Minorities in Comics and Other Media, etc

[skyvolt2000]

I feel like every series it gets worse. Like it just keeps escalating with each passing show.

Because they all keep LOOKING for stuff.

Wait till Paper Girls come out. Never mind it came out before Stranger Things-yet it will be called WOKE Stranger Things.

Or Midnight Society on Netflix-never mind it's a 20+ year old novel.

[Username taken]

I feel like every series it gets worse. Like it just keeps escalating with each passing show.

I think it runs a bit deeper with LoTR because some people see it as a symbol of "white purity"?.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/03/enter...cec/index.html

Even "scholars" seem to be divided on the topic. Interestingly, the casting of different races in Middle-Earth didn't really bother me because LoTR is a fantasy.

[MasterOfMagnetism]

I've been saying for a while now that "no one is allowed to enjoy anything anymore". Almost every new big mainstream movie or tv series that comes out these days gets heavily criticized and if you say that people are being too harsh on it and should just let people like what they like you get people saying you're a snowflake who can't handle valid criticism or that you're a corporate shill/"defending an evil corporation", and that's aside from all the "woke agenda" arguments.

The Lord of the Rings thing seems to be one of the more extreme cases of this stuff.

The hatred towards the series is unusually high.

It really is. I was in the MarvelStudiosSpoilers subreddit the other day and when someone brought up the idea of Magneto being played by a black actor some rando dude used it as an opportunity to start bitching about black elves and dwarves and hobbits.

I feel like every series it gets worse. Like it just keeps escalating with each passing show.

Yeah, it's starting to feel that way. I heard Amazon had to suspend user reviews because of the amount of review bombing this time.

I think it runs a bit deeper with LoTR because some people see it as a symbol of "white purity"?.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/03/enter...cec/index.html

Even "scholars" seem to be divided on the topic. Interestingly, the casting of different races in Middle-Earth didn't really bother me because LoTR is a fantasy.

That's what I and other people have been saying. They're elves and dwarves and whatnot, elves aren't real, what does it matter what colour their skin is?

Anyway, personally I really enjoyed the first two episodes of The Rings Of Power. It just sucks that yet another thing that I like has become the newest battleground of "the culture wars".

[hyped78]

I think it runs a bit deeper with LoTR because some people see it as a symbol of "white purity"?.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/03/enter...cec/index.html

Even "scholars" seem to be divided on the topic. Interestingly, the casting of different races in Middle-Earth didn't really bother me because LoTR is a fantasy.

LotR is getting review bombed, unfortunately as expected

[MindofShadow]

I think it runs a bit deeper with LoTR because some people see it as a symbol of "white purity"?.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/03/enter...cec/index.html

Even "scholars" seem to be divided on the topic. Interestingly, the casting of different races in Middle-Earth didn't really bother me because LoTR is a fantasy.

This is basically the gist...

Morse, the RedState editor, said in his essay that "diversity isn't a bad thing by itself," but that when it becomes a major focus, the story takes a backseat to an ideological agenda.

They literally just casted minorities, which doesn't affect the story at all... but "these people" see this race change as THE COMPLETE MAJOR FOCUS !!!!

like... no... the "story" is about Rings of Power lol. About an even Maiar vs good guy elves and such. There is no 'race' component to the show in regards to skin color. The "races" are elves, dwarves, hobbits, men, orcs, maiar ect. Not black, white latino, ect. It's GD fantasy man.

And like most things, I don't think these type of people even read the source material. Or they would spend more time bitching about elf hair length and lack of hairy dwarf women lol. THAT is a lore change, not their skin color.

90% of these dudes dont have the brain power to read LOTR anyway, let alone Tolkien's more complicated stuff afterwards.

I've been saying for a while now that "no one is allowed to enjoy anything anymore".

Basically.

Fandoms exist just to hate and criticize now.

[Username taken]

I've been saying for a while now that "no one is allowed to enjoy anything anymore". Almost every new big mainstream movie or tv series that comes out these days gets heavily criticized and if you say that people are being too harsh on it and should just let people like what they like you get people saying you're a snowflake who can't handle valid criticism or that you're a corporate shill/"defending an evil corporation", and that's aside from all the "woke agenda" arguments.

Exactly this.

Consumption of entertainment is now a political statement.

It's like we aren't allowed to enjoy anything more.

It really is. I was in the MarvelStudiosSpoilers subreddit the other day and when someone brought up the idea of Magneto being played by a black actor some rando dude used it as an opportunity to start bitching about black elves and dwarves and hobbits.



Yeah, it's starting to feel that way. I heard Amazon had to suspend user reviews because of the amount of review bombing this time.

It's really extreme this time. I've seen review bombing but the LoTR thing is at a whole new level.

It seems even worse than Star Wars which is saying something.

That's what I and other people have been saying. They're elves and dwarves and whatnot, elves aren't real, what does it matter what colour their skin is?

Anyway, personally I really enjoyed the first two episodes of The Rings Of Power. It just sucks that yet another thing that I like has become the newest battleground of "the culture wars".

