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langwidereSOME SEMI-NEWS:
» In the West, we call this magic super-health drink "whiskey."
» Because I have never lost my affection for the "world news as terrible Bruce Willis/Tom Cruise vehicle" conceit, I give you the exposition sequence from Contagion.
» More news from the Computers Have Taken Over Our Lives Through Voodoo & Intimidation Desk. I am getting really tired of the "let’s blame the monkeys!" approach to modern behavioral science. Addiction to technology has nothing to do with primal impulses. This asshole’s problem is that he doesn’t like his family and finds spending time with them anesthetizing (not that I don’t sympathize; I could barely get through the article). He just needs to stop blaming his iPad and fake his own death and disappear like a normal person.
» I love it that the scientist who discovered the York gladiator cemetery is named "Kurt Hunter-Mann."
» FUCKING BALLS.
I’m choosing not to link to the upsetting stuff. Because I’m an ADULT, and I CAN DO STUFF LIKE THAT.
Hakuouki has been super-boring lately; I’m waiting for TH ('Toshizou Hijikata' — I feel comfortable calling him that because we’ve been practically friends for, like, years now) to realize that the best way to protect the emperor and save the shougun is to tell the Gerbil how he really feels about her ("I — I — to you, I’ve always — "). Or for Okita to realize that the only way to cure his tuberculosis is to lick Saitou’s nipples over and over and over. And over. Haha, just kidding, they’ll all be cherry-pink wangst zombies by this time next month.
Only two more episodes! I think! So sad. If I didn’t like the show, it would run for 38 seasons. (Looking at you, Naruto.)
No good gif material in the last few shows, so here’s one from episode seven:
Maybe someone can tell me why everybody cares so much about this Avatar: The Fifth Airblanger movie? Which is, I will remind you, a live-action adaptation of a fake anime that ran on Nickelodeon. It’s not like this is some, you know, actual thing written by and for non-white people which has been coopted by racist Hollywood. Unless there is some new definition for "fake anime" that I am unaware of, it was a borderline offensive, racist construct in the first place. But, you know, I’m trying not to judge it too harshly (AHAHA). No, really, I’m not — lots of really smart people whose opinions I trust blindly seem to think it was unbearably great, and that this movie is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. I don’t get it. I guess I’ll just have to chalk it up to the Miyazaki Paradox and move on.
Lastly, because you care, I changed the addresses of my Tumblr account and my Formspring page. For the three people who think I’m fascinating. (HI, MOM!)
ETA: There is actually a movie called Contagion. Wow!
ETA 2: And now I know why everyone is mad at the Airblanger. Even if the original text was a chewing-gum commercial, nothing deserves that kind of treatment. Sorry. Better-informed cat is better informed. (h/tstarburns)
» In the West, we call this magic super-health drink "whiskey."
» Because I have never lost my affection for the "world news as terrible Bruce Willis/Tom Cruise vehicle" conceit, I give you the exposition sequence from Contagion.
» More news from the Computers Have Taken Over Our Lives Through Voodoo & Intimidation Desk. I am getting really tired of the "let’s blame the monkeys!" approach to modern behavioral science. Addiction to technology has nothing to do with primal impulses. This asshole’s problem is that he doesn’t like his family and finds spending time with them anesthetizing (not that I don’t sympathize; I could barely get through the article). He just needs to stop blaming his iPad and fake his own death and disappear like a normal person.
» I love it that the scientist who discovered the York gladiator cemetery is named "Kurt Hunter-Mann."
» FUCKING BALLS.
I’m choosing not to link to the upsetting stuff. Because I’m an ADULT, and I CAN DO STUFF LIKE THAT.
Hakuouki has been super-boring lately; I’m waiting for TH ('Toshizou Hijikata' — I feel comfortable calling him that because we’ve been practically friends for, like, years now) to realize that the best way to protect the emperor and save the shougun is to tell the Gerbil how he really feels about her ("I — I — to you, I’ve always — "). Or for Okita to realize that the only way to cure his tuberculosis is to lick Saitou’s nipples over and over and over. And over. Haha, just kidding, they’ll all be cherry-pink wangst zombies by this time next month.
