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worstloki · 3 years

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please read the article 'How White Fandom is Colonizing "Character-Coding"' by Shafira Jordan and quit while you're ahead

Okay, so I read it and see the problem, and I’ll try to address all their points in order because I don’t wholly agree with the article. I know it’s a lot to read so I’ve put tldr; sections at the end of each :)

Misusing the Term Reinforces Negative Stereotypes for Marginalized People

The article essentially argues that labeling characters which are villainous as POC-coded is bad because they’re not morally pure and doing so "reinforces the idea that people of color are naturally dangerous and not to be trusted.”

Which is fair as you don’t want all the representation to be of ‘bad’ characters, but I also don’t believe all representative characters have to be ‘good’ either as it would be equally racist to divide good/bad in such a way. Not that I would place Loki under ‘bad’ to begin with, but arguing that characters shouldn’t be labelled as POC-coded for reasons unrelated to what’s presented in the narrative or because they did bad things is :/ even if lack of good representation is a prevalent issue in current Western and influenced media.

Ideally there should be a range of representative characters that fall into ‘good’, ‘bad’, and ‘anywhere in-between’ because variety and complexity in character types should, in theory, be treated as common practice (which can only happen with a multitude of representation!).

And a bit unrelated but... within the fictional context of Thor 1, all the Jotnar (sans Loki) are presented to the audience as ‘bad’ by default. They desperately want to get their Casket back to the point of attempting stealing it (from the ‘good’ characters), they fight the heroes and even when the gang and Thor (’good’ characters) are enjoying or going overboard with taking lives it’s inconsequential, Laufey wants to kill the opposing king (who just happens to be a ��good’ character) and will resort to low-handed methods to do so, etc. The narrative itself is from the frame of reference of the ‘good’ and we only see warriors of Jotunheim though so we understand why it’s like this, because regardless of their race/experiences the narrative carries, even if it most definitely would be seen as racist from our real-life perspectives if the ‘monstrous’ race were presented by actual people of colour, even if it would make sense for the people on on different realms living in different environments to be different from each other, and realistic even for that to be the root of some conflict.

tldr; not using a specific label to prevent negative presentations of the characters seems a bit strange to do when the coding would be based off the text, but with limited representation available I see why it would be done, even if I still believe minority-coding is free game to expand/interpret.

Improperly Labeling a Character as “POC-coded” Suggests the Experiences of All People of Color are the Same

The article argues that labeling Loki as POC-coded “suggests that all people of color have the same experiences, when in reality, people of color come from different places, have different cultures, and have different traditions.” And while it’s true that the term doesn’t go into detail about which particular experiences (and these experiences can vary vastly due to diversity!) the appropriate measure would be to remove the umbrella term POC altogether as people of colour tend to also vary. But that’s also exactly why it’s an all-encompassing general term? It’s a way to denote anyone who isn’t “white” and has the associated cultural privilege that comes with the concept of white supremacy.

And, obviously, in the fictional setting presented, the concept of white supremacy is not prodded at, but cultural supremacy is definitely one that makes recurring appearances, right next to the parts about Asgard being a realm built on imperialism with ongoing colonial practice.

My take on this is that Loki’s narrative features a struggle with identity after finding out he’s of a different race and was being treated differently his entire life and being Jotun was presumably a part of the reasoning even if he didn’t know it. He’s basically treated as of less worth for inherently existing differently. I do believe that racism is a common-enough POC experience, but that while Loki was born with blue skin he passes/appears white which is why I don’t say that Loki is a POC, just that he has been coded/can be interpreted this way.

There’s also the entire thing with Loki trying to fit in and prove he belongs by trying to fit the theory and be The Most Asgardian by committing genocide (which ultimately makes no difference as he’s still not the ‘acceptable’ version of Asgardian), and the denial/rejection of his birth culture in destructively lashing out towards them (which even Thor is confused by because Loki isn’t typically violent), and the fact his self worth plummets and he is passively suicidal upon finding out he’s Jotun (internalized racism? general drop in self-worth after finding out he’s adopted and has been lied to? Bit of both?), but what do I know, I’m sure none of those are, at their base, common experiences or relatable feelings for anyone or decent rep because we see such themes on-screen presented wonderfully in different lights all the time.

tldr; every set of experiences could be different, some types of discrimination could overlap, if you limit an umbrella term to only very specific circumstances then it’s no longer an umbrella term.

Suggesting that White Characters are Meant to be Seen as People of Color Ignores the Actual Characters of Color that are Present in these Stories

I don’t agree with most of this section, but that may just be the way the arguments are put together, which I don’t blame the author for.

“ Implying that Loki is a person of color completely ignores Heimdall and Hogun, the only Black and Asian Asgardians who appear in the movie. ”

Characters such as Hogun and Heimdall which are played by actual people of colour have smaller roles in the films and any prejudice they could face for being POC in-universe isn’t made apparent, while Loki at the very least comes to the realization that something he couldn’t change (race, parentage,) was having him treated differently his whole life and had to come to terms with it. The Vanir/Aesir are also both treated similarly on-screen, and Heimdall having dark skin isn’t plot relevant, whereas Jotnar are treated as lesser consistently and are relevant through the movie (breaking into the vault, Thor and co. attack Jotunheim, Loki’s deal with Laufey, the attempted regicide (and the successful one XD), destroying jotunheim, Loki saying he’s not Thor’s brother,).

I also see including characters as POC-coded as... more representation? In all canon-compliant interpretations of the characters Hogun being Vanir is always explicitly mentioned because it’s a fact that just is, up to the appearance and even the world-building of Vanaheim in some fanworks use particularly East Asian culture as inspiration. I have never come across a Marvel fandom Heimdall interpretation where he’s not Black... but because these characters are more minor/side-characters of course they get less attention!

“ In Loki’s fandom, Heimdall’s name sometimes gets thrown in to suggest that it was he all along who was the real villain due to his “racism” against Loki and the rest of the Jotun. It is, of course, ironic to suggest that somehow the only Black Asgardian to appear in the movie can oppress the privileged white prince. “

I... don’t know where to start with this. But the example of theorizing given in the article wasn’t suggesting Heimdall was bad or trying to explain his actions in Thor 1 by saying he is Black... and just looking at a character’s actions shouldn’t be done less or more critically because of skin tone in my opinion. Heimdall may have been trying to do what was best and protect the realm but if the audience didn’t know that Loki was up to dodgy things then the coding would be switched around because he was trying to spy and committed treason and then tried to kill Loki. People... can hold feelings towards others... regardless of skin... and suspect them... for reasons other than skin... although I do still have questions about whether Heimdall knew Loki was Jotun or not. (Even if I personally don’t think it’d make a difference to how he’d treat Loki?)

Some Loki fans have also suggested that because Jotuns have blue skin that this alone makes him a person of color (even if the audience is only allowed to see Loki in his true Jotun form for mere seconds of screentime). This, again, shows a lack of understanding when it comes to race. It doesn’t matter what skin color the Jotuns have.

Race can differentiate between physical and/or behavioural characteristics!! Not being blue all the time doesn’t make him any less Jotun!! He’s got internalized stuff to work through and is used to being Aesir!! At least 1 parent is Jotun so even if Loki was passing as Aesir he’s probably Jotun!! (I don’t know how magic space genetics work for sure but Loki being Jotun was an entire very important jump-starting point in Thor 1!!). It’s a fantasy text and typically things like having different coloured skin indicates a different race or is sometimes if a species has multiple then is just considered a skin colour. That’s how coding works!! The Jotnar are very specifically the only race we see in the movie with a skin-tone not within the ‘normal’ human range, which alienates them to the audience from the get-go!! They’re an “other” and on the opposite side to the ‘good’ characters.

Both Loki and his birth father, Laufey (Colm Feore), are played by white men, and it is impossible for a white man to successfully play a character of color.

The specification of men here bothers me, but yes, you don’t get ‘white’ people to play characters of colour if it can be avoided. (And it can be avoided.)

This also connects with the previous point made that people of color come from various places. There is nothing specifically about the Jotun that could be traced to any specific person of color, and even if there were, there would be no way for white men to portray them without being disrespectful.

This is where arguments about the definition of coding and how specificity/generalizations and do/don’t come in. I know I’m subjective and lean towards the more rep the better, but while I agree ‘white’ people wouldn’t be able to respectfully play a POC I don’t think that rule should have to carry over into fantasy-based fiction. I know texts reflect on reality and reality can reflect within texts, but if contextually there is racial discrimination and there are similar ideas which resonate with the audience’s own experiences I’d say it’s coded well enough to allow that.

tldr; Thor 1′s narrative revolves mainly around Thor and Loki, of which race is kinda kinda a significant theme in Loki’s part of the story. Not so much explored with less-developed side characters such as Heimdall and Hogun, even though their actors are actual people of colour.

How Much of this is Really Well-Intentioned?

In the fantasy space viking world Heimdall and Hogun don’t face any on-screen prejudice and their appearance is not mentioned (which is nice, for sure! good to have casual rep!) but adding on to the roles they play in the narrative the explicit fantasy-racism in the movie isn't aimed at Asian/Black characters, but towards the Humans -to a lesser extent- and the Jotnar, including Loki, who only just found out he comes under that bracket.

