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writinggremlinskull · 2 years

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About Hogwart Legacy

Tw for transphobia and antisemitism

I’ll begin by telling I didn’t buy the game. I don’t want to support Rowling in any way and I don’t want to support antisemitism and transphobia.

This is just an attempt to preach kindness. This is for the people who are hesitating to buy the game or already bought it but can still ask for a refund it or at least let a negative review. Not for the TERF crowd but for the people in-between.

I am not throwing accusation here but I know I got disillusioned with activism a few years back. This is me talking about my personnal experience and why not supporting this game matters.

I know the boycott can feel useless. Hogwart Legacy is breaking sales record, lot of streamers are playing it because it’s a really popular game and they want the money, lot of people are enjoying it.

I know ethical consumption is impossible under capitalism. I know the world seems fucked up right now and it feels hopeless at time. Trust me I know.

And yet, not buying this game still matters. Asking for a refund if you had it for less than 14 days and didn’t play more than 2 hours (this is the Steam Policy in my country, check what is it in your). Letting negative review is still possible. If you still hesitate to buy it, don’t.

You see, JK Rowling isn’t a corporation. Yes, boycotting Disney which has a monopoly on most of the entertainment industry is hard. Yes, when most of our food come from 5 companies, it’s almost impossible to boycott them because you need to eat, right?

But Rowling is only one person. One deeply rich person who uses her money in deeply fucked up way but just one and she’s been milking the Harry Potter’s cash cow for years because she didn’t write anything good since. If you don’t buy official Harry Potter things, her power lessen. Each pound not in a pocket is a pound which can’t harm anyone. Each pound matters.

You can not buy it. You can still ask for a refund and use the refund to give to trans right association. It isn’t too late.

Now, maybe all your friends play it. I don’t know what your social circle is like, peer pressure is a thing. Maybe you’re thinking I won’t make a difference, nobody seems to care.

This is why speaking out against the game is important. Show that it isn’t only a minority who cares. I’ll argue it’s more important if you aren’t yourself trans or jewish. If you have some degree of priviledge, you can use it. The more people speak, the better.

Speak out on social media. Tell your friend you won’t play the game and why. I’m not asking you to fight with them. Play it smart. Tell them “I’m disappointed, I thought you were better” if you know they value your opinion on these things. Nobody likes to think of their friends as prejudiced in any way but sometimes, being a good friend means gently telling someone ‘Hey bro, that’s a bit fucked up, don’t you think?”

Keep sharing the spoilers for the games.

I spoke of two reasons I can think of someone who, without being a TERF, could buy the game. Now, is the third one: you could want to because trans people and jewish people are being agressive about it.

Yes, it isn’t nice to be called transphobic and yes, some are very agressive about it.

I’m going to ask you something. Think about your own marginalized identity if you have one. If not, imagine what if you were discriminated against for something out of your control like being blond. Imagine if people like you had been harassed, discriminated against. Imagine having a doctor denying you medical care because you exist as yourself. Imagine people calling the cops on you because you EXIST.

I know a lot of you on Tumblr don’t have to imagine it because it happened, even if it wasn’t transphobia or/and antisemitism.

Now, imagine someone, a well-known writer, spoke against people like you vocally. Imagine she support laws against you and people like you. And there is this game out which will brought her a lot of money. And people buy it by the thousands, some because they are bigot and other because lot of people are buying it, me doing it won’t change things or the voices speaking against it seem so small, what’s the point or all my friends are buying it and they aren’t transphobic or antisemit isn’t it?

Won’t you be angry? Really angry? Won’t you lash out? Think about the last time you were that angry or the last time you were discriminated against. It sucks. It fucking sucks. People are not going to be nice and polite when they are scared and angry and at the end of their rope. They still deserve to be treated decently as human beings.

This is for the people who bought it or hesitate to buy it without being TERF.

You made a mistake or hesitate to make one but it isn’t too late to do something.

Ask for a refund. Share spoilers. Speak out on social media. Let negative review of the game. Point out the antisemitism and transphobia of Rowling, point out the antisemitism in the game, explain how the game support her.

Be kind to marginalized people. Be kind to trans people and jewish people and people who are both. Not buying this game, telling people you won’t buy it or thought about it ans asked for a refund, giving to trans right association instead.

It isn’t too late to choose kindness. It isn’t too late to show the trans community and the jewish community you are an ally. It isn’t too late to apologize. Choose kindness. You can still choose kindness.

#tw transphobia #tw antisemitism #transphobia #antisemitism #hogwart legacy #rowling

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omamervt · 6 months

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You know this is probably far from an original observation but it seems kinda telling that we have this laundry list of things to boycott that would actually help Palestine and people insist on including things that aren't anywhere on it. McDonald's was EVENTUALLY recognized as an organic target, but Disney is still merely a pressure target, and Starbucks isn't on the list at all. And yet most of y'all will happily treat people like monsters for having a Disney+ subscription or not changing coffee shops.

I don't know, it just seems like the three companies/services y'all focused on are ones that had more visible indicators than the things you were actually asked to boycott. Makes me wonder if you care about doing the right thing as much as you care about moral grandstanding.

I feel the need to remind everyone real quick that boycotting is not a moral stance, it's a strategic one. It's pointless to try and get EVERYONE to boycott EVERYWHERE, which is what would really have to happen because literally every major business in the US is pro-Israel. No, we're focused on the ones who are directly involved in Israel's invasion of Palestine. Boycotts need to be targeted to be effective.

That's why Disney's the pressure target and not Paramount, despite Paramount being annoyingly vocal about their support for Israel. That's why ALL the companies listed are in the categories they're in. I know it's not as sexy to boycott HP or Puma as it is Starbucks but it's far more important. And by the way, HP/Puma are the ones BDS is pushing hardest for consumers! (that probably means you!).

And yes, before y'all say anything, I know Disney being a pressure target means that canceling your Disney+ subscription is technically participating. But streaming services are expensive as hell to maintain, and it's possible Disney's already losing money on it even if you do nothing. You know what would be even MORE participating in pressuring them? If y'all flooded their social media hashtags for upcoming movies with Free Palestine posts. And if you REALLY want to hurt them financially? Don't go see their movies in theaters. Yeah, even the ones you're REALLY excited about. Yeah, even the ones they didn't directly make but contributed to in some way. Like, idk, Spider-Verse 3, if it ever comes out. Don't get me wrong, cancel Disney+ but cancel it for the right reason: price gouging, a thing every single one of those services is guilty of right now.

PS. You can check to see what companies BDS REALLY wants you to focus on by going to this page! They're still updating it!

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hainethehero · 8 months

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I’m not mad about Starbucks and Mcdonald’s being boycotted. I’m mad about the fact that y’all are just focusing on these TWO companies. A lot of people think that these two companies are the only ones that should be boycotted while having no idea about the actual main targets because y’all are loud as hell about these two companies only. There was a tweet with thousands of likes that goes “all palestinians asked yall to do was boycott 2 places and yall cant even tho that bc ure caffeine and grease addicted fiends”. Like all along these people think that there are only two companies to boycott because yall are focusing on them way too much when you can just use that time to spread awareness about the Actual main targets. Y’all are pissing me off because this is doing more damage than help. This just causes people to disregard other selected companies that should be boycotted because y’all are just focusing and being loud on these two.

Starbucks reported 12 billion losses and Mcdonald’s is rebranding? Then what? Did that help Palestine in any way? Israel didn’t lose anything by that because they aren’t being funded by these companies in the first place. You know what could actually help? Boycotting companies that actually fund them if that isn’t obvious enough.

Have I posted about it? Multiple times already. Have I donated? Not only donated but also encouraged everyone to do so by sharing donation links from Palestinian organizations. And yes I do participate in boycott and some of the companies in the list don’t even exist in my country. How about you? Did you do any of that? Have you posted about the companies that actually fund israel?

And I don’t know who the fuck Simone is. I’m mad about the fact that you said tgar those two are the main targets completely disregarding the other ones because for you they are less popular. This isn’t some popularity competition. This is about which ones will have more negative impact to Israel when boycotted. The fact that you’re taking this as something like I’m a Starbucks and Mcdonald’s defender says a lot. Anyone who actually cares for Palestine would be pissed off if people are just boycotting these two companies. The few qrts of the tweet i mentioned were mad as fuck about the tweet too. That’s because we actually do care and not just do things for clout. We don’t want israel to be funded by these big ass corporations while your priority is to appear morally righteous, follow the crowd, and bring more clout. If you're not mad that people are boycotting these two companies only, then do you even care about palestine in the first place?

