#not a fan of a major blockbuster playing into the evil personality trope

[maydayparkers]

The interesting thing to me when it comes to Raimi!Doc Ock being turned into a generic fandom baby is that THAT version of Doc Ock is ALREADY a lot nicer and less flawed (minus the hubris) than the comics version (which is fine), or even most adaptations, including the Insomniac game where he is comparatively more sympathetic than usual, and NWH smoothed him out even further by going even harder on the 'tentacle AI made him evil' thing while removing the arrogance that shouldn't have been easily fixed by a 'cure' - so it's like, how much more flattened and woobified can fandom even make him?! Fandom!Otto is basically a cardboard cut out to project the same generic fandom tropes onto, and he's not even interesting.

Note: This specific gripe i'm about to bring up has less to do with the fandom treatment of these characters as much as the mcu's use of them but

I really do find it so telling that you can seriously pinpoint the difference in willingness to deliver character depth of an mcu spider-man movie compared to previous adaptations just from the way that the villains are treated.

Yes, nwh acted as much needed course correction for the franchise but i'd argue that their use of villains has only been going down in quality since hoco and it took a massive dive in nwh.

They got characters that came PRE-LAYERED and PRE-DEVELOPED INTO COMPLEX PEOPLE and made the choice to frame their actions as being entirely out of their control, they weren't themselves. It doesn't count that they committed atrocities willingly and with their eyes open.

It was the poor abusive war profiteer that was the victim of the big bad goblin that materialized out of nowhere and is not at all a representation of norman's worst traits and impulses. It's not like Otto Octavius was an already sympathetic villain and a grieving man desperate to make his wife's death have meant something more than a fiery failure of an experiment and tentacles that had a mind of their own yet still kept Otto's ability to know right and wrong intact.

No, no it's a problem with a clean and clear cut solution that can be done within a day. There is no mess left behind in the aftermath besides the destruction that the Bad Sides(tm) left behind. We don't have to wonder about the moral implications. If the world would be better if they weren't here and if that even matters because people's lives' are not Peter's to take even when they will still continue to cause so much pain for others. All wrapped in a pretty and shiny boy for the consumer to enjoy and not question.

Yes, with Norman and Otto there was always an element of an Other within them taking the reign and pushing them into the darkness but it was never a matter of being puppeteered the way nwh showed. I'd go so far as to argue that to take that away would not only flatten them both down but it retroactively undermines any agency they might've had throughout their initial appearances and kind of turns them into the "batman beats the mentally ill" of spider-man.

Now back onto your actual (correct) point the fact that fandom itself went a step further and quite literally tuned him into just some guy devoid of any notable characteristics, the tentacles aren't even portrayed as something noteworthy about him which is actually really interesting, considering that would imply that the interest in him comes from his actual personality but as you stated above, it's just a caricature of a generic fandom blorbo. IN A LOT OF THE CONTENT YOU COULD SWITCH HIM FOR JUST ANY TUMBLR FAVE OF THE WEEK AND IT WOULD WORK JUST THE SAME FOR ALL INTENT AND PURPOSES

[oneillsophieoneill]

The Annoying, Predictable, and Somewhat Depressing Bingo of the Token Gay and how to write a good LGBTQ character.

Hollywood’s relationship with LGBTQ characters is an infamous one. Whether its harmful stereotypes or every ‘bury your gays’ moment, straight writers have often fallen into these stereotypes. This post contains seven of the most common bad tropes.

1.    Bury Your Gays/Dead Lesbian

 The most common, and the most painful; the Bury Your Gays trope is when a gay character, usually one of the only featured dies tragically. Sometimes it’s a tragic hit and run, other times a stray bullet. Sometimes the writer goes straight for a brutal murder. This harmful stereotypes hits home the notion that the LGBTQ characters are less important than their straight counterparts.

It’s especially noticeable as these shows’ characters are usually predominantly straight. It also falls into the category of implying that a gay person won’t have a happy ending and hurts the community.

 2.    The Depraved Gay

 Beginning in the 30s the Hays code banned nudity, suggestive dancing, and lustful kissing. The code also band homosexuality onscreen. To get around this, writers used other traits to tip off viewers.

Unfortunately these tropes were often negative and still persist. The deplorable gay is a villain that is either gay or has queer-coded traits. Think about Disney villains- Hades is sassy, Ratigan is flamboyant man and Ursula is based on a drag queen with her exaggerated make up and a vain and sexual personality. These traits- while not necessarily queer exclusive- are common stereotypes of gay men.

The use of these stereotypes forces an otherness onto the villains, separating them from the- presumably cis, straight- audience. It taps into the prejudices of the hays era and associates gay traits with villains. Even in more progressive times we still see this occur. Sometimes the villains aren’t simply ‘queer-coded’ they are shown as clearly gay. Examples being jokes about prison rape or paedophilia. Not only is it joking about a serious issue, it paints the image of gay men as predators. In blockbusters like Skyfall to novels like the ridiculously conservative Victoria, we see the association again and again. Basically, it sucks.