The article mentions how fandom space toxicity often “reaches the actors who portray the characters,“ which is true, and it’s shameful that people have to justify their roles or presences are harassed for the pettiest things like skin tone/cultural background, but I don’t see coding characters as removing the spotlight from interesting characters such as those which are actually POC, rather expressing a demand for more rep, since well-written complex characters which are diverse are often absent/minor enough in the media, and therefore can get easily brushed aside in both canon and fandom spaces.

tldr; It’s obviously not a replacement for actual representation, but, if a character is marginalized and can be interpreted as coded, even if they would only be considered so within the context of the textual landscape, I don’t see why spreading awareness through exploring the coding as a possibility for the character shouldn’t be done, even if the media is being presented by people who are ‘white’ or privileged or may not fall into the categories themselves, as long as it’s done respectfully to those it could explicitly represent.

#please don’t patronize me by asking to quit while i’m ahead #it doesn't help anyone #so anyway i've summarized my opinion on the coding thing here for the many anons whose answers could be answered in this ask alone #i think i covered everything?#the article started out okay but I found it kinda :/ in places even though there were valid concerns #I do believe that in-universe context and creators of the media should be taken into account #and that if marginalized themes can be touched on by non-marginalized groups then... great? fictional texts can help people understand #i do also think that rep being presented should if not on-screen have people working on the product to support and ensure it's done well #the world is cold and harsh and cruel and i just wanted a desi Loki AU but here we are #I've got to try and summarize how I think Thor 1 presents Loki's part of the narrative well with POC-coding there because of fantasy-racism #even if the POC-coding is ignored the themes of racism are far too apparent to ignore #loki spends the entire film being a multi-dimensional character and having an entire downfall fueled by grief and a desire to be loved #I don't think attaching a label to such a character would be a negative thing... but perhaps for casual watchers it'd be a bit :/#apparently not everyone takes into account the 1000+ years of good behavior around that 1 year of betrayal/breakdown/identity crisis/torture #MetaAnalysisForTheWin #MAFTW #ThisPostIsLongerThanMyLifeSpan #TPILTMLS #AgreeToDisagreeOrNot #ATDON #poc-coding #yes i ignored everything not about loki in the article what about it #hmmm I know people are going to disagree with me with what should and shouldn't be allowed #I know some people are okay with it but some don't like the poc-coding thing #and that's fine #completely understandable #makes me uncomfy to talk about fictional space racism in comparison to real life but I do think that lack of rep is why coding is important #for some people coding is all that they get #but also!! @ifihadmypickofwishes suggested the term racial allegory and I do believe that is also suitable here!! so I’ll try using that too #rather than poc-coding even though I still believe it applies

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strangertheory · 3 years

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I'd love for Will to be able to have the power of reality alteration because him being the most powerful one would be a very nice plot twist. But. Do you really believe they make him more powerful than El? I keep finding crazy comments on social media, suggesting it's the "El show" 😪 *sigh*. And I know some people who say it'd be anti feminist since Will is a boy. Thx

That’s a lot of interesting questions to think about.

I’ll attempt to address each thought that you’ve shared one at a time and provide you with my own opinions and theories about each:

You said: “I'd love for Will to be able to have the power of reality alteration because him being the most powerful one would be a very nice plot twist. But. Do you really believe they would make him more powerful than El?”

I have a lot of conflicted feelings about the way that the fandom often talks about characters’ powers and supernatural abilities in Stranger Things. (I also really dislike the way that the fandom has decided that they can’t appreciate and support both El and Will’s happiness and that their happy endings and successes are somehow mutually exclusive, but I’ll address the topic of their powers first.)

Fans often focus on the abilities and superpowers of characters as something desirable and cool but fans rarely spend time considering what it cost those characters to develop their abilities in the first place. Neither El nor Will suddenly woke up one day and had superpowers that they had conscious control over.

Certain impressive skills that people have in the real world might also be developed under extremely traumatic and undesirable circumstances and not because they wanted them: the powers represented so far in Stranger Things are very much like that variety of skillset.

El’s powers and her ability to control them are canonically shown to have manifested during her imprisonment, abuse, isolation, and manipulation at the Lab. As Kali says “They stole your life, Jane!” Due to El’s isolation from society and from love and affection and from having a family and from everything else in the world beyond the Lab she has a significant amount of early childhood social and psychological development that was stolen from her that she can never truly get back. A healthy, loving, safe environment for development and self-actualization that children deserve to have was not provided to El and she has suffered so much and she has had significant delays in her opportunity to grow and become her own person because of what was done to her. So yes, El has psychic powers that give her a variety of unique abilities that are very useful. But at what cost? If El were given the choice to abandon all of her powers in exchange for a loving family, a community of friends that she’d had the opportunity to know and spend time with since early childhood, a variety of passions and hobbies that she chose for herself over the years as she was growing up and engaging with the world, an extensive understanding of the world outside of the Lab based on her own exploration of the world and not only what people tell her or what she sees on television, and most importantly a sense that she is treated kindly because people truly love her and not because they want to exploit her and her powers for their own purposes: wouldn’t she make that trade?

Do I currently agree with the theory that Will’s subconscious mind created the Upside Down, the Mindflayer, the demogorgon, and even most probably created many other characters and fantastical plotlines that exist in the story? Yes. But I believe it has (so far) been unintentional, entirely subconscious, and is a mental coping mechanism in response to extremely traumatic circumstances that Will has faced throughout his life. Would Will’s subconscious mind creating significant parts of the Stranger Things universe represent a certain level of “power” that is greater than El’s? I don’t personally think they’re comparable. There are things that Will can probably do that El cannot, and vice versa. They will surely each have their own strengths and weaknesses and their own limitations that we may or may not always be shown in the series.

But what does "more powerful” really mean to us, and why does that question even matter? It was not El’s choice to have powers and it was not Will’s choice to have powers. Much of what I believe Will has incidentally created is creating a lot of confusion and suffering for him and for others that he cares about. If the story were about real people I’d be offended at the question of who’s more powerful and feel as though that question and debate is the sort that Dr. Brenner and his colleagues would have: “How useful is this child to me? Which child is more powerful?” I dislike the question because it feels like asking a parent which child is their favorite. I care about them both, and I don’t care about them because they happen to have superpowers: I care about them because they are nuanced characters that are very well-written and that I can empathize with as if they were real people. I respect why it’s a popular thing for fans to debate over which X-Men is the most powerful, for example, but that’s never been what draws me into scifi and fantasy stories. What characters choose to do under unusual circumstances and with unique resources (such as superpowers) is far more important to me than the nature and intensity of the powers themselves. I believe that the Stranger Things fandom does these beautifully written characters a disservice by focusing too heavily on their abilities and not enough on their feelings, choices, relationships, dreams, goals, and experiences that humanize them.

I love Stranger Things because of the humanity of each of the characters and not because some of them can throw cars through walls.

You said: “I keep finding crazy comments on social media, suggesting it's the "El show"”

El is definitely an important character in the story at this point in the show and she has some really fascinating abilities in the Stranger Things universe that often give her iconic moments and provide her an opportunity to be in the spotlight.

I believe that there is a reason that the writers have decided to develop many characters in the story and in my opinion it can seem hard to pin-point a “main” character at times. I think this is absolutely intentional on the part of the writers, and I predict that we will learn how Will’s, Hopper’s, and El’s storylines intersect in season 4. I think we will learn something new about each of the characters.

I do not personally believe that it is the “El show” any more than it could be argued that this is the “Steve show” or the “Hopper show.” But I do appreciate that fans have grown to love El’s character.

I strongly disagree with anyone in the fandom that insists that Will is not important. I can tell that the way that he was quieter in season 3 inspired some fans to dismiss his role in the series entirely, but I think they’re mistaken. Quiet and less assertive doesn’t mean irrelevant in a story like this one. I believe that much of what Will has been through is at the heart of the entire series, and I think that he will play a very critical role in future seasons. If some fans passionately dislike Will then they might need to steel themselves for some severe disappointment.

You said: “And I know some people who say it'd be anti feminist [for Will to be more powerful than El] since Will is a boy."

I would argue that El embodies many traits that are often presumed to be stereotypically masculine by certain incorrect and outdated schools of thought: assertiveness, the ability to win in combat, determination, resilience, and bravery (among others.) There were eras in which these traits were not always valued and respected in women, and arguably there are still many circumstances under which they still aren’t. El is a complex character who is not written as a gender stereotype and I think that is powerful and important.

We need more characters of many different genders that are written as people. Complex, multi-faceted, and capable of many different things regardless of their gender.

Yes. Will is a boy.

Will is a young boy who has been bullied for having certain traits that are very often stereotypically seen by society as feminine. As being “womanly.”

I believe that feminism needs to be intersectional and seek to address the ways that all people and all genders are harmed by a society that devalues women and devalues traits, work, and skillsets that are associated with femininity.

Feminism should not be reduced and oversimplified to “girl power.” Anyone that reduces feminism to that does not, in my opinion, understand feminism.

“Feminism is the belief in the social, economic, and political equality of the sexes.”