WHERE did I say people were ONLY boycotting these 2 places?

I said they're the most popular to boycott, but people have been boycotting other brands. If YOU don't know that ppl are boycotting other companies other than these 2, then that's YOUR PROBLEM for living under a rock. Because people ARE boycotting more than just Starbucks and McDonald's.

You getting irrationally mad makes absolutely no sense because I've already explained to you that it is a PROCESS.

Some of the BIG , MAJOR CORPORATIONS THAT ARE ALLOCATING MORE FUNDING TO IZRAHEIL THAN STARBUCKS AND MCDONALD'S ARE MEDICAL/PHARMACEUTICAL, SKIN CARE, WELLNESS COMPANIES THAT MILLIONS OF PEOPLE DEPEND ON TO SURVIVE!

Of course it's not going to be cut and dry. Of course boycotting is a complex process but the important thing is that IT IS HAPPENING. There have been protests at BlackRock, people have been boycotting Disney and Warner Bros. People have CANCELLED SUBSCRIPTIONS TO NETFLIX, HULU, APPLE TV ETC. They ARE targeting other funders of genocide! Not just Stabucks and McDonald's.

So you getting "mad" over YOUR assumption that "people are only boycotting sb & mcd's" is hella pointless cos we've been boycotting more than that.

Maybe you haven't.

#boycott israel #from the river to the sea palestine will be free

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becassine · 4 years

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So I think some excellent points have been made by people over the past 24 hours about why supporting Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie is important and why you should at least click on the episodes weekly even if you don’t watch. But here’s my two cents or pennies, for what it’s worth...

We love Stucky, we all love Stucky, and that isn’t going to change because of TFATWS. Endgame happened. Did we love it? No. Did we want to scream at the TV? Yes. Did they completely fuck over Steve Rogers after his entire arc? Also yes.

However, nothing we as fandom say is going to make Chris get back in his cap suit. We’d love to see America’s Ass return -- as Nomad -- and give Stucky the airtime it deserves but it’s not going to happen anytime. We all know that Disney would rather cut both characters than ever do that again. And at the end of the day, Steve gave the shield to Sam.

Now Sam Wilson is awesome. As is Bucky Barnes. And the two of them get to have their own show where they actually get lines and character development beyond Steve’s friend and therapist and Steve’s best friend (*whispers* boyfriend). I can’t wait to see it personally because I think it’s going to show them in a different light and throw up some interesting plotlines. We get 6-8 HOURS of content, vs. a regular film where Bucky might get 3 lines and some angsty looks. Now is there going to be Steve content that is going to upset some people? Sure, I imagine there is. I really hope they get it over and done with in the first episode, like ripping off a band-aid.

What I haven’t liked, over the past few weeks, is some of the passive racism about Sam. I think some people are unaware that they even *have* these biases. But I really recommend that you look at the language you’re using and explore why you’re saying things in a certain way. Sam and Bucky and their show can exist independently of Steve Rogers - just imagine he’s chilling in Wakanda with T’challa and sending Bucky photos of his goats. That’s what I do. Sam will make an awesome Cap and -- if you are boycotting this -- please just think about the message it sends to younger black kids - that they can be a superhero too and they’re not just limited to one. Chadwick Boseman was a huge influence, people mourned his loss worldwide, and we need to continue that legacy.

Now, onto the show and why engagement matters. If we don’t watch TFATWS, we don’t engage with the content and we don’t at least click into the episodes, it can and will affect the future earnings potential and careers of Seb and Anthony. Both at Disney and externally.

And that, frankly, can’t happen. Both of these guys have worked way too hard throughout their lives to be at the top of their game from an acting point of view. Bad films = less pay. Bad films = less choice of movies. Which lead to more bad films, less films and, eventually, no films.

Also an edit: Netflix counts a watch as intentionally clicking and watching something for at least two minutes. Disney+ doesn’t state it. So please click and let it roll, just mute it and hide it in a different tab.

So if you have Disney+, I implore you to click into the episodes. Give them the clicks, give them the attention they deserve. Because at the end, it’s about content, the real-life actors that have poured their heart and soul into this project, and drives more diversity in films which benefits our generation and future ones. Support them. It’s what this fandom is supposed to be all about.

#my thoughts #take it or leave it #i don't want to lose followers but i had to get this off my chest #if this makes one or two people more click in to the episode then it's worth it #engagement counts so much guys #i worked in marketing for half a decade and can tell you that this is nothing but the truth #sam wilson #anthony mackie #sebastian stan #bucky barnes #tfatws

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chaoskirin · 2 years

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Media and Mistakes

In light of the video Alex Hirsch posted about the emails with Disney Standards and Practices, I’d like to remind everyone of the following:

Creators often have limited control about what they are able to “get away with” on screen. S&P creates problems where there are none. And instead of telling religious people to fuck off (as they should) they bow down and cater to them.

Yes, shows created in the United States are controlled by what the most religious people in the country will think of them. This is often because if Momma Born-Again Christian doesn’t approve of two men hugging, she won’t let Junior watch the cartoon or buy any show-based merch.

So you get things like ‘bottles will be spun’ getting shit-canned because what if kids conjure images of kissing in their heads? How will they remain chaste for their future monogamous partner?

It’s censorship under the guise of protecting children. And while this seems innocent enough--if a bit misplaced--it’s led to further censorship on materials written and meant for adults. I’m not going to link it here because then tumblr will tank the post, but look up a Virginia judge’s decision on “A Court of Mist and Fury,” wherein she opined that the book was obscene, and so as not to be seen by children, should not be sold in book stores.

There are several other cases of book censorship in the United States RIGHT NOW, mostly involving queer material.

And with Democrats becoming disillusioned with the current administration and either not voting or (more confusingly) voting for Republicans, this is only going to continue.

Change does not happen overnight. The GOP has been playing the long game for over 50 years and are only now seeing their goals come to fruition.

With left-leaning voters’ impatience and resistance to playing the long game, I see attacks happening at the front lines denouncing shows for “not being representative enough.” If a creator tries only to be handcuffed by their network’s standards and practices department, the entire show is thrown in the trash. I often see the term “queerbaiting” thrown around without knowledge of what it actually means.

And just last week, left-leaners had a knee-jerk reaction against Lizzo--A known ally--telling her she should have known the meaning of a certain word and to literally “do better.”

Lizzo, upstanding as always, changed the lyric to the song. The backlash was never necessary. Yet some people on Twitter have decided that the slip was unforgivable.

(And no--not everyone knows everything about every issue. This requires a whole conversation about positive Dunning-Kruger effect that would be too long to post here.)

With left-leaning disillusionment, the initial response is always anger and dismissal. So often when well-meaning people make mistakes, they go vehemently unforgiven, especially when there is any initial pushback or questioning.

While pushback and defensiveness are frustrating, I’ve often seen confused allies become initially defensive, only to change their mind with more information. Unfortunately, it’s become taboo to ask questions, which means by the time these people come around, they are unceremoniously dropped, and a new champion finds themself appointed in the eye of public scrutiny.

And this cycle perpetuates. Perfection is expected. Any deviation from perfection is unacceptable.

I will concede that after so many years, so many deaths, so much pushback from the right... Anger is often an appropriate response to many things. But it’s important to temper that anger and use it appropriately. When queer media is discarded for a single mistake, the people involved stop trying. When queer media is discarded, it sends a message to conservative networks that that media is not wanted, and so no more media of that type is made.

Boycotting a show for not being representative enough does not send a message to networks that they need better representation. It sends a message that they need LESS representation.

We also run into a new effect brought on by the age of the internet wherein well-meaning people essentially dogpile creators and messages of concern and constructive criticism are lost in a sea of absolute vitriol and rage. I’ve seen queer creators and allies run off their platform for a mistake they corrected many years prior, and I’ve also seen creators disconnecting completely from their fanbase to protect themselves.

This leaves behind people who don’t care what you think. For example, no matter what you say, JK R*wling is never going to leave her platform. Conversely, no matter what you say, Jenna Marbles is never going to return.

I know you’re tired. I know you’re tired of handholding. Again, I accept that the anger is righteous and oftentimes deserved, but it is SO IMPORTANT to remember that you are now a participant in a long game and you HAVE to play it. Become savvy. Learn who can be talked to and who is a lost cause. Reserve your anger for those who refuse to change. Try to give the people who mean well but made a mistake a second chance.