Only two more episodes! I think! So sad. If I didn’t like the show, it would run for 38 seasons. (Looking at you, Naruto.)
No good gif material in the last few shows, so here’s one from episode seven:
Maybe someone can tell me why everybody cares so much about this Avatar: The Fifth Airblanger movie? Which is, I will remind you, a live-action adaptation of a fake anime that ran on Nickelodeon. It’s not like this is some, you know, actual thing written by and for non-white people which has been coopted by racist Hollywood. Unless there is some new definition for "fake anime" that I am unaware of, it was a borderline offensive, racist construct in the first place. But, you know, I’m trying not to judge it too harshly (AHAHA). No, really, I’m not — lots of really smart people whose opinions I trust blindly seem to think it was unbearably great, and that this movie is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. I don’t get it. I guess I’ll just have to chalk it up to the Miyazaki Paradox and move on.
Lastly, because you care, I changed the addresses of my Tumblr account and my Formspring page. For the three people who think I’m fascinating. (HI, MOM!)
ETA: There is actually a movie called Contagion. Wow!
ETA 2: And now I know why everyone is mad at the Airblanger. Even if the original text was a chewing-gum commercial, nothing deserves that kind of treatment. Sorry. Better-informed cat is better informed. (h/t
starburns)
no subject
Date: 2010-06-10 04:32 am (UTC)Here's my stab at the Airblanger thing:
it was a borderline offensive, racist construct in the first place.
It did kind of mush inspirations from different Asian countries together as if they each weren't, you know, their own individual cultural traditions. And it was a show created by two white dudes, in which most of the voice actors were also white. So... yeah, I don't think Hollywood can be held guilty for perverting some shining example of racial and cultural sensitivity.
My biggest annoyance is when people claim that the casting choices couldn't POSSIBLY have anything to do with racism or privilege. I mean, they probably weren't a result of direct, vitriolic hatred: I doubt the casting director was like, "NO, I don't like people of color, let's not put them in the movie!" It was probably more along the lines of, "Okay, we have to cast these sibling characters [from a 'tribe' whose members were depicted as having much darker skin-tones than any of the other characters (http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/2/26454/861292-sokka_katara_aang_super.jpg)]... that kid from the Twilight movies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Rathbone) is popular. We could cast an actor of color in the brother role, but this white teen heartthrob will really help sell the movie to teen/pre-teen girls. So we'll cast him. Also, since he's white, we have to cast a white girl as his sister."
The fact that this sort of reasoning is still making it a million times harder for non-white actors to find work in Hollywood is wrong. And it's extra-icky when people ignore or deny it it. A lot of people were, though! You should have seen 'em! It was embarrassing.
(It's worth noting, though, that those sibling characters were both voiced by white actors in the original show.)
As for the general consensus of fans... I think it's that, whether or not Avatar was ever a great example of racial sensitivity, the fact that all of the characters were from Asian and First Nations -inspired cultures would've been a good opportunity for mainstream Hollywood to start breaking some barriers, as far as giving non-white actors leading roles instead of relegating them to bit parts. That didn't happen, and people were disappointed.
(What's the Miyazaki Paradox?)
no subject
Date: 2010-06-11 11:39 am (UTC)Well, that makes more sense. It’s a sort of 'Italian Indians in 50s cowboy movies’ sort of thing, then? Which I get, actually.
I am always astonished by the racism and troglodytic ignorance rampant in the fan community. I remember once, long ago (probably 2007), there was a story out about Viz censoring the Hagane no Renkinjutsushi comic to remove a crucifixion, and the overwhelming fan response was YAAAAAAYYY!! WHOOO!!! JEEEEEBUUUUUS!!! [*DROOLS*] [*FINGERS IN MOUTH*] [*LOLLIPOP*]
So it doesn’t surprise me that Avatar fans would think an all-white cast was aces, just for the sake of being assholes.
I also get the "white privilege" at work behind the casting process, which — although I know 'privilege’ is merely a slightly more ordered, repulsive form of racism — always feels distinct to me from the classical, hate-and-violence-oriented variety. It’s quieter and more insidious, and it’s the thing that Photoshops skin tones and dislikes certain accents and casts googly-eyed blonde people as large-print heroes while simultaneously pointing out the Asian/black friend aaaaall the way in the back & saying, "What? You’re represented. I’M NOT A RACIST. YOU’RE A RACIST."