Devaluing admirable traits when someone of one gender expresses them but then deciding to value those exact same traits when they are expressed by a person of a different gender is prejudiced and anti-feminist because it maintains the false idea that certain traits only have value in people if they are a specific gender.

El is a wonderful, empowering character and I appreciate that she is very well written and admired by many fans. But I worry when certain fans are more willing to appreciate a kick-ass fictional young woman that defies outdated and incorrect gender stereotypes but are not also willing to embrace gentler, more sensitive, less stereotypically masculine young men like Will with similar enthusiasm and affection.

Will is bullied and devalued by his small-town community for having traits and interests that are perceived as feminine and therefore, according to closeminded bigots like his dad, not allowed and are deserving of abuse and bullying. Will is arguably also devalued and dismissed by the Stranger Things fandom because he has traits that are perceived as feminine and undesirable in a young teen guy in the eyes of certain fans, too.

The devaluing and dismissal of gentle, kind, emotional young men is a feminist issue.

A character doesn’t have to be a girl in order to represent feminist ideals within a story. I know that there are probably plenty of feminists that will disagree with me (because there will always be people with their own opinions) but I strongly believe that Will's story is feminist as it has been explored so far (just as El's is.)

Anyone in the fandom that considers themselves a “Feminist” but that spends significant amounts of time criticizing Will Byers by dismissing him as “boring” and criticizing him for being quiet, sensitive, gentle, and emotional should take a good look in the mirror and reflect on what their personal brand of feminism stands for and whether their goal truly is “the equality of the sexes” or if their goal is simply hating men and only valuing and promoting stereotypically masculine traits in our society.

Feminism’s goal is not to make women more powerful than men or to make men less powerful than women, it is about the promotion of the “equality of the sexes.”

Stereotypes are constructs our society has built and that impact the way we all currently relate to each other. Until society stops treating traits associated with society's currently constructed idea of femininity as something weak or bad then it is important to appreciate these traits in characters of many different genders and to value these traits in men (both in real life and in fictional stories) too. Anyone of any gender can be sensitive and sensitivity should not be seen as a weakness but rather as a strength and as something that's a valuable aspect of our humanity, and the same can be said for many other beautiful traits that society has wrongly decided to put into boxes and assign gender stereotypes to.

This complicated topic is incredibly important to me as a fan of both El and Will. I believe that both El and Will are feminist characters and that the series is very empowering and is challenging society’s gender biases through both of their stories. I hope that my response to your question was successful in communicating how I feel and resonates with you and with perhaps other fans who also care about El and Will and feel their own experiences, feelings, and identities validated by their story arcs.

Will some fans still whine and cry “sexism” and attempt to brand Stranger Things as “anti-feminist” if their hope that El will be the solo main character of the story and not have to share the spotlight with a boy is dashed? Sure. But I think they’re wrong, that their concept of feminism and sexism is incorrect, and that their priorities and their understanding of El’s value as a character is unfortunate. El is more than her superpowers. El doesn’t need to be “the strongest” or “the most powerful” in order to be an inspiring, complex, well-written, relatable, and empowering character.

Thank you for your Ask! I hope you don’t mind how long this response is. You mentioned a few things that I have some very complicated opinions about.

#will byers #el hopper #stranger things #stranger things analysis #stranger things theories #will byers is a feminist character #el hopper is a feminist character #feminism is for everyone

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myopinionhi · 4 years

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Solangelo as LGBTQ Rep and Possible Issues

I do not represent the LGBT community because I’m sure a variety of LGBT fans would have various reactions to Solangelo. As a shy, bisexual person myself, I’ll speak only for myself.

I’ve noticed some people praising Solangelo for being positive LGBTQ rep and then others thinking it doesn’t deserve the praise. I can see both sides.

I think Solangelo overall is positive LGBTQ representation. It’s not perfect. I’m glad Rick made Nico gay. However, Solangelo has one huge problem. It actually kind of suffers from a sort of harmful gay trope. The trope isn’t nearly harmful enough to take away Solangelo’s positive representation, but it’s there. I’ll elaborate more on it at the end of this essay.

Here are things I’m mostly not bothered with that others are regarding Nico and Will’s LGBT rep.

1. Nico being outed by cupid. The infamous Cupid scene made me uncomfortable, and seeing Nico forced out of the closet hit too close to home. I could relate to a young teen struggling to accept the truth about himself. Some LGBTQ characters in media appear in an amazing LGBTQ utopia that pretends LGBTQ individuals don’t have issues with self-acceptance. Heroes of Olympus doesn’t sugarcoat Nico’s issues, because the struggle can be real for some LGBTQ individuals. Yes, Nico was forced out the closet. But he was mainly forced out of the closet to himself. It was supposed to be some sort of emotional release and self-awakening. If he stays in denial, more harm than good will come out of it. What Cupid did was cruel and was supposed to be cruel. I’d have an issue with the scene if Nico was forced out of the closet in front of a group of people, but since he was only forced out in front of Jason and then Jason respectfully keeps Nico’s secret and supports him, I actually don’t have an issue with it.

2. Nico and Will constantly argue. Nico and Will argue since Blood of Olympus. Will is aggressive with Nico. I’ve mentioned this before in a previous essay; Will has to be aggressive because Nico is on the verge of death. Nico is about to disappear into the shadows and hasn’t properly taken care of himself in a long time. After not seeing Nico in months, Will must have been devastated seeing the state of Nico’s health and seeing Nico being so stubborn and anti-social about it. Will’s anger is justified, and Nico needs that push to start being healthy after so long. Nico’s anti-social and self-depreciation also probably frustrated Will. Nico thought no one wanted to be his friend and is going to leave Camp, so Will has to be assertive to convince Nico he is wanted.

Nico and Will’ s bickering in Lost Oracle is more affectionate bickering. They have very different personalities, so they’re going to disagree and let it be known. They have more harmless and playful disagreements. It’s actually more cute, if anything.

The only real issue I have with their arguments is in Blood of Olympus when Will snaps at Nico by claiming “Nobody at Camp Half-Blood ever pushed you away.” and “You pushed yourself away. If you’d get your head out of that brooding cloud of yours for once...” The harmful implication of this statement is the dismissal of Nico’s real experiences of rejection and that if he’d just stop brooding he’d be happy. The implications are....unfortunate. Don’t get me wrong. Will likely lost his patience with Nico’s stubbornness after hearing Nico say he’s leaving Camp, likely never coming back. I understand Will’s devastation, especially since he wants to be Nico’s friend and knows others who do too.

The statement isn’t problematic because Will simply said it. It’s a human to say hurtful things. Will is an exhausted teen who’s on the verge of losing Nico. The real problem is the book doesn’t acknowledge Will’s statement as harmful. Will doesn’t apologize or acknowledge how he was wrong. Will says it and then Nico suddenly agrees to stay at Camp, implying Nico’s isolation was brought completely on himself. Hypothetically, if Will acknowledges his mistakes later, like in Tower of Nero, then this unfortunate line is more forgivable.

3. Nico has barely accepted himself. He’s not ready for a boyfriend. I’d accept this argument if Will and Nico started dating at the end of Blood of Olympus. Fortunately, they don’t. Nico doesn’t even acknowledge having feelings for Will to himself. It’s only implied. I find the many fanfictions having Will and Nico dating after Nico stays at the infirmary for three days unrealistic and rushed. But not this. Will and Nico aren’t a confirmed couple until Hidden Oracle, which happens months after Blood of Olympus. If Nico gets emotional healing and bonds with Will for months, it’s not unreasonable for them to be dating. Even their official relationship in Hidden Oracle seems pretty casual and low stress.

4. Will has Nico on a short leash. No Will doesn’t. After Blood of Olympus, when Will tries to save Nico’s life, Will isn’t controlling. He may tell Nico to be nicer or would bicker, but nothing too overbearing. Will teases Nico for not calling him his boyfriend and doesn’t get angry when Nico shadow-travels in Hidden Oracle. Nico seems to want to be around Will on his own accord. He enjoys being around Will, hence the doctor’s note.

5. Will “fixed” Nico and/or Nico became too dependent on Will. No, the reason Nico is happier in Hidden Oracle is because he has learned to accept himself and he has family and friends supporting him. Some of the most important loved ones for Nico include Hazel, Reyna, Jason, and the rest of the Seven. Blood of Olympus gives more focus and development to Reyna and Nico’s relationship than Nico and Will’s relationship. Will is the straw that broke the camels back, but it’s the accumulation of impactful events and support that gets Nico to happiness. Will helped, especially with Nico’s physical health. When Nico decides to stay at Camp Half-Blood, it’s likely he sees his home in Camp Half-Blood than Camp Jupiter. Bianca trusted Camp Half-Blood to take care of Nico. Nico and Will’s relationship did grow after Blood of Olympus, and Will’s support helps Nico, but there’s no indication of Will be Nico’s “fixer”. He’s just Nico’s friend and boyfriend.

Here’s an interesting argument I’ve been pondering.