I hope I was able to adequately able to convey what I wanted to say here. And I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of people whose response will be that it’s not their job to educate people. But the anger has gone so far as to be damaging, and I’m afraid what the future will bring if queer media is allowed to be censored for being obscene.

#american politics #not bestiary

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dalekofchaos · 4 years

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How Disney/Lucasfilm failed Finn and John Boyega

A rant about my continued frustration on how Lucasfilm/Disney failed Finn and John Boyega

John Boyega’s Finn was setup as the male lead and co-protagonist of the sequel trilogy. That’s not an opinion, that’s not a headcanon, that’s a literally fact. He was set up to be equal with Rey & Kylo’s foil and we all know why that changed.

John Boyega was cast as the male and co-protagonist of the sequel trilogy by JJ Abrams, who had to fight for John Boyega to be cast against the preferred (White) casting choices.

Originally Finn(Sam in the original treatment) was white

Majority from Okiro’s twitter thread exposing Lucasfilm’s hypocrisy when it comes to representation and black history

JJ Abrams told Finn he was the new star of Star Wars

In The Force Awakens. Finn was a Stormtrooper who defected. After witnessing the death of his friend Slip and seeing the innocents being killed, Finn made the decision to save Poe Dameron and leave The First Order. Finn only wanted to leave The FIrst Order and run away. But after meeting Poe and later Rey, Finn began to care for more than himself. Finn was mentored by Han Solo. For once, he had a father figure and a positive role model as opposed to people like Hux and Phasma. He learned to care for Rey and even love her. After Starkiller Base destroyed the Hosnian System, Finn realized running was pointless and knew he had to fight. Then Kylo Ren took Rey. Finn went to The Resistance using his time on Starkiller Base to shut down the shield generator and plant the explosives on the thermal oscillator. Finn’s main focus was rescuing Rey. After Kylo force pushes Rey into a tree, Finn faces Kylo Ren. Finn learns to overcome his fears of The First Order and faces the symbolic evil that was Kylo Ren. Although Finn does not win, he puts up a good fight and was put in a coma for daring to defy Kylo. Then they bait and switched us with Rey. I’ll let you read my rant on that.

Finn was the co-protagonist of The Force Awakens, this is evident of Finn’s actions saving everyone. Finn is the very reason why the Resistance is even alive. Finn breaks his life-long brainwashing, informs Rey and Han about the importance of BB-8 and helps out in getting BB-8 to the resistance and provides vital information that lead to the destruction of STB and gets nearly killed while helping to achieve this. If it were not for Finn saving Poe, BB-8 would’ve been scrapped for parts and Rey never would’ve left Jakku. The map would either be destroyed or be in the hands of The First Order. Starkiller Base would’ve destroyed D’Qar and Ach-To. He is the reason why Poe is still alive. He is the reason why BB-8 isn’t parts and Rey left Jakku. Because of leaving Jakku, this is the sole reason why Han and Chewie were able to find the Falcon. And he is the reason why The Resistance was able to find out about Starkiller Base’s weakness. he Helps out in sabotaging STB so that Poe, the very pilot he saved in the beginning can deliver the finishing blow to Starkiller Base and destroy it completely.

There are some missed opportunity in TFA, believe me I know as I feel JJ squandered the theme of Stormtroopers rising up against their oppressors and that crack about Finn being a janitor was so tone deaf and unnecessary.

Don’t believe me that Finn was meant to be the co-protagonist of the Sequels? Look at the marketing?

Also. Just look at the hopeful optimism and representation FInn brought to black people.

Then the racist boycotting happened. The boycott was groups of bigots who wanted the ST to be boycotted. What was the response from Lucasfilm? Zero defense of John Boyega, but their actions were transparent when they shrunk Finn on the TFA poster for fucking China’s sake, kept him off the TLJ teaser poster, and small on the official poster

I’ll let what Rian Johnson chose to do with Finn speak for itself. John Boyega has every right to hate what Rian did with his character.

By giving into the boycott and doing their best to erase and sideline John Boyega, Lucasfilm proved they would always cater to mob law if the mob was big enough. Do I have proof of this boycott against John Boyega? Yes, I do.

Also, popular Reylo blogger Jenny Nicholson’s racism against John Boyega

Reminder that Jenny Nicholson blocked a whole fuckton of Black people who even gently criticized her about how she went after John Boyega

Did Lucasfilm after The Force Awakens try to support their Black lead in any way? No. In fact, they began to erase him harder than ever to the point Fans started a hashtag #WhereIsFinn because it was getting so bad. But Bryan Young, a Lucasfilm writer, sure loved to hate on Finn

Lucasfilm was so racist, the very concept of a Black man and a white woman getting together sent them into such a frenzy Lucasfilm had to have it removed from any EU material just to make sure they kept it nice and bigot friendly. Also it’s worth noting that Alan Dean Foster was ordered by Lucasfilm/Disney to scrap any hints of Finnrey romance from the TFA novel as he believed that was the direction of the Sequels’ romance and coincidentally they did next to nothing with and we know it was racially motivated. "I expected to see that developed further in Episode VIII [The Last Jedi]," Foster said. "And zero happened with it. And we all know why zero happened with it — and there's no need to go into it in-depth — but that's, sadly, just the way things are."

It wasn’t JJ Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan or Chris Terrio who were against Finnrey. It was Disney and Lucasfilm and RIan Johnson was more than happy to separate Rey and Finn 99% of the movie(he said and did enough things to prove that he didn’t want the two characters even near each other)

Then John spoke about his frustration with how he was treated

People have tried to twist the narrative or put words in Boyega's mouths, but his GQ interview paints the picture rather clearly. He was sidelined due to his race after The Force Awakens when The Last Jedi came around with a "reordered character hierarchy" Lucasfilm's order btw

It resulted in Rey and Kylo Ren being featured prominently in both TLJ and TROS. It also resulted in Reylo being canon. Lucasfilm killed the Sequel trilogy, cause they couldn’t bare the thought of a black man in the leading role and a interracial relationship.

If you look at TFA, you’ll realize that Finn was built up to becoming a Jedi, Kylo’s foil and Rey’s equal. Because TLJ happened, Finn’s role was reduced to a side character and JJ could not make him as prominent as he originally wanted to. EIther studio interference or TLJ screwed everything up so bad that he had to work on it slowly and just hope that Disney + would have something for Finn.

At the start of the trilogy, we all thought people of color would have a prominent role in the new trilogy, there was a potential for the first interracial relationship in Star Wars and there was a potential for the first LGBT relationship in Star Wars. But no, it’s clear that both TLJ and TROS gave us the impression that only white people can be Jedi and only white people can have epic romances and save the galaxy, people of color can only have secondary roles. And the blink and you miss it kiss? Only white women, not two men of color who clearly love each other.

Finn’s best scenes were deleted.

Finn and the villager. it really shows why Finn chose to leave. Finn’s reasoning for leaving the First Order had nothing to do with being against violence, but a moral confliction of not wanting to hurt defenseless people. This villager wasn’t a soldier, wasn’t trying to hurt him. She was just a woman with her baby. This wasn’t war, this was murder, and Finn refused to be a murderer.

TLJ alternate opening. Opens with Finn waking up. Small change, but it would show that Finn is still a prominent character.

BB-8 shows Finn Rey’s last moment with him. BB-8 tries to cheer Finn up, but to no avail until he shows him a recording of Rey from the end of The Force Awakens - the scene she says goodbye to an unconscious Finn and kisses him on the forehead before leaving to find Luke Skywalker.

Poe gives back his sewn up jacket to Finn. In this deleted scene, Poe fills in the gaps and tries to assuage Finn about his concerns, including Finn's mixed feelings about his relationship with the Resistance. Poe then gives back the jacket that was once his and became Finn's in The Force Awakens, showing Finn that he sewed it up. This scene doesn't necessarily push forward any plot development, but should've remained as great a moment between Finn and Poe. The two characters established a wonderful chemistry and bond in The Force Awakens, and with Finn off on Canto Bight for much of The Last Jedi, fans didn't get to see as much of their relationship as expected. It's nice to see that chemistry and bond again. Finn's question about winning is also interesting in highlighting the constant uphill battle of the Resistance. Even destroying the Starkiller Base, Rey defeating Kylo Ren, and blowing up a Dreadnought can still put the Resistance in the position of fleeing.

