The bias is not always conscious
And that's the case with Stolas. That's it, that's basically the post, so you can count it as your tl;dr, but let me elaborate. :)
(A little gratitude note! Sorry @tealvenetianmask, I failed being concise here, but I thank you for encouraging me to put it all together :3 I also thank you for our conversations about Stolas and about museums in particular which heavily contributed to it)
I think there's some misunderstanding when people get offended by the suggestion that Stolas acts classist/racist. It seems that people assume we’re implying he is malicious and intentional with it, but the actual problem is that he doesn't think.
S2EP2, Seeing Stars, 1:29
The problematic behavior we're discussing is reflexive and internalized. Stolas was raised in an environment where the lower demon class is looked down upon, and while he believes he expresses nothing but deep respect for Blitzø and treats him as an equal…
Goodnight, Blitzø.
S1EP7, Ozzie's, 14:50
And while you can see from this bow that this intention is sincere, which is both wonderful and fascinating—he preserved this profound gesture ever since he was a kid, despite being actively discouraged from doing so!...
[Stolas]: I'm Stolas! It's nice... Ouch!
[Paimon]: Don't bow to that one! He bows to us! Idiot!
S2EP1, The Circus, 7:40
He was still raised in privilege and influenced by the narratives around him. For him, it's acceptable because that's what he was taught is fine. It's part of his everyday speech, and he never actually asks Blitzø, or anyone else, how they feel about the literally belittling nicknames (like literally—do you notice how often he uses the word "little" when referring to imps?).
I mean... there's a lot, okay? I'm just going to pull out some examples off the top of my head. All of them are from Season 1, and I'll explain why later.
I was hoping you brave little imps would accompany us!
S1EP2, Loo Loo Land, 5:15
Ugh, that's better... Where's Blitzy? He's my knight in shining armor, not you, littler ones!
S1EP2, Loo Loo Land, 13:22
And it [grimoire] isn't supposed to be lent out to itty-bitty imps like yourself.
S1EP5, The Harvest Moon Festival, 0:30
Greetings, tiny Wrath Ring imps!
S1EP5, The Harvest Moon Festival, 8:22
[Stolas, in the background]: Who dares threaten my little impish plaything?
S1EP6, Truth Seekers, 18:20
How the fuck did you get caught by humans? Are you little creatures not being careful up here?
S1EP6, Truth Seekers, 19:38
He also takes pride in being part of Ars Goetia. That pride seeps into his mind whether he wants it to or not. He lives in a huge palace, never worries about money, can arrange a seat in a club that’s always booked out, and gets admitted to a hospital immediately, while hellhounds wait five years for a Hellbies shot.
Being part of the Goetia family is rather valuable, you know.
S1EP2, Loo Loo Land, 4:39
Most of these examples come from Season 1 because, after the disastrous Ozzie’s date, Stolas begins to unconsciously cut back on this language. He seems to sense that something is wrong, though he doesn’t fully understand why. However, he is acutely aware of the problems with the transaction and the unfair dynamics it creates, and he is serious about putting Blitzø on equal ground by providing him with the means to run his business independently of Stolas.
And still, he maintains full control over the conversation during the Full Moon meeting, immediately dismisses Blitzø after one mistake, and throws him out. He continues to impose his narrative on Blitzø and…
I don't look down on you! How many times do I— When have I ever?!
S2EP9, Apology Tour, 2:45
When have you ever indeed, Stolas? You literally look down on Blitzø saying that. This moment illustrates the problem clearly. He isn’t lying when he says he doesn’t look down on Blitzø because he genuinely believes he doesn’t.
Despite all said, Stolas is making a tremendous effort and is progressing, and he is far ahead of Stella, who is openly classist/racist and very conscious of her biases. So I believe—no, I know—he will get there one day. But not today.
This is something I take quite seriously, and I think people need to understand how dangerous this subtlety can be, as it happens all the time in real life too.
