On Oppression and its Misrepresentation in Fantasy Fiction

Magneto hovering

The character Magneto from X-Men

I’ve been thinking about how magic is often represented in fantasy.

I’ve written previously about how many SFF stories (poorly) represent post-racial societies. My issue with magic is a close cousin to that topic.

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On the Misrepresentation of Post-Racism in SFF Shows

Charles Pike, a character from season 3 of the sci-fi show The 100.

Science fiction and fantasy are my favourite genres of movies and TV series.

This is largely because they are the genres of ideas on what another version of the world could—and in some cases should—look like.

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3 Times Wonder Woman Made Me Wonder “What the Hell?” (pt. 2)

(Continued from Part 1)

Last week, I started writing about the things I disliked about the movie Wonder Woman.

This particular post was a follow-up to one about the things I did like about the movie.

Overall, I did enjoy the movie.  However, no movie is perfect and no form of media exists outside of the societal context in which it’s created.

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3 Times Wonder Woman Made Me Wonder “What the Hell?” (pt. 1)

No movie is perfect; that’s just a given.

Even those that come will have aspects of it that demand closer scrutiny.  Not even great movies are beyond critique.  Meanwhile, critiquing a movie doesn’t have to mean you didn’t still enjoy it.

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3 Reasons Wonder Woman was a Wonderful Movie

I’ve never much liked superheroes.

With the exception of a brief fondness for Superman in my childhood – and this more on account of his being Christopher Reeve rather than “super” – I’ve cared little for any superhero’s exploits.

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Whitewashing vs. Racebending: Yes, There is a Difference

Samuel L. Jackson starring as a racebent Nick Fury

Samuel L. Jackson starring as a racebent Nick Fury

You can count on it.

Whenever a major media outlet posts an article about the problem of whitewashing in mainstream entertainment, there is a certain response that’s guaranteed to appear in the comments thread.

Well it’s no different than casting a person of colour in a role meant for a white person, so if they had a black James Bond, it’d be equally racist and offensive.

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Whitewashing is Still a Problem in Mainstream Media (even if it’s not happening this time)

Benedict Cumberbatch in Star Trek: Into Darkness, playing the role of an important non-white character from the Star Trek universe

Benedict Cumberbatch in Star Trek: Into Darkness, playing the role of an important non-white character from the Star Trek universe

I’ve always had a fondness for stories about female warriors.

Among my favourites is Hua Mulan, the legendary subject of an Ancient Chinese epic poem about a young woman takes her aged father’s place in the military by disguising herself as a boy.

In the 1998 Disney cartoon, Mulan, she is shown exhibit bravery, ingenuity, and honour, and succeeds in helping save China from invaders.

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On Predictability vs. Surprise in Fiction (or, How The Force Awakens forced me to change my position on the matter. Slightly.)

 

Star Wars - The Force Awakens

**No movie spoilers**

A long time ago on a blog that’s now far away from a regular posting schedule, myself and a buddy had a debate about predictability versus surprise in fiction.

Quite unwittingly, this discussion arose on the heels of an entirely different examination of pantsing versus plotting.

(For the record on that account, I like to know where my story is going before I start and to rough out as much of the journey as I’m aware of up front, but I’m in no way wedded to it, nor do I subscribe to the notion that plotting will rob a story of the joy and magic of actually writing it.  But you can read more about all that yourself.)

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Vacation is the Enemy of Creative Progress*

Watching TV on the couch

My time off included a whole lot of this

The week before last, I was on vacation.

“Holiday” as my friends across the pond and Down Under would say.

Or as I like to call it, “staycation”, for it was a vacation where, rather than travelling someplace, I remained in my home town.

(For the record, I make a further distinction between a “vacation”, which to me involves travel, and a “holiday”, which is travel to someplace particularly noteworthy or exotic.  But that’s just me.)

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