The elevator scene between Finn and an old Stormtrooper friend. A Stormtrooper voiced by Tom Hardy recognizes Finn and starts talking to him. Finn starts to draw his gun, thinking the Stormtrooper has recognized him as a traitor, but it turns out the Stormtrooper is just surprised to see that FN-2187 has become an officer. The scene may go on for a bit too long, but ultimately it should've stayed in. The scene in the elevator does a great job playing with the audience's emotions, as they're unsure whether the tension will rise to the breaking point of a fight or evolve into a humorous moment. It also shows Finn using restraint by not killing a fellow Stormtrooper, unlike the other two movies.

Phasma’s alternate and BETTER death scene. WHY WAS THIS CUT????? No seriously, WHY WAS THIS FUCKING CUT????? I will never understand why this was deleted. Finn calls her out about her betrayal of lowering the shields and when this information is revealed, the Stormtroopers near her look suspicious and it looks as if they are going to turn on her. Phasma like the ultimate survivalist she is kills them with no hesitation. Finn cuts her hand off and blasts her into the abyss, giving Phasma a more deserving and better send off. Seriously, this is way better than their actual confrontation. What I really like about this scene is its direct connection to The Force Awakens plot point and that it acknowledges Phasma's survivalist attitude which was introduced into her novel. The Phasma novel and comic portrayed her not as a First Order loyalist, but as a ruthless warrior who did whatever it took to survive. She even went so far as hunting down and doing away with those within the First Order who had knowledge of what she did at the Starkiller Base lest the truth get out. Phasma was always about self-preservation, she wasn't about preserving the First Order, but that never comes across in The Force Awakens or The Last Jedi. It only comes across in this deleted scene where Phasma chooses to end her own Stormtroopers to save herself.

Something else that bothers me. Finn’s treatment in the expanded universe. Have you ever noticed that Poe and Kylo got all the big expanded universe material and Finn is always shoved into the background or not there at all? Even worse, every form of media portrays Finn as Poe's bumbling sidekick, which is even more apparent in TROS. They were more interested in having Poe and Finn being the Abbott and Costello of the ST instead of letting Finn going from Stormtrooper to Jedi and lead a Stormtrooper Rebellion.

In the journey to TROS, Finn is not featured in ANY of the novels or graphic novels for the Journey to TROS. When he was, he was used as Poe’s sidekick and not featured anywhere with Rey. Before the release of the movie, he is not featured whatsoever in any shape or form in marketing. We get to see him in two teasers but he says nothing. His new outfit looks awesome. Finn could’ve been used to rise as a Jedi with Rey and essentially be the Skywalkers that Rise and face Kylo and Palpatine together. If not that, Finn could’ve caused a Stormtrooper Rebellion that burns The First Order from the inside out. Instead of any of that, it Finn was given nothing for this movie. He doesn’t even get to face Kylo Ren, their rivalry as foils was completely dropped. That is sad and heartbreaking.

Seriously, there is no novelizations or comics that expand on Finn’s time in The First Order. Sure, there is Before The Awakening. But consider this. Finn was their best Stormtrooper, so good that Hux considered him Captain material.

There is so much potential with Finn in the Expanded Universe. Apply all the posts I’ve linked and more.

The Poe Dameron comics were not about Poe’s life, they were about his personality, skills, character, and the Resistance. So I ask, why can’t/couldn’t the same have been done with Finn pre TFA? A comic series exploring his character while world building the First Order.

There is so much to tell. You could start with Finn vividly remembering his family and how he was abducted and recruited for the FN Corps.

You could even show the ruthlessness of The First Order by showing initiation for the FN Corps is only granted by forcing the children to kill each other in a Hunger Games/Battle Royale to see who the strongest and who deserves to be welcomed to the First Order. This would be in separate groups of the children who are abducted to determine who gets to be put in the FN Corps. We could see Phasma returning to the room, only to see a young Finn covered in blood and dried up tears. Phasma will only say “Welcome to The First Order, FN-2187.”

Wouldn’t it be interesting to see how Finn, a brainwashed soldier broke free of his mental conditioning, learned the truth of the FO yet still tried to be a good soldier. It could flesh out his relationship with the squad he led, as well as Phasma and Hux.

It could’ve also showcased the brotherhood and friendship Finn had with FN-2199 (“Nines”), FN-2000 (“Zeroes”), and FN-2003 (“Slip”).

The biggest thing it could do is finally show Finn’s skills as a soldier, his brains, while giving so much needed world building First Order. We could also finally show what it’s like as a FO stormtrooper from a sympathetic POV.

Through the avenue of a Finn comic series you could also flesh out Hux, Phasma, Nines, Zeroes, Slip, and even characters like Kylo and Snoke. It doesn’t have to cover spoilers, just make the one note more dimensional while giving Finn so overdue respectful content

It could end with everyone asking Finn “what was the moment you decided to leave” which then we would see the TFA deleted scene of Finn in the village

It could end on Finn saying "I was raised to do one thing, I used to think I’ve got nothing to fight for, but now I have something worth fighting for.“

And afterwards. You could show Finn and Jannah working together to liberating the other Stormtroopers. The first person they rescue? Zeroes, FInn’s last surviving Squad Member and together they awaken and liberate their brothers and sisters and all the while Finn rises up and becomes a Jedi!

For those wondering what about Finn in TROS? I’ll let this video do all the talking

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I’d also like to point out. Finnrey WAS going to happen in TROS. Here’s confirmation by Jedipaxis, the main reddit leaker, who was right about everything before the films release, confirmed that Finn’s “i never told you” line was supposed to have some payoff and it was going to end with finn and rey holding hands. could this pic have been of the alternate ending? then reshoots happened and we got the Reylo kiss

I’m convinced that John Boyega was told by the higher ups to say Finn was meant to say he was “Force Sensitive” no one who is about to die would “always want to tell you” they were force sensitive.

Hell, even in the original Episode IX by Colin Trevorrow. Duel Of Fates. Finn was given the shaft again. For some unknown reason, Rey is paired with Poe, a character who barely interacts with Rey at all. Finn was given another sidequest to do. The only brightside for Finn is he participates in retaking Corruscant and a Stormtrooper Rebellion near the end.

Finn, who was once held in prominence as the co-protagonist alongside Rey. Was erased from how prominent he once was and reduced to a sidecharacter due to China and fanbacklash that there was going to be a black lead in Star Wars. Disney caved in to the racist backlash and caved into China’s racist demands.

Finn deserved to be a main character alongside Rey, while Kylo Ren is their villain. He deserved a good character development, a great arc, an interesting backstory. he had the potential to become one of the most epic star wars characters. TLJ and TROS was an insult for him and he deserved better. nobody will EVER change my mind.

Finn should’ve been a Stormtrooper turned Jedi who embraced the light, while Kylo Ren who was the Skywalker who rejected the light and embraced the dark. Rey should’ve been Luke’s daughter, while Finn is the Jedi who builds himself up from being a Stormtrooper from nowhere to Jedi and together Rey and Finn stop Kylo Ren and bring down The First Order and rebuild The Jedi!

Finn should have been a Stormtrooper turned Jedi. It doesn’t matter that you think it tells a better story for him to not be a Jedi. “Finn being a hero who is not a Jedi is important.” Poe and Rose are great examples of ordinary heroes coming from nowhere. Rey was supposed to be a jedi related to Skywalker or Kenobi legacy while Finn was the perfect “nobody from nowhere” that becomes a Jedi. And honestly, Black kids deserved to see themselves in the Black Jedi and black kids deserved to see themselves as one of the three protagonists of the trilogy.

Finn got no last name No theme Was sidelined in the trilogy Had his scenes cut Mocked by Lucasfilm employees Racially harassed by bigots and media outlets Disney used while staying silent and then Disney has the nerve to say they “stand” with John Boyega during the BLM movement and celebrated Finn during black history month despite squandering him....

Finn deserved better, period!

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#Star Wars #Finn #Finnrey #John Boyega #Anti Lucasfilm #Anti Rian Johnson #Anti Sequel Trilogy

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logan-exe · 4 years

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Mulan (2020) • film review

Will contain spoilers.

Just Chinese enough to fool (most) white person (people) 🍵

This is my personal opinion. If you liked it/ loved it that's completely fine and I don't judge you for it. I’m also boycotting Mulan remake.

It took the most important part from the Chinese folklore of The Legend of the Jade Rabbit and made it a throw away line.