That Twilight guy is really, really icky-looking. Just on a strictly personal, non-racism-related level. He looks like my drunk Aunt Patty in a boy-themed Halloween costume.
Personally, unless there is a real, observable reason for a character to be white, I always go for brown when I cast my imaginary fantasy-novel movies. Like, when I was reading Tolkien, and he told me that elves were tall and gorgeous with light-reflective skin and luminous eyes, I thought: "Ah! Alek Wek!" I don’t see why every hobbit in Middle-earth couldn’t be played by a black, Hispanic, or Asian actor. I don’t see why Adam Beach can’t play Henry VIII. I don’t see why Alyssah Ali didn’t get to play Tits in the next Transformers movie. Racism is a real-world problem; it doesn’t have to interfere with fantasy casting in any way. Does it?
Which is not to say that I don’t love me some white actors! I was looking at my fanlist the other day, and as I’m sure you know, everybody on there is white. I feel kind of bad about that, but I actually sort of hate Denzel Washington and Will Smith, and aside from Halle Berry (who is loved by everyone with eyes) — what other black/brown actors would I add? No, I’m asking. You got any ideas?
There is a dearth of black/brown people in wizard hats, in other words. Someone needs to get on that.
But, thank you for the explanation. Now I get it. (I think.)
The Miyazaki Paradox is: I hate all of Miyazaki’s movies and I think they’re terrible and I think he’s massively untalented artistically and narratively and he might be a misogynist and he is definitely baselessly egotistical and a gigantic asshole who turns every story he tells — no matter how intricate, personal, and introspective — into 128 minutes of blarghing about the environment. And yet, everyone I know who’s smarter than me loves him to pieces and thinks the sun shines out of his ass. Including Roger Ebert! Who is awesome. I don’t get it? Paradox!
no subject
Date: 2010-06-11 08:16 pm (UTC)SORRY. :{
no subject
Date: 2010-06-14 11:28 am (UTC)Also: Seriously? Because I hold the copyrights to monster comments, and I’m gonna sue you for royalties. Also, it wasn’t that long.
But I deleted and reposted it (and I’ll answer it, too!) with the italics fixed — because I know how much that would bother me. It’s weird that you can’t edit your own comments? I know that newer free Dreamwidth accounts have fewer features than older ones, but not being able to edit your own comments is terrible. I still have my old code (no one wanted it, sniffles) (everybody had a DW account ages ago, apparently), so if you ever want to try it let me know. Maybe there’s some sort of legacy gateway model in place. But that’s very weird nonetheless. What if you want to delete an old or ill-considered comment? Weird.
I’m not buying a Dreamwidth account yet! Not enough control/features for me
, and still no foxies. Maybe this fall, when they’ve done some more work, I’ll buy a year’s paid time. But I’m not falling into that LiveJournal moneytrap again without careful consideration.AND YOUR ICONS!! I REALLY MISSED THOSE ICONS.
Anyway, don’t worry about it.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-14 07:06 pm (UTC)You can edit your own comments if you have a paid account. Otherwise, LOL NO. Or, such is my understanding. Works the same on LiveJournal, unless you have an "early adopter" account. Which I do, thankfully. (That account is almost 11 years old...)
Basically, it's a enticement to shell out for a paid account. I think.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-16 05:58 pm (UTC)I ARE SO CONFUSED NOW :[
BY PROXY FROM STARBURNS WITH ITALICS FIXXORD:
Date: 2010-06-14 11:17 am (UTC)long ago (probably 2007), there was a story out about Viz censoring the Hagane no Renkinjutsushi comic to remove a crucifixion,
I remember this, sort of, but since I generally avoid the "hagaren" fandom (also known as the Cult of Hiromu Arakawa), I never knew what the response had been. People were... happy that the "sacrilege" had been removed? Or something?
So it doesn’t surprise me that Avatar fans would think an all-white cast was aces, just for the sake of being assholes.