 3.    The Depraved Bisexual

 Like the Depraved Gay, the Bisexual version is often a villain that is more comfortable with things considered ‘taboo’. They are overtly sexual, which is presented as part of their villainous personality as a socio or psychopath. Often, if it is a bisexual man. they are more predatory and if it is a woman, expect her to be hypersexualized for the fanservice. Both kinds are displayed as sexualized, predatory and -plot twist- villainous.

Something more on the nose is the mirror universe alternative protagonist. In this world our hero is the villain and to show off this newfound evil we see their new bisexual tendencies. Think of Star Trek’s Major Kira- in the mirror-verse she is narcissistic, domineering, and flirts with good Kira as much as she flirts and kisses the other women around her. You wonder why only now does the writers choose to portray Kira as Bi? Why hasn’t it been shown before and why do they never ever mention it again?

 4.    Every time a cis actor plays a trans person

 Eddie Redmayne, Elle Fanning, Jeffery Tambor. A harmful occurrence in casting choices is when cisgender actors (who’s gender identify corresponds with their birth sex) are cast as trans characters. Not only does this take away roles from transgender actors it promotes a harsh and sometimes deadly stereotype that trans people are just cisgender people in wigs and cross-dress. Like I’ve said before the continued use of tropes like these have negative effects on the fight for acceptance and equal representation and transphobia-based violence is a major issue influenced by stereotypes. While there is debate in the trans community over whether cis actors should be allowed to take on trans roles, an overall take is that trans narratives need to be represented more and not just in stereotypical performances.

 5.    GBF (The Gay Best Friend)

 The GBF is the instantly recognised side-character that accompanies their straight, female best friend through their trials and tribulations. Armed with sass, camp, and other effeminate qualities, he is there to say ‘gurl’ and provide cheap laughs. Sometimes these characters are well-developed and progress the plot. Other times they are accessories just there to be the gay friend and have little substance. A great example of this being subverted is the film G.B.F where freshly outed teen, Tanner becomes the must have accessory for the three most popular girls. In the end, Tanner speaks at prom and calls out all the girls that tried to use him, for not valuing him as a person. Films like this prove the GBF can be a good character if the writer treats the GBF like a person and makes them 3-dimensional.

6.    A Gay person as a joke

 I’m not sure if I need to explain why this is one is wrong. It just is.

 7.    And finally, barely there gays for clout

 Every few years a blockbuster comes out and during the press tour the Straight director or one of his brave, brave actors will step out and declare to the journalist from some media website that they have made the ground-breaking decision to make one (1) character Gay! Soon after the press will discuss how great this is for equality and how amazing it will be to see and how it will affect them at the box-office. Then, come the premiere, the world watches with bated breath, for the fabled gay- then they miss it- because they had one little scene.  It is frustrating when a blockbuster gets praised for a blink and you’ll miss scene when dozens of films that focus on the LGBTQ characters and invest in same-sex relationships get largely ignored by mainstream media. This is not to say you can’t be happy and talk about the representation in your writing, the issue is when a creator uses it for clout but does not invest in the character or even name them.

Even worse is the Rowling method. You know what I mean. It’s when a writer decides to retcon their series after its finished to get diversity points. They take a character whose romantic life isn’t mentioned and suddenly announce their gayness in the same style they would announce another minor character is a minority; both without ever bothering to show it in any later canon.

 LGBTQ representation is something that’s is steadily improving, however certain tropes are yet to take the hint and retire. This list should in no way deter you from writing LGBTQ characters, even those that are butch lesbians or flamboyant men, but help you look critically at the way stereotypes influence us even subconsciously. Good luck with your own writing and Tarah!

[recentanimenews]

How Isekai Took Cyberpunk’s Role in Anime

Cyberpunk and anime are conjoined twins, constantly feeding and growing off each other like the horrifying flesh monster that erupts from Tetsuo's body at the end of Akira. Whether you consider yourself a fan of this science-fiction genre or not, it’s hard to ignore the fact that blockbusters like Ghost in the Shell have influenced how people think of anime. However, much has changed since Ghost in the Shell’s 1995 cinematic debut and it’s time to ask—how far has cyberpunk anime come since then, and where does it go from here?

Cyberpunk's Source Code

When it comes to cyberpunk as a genre, it’s important to discuss how to identify it and where it came from. While not the first instance of cyberpunk as we know it today, William Gibson’s 1985 science fiction novel Neuromancer can be considered among the best known. However, Gibson’s predecessors include authors Philip K. Dick, who published Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? in 1968. This novel, about a bounty hunter in post-apocalyptic San Francisco hunting down rogue androids, was famously adapted into the 1982 film Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott. With Blade Runner’s glossy and electric vision of a future city, the aesthetics and images associated with cyberpunk quickly gained mainstream popularity. The glamorous technologically advanced city, robots, and neon suddenly became immediate staples of the genre.

