Seeing fan discussions about Blue Eye Samurai and especially Mizu's identity is so annoying sometimes. So let me just talk about it real quick.
First off, I have to emphasise that different interpretations of the text are always important when discussing fiction. That's how the whole branch of literary studies came to be, and what literary criticism and analysis is all about: people would each have their own interpretation of what the text is saying, each person applying a different lens or theory through which to approach the text (ie. queer theory, feminist theory, reader response theory, postcolonial theory, etc) when analysing it. And while yes, you can just take everything the authors say as gospel, strictly doing so would leave little room for further analysis and subjective interpretation, and both of these are absolutely necessary when having any meaningful discussion about a piece of media.
With that being said, when discussing Blue Eye Samurai, and Mizu's character in particular, I always see people only ever interpret her through a queer lens. Because when discussing themes of identity, yes, a queer reading can definitely apply, and in Mizu's story, queer themes are definitely present. Mizu has to hide her body and do her best to pass in a cisheteronormative society; she presents as a man 99% of the time and is shown to be more comfortable in men's spaces (sword-fighting) than in female spaces (homemaking). Thus, there's nothing wrong with a queer reading at all. Hell, some queer theorists interpret Jo March from Little Women as transmasc and that's totally valid, because like all analyses, they are subjective and argumentative; you have the choice to agree with an interpretation or you can oppose it and form your own.
To that end, I know many are equally adamant that Mizu is strictly a woman, and that's also also a completely valid reading of the text, and aligns with the canon "Word of God", as the creators' intention was to make her a woman. And certainly, feminist themes in the show are undeniably present and greatly colour the narrative, and Episode 4 & 5 are the clearest demonstrations of this: Mizu's protectiveness of Madame Kaji and her girls, Mizu's trauma after killing Kinuyo, her line to Akemi about how little options women have in life, and the way her husband had scorned her for being more capable than him in battle.
I myself personally fall into the camp of Mizu leaning towards womanhood, so i tend to prefer to use she/her pronouns for her, though I don't think she's strictly a cis woman, so I do still interpret her under the non-binary umbrella. But that's besides my point.
My gripe here, and the thing that spurred me to write this post, is that rarely does this fandom even touch upon the more predominant themes of colonialism and postcolonial identities within the story. So it definitely irks me when people say that the show presenting Mizu being cishet is "boring." While it's completely fine to have your opinion and to want queer rep, a statement like that just feels dismissive of the rest of the representation that the show has to offer. And it's frustrating because I know why this is a prevalent sentiment; because fandom culture is usually very white, so of course a majority of the fandom places greater value on a queer narrative (that aligns only with Western ideas of queerness) over a postcolonial, non-Western narrative.
And that relates to how, I feel, people tend to forget, or perhaps just downplay, that the crux of Mizu's internal conflict and her struggle to survive is due to her being mixed-race.
Because while she can blend in rather seamlessly into male society by binding and dressing in men's clothing and lowering her voice and being the best goddamn swordsman there is, she cannot hide her blue eyes. Even with her glasses, you can still see the colour of her eyes from her side profile, and her glasses are constantly thrown off her face in battle. Her blue eyes are the central point to her marginalisation and Otherness within a hegemonic society. It's why everyone calls her ugly or a monster or a demon or deformed; just because she looks different. She is both white and Japanese but accepted in neither societies. Her deepest hatred of herself stems primarily from this hybridised and alienated identity. It's the whole reason why she's so intent on revenge and started learning the way of the sword in the first place; not to fit in better as a man, but to kill the white men who made her this way. These things are intrinsic to her character and to her arc.
Thus, to refuse to engage with these themes and dismiss the importance of how the representation of her racial Otherness speaks to themes of colonialism and racial oppression just feels tone-deaf to the show's message. Because even if Mizu is a cishet woman in canon, that doesn't make her story any less important, because while you as a white queer person living in the West may feel unrepresented, it is still giving a voice to the stories of people of colour, mixed-race folks, and the myriad of marginalised racial/ethnic/cultural groups in non-Western societies.
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Okay seeing as the live action atla q&a tumblr thing has popped up at the top of my feed this is your friendly reminder that the cast of this show are CHILDREN.
I don’t care what beef you have with the show or any changes being made, none of it is the actors fault and if I see anyone being rude to literal actual kids it is an automatic block.
There is never a reason to harass actors about any show, but especially kids. Like either engage sincerely with it or stfu.
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the level of just... I don't want to be rude, but stupidity that just consumes this whole idea, I don't even know where to fucking start.
like what? what is this? some random person on the internet in the 20th century being a bastard is vastly different than 3 princes of the realm, son's of the heir, from a fantasy show/universe that can't be compared on a timeline, since its y'know, fictional and takes place in a fictional timeline, but most things point it being vaguely 12th century based. its not some fucking gotcha, like yup a lot of people nowadays are born out of wedlock, myself included, that totally nullifies any and all consequences of being a royal bastard at a time when being a bastard was literally a death sentence...
like what else should I say? this is just so nonsensical, I can't even come up with a response.
it's really tiring seeing TB fans strip the context and nuance from literally every scenario ever. like it was never really about them being bastards, it was about them being bastard prince's, that were still being pushed as legitimate heirs to not one, but two thrones, and were an active threats to multiple children (Alicent's children. Baela and Rhaena, cause if they hadn't been betrothed to Jace and Luke, which is a death sentence in its own right, would have to be taken out of the picture to secure the boy's reigns. their own legitimate siblings.), and the fact that its literal treason committed by the heir to the throne, who then did whatever it took to defend her lies, no matter who it hurt... like yes, people were mad that they were the bastard, but it was definitely influenced by all of the context surrounding it.
then there's the comments, which... jesus... these are my favs (warning, they're somehow more nonsensical):
so first off, we have this one, which, the logic is so far out the window I don't even think any amount of logical response can touch it. bastards are, by definition "a child born to parents who are not married to each other" which doesn't describe Alicent's children at all. just because they don't meet your weird, blood purity, eugenics type bullshit standards, doesn't make them bastards, it just makes you dense.
and then there's this one. just because it wasn't shoved down your throat so hard you can't even attempt to refute it, like it was in the show, in the books, doesn't mean it wasn't there, and doesn't mean its not true, your head just permanently takes residence in your ass. they were most definitely bastards in the books, they just showed it instead of told it, unlike the show that told you outright that they were.
I just want one day where TikTok doesn't give me a stroke, cause this damn near put me over the edge.
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