I could go long and drawn out ...

[quietprofanity]

But this is probably going out into the ether, so I'll be brief.

1.) For all this bullshit whining about how bad anger is and how it's hurting the feminist comics fan's cause. You know, I'm not much of an angry person ... Well, I kind of am. But I'm also a sensitive woobie and so then I get upset about it later. Anyway, I try to spread my anger where it's needed. I think I give creators a lot of leeway. ("High heels? Well, her powers ARE magic-based -- it's not like she HAS to run." This may be how I was able to watch Sailor Moon.)

So ... yeah, not extremely angry. I haven't gotten really mad over anything that happened this year except for the Mary-Jane-killed-by-semen subplot and I didn't really blog about it extensively. In fact, when I was first discovering WFA, I thought Karen Healey was overbearing. And I outright got in a fight with Valerie D'Orazio under my old name (and hers).

Now I read their blogs every day. What kept me coming back? Well, I kept coming back to Karen's blog because she was pretty insightful and witty, had really good recommendations for when she DID like something. And Valerie ... well, she makes me laugh (and in the good way, too). Usually don't agree with her still, but her insights are unique. And "Good-bye to Comics", obviously.

But yeah ... anger wasn't quite the deterrent in either situation. Yes, I'm not a creator and maybe since I was a feminist I was inclined to listen to them on one degree or another anyway. But hey, all those creators claim to like women and also, I think they blame it on anger, but I don't think they really listen to female fans much to begin with. Or maybe you really think Marvel would have pulled the Mary Jane statue or DC would have given Steph a Robin case if everyone just ASKED NICELY. Would you like to try?

2.) Why is everyone fighting with the SAME DAMN PEOPLE again and again?

---

And now that I have your attention ... can you think of any cartoon characters that don't have any physical attributes of a certain race but act like a certain race (or stereotypes of one). I'm thinking of Frylock (played by a black man) and Coach Z here. Got any others?

I just want to know your "thoughts on [blank]" regarding this. Seriously.

Comments

[quietprofanity.livejournal.com]

Did you end up reading my little mini-review on "Good-bye Chunky Rice"? I think you may find it interesting.

Yeah, ethnicity is probably the better word.

Well Bubs is waaaay more black than Coach Z will ever be. XD Strong Bad is hinted at being Mexican but never confirmed or denied.

I think I was reluctant to point out Bubs because sometimes he just seems to be "old guy" but ... yeah, you're probably right. And he doesn't have Coach Z's "Essence of Poser" stink, either. I'm not sure on Strong Bad, though, given that he has pretty pale skin.

The weird thing is now that we have A) openness and B) employment for minorities in cartooning, suddenly there isn't a high demand for seemingly nondescript cartoons (but instead obvious representations of minorities in animated form, with no subterfuge).

You know, now that you mention it you made me think of "Foster's Home of Imaginary Friends" which actually has a nondescript but multi-racial cast in a way. Eduardo being Mexican-American, Wilt being black and Coco being female. Of course, that also comes into the issue of "Is it good to have ethnic characteristics visible ... but then again, is it bad that Eduardo can't speak well and Will plays basketball?" I have to think about this stuff.

Still, alternative-style shows geared towards the mature crowds love nothing more than to play up the stereotypes (since we're "all in on the joke", y'seee...)

Ah, yes. That double-edged sword. :-) On one had can let us increase dialogue on the other hand doesn't encourage us to move to something better. Of course, I still watch the ones I think are good. :-P

I'm suddenly way eager to go back and watch a number of Japanese cartoons of the late 80s early 90s; for some reason they were a little more open-minded then than now (e.g. Nadia, being a main character)

There's also Anthy and Akio as Indians, I think. And that FF VI guy. And um ... huh.

By the way, now I'm wondering if Miyazaki ever had anyone with dark skin in his movies. He seems like one of the most enlightened guys out there. (It was nice to hear he considered himself a feminist after Mamoru Oshii said the correct interpretation for Urusei Yatsura 2 was a sexist one. I haven't liked the film ever since.)

[47nite.livejournal.com]

Ethnicity is a better word, but as far as anthropology goes, "race" is a fully accepted term. Especially when you consider the definition:

"categorization of people based on perceived physical differences"

Case in point, our instructor showed us a photo of Condoleeza Rice with the president of Papua New Guinea. Almost anyone would instinctively assume they were both African-descended, but he is 100% a native of his home country. So in a way, 'race' can still be used, though erringly. :)

Oops. Totally forgot about Foster's. Shows how little I pay attention to anything I can't just watch on the Web TV. XD;

As far as Miyazaki works go, I honestly don't recall. :\ (one very interesting footnote to all this is Cowboy Bebop where they had a recurring 'show within the show' where in it a black actor would dress up like a cowboy and put on an outrageous Mexican accent, but then in the final episode we see him IRL talking like a normal guy. It wasn't integral to the plot in any way, but it showed that the Japanese writers did care to redeem him.) :P

[47nite.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I read your mini-review, that's why I brought up eyelashes in the first place. :Þ