How often do you ask yourself why medical research groups are predominantly represented by white, cis, upper-middle-class males, and how this affects the efficiency of treatments suggested in these studies for everyone else—women, people of color, non-binary folks, and those who struggle financially?
How often do you visit museums and see art created by wealthy aristocrats who defined what constitutes 'fine art,' while 'folk art'—often created by marginalized communities—is overlooked and lost to time?
I could elaborate further on how deep and cruel this bias is, but I’ll stop here. I just ask you to consider why you might get offended when someone points out Stolas's subtle bigotry and why you might downplay it compared to the loud, aggressive Blitzø, whose anger and avoidant issues are obvious.
Just sit with it.
215 notes
·
View notes
I can't stop thinking about Isaac Henderson in Heartstopper, and the inherent isolation of being an aroace person in a romance story. Because, at the end of the day, that's what Heartstopper is - it's about the romance between Nick and Charlie. Even when the narrative has expanded outwards to focus on other characters, their plotlines are primarily about romance: Elle and Tao, Darcy and Tara… It's true that Isaac has a loving friend group and the show doesn't devalue platonic love in the way that many romance stories do. But nevertheless, as an aroace person, Isaac is at odds with the genre of the story in which he lives. The tropes that shows like this are built around don't work for him.
Something that really hammers this home is how the scene when Isaac and James kiss mirrors Charlie and Nick's first kiss. In both scenes, two boys are sitting on the floor away from the main action of a party, one admits to having a crush, the other nervously wants to know whether it's them, and then they kiss. In his version of that scene with James, Isaac is experiencing a moment that - for another character - could be a beautiful moment in a romantic storyline.
For viewers who weren't aware of Alice Oseman's promise of an aroace storyline for Isaac, his interactions with James in the early episodes of Season 2 could easily have been interpreted as the beginning of a romantic love story. The rest of the main Heartstopper group have certainly been viewing his friendship with James through that lens, as shown by the way they tease him about it. But those plot beats of a romantic story don't work for Isaac. Trying to fit into the romance genre pushes Isaac in a direction that feels wrong for him. He is the one person in his primary friend group who can't make himself at home in a romance story.
I don't mean this as a criticism of the show. There is a lot of value to love stories like Heartstopper and there is a lot of value to having aspec representation in a show like Heartstopper. But I think this is the reason why Isaac's plotline felt particularly heartwrenching for me. Sometimes being aroace does feel like being out of step with the genre of story everyone else around you is living. Sometimes it feels like trying to find a place for yourself in a narrative that wasn't built for you. Sometimes it feels like trying to prove to yourself (and the world) that you can still have moments that feel like swirling leaves.
559 notes
·
View notes
Me: I'm done yapping
Reads Viz's translation for chpt 427
Actually no I'm not.
Let's talk about Izuku Midoriya, intense hero fanboy, everyone he looks up to is a hero, ect ect
Passively listening to Spinner as he sorrowfully tells him "he was my friend. He was my hero".
Like??? Midoriya doesn't even bat an eye but at the least that should resonate some with Midoriya. He can at least imagine what it'd be like to (permanently) lose All Might/Toshinori. Or Bakugou who was dead for long enough in the Sky Coffin. And we get.... A close up of Midoriya, showing some dark circles under his eyes and a blank stare. What. The. Fuck. Does he have so little empathy once people turn into "villains"? That he can't sympathize and try to ease their pain? And we're supposed to believe he has this incredible heart that's so inspiring to even antagonistic characters who've otherwise lost hope in hero society? (I'd maybe say that he's still processing the end of the war, dealing with his own stuff, ect ect and excuse that lack of interaction if not for the fact that he quips back "make it a comic book" - which he's not a big quip person so it's not like that's in his character to do, especially not during emotional exchanges. I'm sorry but it's just... callous at worst, tone deaf at best)
If someone can explain this chapter's Deku to me - not with suppositions, but with canon only evidence - that'd be great. But I no longer believe that Midoriya has such a great heart. Show don't tell, but we had plenty of telling and little showing.
50 notes
·
View notes