Thank you!!!!! I love things regardless of what races, genders, sexual orientations, gender identities, etc are present in a given property.
You know what my first thought was when I saw the TFA trailer? Not "OMG PC CULTURE WE HAVE A BLACK STORMTROOPER AND A HISPANIC XWING PILOT AND A WOMAN WHY MUST THIS BE SHOVED DOWN OUR THROATS!" No my first thought was "OMG STAR WARS IS BACK AND POE IS HOT!!!!!! OMG DAISY IS ADORABLE! WHEN CAN I SEE IT...... I CAN'T WAIT THAT LONG THIS SUCKS!!!!!"
I actually don't like seeing LGBTQ characters in media, because they generally screw it up. I'd love it if they'd do some research beforehand, ask some of us, get our experiences, etc before writing a character. It's super hard for a white, cis, straight 50 year old man to write a character who's a 20 year old, bisexual trans woman all on his own, as that isn't how he experiences the world. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate the effort. I'd rather have a seat at the children's end of the table, than not be included at all, it just means we can and should do better.
When I see people scream and carry on negatively over things like two girls kissing on screen, or heaven forbid a trans character even shows up in a bit role... that hurts. A lot. Some of the debates these events spark, hurt. A lot. I'm expected to just sit on the sideline while *insert geek fandom here* debates over the fact that I even exist or deserve rights in the first place? That makes me not feel welcomed at all.
They do it to others too. I was actually appalled at some of the things I saw and heard when Gal Gadot was cast as Wonder Woman. They hated on her Israeli heritage, her body type, her looks, basically anything to complain about not casting someone that didn't fit their vision of the character to a T. All I know is that chick was a bad ass, worked her butt off, and shut a lot of haters up, and I love it. And let's say they cast someone more "athletic" looking, like Ronda Rousey, out come the "Wonder Woman isn't built like a man. She looks pretty muscular compared to most women, are we even sure she's even a 'real' woman?" etc.
Daisy Ridley and Kelly Marie Tran both deleted their social media because fans are butt heads. I agree with the Tweet: Fandoms, as a whole are butt heads. Let's all stop being butt heads.
This ^^^
All of this. Is it possible to love you any more? Point.
it seems that the bigger and more socially acceptable fandom gets, the more people infiltrate fandom and try to tear it down from the inside. Maybe they are just jealous that fandom is now the popular thing and those of us who love are considered "cool" We no longer are viewed of as weird. We no longer have to hide and be ashamed of the things we love.
Look at Taika Wahtiti. To many, he is a strange, eccentric, weird dude. And yet, he is extremely talented director, writer and storyteller. However, if fandom wasn't as popular in the mainstream, his genius would never be allowed to develop of flourish.
As a black man I get really annoyed when (and no offence meant here) white people pipe up and state that something is racist as if they are the authority on what black people find racist or not.
It's great we have Wonder Woman and now Captain Marvel being successes at the box office, as well as Black Panther. If I can relate to Stark, Cap or Thor why can't a white person relate to T'Challa. Yes, there will be certain cultural aspects that will resonate differently, but why should that matter.
Diversity and inclusion used to be what brought fandom together. Most of the lifeline friends I have is because we bonded over a comic, a movie, a tv show, a character. They introduced me to things I had never heard of before and I did the same to them. Like this forum, we all came here for one reason (lightsabers) but stayed because of the community. We don't always agree on everything, and that's fine. We have a conversation and share our respective opinions and accept that differences are part of what made fandom great.
I remember being a kid and having "discussions" as to which Star Wars character was the best. Gender didn't matter. Race didn't matter. Android, wookie, bounty hunter, sith, jedi, smuggler, princess, moisture farmer - it didn't matter. Because the conversation was about a shared experience of a movie/franchise that we loved.
It's no secret that I'm a huge film fan. I don't blindly see the positive in every movie, but I consciously prefer to focus on the positives. Because liking things is more fun than not liking things. I got excited about Captain Marvel because it was another Marvel movie introducing a new character we hadn't seen onscreen before. It didn't matter to me that she was a woman. And I was entertained. Even when time came to reflect on what I'd seen for my review that I looked at the movie in the grand scheme of the MCU. Not once did I need to mention or focus on her gender, because her gender is not what defines the character or her actions (much the same as pretty much every other character in the MCU). However, I acknowledge that there will probably be little girls around the world who will be forever changed by this movie the same way I was changed by the Christopher Reeve Superman when I was 6 yrs old.
Anyway, long may this forum continue to be the fun place where we respect each others opinions, can have an interesting debate even when we differ and can share our love for the things that (should) bring us all together.
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