Will can’t be both Nico’s doctor and his boyfriend. This argument interests me because if Will had a crush on Nico during Blood of Olympus, he maybe shouldn’t treat Nico as a patient. I’ve seen too many creepy fanfictions of Will using his authority as Nico’s doctor to get closer to Nico. However, Will likely is also the one who knows what’s best for Nico’s health. He’s a better healer even than Apollo. He may also be the only one who knows how save Nico from fading into the shadows in Blood of Olympus since Nico’s powers are unusual. Will’s emotional investment in Nico interferes with objectivity. Then again, Will may be emotionally invested with many people in Camp-Halfblood as well, and Will is the one with the best healing. Will’s doctor’s note for Nico to sit at the Apollo table does touch upon Will’s professional conflict of interest with Nico. It’s possible Will can keep it completely professional as Nico’s doctor since he’s a natural-born healer, but it’s relying on the good-faith of a teenager.

It seems unfair to deprive Nico of the best medical care because Will is his boyfriend. Especially during the winter, it’s possible Kayla’s and Austin’s healing abilities are very inferior to Will’s. At the same time though, there’s conflicts of interest when Will has Nico as his patient.

Here’s one issue I have in regards to Nico’s crush on Percy.

We don’t know how Nico gets over his crush on Percy. We’re never shown Nico’s POV until Blood of Olympus, so it’s very possible Nico goes through some self-realization after the Cupid scene. I find Nico’s dropped crush on Percy disappointing. I would have liked to see Nico admit there’s still some lingering, painful feelings towards Percy for a little while during Blood of Olympus. It would have been interesting seeing Nico accept the heartbreak and move on. Percy was Nico’s first love and someone who Nico invested in for years. House of Hades seems to imply there is still some lingering feelings, but then it’s dropped in Blood of Olympus, and Nico says to Percy “you’re not my type.” It’s lazy writing. It’s like Rick made Nico gay for Percy for that gay angst but then didn’t feel like following through. Nico’s crush on Percy affected Nico for years. How is it dropped within two books?!

The main issue I have with Solangelo

Their romance and relationship is hidden. Okay, if Will didn’t call Nico his boyfriend and Apollo didn’t gush over their relationship in Hidden Oracle, we wouldn’t know they’re in a romantic relationship. All their actions are completely platonic. I get that Nico’s probably not into PDA. I get romantic pet names may be too embarrassing for Nico. I get they may not want to flaunt their relationship. I get they may not want to hold hands. I get they’d want to keep their relationship private. I get they’re young. I get Nico doesn’t like being touched. I get Trials of Apollo is only from Apollo’s POV. That’s not the issue.

What actions do they have that imply they’re boyfriends instead of friends? The most affectionate they’ve gotten is Nico resting his hand on Will’s shoulder, Will casually leaning on Nico before the three-legged race, or Nico grabbing Will’s hand once to shadow-travel to the chariot. There’s not really any tiny romantic actions. There’s no clear romantic flirting, loving gazes, hand squeezes, hugs, legs touching, footsies, kisses on the head, or hugs. Only a couple of these small romantic actions are all that’s necessary. Nico and Will don’t have to go as far as kissing and cuddling. The relationship gets brownie points for using the label "boyfriend”, but then homophobes don’t have to be squeamish about two guys getting even a tiny bit of romantic affection. It’s too easy to censor the explicit gayness of their relationship because there’s not much to possibly censor.

Their absent romantic affection is only half of it though. Another major problem is Solangelo is only in two books. Even when they’re in those two books, their relationship doesn’t get a lot of scenes. In Blood of Olympus, Will and Nico work together and bicker during the battle against Gaia. It’s heartwarming, but they don’t even meet up until more than halfway into the book. In Hidden Oracle, Nico and Will are only in a handful of scenes, and many of these moments are brief. When Will and Nico are shown, they have chemistry. They clearly care and support each other. But this groundbreaking relationship of theirs doesn’t have much. Will is the son of Apollo, and, not including Tower of Nero for now, only appears in Hidden Oracle during Trials of Apollo. Why does Will Solace only appear in 1 (2 including Tower of Nero) books in Trials of Apollo even though his dad is the main character? We don’t know. He could be strong LGBTQ rep with a boyfriend, but....nope.

The same-sex ships get tiny crumbs, and then you’ve got all these straight ships shown and developed in more than two or three books. I’m worried Solangelo is falling under the “But Not Too Gay” trope, where an author wants a gay couple for representation credit, but then won’t give them the same appreciation as straight couples.

Don’t get me wrong. I’d much rather have Nico be gay, and I’d much rather have Solangelo be a couple. I think their relationship is wholesome, and what’s shown of them has positive representation. I don’t find Nico’s LGBTQ representation too problematic. It’s just sort of....missing something important that could make it really positive. For what it’s worth, I appreciate the Solangelo crumbs, and it meant a lot to me growing up.

#solangelo #nico di angelo #will solace #rick riordan #riordan universe #percy jackson #pjo #blood of olympus #spoilers #trials of apollo #house of hades #lgbt #lgbtq #long post #lgbtq rep #representation #meta #anaylsis

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Celebrating Black Voices in Anime with Funimation

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This virtual panel is presented in partnership with Funimation.

The anime industry only continues to grow larger and more mainstream with each passing year. It’s remarkable to see the growth, whether it’s through the wider prevalence and variety of dubbed content or the number of anime-based streaming services. Anime has alway been on the fringe of pop culture’s interests, but part of what makes it such an exciting form of art is that it doesn’t just entertain audiences in unpredictable ways, but it often excels with its inclusion of underrepresented groups. This has helped anime become such a universal product that doesn’t just speak to everyone, but specifically highlights those that may get overlooked elsewhere.

Dani Chambers (The Ancient Magus Bride, Ace Attorney, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising) and Lee George (Appare-Ranman!, Listeners, Smile Down the Runway) are two talented voice actors from Funimation who have taken some time to discuss and spotlight Blackrepresentation in the anime industry, the connection that they’ve had with anime throughout their lives, and the power that anime has to empower certain communities.

You can watch the full panel below or read on for the Q&A transcript!

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DEN OF GEEK: Lee, Dani, thank you both for your time today to talk about this and to begin with, did you have any kind of relationship with anime before working in it? Were you two fans before you were a part of the industry?

DANI CHAMBERS: Yeah, I grew up on anime, like Sailor Moon, Tenchi Muyo!, you know, all kinds of anime that I feel like everybody was into, but I just loved it. It was always a part of me and growing up, I loved doing theater and acting. So it was like one day I knew that I wanted to do that, but I never knew what it was. Iit’s always been a part of my life and it’s amazing that I can be a part of it like this now.

LEE GEORGE: And likewise, you could always find me on the playground, charging up a Kamehameha hot blast, or trying to instant transmit somewhere. And it was definitely a big part of my social circle growing up, which was nice to find that kind of camaraderie.

Those are definitely the shows that I gravitated to as well when I was growing up. And what do you think the initial allure was about those programs? Was it fulfilling something that wasn’t getting satisfied in other kinds of shows?

DANI CHAMBERS: I think that’s possible, yeah. When I first watched Sailor Moon, for example, I was like, “Dude, they’re cute anime girls who can kick butt with hearts and rainbows and stuff. What?” Growing up it was always seen that that kind of stuff was too girly, but it’s like now they were kicking butt with it. They destroy these weird, scary looking aliens, but with the power of love and friendship. So that was very cool to me and it helped me appreciate friendship–well I always appreciate friendship–but it made me appreciate camaraderie a bit more with my friends that I shared this with. I loved it and it allowed me to just be comfortable in it without having to be feared or judged by other people about it.

LEE GEORGE: Yeah, I think there was, too. There’s a rawness to anime that you don’t find in more traditional cartoons. Characters feel so strongly about something that they’ll explode, or power up, or release tension in some kind of emotionally powerful way. The depth of a lot of what you see in anime is very mirrored in real life, even though it’s a little extreme. So I think that was really cool to have at your fingertips as a young adult.

Absolutely. It’s such an exaggerated form of media, regardless of whether it’s the action, or the comedy, or the friendship. And there is a real sense of unity, not even in the programs themselves, but like the fandom around them. Fandom itself, I think has grown into a very huge thing. But in anime, in particular, there’s a very intense kind of fandom. Have you had much experience with anime fandom, whether it’s been at conventions or on social media?

LEE GEORGE: I’ve never done a convention before. I mean, I’ve gotten to do Funimation’s virtual con that they did in the middle of last year, which was incredible, but I’ve never been to an in-person convention. However, I think a cool thing that’s come out of doing voice acting is I’ve gotten a lot of messages on Instagram and Twitter from young aspiring voice actors and young anime fans, whether they be Black or what have you, just appreciating the art form, which is really cool. And it’s something I’m still not used to, but it’s incredible to see and experience.

DANI CHAMBERS: So I’ve done like two conventions at most, but I’ve had one person come up to me, which really resonated with me. They loved my performance of a character and they didn’t say that it necessarily changed their life, but it kind of like helped evaluate the situation that they were going through at the time. That’s what I want to do. I want to help. Like Lee, I’ve also had messages sent to me from, you know, other POC aspiring voice actors who want to do this. And they’re like, “Thank you for helping and inspiring me to go do this.” And that’s why I wanted to be doing this. Just to see others go after their dreams and actually do the thing that they said they wanted to do is so heartwarming. So seeing that in the community just fills my heart up with so much joy and I’m glad it’s happening.