In the movie Mulan says to her family

"Black wind and I rode alongside two rabbits running side by side. I think one was a male, one was a female. But you know. You can't really tell when they're running that fast."

Okay. So— we know now it's hard to tell if they are different or the same when running fast, cool. But it doesn't make you think that hard on it.

How the Chinese folklore of the Jade Rabbit, told it, word for word (the bit Mulan was "referencing"):

兩兔傍地走

The male hare's feet go hop and skip

雌兔眼迷離

The female hare's eyes are muddled and fuddled

兩兔傍地走

But when two hares running side by side

安能辨我是雄雌

How can you tell the female from male

This folklore explains how men and women are different in appearances but when side by side with another running, you can't easily see how they are different, but the same. To me, that scene had so much potential. Just as the whole movie itself did.

That scene where Mulan's father is telling her of the Phenix being consumed by flame? Yeah, that isn't even Chinese myth, it is Egyptian.

Mulan, in this whole movie, to me, felt she never learned her own place but the place to bring honour to her family.

She never got the chance to learn she can be just as powerful as her male counterparts, or to stand as her own woman against the conformity of her society of the time. She has this special chi that's stronger in males I guess. She was special from the bloody start.

That makes me feel empowered. But only if I were just as chi channeled as her. Oh well. See where I'm coming from? And I'm not talking about that scene where she lets her hair down and that's when Mulan lives on not Ping-- sorry, the male person she was pretending to be dies. No. Because a few scenes after she says to the 'witch', "I know my place. And it is my duty to fight for the Kingdom and protect the emperor." She also, wow listen. Wow.

In the Disney animated movie of Mulan, she learns alongside the guy. Along the way, those guys learn it's okay to have aspects of non toxic masculin traits (whit, kindness and so on). Women can have strength and be smart. Men can be smart and gentle. Men can get physically strong as can women. I have more to say but let's move on.

It's a Western version of Chinese culture that nearly fooled me.

It has four writers to which none of them are Asian let alone Chinese.

Let alone the writing for it. Let's get into that bit too.

The dialog is kind of the the same through the film. Most lines aren't delivered with much emotion, it feels a bit 2D. That maybe be the actors faults or the directing who knows.

The emotional points were there but it wasn't there. They didn't allow the audience to build connections to characters enough to make the emotional screens impactful. So they felt hollow. You know you should feel something but it just isn't there.

There are scenes where you just pause the movie and ask "so, why is that in here?" or "what's happening?" or even "are we not going to go over this a bit mo-- okay I guess not."

I'm okay with most of the parts they didn't carry over not being included that be due to cultural differences (Western against Eastern how Western sees one actions the Eastern can see it as ill or improper/rude/disrespectful).

The cinematography. 9/10. That's all. It's nice and pleasing to look at. The colours too. Mmm yes!

The cast is made of all Asians. That's a plus.

The character Cricket is the only decent character with a sliver of personality. Which is more than anyone in the film will e v e r.

They drive the Phoenix symbolism too much. Know your audience and know that said audience isn't that daft. Even kids can understand symbolism without the movie holding your hand like your incompetent.

Overall, I'd only watch this movie again for the visuals as aesthetics. For the Asian cast and cinematography. Not the dialogue, not to learn of Chinese culture and for sure not to feel empowered.

I give the movie 2 stars.

One star for the good cinematography, the last one for its all Asian cast.

#Mulan 2020 movie review #movie review

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irrevocably-delicious · 6 years

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A Brief History of LGBT+ Characters and Why the Death of Adam in Voltron is Worth Being Upset About

So uh.... Good morning.

So I think it’s pretty obvious by now that the reception to season 7 has been less than... good. The fan base has been shattered. People are upset, angry, and abandoning this series in droves (I’ve lost over 50 followers as I write this, just from people no longer wanting anything to do with this show) and have been incredibly vocal as to the reason why.

They killed Adam.

After two weeks of receiving praise for the relationship that was revealed at San Diego Comic Con, fans discovered on Friday night that Adam’s existence would be short lived, further contributing to this popular “Bury Your Gays” trope.

And I’ve seen people confused at this outcry. They don’t understand why people are so upset at this tiny side character’s death. What’s the big deal, right? It’s war! There’s supposed to be casualties!

And to that kind of response I have to narrow my eyes and go:

“Oh.... maybe you understand the history of this.”

Because it is a history. A rich one. “Bury your gays” isn’t a trope in the same why that “Fake dating” is a trope. It’s not popular out of coincidence and I feel like many people are ignorant of that, which is FAIR! Because most voltron fans are young, most tumblr users are young, so I don’t expect you to be watching documentaries on LGBT+ cinema in between studying for your chemistry exams.

So that’s where I come in. Buckle in children as I take you on a journey on why the “Bury your gays” trope exists, and the harmful ramifications that it has had on the LGBT+ community since its inception.

So lets go back. Way back to the 1920′s when homosexuality, or at least homosexuality adjacent themes were seen on screen.

A time where a bro could kiss his bro, and it was seen as heart wrenching and realistic (Wings, 1927). A time where Marlene Dietrich could wear a suit better than a man, and flirt and kiss a lady just because she fucking could (Morocco, 1930). A time where gender roles were a bit looser, and there wouldn’t be an outcry over such imagery.

But as the great depression continued, and film producers became desperate to get butts in seats at the cinema, these LGBT+ themes became outright explicit. Raunchy even. Used for titillation and shock value.

“Have you seen that new picture, Doris? The one where the roman emperor has the hot male sex slave?? Mmmmm scandalous!”

But with this rise of LGBT+ characters and interactions used for shock value, also came the rise of public outcry. The catholic church (those debbie downers) started boycotting films. This lead to the formation of the PRODUCTION CODE, which is a fancy way to say THE CODE THAT WILL NOW CENSOR THE SHIT OUT OF YOUR FILMS in 1934.

Backed by catholic activists, the code made it impossible for LGBT+ representation to exist on film.

But did they?? See, this is actually were we start to see the development of “Queer coding”. Where actors and directors got savvy, and let you know a character was gay, whilst never explicitly stating so. It was subtle enough that it got past censors, but clear enough that audience members, especially LGBT+ people, got clued in.

Yeah Peter Lorre, you put that phallus shaped object next to your mouth a lot. They’ll get what your implying, don’t you worry.

Oh, I’m sorry.... did i say you couldn’t have LGBT+ characters?? My mistake, you totally fucking could. Explicitly even.... if they were the villain. Religious people were totally cool if the villain in your film was LGBT+, because to them, that’s what LGBT+ people were.... villains.

Film’s like Rebecca, Dracula’s Daughter, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope all centre around truly horrifying and despicable villains... who are all gay. LGBT+ villains became such a staple in horror films during this time that it lead to a whole near character archetype! We have the damsel in distress, the heroic soldier, the wise old man, now welcome the rise of the:

PSYCHO QUEER.

Yikes.

But why I’m talking about this so much is because this popularity in LGBT+ villains is what creates the “Bury your Gays” trope.

Because the villains.... always die.

It’s their comeuppance. Their karma. Of course bad people will die and the heroes will go one to live a happy life! But what crime are we punishing these villains for?

The message these movies gets across to their audiences is that “If you are gay, you are a bad person... and bad people deserve to die”. Because Gay and villain were so synonymous with each other, they become one in the same, and as we all know by now REPRESENTATION MATTERS.

This influences how society views LGBT+ people, so that in 1952, when the PRODUCTION CODE of YOU BETTER NOT CONDONE ANYTHING SINFUL IN HERE BECAUSE JESUS DOESN’T LIKE THAT is torn down, things still don’t get much better for LGBT+ representation.

LGBT+ characters no longer have to be villains, but society is still not super cool with LGBT+ people, so now we get a new archetype: The self hating tragic gay character. And often? These characters kill themselves, such as in 1961′s The Children’s Hour. Because this is palatable to audiences who do not condone homosexuality in any way, but watching an LGBT+ struggle with themselves? Watching them become overwhelmed by guilt and hatred until they decide that death is the only way out? How tragic! How cursed they are! How pitiful! How... marketable.

But to see LGBT+ characters end up happy? Audiences at this time would not have stomached it, because to them, being LGBT was immoral and these characters were not deserving of happiness. A good analogy might be how modern audiences would view a film with a drug addict character in it. The addict either succumbs to their addiction and dies tragically, or they “Go straight” and have a happy ending. For these audiences in the 50s and 60s the only happy ending was a straight ending.

