and he shows up and defeats him in such an ironic and delicious way.

Edited by firewriter on Mar 25th 2020 at 1:24:23 AM

Monique Jones discusses what she'd like to see in Chester Tam's upcoming romantic comedy which stars Gabrielle Union in an interracial relationship with an Asian-American man.

... okay, this is going to be weird to say but is it odd that it feels less progressive because the female lead is black? While a minority-led film is great, I feel like Hollywood is much more comfortable with a Token Minority Couple than a non-white male and white female.

... oh great. Now I'm thinking of Romeo Must Die and I can't stop thinking about kung fu football.

I'm going to argue not really, just because Romeo Must Die is the only instance I can think of with an Asian man and black woman as the main couple (self-insert Kpop fanfiction aside) while at least with white woman x black man couples, though they're not exactly common, at least they're not unheard of either.

Romeo Must Die also edited a ton of the romantic elements out of the relationship following negative test screenings. They didn’t even kiss.

The Sonic the Hedgehog movie had one such couple, in fact.

I'm not saying "oh it was done once so that's solved" just that Token Minority Couple is absolutely still a thing. Still better than Like Goes with Like, of course, but yeah.

Let me put it this way: I'm pretty sure the shittiest of shitheads would be more pissed off it the female lead was white than if she's black. To put it into perspective: Romeo Must Die toned down the romance between the Asian and black leads. Kiss of the Dragon made Jet Li a Celibate Hero and expressly shot down a romance between the Asian and white leads.

Edited by Larkmarn on Mar 25th 2020 at 11:21:39 AM