That’s amazing. I think it’s so important when children see themselves represented in something and it must be so validating to be a part of that and to give those kids that experience, especially when you’ve gone through that same thing yourselves.

LEE GEORGE: Absolutely. Recently I was talking to a friend about this and how there’s a difference between wishing for something and hoping for something. So when you don’t see yourself in the things that you enjoy and doing them later in life, it feels more like a wish than a hope. You hope for attainable things, but you wish for, you know, the ability to fly or to do a Kamehameha one day. So being a part of that transformation of turning voice acting as a wish into a hope just brings a smile to my face all the time.

I think anime has the ability to tell some very creative stories that couldn’t be done anywhere else, but it also examines such a wide spectrum of characters that aren’t necessarily human, or can even feel beyond race at times. Has that made a difference at all when it comes to representation and casting or the variety of characters that you’re able to play in anime versus other mediums?

LEE GEORGE: Yes, that’s definitely true that anime is full of the wildest creations. I don’t know that I’ve played many non-human characters, but we’re talking about a medium where they don’t necessarily have our same racial context that we kind of place on ourselves and the world around us. So being able to voice a character who is fair-skinned, but has naturally blue hair and can summon a soul sword feels as different as voicing a dragon creature. It’s easier to detach my self-identity as a Black man to who this character is even though I’m the one voicing it.

DANI CHAMBERS: Lee pretty much took the words right out of my mouth. I come from a theater background where you kind of have to fit the mold of what the play calls for. So jumping from where my options are limited to a medium where I can pretty much be anything was a huge realization. I can be a depressed anime girl with red hair and magic powers. That’s amazing. It was truly like a shock jumping into this industry, but it made me aware that I shouldn’t have to be limited in this industry. It was just a very important wake up call for me.

It’s interesting to see how anime has also gained such a presence in the rap and hip hop community. Why do you think there’s been that response or that synergy between those particular markets?

LEE GEORGE: It’s easy to reduce an anime plot into something that mirrors the Black experience. My Hero Academia for example, is about an unpowered youth in a world, surrounded by people with powers and privileges. Midoriya’s perception in that world is that he wishes for the opportunity and finally gets the chance to show that he deserves that same respect and ability. And that he can do great things with that kind of power. So I think that since rap is all about expression and breaking through molds that we or the world put ourselves into. They kind of go hand-in-hand, in a way.

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DANI CHAMBERS: Yeah, I definitely agree with that. It breaks the mold of what people expect us to be in. Everybody has their own box of what they think people should be looking like or sounding like. Anime kind of broke that and just went in a way where it doesn’t have to follow what the world deems and it can be whatever it wants. Being in this culture kind of opened their eyes and realized that, “Oh my God, these stories are like ours!” And they are stories that can help us change, not only ourselves, but our communities around us. And I think that helps inspire other people to make change, too.

The people who are influenced by it in that culture and have influence over their communities can help spread that same message of what the anime was saying. It helps people to change their behaviors and negative mindsets, which is helpful to all cultures and communities. When there are influential people who take up a stand like that and explain why they think that it’s cool then it can read to really positive change.

There have also been changes going on in the voice acting industry over the past year to kind of show effort towards better representation being reflected. There was the recasting of roles in Big Mouth and Central Park. Do you think actions like that are helping move the industry in a more positive direction and getting things in what’s perhaps a better place?

DANI CHAMBERS: For me, with people stepping down from those roles, I personally don’t think they really needed to do that. I think that what we’re trying to get at is the opportunity to audition and to be a part of it, not just a pity cast because we need this person. We don’t want to get cast just because we’re the only POC people available for this role. We want every opportunity to audition for whatever role there is. Not just because we fit this mold of what they want. Obviously there’s a difference with things like historical pieces that require it. But when it comes to anything that’s fantasy it should go beyond being limited to play just the minority characters. We should have access to everything just like how everybody else does. So it’s a matter of opportunity rather than requirement, if that makes sense.

LEE GEORGE: I 100% agree with that. However, to also play devil’s advocate because I think it’s worth it with this discussion, I also come from a theater background and as an actor you’re expected to play outside of yourself. That’s a main argument for why I shouldn’t have to be confined to my own racial identity when it comes to acting in any form or medium. I think in certain arenas, as they are right now, the majority have a large claim on a lot of opportunities as Dani was pointing out, and opportunities are a thing that we want.

If the argument is that you should be able to act outside of yourself so that you can play these roles that are written as people of color, then what’s happening is that there’s a disregard that a marginalized group is saying that we’re having a hard time even playing ourselves in these roles. Some people are worried about expanding beyond their range and we’re just trying to get the representation that’s written for us in certain media. So, absolutely, it’s all about opportunity and we have to reach a point where there is enough intake of people of color roles so it even moves beyond opportunity and it’s not about racial casting or stereotyping when it comes to those roles.

Dani, I suppose the inverse of that can be seen with how you voice Ironheart in Marvel Avenger Academy. It must be exciting to see these new versions of these iconic characters happening now that would have seemed impossible not that long ago.

DANI CHAMBERS: Yeah, it’s really cool. When I got that audition I was excited, but then when I booked it I just freaked out. It’s an incredible opportunity for something like that where it’s a Black superhero who is also female. You want to cast somebody–a Black female–for that role because of representation, but to have the opportunity to do that was amazing. It was just a few lines for a mobile game, but it’s still had a huge impact on me. A lot of people have been like, “Oh my God, I loved your Ironheart in Marvel Avenger Academy. You inspired me. I wanted to go voice anything too.” That’s so important to help people realize that they can voice anybody that they want. It was really a dream come true.

Amazing. Both of you have played very diverse characters that have gone all over the spectrum. But are there any kinds of roles that you haven’t gotten to tackle yet that you’d like to be able to explore at some point?

LEE GEORGE: I’d love to play someone that’s just really eccentric and out there. I have the tonal variety of a robot, so it’s often sullen characters and maybe emotionally unavailable individuals, which I totally understand. But I’d love a chance to just really get weird. I don’t know why. The actor in me is like, “Oh that’d be fun. That’d be really cool.”

DANI CHAMBERS: I think for me it’s kind of the opposite. I play a lot of eccentric characters, like little girls or the childhood best friend who’s just always happy. Like my first role was a very monotone, very depressed character. So that was fun, but I think I’d want to try maybe like a hero or somebody who is very committed to their mission. A very mission-centered person who wants to accomplish whatever they need to, but then gets betrayed in the end and just kind of Hulks out. I’d love to do that.

With all of this talk on representation, are there any anime series that have made you feel especially seen or a program that excels in that area?

DANI CHAMBERS: Well I’m not in it, but Lee is. Appare-Ranman! Is a good one. It has a whole cast of fun characters with different accents and there’s a lot of diversity, even with the voice actors. It’s so good and it’s just a lot of fun to watch. It’s a big race and you just get to enjoy the characters. They all have culture-specific problems and it’s so interesting how everything collides together, yet they can still work together through the chaos.

LEE GEORGE: That’s too sweet. Well I’ll also say to look out for Horimiya, which is new and looks incredible. The cast is just all heavy hitters and very diverse. I’ve been told that it’s a hidden rom-com in the making. So if that’s your cup of tea then definitely check out Horimiya.

Great picks, and Dani, what you said about Appare-Ranman! and its dubbing is so true. Other series like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure will also experiment with regional dialects in dubs and I think it allows the dubs to get even better than the original version in some cases. It’s fun to see that come together.

DANI CHAMBERS: It’s great. Actually, Appare-Ranman! and Horimiya are both directed by Caitlin Glass and she cares a lot about casting diversity and making sure that everyone gets an opportunity. She’s a phenomenal director and it’s great that she’s a big part of this. I’m grateful to her so much.

LEE GEORGE: Likewise.

The post Celebrating Black Voices in Anime with Funimation appeared first on Den of Geek.

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architectuul · 3 years

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Zoo Story: The Future

Have an online walk through the past, present and future of the Lisbon Zoological Garden with the Gulbenkian Foundation, which was online before the online event started.

Map of the original edition “Guia do Turista em Lisboa” (1929) [property of Manuel dos Santos and Ascenção Araujo, Lisbon] modified by the curators with the satellite image of Lisbon (2020).

The project for the Future Architecture Platform 2020 will take you to the Lisbon’s Zoological Garden designed by Raul Lino asking questions like what role is the Zoo expected to fulfill in the contemporary city and what will it be in the future? For more check up online virtual exhibition “Staged Nature: Zoo of zoos” curated by Enrico Porfido and Claudia Sani from País(vi)agem with Arian Lehner and Theresa Margraf from Mies.TV, with whom we had a short talk about it.

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How do you see the future? Enrico Porfido: Do you mean the future of the zoo or the future in general? Because I don't really see any future coming... In this direction, with such a pessimistic interpretation of the imminent future, it doesn't make sense to make many plans for the future. But hidden somewhere, there is also an optimistic point of view where, “thanks” to COVID-19, this crisis represents an opportunity to change our way of living, interpreting and reading our realities. During the study and research phase for the exhibition in Gulbenkian Foundation we understood that the Zoo is not only a place where animals are kept, but it is a place where different themes can be discussed. For example, our approach to nature, its valorisation and the relationship with the historical city. It’s not only an issue of animals in a cage, but our anthropocentric approach to reality! If we can start changing it in the zoo, we might be able to change it also outside it, in our everyday life.

