Integration

VonPooten · 02-02-2016, 01:27 PM

@TBM, A wonderful reply! For starters, sorry folks for the huge U-turn in topic, but, you lot can carry on posting pictures/talking about figures if you'd like. We'll only be a minute.

With race, gender, sexual orientation, etc, the difficulty in this current stage we live in is determining where the penny drops: are we existing in a "post" time-frame (postracial, postfeminist) where a Chinese/trans/bisexual/overweight/Latino/a character should, nay must, be written as a complex creation without regarding/acknowledging their social difference, or do these 'Otherisms' still stand as core components to these demographics? I'm 100% siding with you on this one and saying that, yes, they do matter! An African American individual may be written as just another character, but they will most certainly face different challenges to a Caucasian individual, and it stands to write about this not only to depict a spherical (aka well-rounded) fictional hero, but also to discuss severely relevant socio-political issues in this day and age.

As you say, Coates melds perfectly with the history and meaning of Blue Marvel, and would write him thus accordingly, yet I also believe that creators not of those certain demographics can very much write similar stories (and thus make themselves more capable and socially-aware as writers). Case in point: Jason Aaron on Thor. Aaron has, really, not changed his motive from writing Thor: God of Thunder (Odinson) to The Mighty Thor (Jane Foster). Instead, it is the voice that has changed. While Odinson battled with the pressures of retaining his worth, specifically his self-worth, Jane Foster's own struggles, equal to her predecessor, contain another, deeper layer of social depth and empowerment behind it. Sure, Aaron is still ironing out the kinks, and has ham-handed some obvious notes in, but the story is beautifully written and absolutely not of the "post" mind-view. Jane Foster as Thor is currently facing arguably the most patriarchal institution in the Marvel Universe, otherwise known as Asgard. Aaron is reaching this height of nuance rather wonderfully in the new book, flitting beyond classic components of the comic while bravely forging a new path. Jane Foster finally has a sense of agency as a character, rather than submitting to existence as a minor string in Thor's bow, and I cannot wait to see where her adventures take her.

Although I just realised that I completely missed your point about behind-the-scenes diversity and, yes, this would fix a lot! More viewpoints from different sectors of society always encourages healthy characterisation.

This is going way off topic.... Time for some Storm!

"LIGHTNING! DELIVER THIS PLACE FROM DARKNESS!"

02-02-2016, 01:27 PM	#12490
VonPooten Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 419	@TBM, A wonderful reply! For starters, sorry folks for the huge U-turn in topic, but, you lot can carry on posting pictures/talking about figures if you'd like. We'll only be a minute. With race, gender, sexual orientation, etc, the difficulty in this current stage we live in is determining where the penny drops: are we existing in a "post" time-frame (postracial, postfeminist) where a Chinese/trans/bisexual/overweight/Latino/a character should, nay must, be written as a complex creation without regarding/acknowledging their social difference, or do these 'Otherisms' still stand as core components to these demographics? I'm 100% siding with you on this one and saying that, yes, they do matter! An African American individual may be written as just another character, but they will most certainly face different challenges to a Caucasian individual, and it stands to write about this not only to depict a spherical (aka well-rounded) fictional hero, but also to discuss severely relevant socio-political issues in this day and age. As you say, Coates melds perfectly with the history and meaning of Blue Marvel, and would write him thus accordingly, yet I also believe that creators not of those certain demographics can very much write similar stories (and thus make themselves more capable and socially-aware as writers). Case in point: Jason Aaron on Thor. Aaron has, really, not changed his motive from writing Thor: God of Thunder (Odinson) to The Mighty Thor (Jane Foster). Instead, it is the voice that has changed. While Odinson battled with the pressures of retaining his worth, specifically his self-worth, Jane Foster's own struggles, equal to her predecessor, contain another, deeper layer of social depth and empowerment behind it. Sure, Aaron is still ironing out the kinks, and has ham-handed some obvious notes in, but the story is beautifully written and absolutely not of the "post" mind-view. Jane Foster as Thor is currently facing arguably the most patriarchal institution in the Marvel Universe, otherwise known as Asgard. Aaron is reaching this height of nuance rather wonderfully in the new book, flitting beyond classic components of the comic while bravely forging a new path. Jane Foster finally has a sense of agency as a character, rather than submitting to existence as a minor string in Thor's bow, and I cannot wait to see where her adventures take her. Although I just realised that I completely missed your point about behind-the-scenes diversity and, yes, this would fix a lot! More viewpoints from different sectors of society always encourages healthy characterisation. This is going way off topic.... Time for some Storm! "LIGHTNING! DELIVER THIS PLACE FROM DARKNESS!" Last edited by VonPooten; 02-02-2016 at 02:01 PM..