Then in 1969 we get the Stonewall Riots, and in the 1970s things actually look alright.

That is until the 1980s and society finds a new reason to hate, fear and vilify LGBT+ people. The AIDS crisis wipes out lives and almost all positive representation in the media. This fear is echoed in film as LGBT+ people become villains again. Sleepaway Camp and Cruising are such examples.

The 90′s are better. Whilst mainstream cinema is still vilifying LGBT+ in the 80s, more positive independent films still exist, and the success of the 1991 documentary Paris is Burning prompts Hollywood to go “Hey... maybe we can get some money if we pander to these LGBT+ folks”.

There is a brief period in the 90s where gay comedies like The Birdcage, In and Out, and To Wong Foo are allowed to exist. They’re comedies. The stereotypes are played for laughs, but there is a level of joy and care with these movies where even though these characters are making us laugh... for once we’re not laughing at them. We love these characters. We want them to succeed. No. One. Dies.

It smells like progress. Finally.

Or at least it would. Because these films also exist in the same decade that Philadelphia wins Oscars and the musical Rent is winning Tonys. Both of these deal with the tragedy of the AIDS crisis and have main characters die from the disease. Am I going to point out that Rent has four characters suffering from AIDS, but the only one to die is the Trans-coded poc gay man? Yes. Yes I am. Meanwhile the heterosexual couple suffering from AIDS gets a happy ending.

Interesting.

I hate you Rent. I hate you so goddamned much.

Also the 90s sees a good return to queer-coding villains. It’s always been there. It’s never really gone away, but I need to talk about the queer coding of 90′s villains because I’m sure all of you will actually recognise them.

Ah. There They are. Queer coding and Disney have a very rich history, which MANY articles have been written on. One might even say that it’s a... tale as old as time.

Mmmm no thank you.

But why it is so rampant, particularly in animated films, is because the films have a limited run time.

“We need to convince the audience that these characters are villains IMMEDIATELY. We don’t really have the time to waste on developing them and showing all their evil actions. We need audiences to believe when we tell them that these characters are bad. how do we do that?”

“.... make them kinda gay??”

That’s not actually how the conversation went in the board room, I’m sure, but it’s a very reduced down version. Because of the history of LGBT+ villains in the early years of cinema, animation relies on the stereotypes of villainous characters... well unfortunately those villains of old were LGBT+, so now we have LGBT+ stereotypes being passed on to new villains.

Anyway, my point is that almost all Disney villains die. Sorry that’s where I was going with this. Most of them die. The “Bury your Gays” trope is repeated here because of the villain’s queer coding. It’s not obvious, but the subtext is “Hey, if you’re a bit effeminate or do things outside of your strict gender role? Mmmmmm you deserve to die.”

“Bury your Gays” continues in modern media. Despite the importance of Brokeback Mountain, which explicitly shows a romance and intimacy between two men... Jake Gyllenhaal’s character still dies, and it’s implied that it may be due to a hate crime.

We see it in television. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Downton Abbey, Arrow, there was a massive outcry over the trope in The 100 when a female character, after just entering an intimate relationship with another female character, is killed off seemingly senselessly.

The LGBT+ community is tired of only seeing themselves killed for shock value, character growth, or tragedy. Even Ru Paul’s Drag Race has come under fire in recent years for seemingly exploiting its contestants traumatic histories for ratings.

This is why this year’s Love, Simon was so important. The film portrays an adolescent gay character as he struggles with being open with his sexuality and finding a meaningful relationship. Simon is portrayed as a sympathetic character. He’s the hero.

And he gets a happy ending.

This is why Korrasami, a same-sex relationship in children’s media, is so important. It shows two girls achieving their happy ending together.

It’s why in the same year that Steven Universe portrays a same sex wedding, Adam’s death feels like such a step backwards.

The producers have stated that Adam’s death was supposed to raise the stakes of the season, it was supposed to make viewers realise the severity of the situation and overcome them with a feeling of loss, but Adam’s death doesn’t just fail the LGBT+ fans... it fails to effect viewers emotionally.

Because audiences can’t mourn a character that they have no connection with.

Most of Adam’s character was developed in interviews and not in the show, where he only spoke for one scene. The creators talked about the deep relationship between Adam and Shiro, but none of that is actually visible in the series. Taking the season at face value, Adam is just some guy who’s connected to Shiro that is killed off unceremoniously. He wasn’t even given the dignity of hero’s death, taking out even one enemy before he died. That’s what hurts the most.

His death is meaningless. It does nothing. It’s pointless.

But of course “There’s still Shiro, right?”, which is true. Shiro still exists and is confirmed a mlm, which is important, but it’s understandable why fans may not be satisfied with this. Let’s take a closer look at Shiro.

I often joke with my friends that Voltron should be renamed Shiro Suffers: The Series, because out of all the characters in the show, Shiro has definitely endured and been subjected to the worst (you could argue that Allura has, but Shiro has the joy of being tortured emotionally and physically, so I feel he wins).

The writers have tried to kill him numerous times, with only toy sales saving him. He’s been beaten, tortured, terminally ill, killed, revived, possessed and used... it’s a lot. In the old days, I used to ship shallura, not really out of feeling a real romantic connection between the characters, but just because I wanted Shiro to have someone. Someone to help support him. Someone he could open up about his struggles with. The paladins mean a lot to Shiro, but because he is their surrogate guardian, he cannot open up to them like this. He cannot show the paladins weakness, and we see this in how he keeps his disease a secret from Keith, because he does not want to burden Keith with his struggle.

The introduction of Adam wasn’t just exciting because of the potential of seeing a caring LGBT+ relationship, but because it gave fans hope that Shiro would have someone. There was the potential that Shiro might finally gain some kind of supportive relationship outside of his strict roles of “leader” and “guardian”.

Adam’s death removes that possibility. Despite how caring, generous, strong, intelligent, kind, patient and capable Shiro is written... his life is fucking awful. It’s very telling that in the final scene of the season, when every other paladin is in the hospital surrounded by their family and loved ones, Shiro is alone. He’s on a stage, giving a rousing speech to a crowd, still trapped in this role as an inspirational leader.

God, they don’t even let Shiro mourn Adam. Does he feel guilty that he was the one who supposed to die, whilst Adam lived, but now their roles are reversed?We’ll never know. Adam’s death doesn’t even give some insight into Shiro’s character. It’s truly pointless.

Season 7 of Voltron has made it clear that this is not a kids show. This is a serious show with dark themes. The writers want it to be taken more seriously.

Then I will critique it more seriously.

While I strongly doubt it was intentional, season 7 perpetuates the age old message “If you are LGBT+, you will not achieve a happy ending.” The “Bury your Gays” trope is steeped in a history of oppression, censorship, and vilification. When Adam dies, you’re not just seeing a character die, but you’re seeing the series make a conscious decision to participate in this oppressive trope. And it stings even more because the series sets two heterosexual relationships to potentially end in happiness, whilst the LGBT+ relationships have already ended in tragedy.

Why Adam? Why not literally anyone else? We had no connection to him, so it’s not like they could have used a handful of other characters for the same effect. (Kill James. Fuck that guy. And he’s young so it really would have hurt.)

And that’s what you have to question. This is why fans are upset.

I’m not writing this to convince anyone to boycott the show, or plead with you to stop watching. That’s up to you and your own belief system. I definitely do not condone harassing the writers or voice actors.

I just want people to understand why fans are so upset over season 7, and that they have every right to be. To state that the outcry is just because “fans didn’t see their ships become canon” is dismissive and cruel. Adam and Shiro’s relationship was heavily used in marketing by Netflix, so much so that you could call it queer-baiting. It was hyped at SDCC and explained as this deep and meaningful relationship, whilst the producers knew what Adam’s fate would be the whole time.

I know producers have to answer to higher ups. I know the crew were largely on edge about what would get approved and what would not.

But the point remains... they still made this conscious choice. Fans don’t have to be happy about it. They shouldn’t be.

I have no idea what season 8 will bring, and at this point I feel like it might be a mess. But I encourage fans to support each other and be vocal about why you’re upset. You can’t change this show, but there’s hope that another series could learn from this.

History repeats. Until we don’t let it.

#voltron #vld #voltron spoilers #adashi #shadam #discourse #negativity #q slur #takashi shirogane #this took a while

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raccoonfootproductions · 7 years

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Editorial: Why Does Nickelodeon Give Up On New Animated Shows So Quickly?