The original map of the Lisbon Zoological Garden, designed by Raul Lino at the beginning of XXth century | Source © Archive of Gulbenkian Art Library

How did you develop this project in the time of pandemics? Arian Lehner: The whole development of this project was very interesting, because we were all apart, in different cities. In the process of creating the exhibition we had a lot of discussions, where we very early understood how to talk about the zoo as an urban piece in the city. One important point which triggered an idea and vision for the future, was the thought of a biologist, who said that the zoo is showing naked animals itself without their natural environment. Such spaces like a zoo might in future show a variety of glimpses into different places of the world, where it won’t necessarily be needed to keep living animals in cages.

Why is then important in the whole environmental context? Arian Lehner: A zoo can transform into a condition of heterotopia which creates different worlds inside it. Animals will be linked to their environments to understand what is relevant to survive. It is a glimpse into the world, within your own city so you don’t have to travel around the world to understand other ecosystems.

Zebra, elephant and giraffe pavilion house designed by Raul Lino. | Source © Archive of Gulbenkian Art Library

You used different media for dissemination of the project, could you explain more? Enrico Porfido: More than innovative, I would rather say that we were complementary. We are two groups that cover different dissemination channels and networks. AtPais(vi)agem we are more traditional-academic, while Mies. TV has a more digital approach. I think it worked well because we mixed those two worlds!The main idea was to enlarge the public audience of the Gulbenkian Foundation’s archive within sharing their drawings via digital tools. So, we decided to drop an old-fashioned-paper archive in a contemporary digital media! This goes in the direction that the Gulbenkian Foundation took even before COVID. Indeed, they already had in mind those virtual exhibitions as instruments for making their archives accessible to as many people as possible.

Which types of media did you use? Arian Lehner: Because of the huge variety of new media, we did not fear of putting theoretical architecture-content in this new digital field. If you can buy shoes on Instagram, why can’t we use the same platforms for academic discourse as well? Our goal was to bring the content of Pais(vi)agem to as many people as possible in an understandable way. The exhibition consists of short and long texts, short and long videos, animations, sounds in order to make it understandable. Our exhibition is not closed but it’s a kind of open source, where you can learn and link to many other sites. Such as the cooperation with postcards by Modern in Belgrade

Postcard from Belgrade: "Belgrade Zoo's Ark: A Voyage to the Great War Island" designed by Hristina Stojanović, Modern in Belgrade.

The cooperation with BINA - Belgrade international week of architecture? Enrico Porfido: The collaboration with BINA was a nice experience, although we couldn’t develop it as much as we planned due to COVID restrictions. During the digital talk in September, we compared the zoo situation between Belgrade and Lisbon with local experts and this was really inspiring. And it also ended up in an ephemeral collaboration with the collective Modern in Belgrade, that supported our project sending some “postcards” from the Belgrade’s zoo.

Creating an open-source exhibition? Arian Lehner: This is a process of democratisation of information. We created a digital exhibition that doesn’t translate everything into representation through worlds or images drafted by the curators. What we have is live interviews with experts in the zoo, we didn’t do any representation or transcripts but left the video without the filter so you can listen directly to the experts themselves.

Map "A walk to discover Raul Lino's architecture in the Lisbon Zoological Garden" designed by the exhibition curatorial team

An amazing change of discourse and presentation coming from an institution like Gulbenkian; what did Future architecture bring to you? Enrico Porfido: From our experiences, there are many new synergies coming out from this adventure. During the Future Architecture fellowship, we started to build new connections and to consolidate our network. This platform has this big added-value of generating interesting synergies. In our small collective, we decided that there is no more time to work for somebody else or being employed for somebody that you don’t want to work for. We decided it’s time to do something different, because we have limited time to express ourselves. We are aware of what our generation of architects is doing today and which are our opportunities to raise our voice without being arrogant.

Arian Lehner: This current fear or the future has a global dynamic. It is not restricted to one nation alone, but the entire planet is facing challenges. Future Architecture Platform is some kind of global dynamic too – obviously a positive one – which is very important because we work within a transnational network and dissemination of information and knowledge.

The Rhinoceros' pavilion | Photo, illustration by the exhibition curatorial team

What would you say about the future after this talk Enrico? Enrico Porfido: That we have a long way to go! Especially for making people understand that architects do not only design houses. Architects are not just builders! Our superpower is to read reality and territories. There are many tools that we can use, in such a way architects can work as coordinators. We can gather and guide different experts from biology, ecology, anthropology, history, etc. because we can understand the territorial dynamics and coordinate different expertises. Territories have different scales within themselves and architects have the sensibility to understand, observe and work within them.

Is this something connected to a generation? Enrico Porfido: I guess it’s the approach we have to reality. The oldest architects’ generation would probably answer this question in the same way of how they work – alone.This is why we had so many names, the archistars of the recent past and present. But there are not 30yo archistars, why?

The Elephants' pavilion | Photo, illustration by the exhibition curatorial team

How could we develop tourism so that it could work as a creator of new destinations? Enrico Porfido: We can change the way of planning tourism but there is one thing that we all need to understand:we are all tourists at somebody else’s place. You don’t like to hear chatting in the bar under your place, but how is it when you visit another city? I don’t think you care much about the residents.I am obviously generalizing, but here in Barcelona we see the tourist issue as a really strong problem. I can agree that the massive tourism brings along some negative aspects, but we all need to learn how to cohabit. We need to be more tolerant as residents and more educated as tourists. We need to find new models for tourism. I have no clear idea how we should plan the tourism of the future, but I guess people will start to travel more for knowledge and for experiencing the reality of a specific place. Tourism is a social phenomenon, so when the society “goes massive” also tourism does it.

The Giraffes' house | Photo and illustration by the exhibition curatorial team

Arian Lehner: Psychologically speaking: I travel to somewhere far away because I want to experience different smells, sounds and newspaces. This uniqueness makes travelling attractive, rather than staying at home in the monotony of one’s own life. The important part of visiting places is that you are “only visiting” and many places you just want to see but not live there for the rest of your life. It’s really like a refreshment and before coming back to your monotonous life, which is also safe. Are there different ways though that can create the same effect of travelling somewhere else, diving in a completely different world, place, space? Maybe this could in future be visiting your local zoo because everything will look different, because of different elements that this place is composed of, maybe it is a techno park with different robots. In this way you don’t need to fly away somewhere else to be yet again in a city that has the same Starbucks, the same looking Airbnb – but you can have a different psychologically effect like visiting a different place. That is an interesting challenge.

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Staged Nature: Zoo of zoos: A walk through the past, present and future of the Lisbon Zoological Garden, Gulbenkian Foundation via Future Architecture Platform, 2020 (illustration exhibition curatorial team)

País(vi)agem is an independent research group, which aims to investigate the relation between tourism, landscapes and local communities, co-founded by Enrico Porfido and Claudia Sani in 2015. Enrico is based in Barcelona and working as researcher and freelance consultant on tourism and strategic planning. Claudia became a project manager in the office Urban Act in France, dealing with urban ecology and social district regeneration. In 2020 Elisa Brunelli joined the members’ board.

Mies.TV is a documentation and investigation platform with the goal to initiate discussion on the topic, resolve understanding and reflect on how the role of an architect is changing. The channel has filmed over two hundred interviews ensuring a vast archive of data to enable a thorough and widespread illustration of different standpoints and how these are positioned within a global perspective. Through open screenings, architecture festivals, television shows and panel discussions aims to communicate architecture to an audience internal and external to the realm of architecture with the use of modern tools.

#interview #future architecture #gulbenkian

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skincarebeautymakeuptips · 4 years

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How Indie Beauty Brands Practice Inclusivity

In this edition of Beauty Independent’s ongoing series posing questions to beauty entrepreneurs, we ask 17 brand founders and executives: What is your brand’s approach to inclusivity?

KETHLYN WHITE | COO, Coil Beauty

Our brand was created to give a face to beauty that has not always been considered beautiful. When we create graphics for our marketing, we strive to look for the nontraditional beauties because we know how important representation is to everyone, even on a subconscious level.

One of my favorite things as an adult is to be able to watch a show like "Insecure" or "Black-ish," and say, “Oh, there’s my hairstyle for next week.” As a kid, I was trying to use the Topsy Tail and, if you remember what that is, then you, my friend, are aging gracefully. So, for me, my brand aims to be inclusive of the people who weren’t always included, and I think our website and social media pages do a good job of that. Of course, we are always trying to do more. For us, this is a marathon not a sprint.

ADA JURISTOVSKI | Co-Founder, Nala

We strive to be inclusive of forms of sexual identification, body types, cultures and race. To us, it means being mindful of representation in our brand, but also being open-minded to continually learning about how we can widen that representation. It can be something as detail-oriented as updating our copy from “women” to “womxn,” or deliberate decisions we make such as intentionally having our packaging represent body forms that are fluid, androgynous and ambiguous with the hope that anyone can identify with it and see a part of themselves within the art.

