Torchwood Is Making Me Cross. Perhaps Fandom Too; I Can't Tell. Help?
Torchwood's got some well-problematic stuff going on with race. From what I can gather from my utterly-disconnected-to-current-fandom-way-out-of-date-radar, some people are trying to deny this with the whole, "british racism is different from american racism," thing. Which it is, but not in any way that makes Torchwood less problematic about race.
Normally this would make me cross for generic "people are being dumb" reasons, but it's kind of personal now too because I can't help but worry (from my totally-out-of-the-loop-vantage-point) that a lot of the "brit racism is different" stuff must hinge on the "it's okay because it's got welsh people in it," wank that occured way back.
Which massively worries me and makes me feel insecure for personal reasons because I weighed in on that argument quite solidly on the side of "welsh representation = good and important and probably more important than you can understand if you're not in the uk."
But, you know, I was saying that based purely on the racial make-up of the core team, given the location, the groundbreakingness of having welsh people on TV in big roles, and such, the fact that the producers perhaps chose to include two ethnically-white-welsh characters rather than another character of an ethnic minority, shouldn't, in itself, indicate that it's a show with racial issues. I wanted to defend that decision.
I hope that's possible without defending the boatloads of other evidence that the show, like a lot of New Who (and to a lesser but still important degree, the SJ Adventures), has some racism going on.
I think I'm also feeling emo and over-the-top-wronged on account of being...as I always have been...uncertain how to express my feelings about welsh oppression. Which exists, and is shitty, and upsetting, but will never be on the same playing field as "our stereotypes mean the police are killing us."
How can you navigate that?
Especially when the primary mechanism through which welsh oppression functions is by belittling it as a valid issue, or one which requires attention. By trying to tell welsh people that they ought to shut up and stop pretending to be any different; to quit embarassing themselves (read: others) by making such a fuss. By making welsh people into a giant joke it's socially acceptable to laugh at.
So: I'm cross because racial issues in the media is something big and important that needs to be discussed, especially in as popular a show as Torchwood or Doctor Who, and both shows undoubtedly have those issues.
And I'm cross on a much more personal level because an issue that's really important to me is - as near as I can tell - in danger of being dragged/already being dragged into this and made into a joke/a disparaging excuse. Again. This time in defense of something I strongly disagree with.
And, dammit, I still don't know how to say, "welsh oppresion is real, and larger than most people imagine, and important to me, and hurts me," without feeling - even now as I type it - like some sort of phony whiner; without feeling like a joke; without feeling scared. I mean, it's pathetic, but I literally feel physically scared typing that. Like my flist is going to laugh at me, or defriend me as a giant emo faux-victim. And most importantly I don't know how to say it without feeling like people will think I'm trying, in some way, to suggest it ought to get more attention, or is as globally important, as other oppressions.
I know that's not true. I know other stuff out there is bigger and nastier to whole groups of people and in more dire need of attention. I want to help those groups get that attention. I know that welsh oppression usually gets forgotten or put to one side for good reasons. But still, it's forgotten and so on the occasions when it does rise to visibility, such as now, there's no knowledge base from which to deal with it. No way for people from the other side of the world to realise they're unwittingly participating in it.
I want to be able to praise Torchwood for Ianto and Gwen and criticise it for Tosh's stereotypical "techie Asian", and the habit they have of killing off women of colour (and storing them in REFRIGERATORS; oh comics fandom, I miss you) and for those two issues not to be conflated.
I also really, really hope I'm wrong about what's happening in wider fandom, and that it's a result of my weirdly skewed reading lists and journal hopping because I only know a few places to visit, one of which I know I shouldn't because it makes my bloodpressure rise. And I get a lot of stuff second hand; like references to net-discussions and issues I can't actually find. But I've seen enough of them now, I'm starting to build a picture of what's going on from its absence, and I'm aware of how dangerous and open to interpretation that can be. I'm really hoping that I've somehow got a horribly skewed view of the ongoing "Torchwood is/is not racist," arguments. So...if that's so, and someone could clarify that for me, that'd be great.
Cos then I can plock this and go back to feeling like a nervous, touchy idiot and hoping not many people got the chance to see this.
I suppose in some ways, I'm mad at the show runners themselves. This was our chance, you know? This is like, the first time ever we've had a national show set here. The first time I can ever remember seeing high profile non-comedic leading welsh characters. Hell, welsh RTD DW has been the first time I can even remember hearing welsh extras.
