It's not an agenda. It's life.

[lovely_fatima]

I tend to avoid race, gender, and sexuality discussions within fan forums and communities, because in our present age, people have forgotten or just don't know how to have a sensible, reasonable discussion about such serious and sensitive topics. That said, there's been a rather interesting discussion going on in the Doctor Who community over what

Comments

My .02

[krissed_off]

Bottom line - if you can't watch a show like this without it having political overtones or sexual crushes on fictional characters then I suggest that these are the actual things you enjoy and not Doctor Who. The operational term is "IF YOU CAN'T" folks.

And Sarahandcocoa - thank the GODS someone f**cking understands - there is so much more to diversity than gender and race.

In a show that can go anywhere and anywhen, it is ridiculous to assume that a fantasy is always going to portray exactly the issues that affect you personally - all the time. Not focusing on those issues is NOT a problem on the part of a writer telling a story, it is a problem with the audience perceiving what is not really there. Real life is messy and not culturally homogenous - to stick it in there for it's own sake is to lie about how prevalent something is. Perhaps I could shout and whine that there aren't enough atheists in Doctor Who, though atheists only make up 2.7 percent of the world population. No I don't whine. Because I don't care. I am only interested in the fantasy of Doctor Who, not how real world issues are portrayed in EVERY EPISODE OF A SHOW. Damn that Robert Holmes for portraying a biting parody of taxation in Britain with "The Sunmakers" when surely he could have thrown a few gays in for good measure. No.

I recently posted on a thread about the gay agenda - perhaps you read my postings. I tried to calmly and rather scientifically explain some of my experiences and hoped that I would at the very worst just get patted on the head in an absurdly condescending manner. No. My statements were ripped apart and I was accused of being a homophobe. Me!!! Total fail on some other lines I carefully placed in proximity to each other and of course no one got it - they went emotional and fell back on cliched arguments. I bowed out of the post, not liking to argue in circles. So yes, it would seem that the gay culture are full of the same biases that operate in the minds of homophobes, religious figures, and racsists - and many consider their sexuality to be a mark of enlightenment, which is rather infuriatingly untrue. RTD's depiction of heterosexuality as "Old Fashioned" is a bit off the mark, since homosexuality has been around for thousands of years. Read some of the walls in Egyptian houses if you don't believe me. The attack in the posting was in every way similar to the attacks on Galileo, who was, of course, burned at the stake for his beliefs.

As for Liz 10 - she lived for thousands of years (presumably) leading her people back to Earth. What is more important to you - shown having absolute power, or being shown sacrificing that power for the greater good of everyone? I didn't see that colour even came into it.

Has anyone wondered if the casting director has anything to do with this, and not place everything that happens at the door of Moffatt? There are hundreds of people who work on Doctor Who, you know. Just a thought.

If it had been any other race/gender used as Angel-fodder, doubtless someone would have said "How come there aren't any POCs/gays being hired in these parts?" You simply can't win. And it's never ending.

Instead, I am going to sit back on Saturday nights with my friends and enjoy the adventures of the Doctor, as he zips about the universe saving people, homosexuals and POCs included. When I want other things, I will turn to the appropriate shows of the day.

And as a last word - hell YES Martha was snubbed. GOD I HATE ROSE!!!!! She was a bratty, shop-working bitch who mistreated her boyfriend and cried over the Doctor's regeneration in a way that made me want to slap her. And yet she was "The Best"????!!! WTF!!! Then Martha - almost a doctor, in every way superior to Rose in my eyes, comes along and has to act second fiddle to a companion that is already gone!?!?!? SCREW THAT!!! The ONLY thing that Rose had going for her was the idea that travelling with the Doctor helped him get over the "guilt of the Time War", which meant that the 10th Doctor now did "domestic" again.

Re: My .02

[lovely_fatima]

As you said, the critical phrase there is, "If you can't...." Thankfully, I can and do. However, when I *DO* choose to scrutinize the show from the perspective of race, gender, and sexual orientation, there are major issues that crop up. Is it a perfect world? No. I understand that. But there is no harm in pointing out things that should be discussed in our cultures and societies. Half the problems we have with race, religion, sexuality and gender equality stem from the fact that people just don't want to or can't sit down and have a discussion about the myriad ways, overt and subtle, in which people who are not part of the dominant group are marginalized.

I show Doctor Who to my students at school, most of whom are from racially and ethnically diverse cultures. Not one of them EVER notices that there aren't people like them in the Doctor Who universe. All they care about is the fantasy, the wonder, and the adventure. There's something to be said for viewing at least ONE thing in the world through that sort of innocence--which is, again, why I tend not to get involved in discussions about race, sexuality, gender, etc. when it comes to this particular show. Honestly, it doesn't matter.

However, I am also not a child. I *have* experienced the pain of being marginalized for something so trivial as my gender and the color of my skin. Like it or not, some things are glaring do bother me under the surface. I grew up in the 70s and 80s, when diversity on TV meant that the character was either subservient, a criminal, or it was a "special" show marketed to a particular demographic. It didn't really bother me then, either, but I can't help but wish for something better from the TV shows in the 21st Century. I can't help but wish that my students *could* see themselves in the characters with whom the Doctor interacts. Of course then I remember that, "It's just a show," and I don't worry so much. Furthermore, as you say, there ARE other shows and stories and books and movies that *do* address these issues, and they're out there to enjoy when I want to focus on those things.

Thanks for sharing your honest opinion. That means a great deal.