It gets even creepier! Instead of making it an all-white cast... they cast all the protagonists as white kids. Then, for all the antagonists (from a "nation" whose population, in the cartoon, were depicted with fairly light skin-tones)... they cast actors of color. Indian (South Asian), Iranian-American, and Maori for the primary antagonists. Basically, all the "bad guys" are actors with darker skin-tones.
I know 'privilege’ is merely a slightly more ordered, repulsive form of racism — always feels distinct to me from the classical, hate-and-violence-oriented variety. It’s quieter and more insidious, and it’s the thing that Photoshops skin tones and dislikes certain accents and casts googly-eyed blonde people as large-print heroes while simultaneously pointing out the Asian/black friend aaaaall the way in the back & saying, "What? You’re represented. I’M NOT A RACIST. YOU’RE A RACIST."
THIS EXACTLY, far more eloquently than I could put it. It's what's behind the people that comment on the Avatar thing, saying, "HEY, this is a fantasy world! Thus, it has no 'Earth races,' and you're a REVERSE-RACIST for saying otherwise!" (At first, I felt a little sad for these people. I mean, these can't be real, normal human beings who are allowed to wander around in public with the rest of us, right? Were they chained up in a basement somewhere, from a young age? But on further consideration...)
Even if it hadn't been painfully clear that the cultures in Avatar were based on real-life cultures that still exist in the world today, that argument still seems like... almost the concentrated essence of white privilege. White privilege is what allows these people to unconsciously come to conclusions like: "These characters are animated and live in a fantasy world, so we're never told directly what their racial/ethnic backgrounds might be in real-world terms. ...They must be white!" White is seen as the default, so casting choices that favor actors of color would need to be deliberate... whereas casting white actors is just a foregone conclusion. "Insidious" is the right word. It allows people to wallow in and take advantage of their own privilege, and at the same time, deny that it's a problem and feel enlightened because they "have black friends" and listen to rap music or j-pop.
I don’t see why Adam Beach can’t play Henry VIII.
This is a casting decision I could really get behind. Or in front/under/on-top of. (RIMSHOT!) (Sorry.) (No, but he is an attractive dude and I enjoy staring at him. I even stared at a TV set playing Law & Order: SVU to do just that!) But yeah, I don't see any reason it should interfere with casting. And I mean, wouldn't a fantasy film (which, presumably, tries to be fantastical and interesting) want to do everything it could do dissociate itself from the myriad of other, boring family drama and romantic "comedy" films with all-white casts?
I quite like Don Cheadle. And there are a couple Indian actors I really like, but they're all in Hindi films, which may be an acquired taste.
Ahahahaha. See, I do generally like Miyazaki movies, and Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind is one of my favorite comics but MY WORD IT IS UGLY. Or well, no, the characters specifically are very ugly. (The backgrounds are pretty well-done.) Everyone looks sort of lumpy and cross-eyed. I do find myself conflicted about his female characters: while a lot of them are portrayed as "strong" and "capable," most of them are also massively boring stereotypes. They remind me of one of the more insidious forms of sexism (to go along with the above discussion of privilege, here), in which all good girls are nurturing and/or fearsome goddesses, perfect, untouchable, and generally sexless. Like... Nausicaa herself is literally one of the most boring, Mary Sueish characters I can think of. So actually... I guess I don't feel conflicted at all.
And you know I love me some blarghing about the environment, but he definitely toes the line into proselytizing. Which, I don't know... couldn't he could just go blog about it?
Re: BY PROXY FROM STARBURNS WITH ITALICS FIXXORD:
Date: 2010-06-14 12:44 pm (UTC)Ugh! I know, right? I think most Hagaren fans are the otaku equivalent of teabaggers. (By which I mean: they are illiterate, hypocritically conservative, and biliously anti-gay.)
People were... happy that the "sacrilege" had been removed? Or something?
Honestly, I’m not sure. I went onto some horrible forum when the story broke and there were hundreds of typing tragedies saying things like, "I support this edit and I support Viz! Christianity is awesome!" (Only not, you know, spelled that well.) I mean, they clearly had no idea why a crucifixion could be considered "offensive," and on the other hand they didn’t really seem to grasp the concept of "censorship," either — nor did they really understand why some fans were outraged by it. They were just trolling for the sake of trolling. I think? Or they really did believe, somehow, that Viz was the embattled little guy who needed their desperate allegiance. Which would be funny, if it weren’t so unbelievably depressing.