(The following post is long. Very long. And I did my best to word it properly even though I’m not the best with words. Still, I’d very much appreciate it if you took the time to read it because it’s about something that really matters to me. I know stuff about Nickelodeon isn’t very popular unless it’s 100% negative, but please, if you have the time, give this a look)

Nickelodeon. Once beloved by everyone, now infamous for two things: Either ending animated shows too early (El Tigre, Harvey Beaks) or treating them terribly (The Legend of Korra). They’ve been like this since 2006 and have only slightly improved since then. Even now, Bunsen is a Beast and Welcome to the Wayne, which only just premiered this year, seem to already be on their way out, either cancelled or ready to be moved off the main network for their next season.

Why has this happened? Why has Nickelodeon lost faith in its own animated output? I believe there are two groups of people to blame:

Nickelodeon’s current management

The general viewing public on the internet

That’s right, WE are just as much to blame for Nick’s downfall as they are. Yes, really. There are several factors that led to the state the network is in now and we had a hand in quite a few of them...

1. The Change in Management (The Dark Ages)

Let’s rewind to early 2006. Nickelodeon had just gotten a new president -- Cyma Zarghami. Needless to say, it didn’t take long for her to become the most hated president in the history of the network.

What was her first move? Cancelling almost every current animated show. Danny Phantom, Jimmy Neutron, My Life as a Teenage Robot... The only ones that remained were Avatar: The Last Airbender (for a while) and SpongeBob SquarePants. This was obviously received as a terrible move and fans were outraged. So much so that protests were held outside the network offices in New York (by fans of Danny Phantom).

Did Cyma respond to criticism and stop there? Nope! Many shows after that were cancelled quickly, several only getting one season (El Tigre, Tak and the Power of Juju, Making Fiends). Even pilots that had potential to live longer than that (Adventure Time, The Modifiers) were rejected before even getting their own series. To make matters worse, many shows that did live beyond a single season were terribly received by critics (Back at the Barnyard, Fanboy and Chum Chum, Sanjay and Craig, Breadwinners).

Only a small handful of shows since then have lived for at least two seasons and received critical praise, thanks in part to two seasons becoming the minimum for most new shows, but even most of those were treated terribly by the network at some point. However, at this point, it wasn’t entirely the network’s fault, which leads me to the next factor...

2. Our Refusal to Give New Nickelodeon Shows a Chance

I’ve seen it far too many times. So many people on the internet either not knowing about a new Nicktoon (more on why that is later) or outright refusing to watch it. The latter is a problem that stems from our inability to trust Nickelodeon anymore, thinking the new show will either be dumb or the network will just cancel it early.

Hear me right now and hear me well: THAT ATTITUDE IS EXACTLY WHY THEY CANCEL SHOWS EARLY.

You boycotting shows just because you think the network will mistreat it or because you just don’t like the network only makes things worse. It greatly affects the rating and online buzz, the very things shows need to survive. The network won’t think you’re refusing to watch because of how bad they’re run; They’ll think you just don’t like the show and axe it quicker. If you want to make a real impression, boycott the shows that you think are bad and support the ones you like by watching them or merely talking about them online.

Sometimes, it’s not even the mere fact it’s on Nick that makes people too judgy about new shows. It can be the way the show looks. If we think the art style isn’t good enough or the premise is a ripoff of something else, we’ll pass on it, even if the show is actually pretty good. There were people who thought Harvey Beaks was a ripoff of The Amazing World of Gumball because of how it looked and decided not to watch it. There were people who thought Welcome to the Wayne was a ripoff of Gravity Falls just because of its premise and decided not to watch it. There’s already people planning not to watch Pinky Malinky because they don’t like its art style. These shows (not counting Pinky because we don’t know yet) were all good, but got very little attention because many judged them at first glance rather than actually watching them. This was a major factor that led to their early demises. Not enough people gave them a chance right out of the gate, so the network gave up on them.

The Loud House is the only recent Nicktoon that managed to become popular right away and avoid cancellation, but that’s mostly due to early online buzz and people actually giving it a shot because they actually liked how it looked. It ended up rivaling SpongeBob in ratings, which Nick is always looking for in a new show. If we can’t help it get close to SpongeBob numbers, there’s a chance the network won’t support it for long.

I know what you’re thinking. “C’mon, new shows can’t become popular that quick! It takes time to build up popularity! Nick just has unrealistic goals!” Well, as a rebuttal to that, I present the next factor...

3. Cartoon Network (and Disney XD)

Cartoon Network... That network... I have a lot of problems with that network...

My main problem with it is simple: It’s an attention hog.

Ever since 2010, with the introduction of Adventure Time and Regular Show, all I ever heard online was how great those two shows were. Day in and day out, no one would shut up about these two shows. Cartoon Network had apparently entered a new golden age, while Nickelodeon was still seen as a rotting corpse. I’m definitely not saying these two shows were bad; I was just annoyed by how much people were talking about them, especially since I wasn’t as into them as everyone else.

Then came The Amazing World of Gumball. Then Steven Universe. Then Clarence. Then We Bare Bears. Then, most recently, OK K.O.: Let’s Be Heroes. So many shows came out in the last few years that appealed to pretty much everything the internet wanted. Because of that (and I suppose a lot of promoting on CN’s part), most of them became famous almost instantly. Their ratings compared to other networks’ shows didn’t matter; They had online fame. A lot of it. Much more than anything Nickelodeon could produce.

Don’t believe me? Just look at these Google trend charts, the blue lines representing Nicktoons and the red lines representing Cartoon Network Originals:

Breadwinners vs Clarence (admittedly not a fair comparison already)

Harvey Beaks vs We Bare Bears

And most recently, Welcome to the Wayne vs OK K.O.: Let’s Be Heroes

As you can see, the CN Originals had enormous spikes of popularity around their premieres, while all the Nicktoons could barely reach their level at any point. The internet’s focus has always been directed toward CN more, as if Nick doesn’t even exist anymore because we’ve become that biased. New CN shows barely have to do anything other than exist and repeat the formula of the last hit show to get immediate online fame. Even unpopular shows like Teen Titans Go! have achieved fame simply by being controversial, something that not even Nick’s worst shows have achieved.

That's my problem with Cartoon Network. It achieves so much by doing so little, while almost all other animated shows get next-to-zilch.

Of course, Cartoon Network isn’t the only attention hog. There’s also Disney XD. While its ratings are the lowest out of all kids’ networks, its shows can easily become as popular as CN’s. Gravity Falls and Star vs The Forces of Evil are two prime examples.

All that being said, these networks are just as guilty as Nick of sweeping shows under the rug early if they think they’re under-preforming. Let’s not forget how Disney treated Wander Over Yonder or how CN treated Young Justice and all other action shows. So this isn’t just a Nick thing; Nick’s just the most notorious for doing it. This is probably because of the next factor...

4. Poor Promotion and Business Practices

Now this one is entirely Nickelodeon’s fault. There’s really no way I can pin any of the blame for this on the public.

When was the last time you saw a commercial on Nick for something other than SpongeBob, The Loud House, or a live-action show? Almost never, right? Unless there’s new episodes or it’s a big event like Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie, most animation gets shoved to the side or completely off the schedule. Obviously, this is a terrible way for a show to gain any attention. It can’t gain any traction if it’s never advertised or airing. It also doesn’t help if the schedule’s constantly changed. Just ask The Legend of Korra.

Sadly, when it comes to new shows, if it’s not live-action, Nick doesn’t care. This raises the question, why does Nick like live-action show so much, even when the shows are so poorly made and received?

The answer is simple: They’re cheaper to make.

Animating a single episode of an animated show can take over half a year and many resources to produce. A live-action show can be churned out in much less time for much less money. All those recent Dan Schneider shows that just lump together at this point were likely greenlit because it barely costs the network anything compared to an average Legend of Korra episode. Even imported animated shows like the current Alvin and the Chipmunks series were brought onto the network because of their cheapness (Cyma Zarghami doesn’t even like Alvin that much).

That said, a show being cheap doesn’t automatically make it bad. A good example might be The Loud House. Its Flash animation can’t be all that expensive, but it still manages to be good because its staff cares about their craft. In the end, caring enough about what you’re making is what counts, not the price of it. Sadly, not enough live-action shows have a caring-enough crew to make them any good. The kid actors and kid viewers just play along because they really don’t know any better.