KAILEY BRADT | Founder and CEO, OWA Haircare

Inclusivity has to mean something personally to a founder and, therefore, a brand. I've always been mindful of inclusivity because I've always felt a bit on the outside. It's important to think of inclusivity with a holistic perspective. It's not just about appearance. Inclusivity goes beyond age, gender, ethnicity. I always felt judged without saying a word. As I got older, especially when I first got to college, I felt even more out of place because I was studying engineering and my appearance didn't say "engineer."

My approach to inclusivity is to look beyond the physical attributes of a person and take into consideration their experience, education, career, etc. My approach with our brand is to give real people a genuine voice. I really enjoy working with up-and-coming professionals and giving people opportunities they might not have been given otherwise. I know others who have done this for me in my career, and I wouldn't be where I am today if people didn't believe in me and present me those opportunities that challenged the norm.

RANAY ORTON | Owner, Glow by Daye

My approach of being mindful of inclusivity in my brand is to try and create multiple physical avatars of my customers. Many books and experts say to have one exact avatar, an icon or figure that represents your key demographic. Well, the reality is that, yes, you can have a go-to person in mind for key decision-making on your brand and it's positioning, but all your customers do not look alike.

People want to see some physical resemblance of themselves when they see your website, marketing and social media. As a company, we have to be conscious of that as we serve many different people with different ethnicities, hair types/textures and/or complexions, but all have the same goal of achieving healthy, thriving hair.

PAAYAL MAHAJAN | Founder, Essential Body

Inclusivity is not just a term for me. I am a brown woman who has faced a lot of discrimination while living and working in the U.S. I have faced assumptions around my background with no thought or interest in where I come from or what my heritage is. I have dealt with the blows of white privilege in the workplace and personally. I was also judged for my size for a majority of my life. I am someone who has fought and continues to fight for the rights of the marginalized and oppressed.

I am not interested in tokenism. I smell it from a mile away. You can’t fake your way into being inclusive. My authenticity and my voice are the most powerful ways for me to communicate that my brand is me, and it espouses my values and my perspective on the world. It never was, and is certainly not enough now, to do a rainbow of ethnicities in your imagery. I see brands appropriating cultures, not giving thought to messaging and imagery. None of that is for me. You can’t be mindful of inclusivity unless you fundamentally shift your mindset. This is not something businesses can phone in.

ADA POLLACEO, Alchimie Forever

We strive to be inclusive in everything we do. From the people we use in our marketing materials (fun fact: They’re all family members, team members or friends.) to the way we train our brand ambassadors, we focus on skincare concerns rather than gender, skin color or other identifiers. We don’t say, “Hey, we’re inclusive." Rather, we strive to behave in a way that makes everyone feel welcome and comfortable, and that our products were made for them.

KATONYA BREAUX | Founder, Unsun Cosmetics

As a black founder and consumer, I have firsthand knowledge of what it feels like to not be considered by companies providing skincare and makeup products. I wanted to make sure that not only women that looked like me, but women in general had the benefit and knowledge that there is a product that is made with them in mind, and not only as an afterthought. In this very inclusive environment, the companies that aren't getting on the bandwagon are the ones that are standing out.

NISHA DEARBORN | Founder and CEO, Fresh Chemistry

I teach my kids that the only difference between skin of different colors is the amount of melanin in it. As a daughter of a dermatologist, I can attest to this very simple, yet still profound truth. So, when it comes to my brand, I choose models or repost user-generated content that represents who the freshly activated serums are best suited for: all skin types and colors.

JULIE PEFFERMAN | Founder, The Lab and Co.

We have always thought about inclusivity from the customers perspective and our employee perspective. In the near future, inclusivity won't be a buzzword. Instead, it will be something every brand must do. It will be the authenticity that inclusivity is delivered that will distinguish us from the rest.

On the employee internal side, since we are a lab, it makes sense that our one-word company philosophy is "mix," which guides us as we grow. Mix in kindness in everything you do. Mix with other kinds of people/thinkers to expand your mind and life. When something isn't working, mix it up with a new approach. There is always a way. Work hard, take pride in what you bring to the mix. Take the risk, failure is valued, speak up and mix in your ideas, and see what bubbles to the top.

On the customer side, we try to rethink target customers and find meaningful ways to include others. Our brand, Cleantan, was the first self-tanning brand to showcase full-figured models of various skin colors. We encourage people to be as tan as they want to be with our color controlling concentrate. Our brand Equal By Nature was birthed out of inclusivity, encouraging everyone to celebrate their differences. We aim to create luxurious hero products that fit into anyone's routine at a reasonable price. We call it inclusive luxury.

AMBER FAWSON | Co-Founder, Saalt

Inclusivity is a central and all-important topic in the world of period care. It is actually one of the reasons we love period care. There is something about period talk that brings people together regardless of background or belief. We all share struggles with period management. We all agree that no one should feel confused and alone about their period and their body. We all agree that we want students around the world to have period care that allows them to attend school when they are on their period.

At Saalt, we believe in being period positive and, by focusing on period positive topics, we can do some incredible things with the help of our audience. Our audience helps us break stigmas and also connects us with impact organizations who are doing incredible work around the world. Every part of our brand is about being welcoming and adding people to our tribe regardless of any variety of personal backgrounds or beliefs.

MELISSA REINKING | Chief Marketing Officer, BioClarity

We always try to stay grounded in knowing that the consumers who discover us all have different starting points and skin goals in mind. Step one to being inclusive is being individualized. If we can help people get to where they want to be by understanding their individual needs, desires and starting points, and if we can customize their experience around these attributes, not some idealized version of what we think a consumer might need, this helps us remain not only inclusive, but also very mindful of the evolving needs of those who become part of our brand.

BRANDON GARCIA | Co-Founder, Mira

My co-founder Jay Hack and I wanted to ensure that anyone, no matter who they are, what they look like or what their interests are is able to find what works best for them. The incredible diversity of beauty consumers has driven not only the increased fragmentation of beauty products and trends in the industry, but also the heightened demands for personalization.

Diversity and inclusivity are not only baked into our very core, but they are also the primary factors driving the need for a platform like this. We've worked hard to build an expansive data catalog of over 60,000 products and millions of reviews and videos that can be leveraged to help consumers from all walks of life find what works for them.

In the long term, we hope that it becomes a platform for beauty brands, content creators, and consumers to engage in authentic, meaningful conversation. By doing so, we seek to help advance the industry in co-developing products that best speak to the amazingly diverse individuals that comprise the beauty community.

RENAE MOOMJIAN | Founder and CEO, NipLips

We are vocal in all touch points with our community that everyone is welcome. Whether it is a photoshoot, new brand ambassador or activity, we are continually looking for ways to bring diversity in race, ethnic background, religion, sexual preference, sexual indentification, age, size (large to small and everything in between) into our brand.

Our company tag line is “Beautiful, Authentic You!” and our goal is to help people look within to define not only their unique beauty, but who they really are at their core. So, for example, by using our app, doing a color scan of your nipples, and matching to one of our vegan, organic, lip colors, you are using your body to define what looks good on you rather than social media or celebrities. True beauty and inclusivity starts with embracing your uniqueness and, then, sharing it with the world. We work very hard to promote that message.

FEISAL QURESHI | Founder, Raincry

My personal view is that beauty is not real, it doesn't exist. It's all perspective. That perspective evolves, changes and means different things to different people at different times in our lives. Just look at the 80s. We looked ridiculous, but were full of confidence.

So, beauty is not about the things we buy or how we look, but rather how that thing makes us feel when we wear it, use it or experience it. Therefore, beauty is about emotions and, as a beauty brand, you become a custodian of those emotions to help better people's lives.

KRISTEN BOWEN | Founder & CEO, Living The Good Life Naturally

My entire life I have been on a diet or searching for the perfect diet. I just wanted to be skinny and equated that with being healthy. I will never forget the day that I was sitting in my wheelchair feeling pretty sorry for myself and wondering if I would ever feel good again. A friend walked up and asked me how I was doing. Instead of the usual, “Oh, I am fine,” I answered her honestly. “I am so tired of being sick and having seizures and stressing my family out.”

She looked at me and said something that would shatter and change the course of what I was searching for when it came to my health. She patted my leg after I told her how tired I was and replied, “But Kristen, at least you are skinny.” I had achieved my lifelong dream of being skinny, but it was not what I wanted. I wanted vibrant energy.

Now, when clients start to work with me, I ask them to write out what healthy looks like to them. That way they have a specific goal in mind of what they are wanting to create. Because of that one exchange, we make sure to include all body types in our marketing. Being healthy is so much more than being skinny.

JEAN BAIK | Founder and Creative Chief Officer, Miss A

One of our biggest missions as a business is to #justhavefun with makeup and beauty. So, we always offer as many shades as possible and offer products that would work for a young teen all the way into late adulthood.

JASMIN EL KORDI | CEO, Bluelene

Cellular health is gender, age and ethnicity neutral, and our brand reflects that philosophy. We ensure that our packaging and messaging appeal to a wide human audience, and that we incorporate that variety into the imagery we use.