Batou and Major Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell

But cyberpunk is more than just cool looking skylines. The tenants of cyberpunk are sourced from philosophy, evil mega corporations, and a healthy dose of skepticism. Cyberpunk stories, for the most part, are rarely optimistic and rarely about the ruling class. 1997 role-playing game Final Fantasy VII is a classic example of a hybrid cyberpunk story about tackling corrupt corporations with a fantastical and futuristic backdrop. Games and anime aren’t often far apart and the progression of cyberpunk narratives and aesthetics became even more apparent in a post-Blade Runner society. However, after the turn of the millennium and increased access to personal computers and the Internet, cyberpunk as we knew it quickly began to change. 

Enter the 2000s and the introduction of the role-playing, multi-media .hack// franchise. Spanning various novels, manga, and many anime adaptations, the .hack// series is set in a world where players plug into a virtual reality MMORPG and unwillingly get tasked with tackling secret corporate conspiracies and mysterious player deaths. Anime adaptations such as 2002's .hack//SIGN explore the psychological aspects of characters and has a slow, meditative pace compared a fasted-paced fantasy series. Like all good cyberpunk, it takes its time world-building. While not a direct comparison to beloved cyberpunk classics like Serial Experiments Lain or Bubblegum Crisis, the .hack// series was our first taste of a whole new, unassuming breed of cyberpunk—the science-fiction isekai story.

Entering Another World

Cyberpunk anime isn’t always gritty and dark. In fact, it can look just like real life if we pay close enough attention. The isekai genre, while still its own beast, largely inherits many of the aspects of classic cyberpunk anime. Isekai, or “a different world,” shares a lot with cyberpunk when we consider its obvious love for MMORPGs, games, and virtual reality.

"I'm sorry Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."

A typical isekai involves the protagonist being transported into a new magical world, parallel universe, or more recently, video game. These worlds, whether they be a fantasy setting or an ultra-advanced city, have exceptional world-building and lore behind them. While massively popular series such as Sword Art Online and Log Horizon first brought attention to the isekai genre in itself, like cyberpunk, the building-blocks of the isekai trope have always existed.

Some examples of isekai anime include classics like Digimon Adventure, Fushigi Yugi, and even Inuyasha. Although the label of isekai is recent, the basic idea can still be applied to classics—normal people get whisked away into a fantastical world, where they must re-learn the fundamentals of life and the logic of their new reality. But what about this so-called “cyberpunk” isekai genre?

From one perspective, characters being transported to MMORPGs might just seem like a convenient plot device. However isekai, whether intentionally or not, make the case that we're closer to our cyberpunk fantasies of the past than ever before. If the internet was new, scary, and exciting in the mid-90s, what do we think of it now in 2020? Classics like Ghost in the Shell, with its emphasis on radical online subcultures intercepting the real world, are still in many ways incredibly relevant. However, the DNA of cyberpunk is alive and well in today’s isekai movement. Contemporary "cyberpunk isekai" series, such as No Game No Life and Bokurano (yes, really) draw heavily from cyberpunk’s depiction of advanced technology having drastically different impacts on human society. While the isekai series No Game No Life explores the power fantasy of being the best at a video game, the darker and dramatic Bokurano deconstructs the psychological reality of trying to be the “best” at a game. Plus, what are classics like Blade Runner if not overt power fantasies, anyways?

Lain after accessing the mysterious online game "PHANTOMa" from Serial Experiments Lain

The cyberpunk of today isn’t so different from the cyberpunk of yesterday. Whether our desires to be transported into our favorite games or live in a hyper-advanced city are ever actualized, cyberpunk never shies from letting us either indulge in our wildest fantasies or witness their harsh realities. While starry-eyed about the unlimited potential of the future, cyberpunk has always been about the here and now and how we’re becoming increasingly intertwined with our wildest science-fiction dreams.

Fantasy and the Future

Although we already live in an age of constant Internet connection, digital facial recognition, drones, and advanced AI, cyberpunk is more popular than ever before. While today’s cyberpunk might not look like Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, or 1995’s epic film Hackers, the essence and spirit of the genre lives on in some of today’s most successful anime. Because, at the end of the day, cyberpunk isn’t just about cool hacking montages, excessive computer caves, or androids. It’s about people and how we grow closer—or maybe even further from eachother because of technology. Anime like Time of Eve prove that even a story about domestic androids living among us can captivate without the flashiness of an epic electric city. As our relationship with technology evolves, so does how we perceive the future and what future tech might do for us. Ironically, even VR and augmented reality games, the very same technology considered too difficult years ago, is increasingly commonplace.

Sammy looks at herself in the mirror from Time of Eve

Maybe the brave new cyberpunk future involves getting transported into your favorite gacha mobile game. Or attending this year’s Hatsune Miku Coachella concert in VR. How about a deeply psychological Kizuna Ai noir-drama? Maybe we’ll finally get our own version of The World sooner rather than later. Who knows! While nostalgia for the gritty cyberpunk classics is strong, today’s anime is living up to their legacy in exciting new ways we could’ve never imagined.

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Blake P. is a writer who loves his cat. He likes old mecha anime, computer games, books, and black coffee. His twitter is @_dispossessed. His bylines include Fanbyte, VRV, Unwinnable, and more. His newsletter is Boy Toy Box.

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