That's what really gets me, these aren't depictions of real-life characters. These are entirely fantastical.

I've also enjoyed the first two episodes of the Rings of Power but it's almost impossible (apart from these forums) to even discuss the series at all online.

[Username taken]

LotR is getting review bombed, unfortunately as expected

Yeah, Amazon has had to suspend their reviews for about 3 days or something.

The part that is troubling is most of the negative reviews are centered around the skin color of dwarves, and elves and how the series has a "feminist agenda" because Galadriel killed an Ice Troll by herself.

[CSTowle]

Because they all keep LOOKING for stuff.

Wait till Paper Girls come out. Never mind it came out before Stranger Things-yet it will be called WOKE Stranger Things.

Or Midnight Society on Netflix-never mind it's a 20+ year old novel.

It's out, and it's pretty f##king good too. The kid actors are amazing, the story is not 100% to the books but it gets the heart/gist of it, and it made me feel things (which is more than I can say for most TV I've been streaming lately). Highly recommend.

As to diverse casting in the LotR, I'm the demo that tends to get most upset about it (OG nerd, over 40 white hetero male, cares too much about lore/history) and it made zero difference to me. The only things that annoyed me were the subdued/disinterested speaking style of most of the elves and the overdone background music anytime the elves were doing something they needed us to know was epic. The dwarves and hobbits were great.

Durin's wife Disa (the most pictured character in the racist memes I've seen on the Reddits/9gags of the world) was one of my favorite characters, along with Nori the hobbit. Arondir bored me, but all of the elves did so I can't fault him much for that.

[godisawesome]

Now guys, a well-crafted villain is a representation of the era that created him. Vader came about during the shocking seventies, when the American public had finally lost faith in its leadership thanks to Nixon and his cronies. He represented oppression, abuse of authority, and the power of the state. That is always going to be a hard act to follow.

I loved Kylo Ren, because I love Adam Driver's performances. I can watch that guy in anything. And I say that complaining about Kylo being an ineffective brat and a total wannabe is missing the point! That's what he was supposed to be! I played that game, Star Wars the old Republic for years on a roleplaying server, Imperial side, and it was just a bunch of people dead ass pretending to be Vader with different names. It was awful, stagnant, uncreative, booooring. Vader is Vader, you can't follow him up with Liquid Metal Vader (This time there are TWO OF THEM!)

What I thought was brilliant about Kylo, was that he was such a completely unworthy successor and he knew it! And yet, despite being such a loser, he still hit all the villainy marks that Mind of Shadow mentioned. He was a murdering narcissist and a complete chode at the same time. Where those movies fell off, was Rey replacing Finn as Kylo's rival. That moment where Kylo chased them down in the woods and screamed TRAITOR! is still electric. Just another reminder that Finn got screwed over by the narrative.

Kylo was 100% fine until they decided they were gonna romance him and rey and turn him back.

If they continued what they started in TFA, he would have been fine to great.

Kylo Ren as a loathsome, contemptible, but dangerous and disturbing ball of entitlement, insecurity, and inadequacy following a cult leader into being a Neo-Nazi School Shooter who violates a young woman and tortures a black guy for talking while thinking he’s being in the right is a powerfully prescient villain in TFA…

…and is actually formidable enough to be the main villain going forward with good writing, too, since it took Rey, Finn, Chewie, and him being self-destructive and contemptuous of his enemies to get beaten.

He’s the perfect preview of the Trump Era and why it shouldn’t have been slept on.

…But “Ben Solo” is a shitty little escapist fantasy for incels on one hand and self-centered introverts on the other from TLJ on, one that requires being tolerant of racist and sexist storytelling to enjoy,

TLJ is a sexist movie not because Kylo/Ben is a bastard - it’s a sexist movie because it sacrifices Rey as a character and asset to have her fawn over him and fulfill Rian Johnson’s fantasy of having the cute girl in high school attracted to him even if he was a Ned who did nothing to gain her interest, and thus endorsed assault and abuse as a romantic story for an Adam Drover movie.

TLJ is a racist movie not because Kylo/Ben is a bastard - it’s racist because it wants to replace Finn with Kylo, wants to punish Finn and Poe for being successful characters in the last film, use Kelly Marie Tran in a damaging role to pull John Boyega out of the spotlight and into a background role with her, and doesn’t even bother to give Benecio Del Toro’s character a name, while making sure the only characters who mattered to the plot were white.

John Boyega defending JJ Abrams and Colin Trevorrow, and pointing out how LFL seems to intentionally undermine Finn even outside of the films, makes it pretty clear that Finn’s mishandling in TROS was likely yet more of LFL being insecure and worried about Boyega’s charisma and skill making Finn outshone Kylo… and then giving their racist members an excuse to fur5er sabotage him as well.

[skyvolt2000]

I think it runs a bit deeper with LoTR because some people see it as a symbol of "white purity"?.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/03/enter...cec/index.html

Even "scholars" seem to be divided on the topic. Interestingly, the casting of different races in Middle-Earth didn't really bother me because LoTR is a fantasy.

