(no subject)
So the latest incarnation of the race in fandom (or more generally race in the media) debate seems to be occurring in the Transformers fandom.
(which I'll admit made me at first go, but they're robots but, well, Jazz was always quite clearly coded black and obviously there are humans around too. I really need to actually see the movie before it leaves the cinema!)
thete1 has a post asking about the film in general and it's stereotypical characterisation's in particular (and links to a review of the film that's got spoilers but also a much more detailed discussion of the racial stereotyping in the film).
The thing I found interesting was that down in the comments an Australian fan gave their reaction and it was quite clearly different and there were some very tense comments (and the phrase "white privilige" which is a good and useful one but one that can come off as incredibly accusatory rather than informative even when the aim is to inform someone of an issue they can't see) BUT a few comments down an understanding is reached because what the commenter needed to start with wasn't "I'm white..." but "I'm Australian..."
We do all see different stereotypes, in our daily lives but also in the way each country's media uses them. Of course as media become more global we have to be more and more aware of each others viewpoints but that doesn't mean we can either ignore or pretend that cultural differences don't exist.
Somehow there has to be a balance between "I do not see the same offensiveness that you do because in my country our racial issues are different" and "this programme may have been made in a different country but it's depictions of CoC still offend me".
Which is to say, as always, that we generally need to assume the best of those we are talking to and remain calm even when this the 24th time we've said it and why are people so dumb?
Which is hard when it's something that is hurting you.
It seems to me that fandom is having a debate that I really hope is happening in the media too about cultural assumptions and lazy stereotyping and who gets to say when something is racist or sexist or homophobic etc.
Which probably makes everyone roll their eyes and ask why on earth bother going over the same damn issues again and again when they just cause anger and resentment.
The answer being of course that they don't just cause resentment, they can also change people's minds. Even if your one comment doesn't, or this one debate doesn't, people are affected by the debates and do take bits and pieces on board.
jenna_thorn says it so much better than I could in her post It's not a metaphor: it's a loom
A loom is a tool, for taking disparate skeins, tangled warp threads and separating, then interlacing, them, creating a fabric that, depending on the tendency of the yarn to interlock, that is stronger than the individual yarns. And that’s my metaphor. That I myself, can lead by example and fight the good fight even when it’s just me.
(which I'll admit made me at first go, but they're robots but, well, Jazz was always quite clearly coded black and obviously there are humans around too. I really need to actually see the movie before it leaves the cinema!)
thete1 has a post asking about the film in general and it's stereotypical characterisation's in particular (and links to a review of the film that's got spoilers but also a much more detailed discussion of the racial stereotyping in the film).
The thing I found interesting was that down in the comments an Australian fan gave their reaction and it was quite clearly different and there were some very tense comments (and the phrase "white privilige" which is a good and useful one but one that can come off as incredibly accusatory rather than informative even when the aim is to inform someone of an issue they can't see) BUT a few comments down an understanding is reached because what the commenter needed to start with wasn't "I'm white..." but "I'm Australian..."
We do all see different stereotypes, in our daily lives but also in the way each country's media uses them. Of course as media become more global we have to be more and more aware of each others viewpoints but that doesn't mean we can either ignore or pretend that cultural differences don't exist.
Somehow there has to be a balance between "I do not see the same offensiveness that you do because in my country our racial issues are different" and "this programme may have been made in a different country but it's depictions of CoC still offend me".
Which is to say, as always, that we generally need to assume the best of those we are talking to and remain calm even when this the 24th time we've said it and why are people so dumb?
Which is hard when it's something that is hurting you.
It seems to me that fandom is having a debate that I really hope is happening in the media too about cultural assumptions and lazy stereotyping and who gets to say when something is racist or sexist or homophobic etc.
Which probably makes everyone roll their eyes and ask why on earth bother going over the same damn issues again and again when they just cause anger and resentment.
The answer being of course that they don't just cause resentment, they can also change people's minds. Even if your one comment doesn't, or this one debate doesn't, people are affected by the debates and do take bits and pieces on board.
jenna_thorn says it so much better than I could in her post It's not a metaphor: it's a loom
A loom is a tool, for taking disparate skeins, tangled warp threads and separating, then interlacing, them, creating a fabric that, depending on the tendency of the yarn to interlock, that is stronger than the individual yarns. And that’s my metaphor. That I myself, can lead by example and fight the good fight even when it’s just me.