waitingman (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
waitingman) wrote2022-10-02 06:35 pm
waitingman) wrote2022-10-02 06:35 pm
Nerdy Racism
So... people of colour in fantasy TV shows. How do you feel about that? Do you think that having black, or Asian elves, or a black Queen in 'Rings of Power' somehow ruins the fantasy for you, or it isn't "canon"...?! Does the fact that there's a black family in House of the Dragon offend your sensibilities?!
If your answer to either of those questions is "Yes", then please unfollow me now. We will not be friends
2 nights ago, in a little restaurant in town, there was a table of young 20-something males who came in - 3 Asians & a white guy & their unnecessarily loud table banter quickly turned to the above topic. Surprisingly, it was one of the Asian guys who was vehemently against the supposed diversity mandate that has forced his beloved fantasy genre to have actors who aren't white, playing elves etc... Apparently he finds it unrealistic, because the stories are based on European folklore & history, so there shouldn't be any people of any colour in them at all. It was the white guy who pointed out that the stories, while written by white guys are made up!!... that there isn't any reason there shouldn't be black, brown, or Asian elves... After all, if humans can look different depending on their country of origin from all across the world, why can't a fantasy character?
What bothered me though, was that this guy could suspend his reality enough to believe in dragons, wizards, magic & how people could cover huge distances in a conveniently short amount of time, but the fact that there's a black actor on screen ruins it all. Doesn't matter how good the actor is in the role, it's not right because they're not white
And don't get me started on those idiots complaining about a dark-skinned Little Mermaid. If we really wanted an accurate portrayal of a mermaid, she'd be played by a manatee & the cinema audience would have to be drunk on ship-distilled rum to see her...
If your answer to either of those questions is "Yes", then please unfollow me now. We will not be friends
2 nights ago, in a little restaurant in town, there was a table of young 20-something males who came in - 3 Asians & a white guy & their unnecessarily loud table banter quickly turned to the above topic. Surprisingly, it was one of the Asian guys who was vehemently against the supposed diversity mandate that has forced his beloved fantasy genre to have actors who aren't white, playing elves etc... Apparently he finds it unrealistic, because the stories are based on European folklore & history, so there shouldn't be any people of any colour in them at all. It was the white guy who pointed out that the stories, while written by white guys are made up!!... that there isn't any reason there shouldn't be black, brown, or Asian elves... After all, if humans can look different depending on their country of origin from all across the world, why can't a fantasy character?
What bothered me though, was that this guy could suspend his reality enough to believe in dragons, wizards, magic & how people could cover huge distances in a conveniently short amount of time, but the fact that there's a black actor on screen ruins it all. Doesn't matter how good the actor is in the role, it's not right because they're not white
And don't get me started on those idiots complaining about a dark-skinned Little Mermaid. If we really wanted an accurate portrayal of a mermaid, she'd be played by a manatee & the cinema audience would have to be drunk on ship-distilled rum to see her...
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House of the Dragon goes a fair way to earning forgiveness for the botching of the last season of Game of Thrones - I had no problem with the story, but I felt it was rushed... the Night King was built up as the ultimate Big Bad for years, then gets killed in 20 seconds... & Danaerys, while cracks in her regal façade were hinted at in previous seasons, went full-blown Mad King again a bit too quickly. The showrunners took 2 years to deliver the last season, surely they could have taken a bit more time!! - Anyway, I enjoyed season 1 of HotD. Once you get over Matt Smith's terrible white wig, there's a lot to like, especially Paddy Considine's portrayal of King Viserys
I'm not surprised by the nerdy racism, just that it wasn't a white guy spouting it...!
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