(no subject)

[pikabot]

You know what I find really annoying? People who insert themselves into arguments and say WHY CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG!? as if the problem was that we had all just been looking for a fight, and not that there are irreconcilable differences at work!

Especially when the argument is over something that is both important and where it isn't just a matter of subjective opinion and in fact is something rather important. Like, say, that the whitewashing of a movie set in an undeniably Asian fantasy world is unacceptable.

It's one thing to ask people to be civil (although even that tends to be pretty fucking condescending), it's another to insist that OH WE SHOULD ALL STAND TOGETHER AND HOLD HANDS AND SING KUM BAH YA, NOT FIGHT YOU SILLY-BILLIES

WE HAVE TO STAND TOGETHER OR ELSE WE'LL DOOM THE FRANCHISE! DOOOOOM IT!!1

Blech.

Comments

[lady-tigerfish.livejournal.com]

The thing is, "stop fighting gaiz" is an argument that works when you and your friend have a pointless squabble about who owes who five bucks from the last time you went out for a chili dog. "Stop fighting gaiz" is a pointless argument in the face of, oh, say, debates about race, representation, and racism. You know, arguments stemming from problems that have tangible effects on the daily lives of others.

And yes, you know what? The Avatar movie is a piece of media--but media reflects and affects the public consciousness. If there are no Asian or Inuit actors (or rather, one South Asian they threw in at the last minute and EXTRAS who are allowed to be Asian) in a big-screen version of a show that had a full cast of Asian and Inuit-derived characters? That's sending a message. Hollywood may not be steepling its fingers and going "how can we disenfranchise PoC today?" but racism is rarely that overt. I for my part am PLEASED to see how many Avatar fans have taken action against this shite; if everyone were shrugging it off and there was no discussion at all? Then I'd be worrying.

So yeah. Agreed on the condescension, and also the severe amount of not getting it.