And they fuck it up. Their lazy depictions of race cause problems. Their lazy attempts to make it "shocking" causes problems. It's just...it's just a shame is what it is.
And I'm...really confused. Obviously.
Normally this would make me cross for generic "people are being dumb" reasons, but it's kind of personal now too because I can't help but worry (from my totally-out-of-the-loop-vantage-point) that a lot of the "brit racism is different" stuff must hinge on the "it's okay because it's got welsh people in it," wank that occured way back.
Which massively worries me and makes me feel insecure for personal reasons because I weighed in on that argument quite solidly on the side of "welsh representation = good and important and probably more important than you can understand if you're not in the uk."
But, you know, I was saying that based purely on the racial make-up of the core team, given the location, the groundbreakingness of having welsh people on TV in big roles, and such, the fact that the producers perhaps chose to include two ethnically-white-welsh characters rather than another character of an ethnic minority, shouldn't, in itself, indicate that it's a show with racial issues. I wanted to defend that decision.
I hope that's possible without defending the boatloads of other evidence that the show, like a lot of New Who (and to a lesser but still important degree, the SJ Adventures), has some racism going on.
I think I'm also feeling emo and over-the-top-wronged on account of being...as I always have been...uncertain how to express my feelings about welsh oppression. Which exists, and is shitty, and upsetting, but will never be on the same playing field as "our stereotypes mean the police are killing us."
How can you navigate that?
Especially when the primary mechanism through which welsh oppression functions is by belittling it as a valid issue, or one which requires attention. By trying to tell welsh people that they ought to shut up and stop pretending to be any different; to quit embarassing themselves (read: others) by making such a fuss. By making welsh people into a giant joke it's socially acceptable to laugh at.
So: I'm cross because racial issues in the media is something big and important that needs to be discussed, especially in as popular a show as Torchwood or Doctor Who, and both shows undoubtedly have those issues.
And I'm cross on a much more personal level because an issue that's really important to me is - as near as I can tell - in danger of being dragged/already being dragged into this and made into a joke/a disparaging excuse. Again. This time in defense of something I strongly disagree with.
And, dammit, I still don't know how to say, "welsh oppresion is real, and larger than most people imagine, and important to me, and hurts me," without feeling - even now as I type it - like some sort of phony whiner; without feeling like a joke; without feeling scared. I mean, it's pathetic, but I literally feel physically scared typing that. Like my flist is going to laugh at me, or defriend me as a giant emo faux-victim. And most importantly I don't know how to say it without feeling like people will think I'm trying, in some way, to suggest it ought to get more attention, or is as globally important, as other oppressions.
I know that's not true. I know other stuff out there is bigger and nastier to whole groups of people and in more dire need of attention. I want to help those groups get that attention. I know that welsh oppression usually gets forgotten or put to one side for good reasons. But still, it's forgotten and so on the occasions when it does rise to visibility, such as now, there's no knowledge base from which to deal with it. No way for people from the other side of the world to realise they're unwittingly participating in it.
I want to be able to praise Torchwood for Ianto and Gwen and criticise it for Tosh's stereotypical "techie Asian", and the habit they have of killing off women of colour (and storing them in REFRIGERATORS; oh comics fandom, I miss you) and for those two issues not to be conflated.
I also really, really hope I'm wrong about what's happening in wider fandom, and that it's a result of my weirdly skewed reading lists and journal hopping because I only know a few places to visit, one of which I know I shouldn't because it makes my bloodpressure rise. And I get a lot of stuff second hand; like references to net-discussions and issues I can't actually find. But I've seen enough of them now, I'm starting to build a picture of what's going on from its absence, and I'm aware of how dangerous and open to interpretation that can be. I'm really hoping that I've somehow got a horribly skewed view of the ongoing "Torchwood is/is not racist," arguments. So...if that's so, and someone could clarify that for me, that'd be great.
Cos then I can plock this and go back to feeling like a nervous, touchy idiot and hoping not many people got the chance to see this.
I suppose in some ways, I'm mad at the show runners themselves. This was our chance, you know? This is like, the first time ever we've had a national show set here. The first time I can ever remember seeing high profile non-comedic leading welsh characters. Hell, welsh RTD DW has been the first time I can even remember hearing welsh extras.
And they fuck it up. Their lazy depictions of race cause problems. Their lazy attempts to make it "shocking" causes problems. It's just...it's just a shame is what it is.
And I'm...really confused. Obviously.