It gets even creepier! Instead of making it an all-white cast... they cast all the protagonists as white kids.
Okay, that transcends default Hollywood settings and is outright, actionable racism. I completely retract my earlier statements. Not even kidding.
It's what's behind the people that comment on the Avatar thing, saying, "HEY, this is a fantasy world! Thus, it has no 'Earth races,' and you're a REVERSE-RACIST for saying otherwise!"
Uh-oh, you mean I made exactly the same argument, only backwards? Ooops. But, you know, "colorblind" means "a rainbow of skintones," not "everybody good is white." By that yardstick, The Birth of a Nation is the most "diverse" film in the American canon. Jesus, how scary! And anyway, from a purely financial perspective, it would make better sense to cast people of color as occasional heroes in ginormous action films; those sorts of movies are major world events now, and whites are by far the racial minority when you look at ethnicity from a global perspective.
White is seen as the default, so casting choices that favor actors of color would need to be deliberate...
When I was a kid I was literally the only black person in town, and so, when my mother bought me books, she always made sure they centered on black/brown characters. All my storybooks featured black, Asian, and Hispanic heroes — and on the rare occasions when she was forced to buy a book with a white hero, she always made sure the character had dark hair ^.^ So, although the people I saw on a day-to-day basis were always white, the people who populated my imagination were always some shade of brown. I suppose that defined my standard of beauty, too? So, unless I’m reading a book about Vikings or something, when I start to imagine a character I always make him/her a brown person. I forget, sometimes, that other people didn’t have such great moms. Poor kids.
(And not that white people can’t be beautiful, and shouldn’t be included at the birthday party. It’s just, you know, maybe white people shouldn’t be the only ones passing out invitations.)
No, but he is an attractive dude and I enjoy staring at him.
So hot, and also talented! He could definitely work more :[
wouldn't a fantasy film (which, presumably, tries to be fantastical and interesting) want to do everything it could do dissociate itself from the myriad of other, boring family drama and romantic "comedy" films with all-white casts?
Apparently not. They’re still trying to stealthily remake When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle without anyone noticing.
I quite like Don Cheadle.
I do, too. But no wizard hats! I accepted Charlize Theron because of Monster, which was really affecting — but everybody else is wizard hats all the way.
Hindi films, which may be an acquired taste
I don’t know about that; I’ve never really watched any.
all good girls are nurturing and/or fearsome goddesses, perfect, untouchable, and generally sexless
I was actually pretty mad about what Miyazaki did to Howl’s Moving Castle, actually, but this is pretty awful, too. I remember liking Totoro a lot when I saw it years and years ago, but I was a pretty unsophisticated viewer at the time. (Now I am, like, Oscar Wilde over here.) I went to sleep during Nausicaa, and the only thing about it that I really remember is the dub, which wasn’t overtly terrible. I’m pretty sure it involved Patrick Stewart, which probably had something to do with it. (See!)
GIANT MONSTER COMMENT COMBINATION NOUN/VERB AGREEMENT DEPENDENT CLAUSE OVERABUNDANCE OF ADJECTIVES FU!! RAA-BUU-RII!!!
Beat that.
Re: BY PROXY FROM STARBURNS WITH ITALICS FIXXORD:
Date: 2010-06-14 12:46 pm (UTC)Actually.
Re: BY PROXY FROM STARBURNS WITH ITALICS FIXXORD:
Date: 2010-06-14 07:02 pm (UTC)Yeah, apart from everything else, this is really silly. I mean... these people know that Jesus wouldn't have been the only person to ever be crucified, right? It wasn't even a method of punishment used specifically for Christians! (And according to ze Wikipedia, it was even a method of execution used in Japan.)
But, I don't know, I guess Christianity just gets to declare a monopoly on whatever it sees fit. It's worked before!
Uh-oh, you mean I made exactly the same argument, only backwards? Ooops.