All I really want here is for Nickelodeon’s scheduling and promoting to be more balanced. They can keep the SpongeBob reruns and live-action shows, just as long as other animated shows get just as much airtime and advertisements. They need to even the playing field and then, only after more than a few weeks or months, judge a new show’s popularity before pulling it. Also, checking the amount of views a show gets on their website and other legal streaming sites is a good idea for them too. We live in an age where online viewership matters a lot more than television viewership.

5. Our Inability to Let Go of the Past

How many times have you heard this? “Nickelodeon was better in the 90′s!” Yeah, we’ve all heard something like it. Everything was apparently better back in an earlier decade. That’s part of the reason companies rely on nostalgia so much these days -- It’s stuff that people already like. Therefore, it’s easy to sell and they don’t have to take risks with new stuff.

This is a driving factor behind a lot of Nickelodeon’s decisions these days. Think about all the movie reboots of old properties they have lined up: Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie, Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling, an Invader ZIM special, theatrical movies of Dora the Explorer and Are You Afraid of the Dark?... And that’s just what they’ve announced so far. There’s also the merchandise based on old shows, which is also growing more and more abundant. Even the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series managed to stay alive for a long while thanks to it being a familiar brand, with yet another series on the way. You could also say it’s why SpongeBob and The Fairly OddParents have lasted so long.

Why all the nostalgia? Like I said, it’s easy to sell, but also because... NO ONE GIVES THE NEW STUFF A CHANCE.

Why waste money on a show someone’s bound to dismiss as a poorly-drawn ripoff of another show when they can easily grab attention and cash by bringing back an old property that everyone already loves? Yep, you ignoring new shows just because you think they don’t look good was partly what led to this.

Don’t get me wrong, these nostalgia-fueled revivals of old franchises aren’t inherently bad. In fact, Nick probably does it better than anyone else. They actually bother bringing back the original creators and as much of the cast and crew as they can. There’s actual love and care put into these reboots, which is more than I can say for some other cash-grab reboots (looking at you, new Powerpuff Girls).

The problem is that these shouldn’t be the only thing from Nick you support. Next time a new show comes out, try watching a few episodes when they first premiere and see if you like it. If you do, keep watching it on the air and from legal online providers. Talk about it online and get other people interested. Do what you can to show support. If you don’t support it, I certainly don’t want to here you complain when it’s cancelled.

So is there still hope for Nickelodeon to improve?

At the moment, I definitely think so. It already has a bit, in some ways. However, it still has a long way to go before it’s learned from its mistakes. Cyma Zarghami is still in charge and she’s not much smarter than she was in the beginning.

That’s why we should help them get better.

I know in this day and age, it’s easy for us to not care about something like Nickelodeon. It’s past its prime and we’re beyond its demographic now, so why bother, right? Apathy can be dangerously powerful like that. Still, it’d be nice if we could all help somehow. I already named a lot of ways we can and many problems we should tell them to fix.

I’m sure a lot of you reading this grew up with them, possibly during their heyday, and if you did, who better to tell them what they should do than you? Who knows? They just might listen if you actually bother to speak up.

After all, wasn’t it fan demand that helped Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie finally get made?

#psa #editorial #nickelodeon #nick #entertainment #animation #spongebob #spongebob squarepants #the loud house #cartoon network #disney xd

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touristguidebuzz · 7 years

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How Women in the Travel Industry Are Tackling Gender Discrimination

A Women in Travel Summit panel discussion on April 23, 2017 in Milwaukee, WI about getting more women into leadership roles resulted in much storytelling from female professionals in the audience. Pictured is moderator Laura Mandala, founder of Women in Travel & Tourism International. Women in Travel Summit

Skift Take: Grassroots activism is now the go-to tactic for achieving gender equality in the travel industry. Lobbying male executives one-on-one isn’t working, so women are employing their collective influence, reminiscent of recent movements like the Women’s March in Washington, D.C.

— Sarah Enelow

Travel industry executives are overwhelmingly male, and these days, women aren’t just discussing the topic openly, some are mobilizing for change.

Not unlike participants in the Women’s March, which took place in January in Washington, D.C., as well as cities around the world, many women in the travel industry seem ready to actively take on gender discrimination.

Laura Mandala, founder of Women in Travel & Tourism International and managing director of Mandala Research, spoke on a panel at the Women in Travel Summit (WITS) in Milwaukee on April 23, and suggested that women take collective action, in part by using rallying cries like #grabyourpurse, which is associated with boycotting Trump-owned businesses.

“Every time we see an organization or an entity where women are not being treated equitably, we can point it out, we can send [the hashtag] out… We’re encouraging women: Grab your bag, work somewhere else, grab your bag, go travel somewhere else.”

Mandala said that at the Priceline Group, 27 percent of the senior management team is women; at Amadeus 20 percent; at Disney 14 percent; at Delta 11 percent; and at Hilton eight percent.

It should be noted that at the Priceline Group, the CEO of its most important brand, Booking.com, is a woman as is the CEO of its OpenTable unit, while the Group president is male.

“We did an analysis and found that there were a dearth of women in most senior leadership roles in this industry,” Mandala said. “Women are making 70 percent of all travel decisions, 72 percent of all travel agents are women, and yet only 33 percent are leading a travel organization like the American Society of Travel Agents.”

Mandala mentioned North Carolina’s controversial “bathroom bill,” which resulted in a significant loss of tourism revenue for the state. Out-of-state organizations “are boycotting North Carolina, it’s kind of grab your bag, grab your wallets… we’re taking our dollars elsewhere… that’s one way that we can work together and be really powerful,” she said.

One of the attendees was Katie Henly, founder of Yes Way! The company highlights women-owned businesses in various travel destinations, and furthers the idea that women can and should vote with their actions and dollars.

“What was pivotal in my career was getting engaged in a completely male-oriented association,” said Holly Agra, panel speaker and president of Chicago’s First Lady Cruises.

She recounted attending an industry association meeting earlier in her career. “They had the chairs in the front and then a rope, and they said all the women will sit on the other side of the rope because they won’t be voting members. Well my husband didn’t attend the meeting so I sat in the front with all the men, and that was really the beginning for me.”

“We have nurtured and promoted several women to be [tour boat] captains, which is a very male-oriented business,” said Agra.

In an interview with Skift, Marissa Sutera, executive chair of WITS, noted the importance of social media and digital community when it comes to “uncovering the companies that are not doing it so well.”

The panel speakers identified themselves as older than many of the women in the audience, with social influence being a major differentiator as well as a crucial tool in the 21st century.

“Our idea of success was always measured by a title, profits, volume, etc.,” said Cathleen Johnson, principal of Cathleen Johnson Tourism Consultants, formerly having created the travel and hospitality practice at Edelman. “The definition of success is very different these days, and the biggest measure I think is influence. That’s where you all have such an advantage because you are already in the business of influence.”

Sutera said much of the WITS audience is comprised of influencers.

One audience member recounted a venture capital pitch competition in which she momentarily froze in front of an all-male panel and was told by a panelist that he expected her to run out of the room crying. Another described attending an industry event and being asked whether she was hired as a model for the event rather than being an entrepreneur.

Another was told by coworkers that she had a cute voice and needed to put lipstick on to meet with a journalist.

“Maybe Bill O’Reilly will teach some people a lesson,” said Johnson of the Fox News host who was ousted in April amid sexual harassment allegations. Along those lines, in the travel sphere, a former Uber employee recently brought much attention to sexual harassment allegations at the ride-hailing company. Uber president Jeff Jones resigned in March.

Getting down to the basics — dealing with everyday discrimination as opposed to propelling a broader women’s movement — Johnson asked, “How do you reach salary parity in a better way? …When men get a raise their response is, ‘Is that it?’ When women get a raise they say ‘Oh thank you!’ I think we have to learn to be more bold. I would say being bold, to me, has really gotten me where I’m going.”

Sutera took up the theme. “There could always be more of stepping outside your comfort zone… taking action and working on building up, building out,” said Sutera, who also mentioned that WITS would like to continue this conversation at future events.

“Challenging men who say things like wear lipstick or say things like you’re so cute. Challenge them. Don’t let anything go by the board because every time you swallow it, you’re allowing that to be considered as good behavior,” said Johnson.

Disclosure: Cathleen Johnson is the managing director of public relations firm Percepture Travel, which counts Skift as a client.

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