Because that is what it boils down to.

White guys (and their minority shields) made because the show is NOT 100% white.

Because they grew up in the 70s-early 90s with almost everything pandering to one demo.

And the internet gives them a place to hide and be as toxic as they want. Because if they tried that in the real world-guess who won't have a job.

you get people saying you're a snowflake who can't handle valid criticism or that you're a corporate shill/"defending an evil corporation", and that's aside from all the "woke agenda" arguments.

Valid criticism is actually looking and reading or watching the product and then stating what you think is wrong.

You know what.....

If I was a studio-I would dust off all the scripts from an old show and try to not change the script.
Throw in a POC cast and see how fast those troll go off.
Then point out this woke show you are fussing about has used the scripts from (blank). Nothing was changed. So thanks for proving to the world story was not the issue with you guys. It's who was HIRED.

[MindofShadow]

I've also enjoyed the first two episodes of the Rings of Power but it's almost impossible (apart from these forums) to even discuss the series at all online.

This aspect sucks tbh.

I've found "in person" that people are still somewhat rational-ish. Or at least pretend to. I talk to patients all the time about movies on a superficial level.

But online, talking with "fans" has basically devolved into "hating with fans." Which sucks because discussing with fans can be a lot more engaging than discussing with casuals lol.

Even as something as innocent, child-like, and completely non-important as the Pokemon anime as the absolute worst "fans" I've ever been around.

[Malvolio]

It's so much easier to be hateful online, where you can be anonymous. When you talk to someone face to face, it's not so easy. Not impossible, just not so easy.

[Username taken]

This aspect sucks tbh.

I've found "in person" that people are still somewhat rational-ish. Or at least pretend to. I talk to patients all the time about movies on a superficial level.

But online, talking with "fans" has basically devolved into "hating with fans." Which sucks because discussing with fans can be a lot more engaging than discussing with casuals lol.

Even as something as innocent, child-like, and completely non-important as the Pokemon anime as the absolute worst "fans" I've ever been around.

Exactly, especially the bolded.

I joined this forum a long time ago (well over 10 years now) to discuss geek stuff. In that time, I've had to abandon a number of forums because of the constant negativity.

Even more progressive sites have seen an influx of "political agitators" hiding under the guise of geekdom to spew hateful rhetoric.

All this being said, I think social media sites (and youtube) can do a better job of policing themselves. Youtube's algorithm is designed in such a way that if you're looking for entertainment media, you are automatically directed toward the "gators" there. Youtube is inadvertently feeding this stuff and more and more people are getting into it because it's a quick way to make money. Right now, so many people are jumping onto the "manosphere" material and are making money from it. It's not just the messaging that's problematic, some of these guys are getting involved in multi-level marketing and Ponzi schemes and all this stuff is on social media.

[Username taken]

Because that is what it boils down to.

White guys (and their minority shields) made because the show is NOT 100% white.

Because they grew up in the 70s-early 90s with almost everything pandering to one demo.

And the internet gives them a place to hide and be as toxic as they want. Because if they tried that in the real world-guess who won't have a job.




Valid criticism is actually looking and reading or watching the product and then stating what you think is wrong.

You know what.....

If I was a studio-I would dust off all the scripts from an old show and try to not change the script.
Throw in a POC cast and see how fast those troll go off.
Then point out this woke show you are fussing about has used the scripts from (blank). Nothing was changed. So thanks for proving to the world story was not the issue with you guys. It's who was HIRED.

Yeah, it's an insane level of entitlement. My reply to these guys is always the same; if you don't like it, don't watch it.

Using She-Hulk as an example, it's obvious that Marvel is using the Byrne era run as a template for the series. It's a light-hearted superhero comedy, it's not going to be for everyone.

But instead of ignoring it, some people choose to cry about it. The entitlement is disgusting and embarrassing. It's "cry-bullying".

[Overhazard]

Yeah, it's an insane level of entitlement. My reply to these guys is always the same; if you don't like it, don't watch it.

Using She-Hulk as an example, it's obvious that Marvel is using the Byrne era run as a template for the series. It's a light-hearted superhero comedy, it's not going to be for everyone.

But instead of ignoring it, some people choose to cry about it. The entitlement is disgusting and embarrassing. It's "cry-bullying".

Twitter, true to form, is making the she hulk twerking thing bigger than it actually is.

"You don't like watching TWO SEXY WOMEN TWERK?, You can't handle all that STEP ON ME MOMMY ENERGY?! Just come out already princess!" -Progressive Twitter, forward thinking as always.

"Women having fun is bad, I can't stand twerking, this is so gross and wrong." -Alt Right twitter, foaming at the mouth since 2012.

I watched the episode again, and once again I didn't think the twerking was a big deal. This show, once it's over, is going to be the subject of a few think-pieces and video essays by breadtubers and gators about how it's the greatest or worst thing ever, then it'll get memory holed until the next thing. Look at how quick people forgot about Obi-Wan.