Well, I'm totally white so I don't think my opinion is anywhere close to the definitive word on this, BUT: backward, I strikes me as a different argument. Making an effort to cast actors of color in roles that aren't already "racially defined" seems more like a small step toward correcting what's already a huge, obvious imbalance. In Hollywood, white people are already overwhelmingly favored in just about every way. I mean, I'm sure there are people out there who'd like to pretend that we're already so advanced, as a society, that we honestly don't/shouldn't think about race ever when casting. But since, when people do say that, it still ends up being white people that they cast 90% of the time... I think it's safe to say we're not there yet. (And people don't really want a "colorblind" society, right? People want to be allowed to celebrate/appreciate their heritage? My only "culture" is American, really, but this is what I assume.)
I'd say, at this point, a conscious effort to correct the imbalance would be good. I highly doubt there'll be any poor, white actors forced out onto the streets because of it.
If everyone had a mom as awesome as yours, we wouldn't still be reading so many studies and articles like this.
Okay, so Hindi films are like... imagine the big, gaudy, corny Roger's & Hammerstein-style musicals of the '60s. Then imagine that never went out of style.
(I'm painting with a REALLY WIDE brush here. There are Hindi films of all kinds. But the ones that are really big, mainstream, top-billing affairs usually fall into the above category.)
I've never read Howl's Moving Castle, so I wasn't able to judge the movie against the book. The Nausicaa movie is, indeed, not so great. The manga is actually longer and more "sophisticated" (er): the manga is four volumes long, and the plot of the movie covers only the first. Not that there aren't any criticisms of the manga to be made, but. Yeah.
Re: BY PROXY FROM STARBURNS WITH ITALICS FIXXORD:
Date: 2010-06-16 05:55 pm (UTC)Many people made this argument, pointing out that the Romans used crucifixion extensively everywhere they set up an outpost of the Empire, which was basically everywhere, but the pro-Viz contingent could not be budged. Possibly because they were functionally illiterate.
And people don't really want a "colorblind" society, right? People want to be allowed to celebrate/appreciate their heritage? My only "culture" is American, really, but this is what I assume.
Andy Richter Controls the Universe had a really great episode about that, actually. I haven’t seen it for years, but as I recall it featured a new employee at Andy’s company who was black, and who eventually accused Andy and the other people in the office of discrimination. Everyone was horrified at themselves and one another for being so unconsciously racist that no one else had ever noticed it, but it turned out that the man was angry because he was Irish, and had gotten offended by St. Patrick’s Day decorations or something. The show was always plotted in a complicated way and I don’t remember most of it, but I do remember that when Andy did the voiceover at the end he said something like: "…And I think we all learned an important lesson. We learned that it’s very important to celebrate our racial differences while simultaneously ignoring them completely!" (Or something. You know. It was 2003.) But I’ve always found that perfectly descriptive of the American attitude toward "difference." Do we honor it? Or ignore it? Is there some way to ignore it while honoring it? Let’s do that one!
It probably doesn’t help that most Americans live in such racially-narrow communities that they aren’t sure what sort of thoughts and feelings are "acceptable" toward people from other quasi-groups, either. Blargh.
imagine the big, gaudy, corny Roger's & Hammerstein-style musicals of the '60s. Then imagine that never went out of style.
I’ve seen a few Bollywood movies, but they weren’t really my bag. Although I do agree that Aishwarya Rai may be the most beautiful woman in the world. (And still no wizard hats!)
Re: BY PROXY FROM STARBURNS WITH ITALICS FIXXORD:
Date: 2010-06-16 07:16 pm (UTC)That, or completely incapable of critical thinking. Or both!
Do we honor it? Or ignore it? Is there some way to ignore it while honoring it? Let’s do that one!
(I think I vaguely remember that episode.)
In my own personal experience, statements about being "colorblind" (in the racial sense) are usually made by white people who haven't realized that being able to completely ignore race--or, more likely, pretend they're ignoring it--is a comfort their own white privilege affords them. (That's just my own experience, though: I don't know, maybe there are others who use the term with more sensitivity.)
The Hindi film industry has a new "most beautiful woman in the world" every couple years, too.