Source: Beauty Independent

#beauty #cosmetics #makeup #beauty industry #beauty brands #skincare #inclusivity #makeup lovers #beauty lovers #entrepreneur

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comicteaparty · 4 years

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May 16th-May 22nd, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from May 16th, 2020 to May 22nd, 2020. The chat focused on the following question:

What are you trying to show or tell with your story that you find to be underrepresented?

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

-Mind control/mind reading where both people are okay with it. I like themes of trust -"Superpowers" without secret identities. Because researchers aren't always evil goddamnit! -Portraying people who hurt others not as card-carrying megalomaniac villains but as pitiful and broken people. I haven't gotten to this part of my story yet but I hope I can do it well when I do. -Queer characters but they never say that they are or talk about it in any way. Yes I know I'm probably the only one who wants this

Also, maybe the idea that you don't need to "do anything" with your life for it to be worthwhile? But I'm not sure that I believe this myself

Deo101 [Millennium]

Mostly I'm trying to write about love, and I hardly think that's underrepresented! But, I'm also trying to show a bit of my own personal disabled experience, and I find that the kinds of things I've experienced are hardly represented at all. so, I think I'm trying to show a sort of hope and positivity for things that I think are usually pitied and viewed negatively, which I wish were done more.

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

I just wanted a good ol' classic Eddings-style fantasy romp, but with characters that would usually be cast in the "evil" role, without going the "misunderstood" route.

Plus I wanted to write about shitty family (born, found and married) and that you do NOT have to forgive them in the slightest to move on and better your life.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Hmm... One of the main things I want to express with Whispers of the Past is that after past traumas, you may not be the same, but eventually, you can be okay again—even if your "okay" of now, is very different than your "okay" of the past. Normalcy isn't a constant. It shifts with time and becomes something new. A new stasis. A new peace. A new normal. I don't know if I've ever seen another story show this in this way. Another underrepresented theme in WotP is that of the hero choosing mundanity over the amazing. When the quest is over, and all is said and done, and the big baddie has been vanquished, the hero doesn't become ruler, or claim bountiful riches, or sail across the sea to find new lands. No, the hero returns to a world that is familiar and unremarkable. The hero would rather just be an average person.

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

-Fanfiction. I’m very surprised there hasn’t been a webcomic talking about what it’s like to create fanfiction! But overall the culture involved around it and being a creator. -The relationship and hardships of having a stepparent/being one. Particularly stepdad/stepdaughter relationships -Anger as a reaction to trauma. I see a lot of trauma portrayed as mostly sad, but I want a story where the heroes feel anger, where it’s seen as both a motivator and a detriment -The hardships of dating as someone who’s both touch aversive and on the grey spectrum. Not everyone would be as wonderful or understanding, but it’s important to be around people who are and will stand by you.(edited)

eliushi [a winged tale]

This is why I gravitate towards all these stories made by independent creators I think. So many personal and poignant messages. I’m with you there on the queer characters Eightfish. I want a society where it’s fine to be what you wish and respected to be who you want to be. I think having more positive ways of showing how we can reach that sort of openness can be helpful. In AWT I further explore: - characters in STEM fields and approaches to research design - informed consent and what that means - how to live even when things are falling apart around you, when things are falling apart within you - navigating through crushes, confessions and friendships!

Wow the beginning sounds like the objectives at a science lecture and you won’t be wrong thinking so

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

For my Hybrid Dolls comic, there are several things I want to explore: - Psychological trauma and the effects or damage it can give, without proper treatment. -Writing queer characters without them needing a self discovery episode. But I know some identities are better to be upfront? But in the story, they simply live normal or exciting lives - Narcissism in a relative that one doesn't have to forgive. Being treated as invisible or judged by age, birthright. - Other Concepts of love explored. Attraction that isn't conventional romance. - Friendship bonds between girls, and my own take on an eccentric quirky girl lead. - Being unapologetically feminine, girls who doesn't need to feel like being 'one of the guys' I'm aiming for more character variety in historical fiction, instead of yet another story of a girl 'defying gender norms' by raised as a boy/disguises trope in other similar comics. So the women in my story, use their wits and charm.(edited)

DanitheCarutor

I complain about this all the time, so I'm just going to do a quick overview since I'm sure everyone is sick of it. - Abusers can be smart, popular, generous, charismatic and subtle. I'm kind of sick of them always being portrayed as really obvious, and sometimes really stupid, while there are people like that it's not very practical for them all to be like that. - General mental health stuff. More open representation of it, that it may be something you'll live with for the rest of your life and how that's okay. - Trauma, how it can change you, make you lose sight of the person you were and make you lose interest in things you used to enjoy. (this is coupled with mental health) - Non-romantic relationships with a queer cast. While this is showing up more in fantastical indie works, not very common in slice-of-life type of comics. I can only imagine this is because readers would find it boring or too mundane (can't tell you all how many people tell me my comic is boring. Lol), but being a person totally sick of romance in everything I wanted to do something focusing on family, friendship and the relationships we have with ourselves. - You don't always heal completely. I've already mentioned this, but I want to put a focus on how someone who's been through a lot of shit doesn't alway heal completely, and that's okay. I see in a lot of media where people just overcome their issues, and they live happily ever after with everything all perfect, I want something along the lines of "we still got a long way to go, but we're doing better and we're happier than before". - Not having labels for everything. This sounds like hipster trash, but I don't see the point in putting labels for every character. Like, I put labels for them, mostly during Pride, but it feels pointless in the comic. Apollo is happy to say he's a gay man, but with Julian they're not interested in categorising themselves, all they want is to be comfortable and I don't see nothing wrong with that.(edited)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

For me, it’s the importance of communication and empathy, and the dangers of its absence. And it’s something I’ve had to think about a lot recently, being more active on social media Everyone’s got their reasons/methods for cutting people off, but I’ve never been a huge fan of a point-blank communication cut unless it’s absolutely warranted. And I’m not a fan of instant demonization when someone messes up or does something I don’t agree with. People are people. We’re all different and we all mess up and we all can change. Keeping lines of communication open is essential for allowing that change, or else we all get locked into little echo chambers where anyone outside is automatically The Worst.™ In a world where everything has gone to hell - and may go further yet - how can things heal when no one is even listening to each other? Where the other side is automatically at fault no matter what? It’s something I grew up struggling to understand (maybe because I grew up outside Washington DC, lol), and really affects me to this day. And if you do end up protecting yourself with silence, how can you still allow other perspectives to be gleaned? I don’t quite have the perfect formula for it. But unless someone is genuinely trying to cause harm, I try to at least attempt to understand where they might coming from - whether I accept it or not. Otherwise it’s so easy to see a lot of people as monsters. It’s a complicated topic for sure, especially nowadays. But yeah. Something like that

Miranda

Hmm that’s an excellent question. Well, a big thing is the varying effects of trauma and ways to handle it. Mainly how burying the past and ignoring traumatic events can affect someone. Also that villains can be people we relate to that just take an extreme way of reaching a goal that most people can understand And how shared experiences can bring people closer (not a unique one) I also want to portray queer characters that are not solely defined by their queerness and don’t have to announce it to everyone.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

- Having some talks about the implications of asking what you wish for and the potential consequences that comes with it. - Having more unappologic Vietnamese things happening in the comic. Giving representation to some common things that most Vietnamese Americans (or Asian Americans) can face in terms of relationships, roles, etc. Also since er i'm also directly affected by this, how does the Mixed-Asian Identity plays about it too.(edited)

hmmm I think another thing is that I want to bring up that men who express themselves in a more feminine form is valid and there's no shame that comes with it (positive masculinity hell yaaaa). Also same about expressing characters who are also queer but aren't defined about it either. it's just what they are along with their other interests and goals.(edited)

sierrabravo (Hans Vogel is Dead)

wow, this is a great question! I'm trying to be better about interacting here so I'll give it a shot. My comic is a historical fantasy set somewhat in Interwar Europe/WWII Europe and partially in a fantasy world based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. -War stories/histories that aren't about the actual experience of combat: most memoirs and diaries of soldiers I read doing research are about the day-to-day activities, meals, sleeping habits, and random thoughts instead of fight descriptions. It really bothers me when people zero in on in-depth battle maps and obsess over what kind of rifle was used by whom when, when I think it's much more interesting and important to look at the mindset of who was fighting, why they were fighting, and what emotional effect it had on everyone involved (including civilians!) -Asexuality, especially asexuality in history, bc it tends to "disappear" in the historical record as people who may have been ace before that label was widely used tend to not self-identify as it. I'm ace, people in the past were ace, it's a history I'd like to talk about more! -gryphons, they're cool monsters and I think they should be used much more than they are haha

eliushi [a winged tale]

I agree sierrabravo. I find it’s the personal, down to earth, close perspective accounts in historical records that resonate the most with me. Gryphons are also awesome!

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I feel like there's two separate answers for Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R (http://sgkdr.webcomic.ws/comics/) The first is what SGKDR represents compared to other webcomics. To me, a major thing I wanted to show with Super Galaxy Knights was a new style of creating webcomics. Animation is underrepresented as a storytelling style, sure, but the main thing I thought was underrepresented in the webcomic space was a "seasonal" method of storytelling. Like, most webcomics I see are either "each page is its own thing" or "it's one big long story, with chapters mostly there to split up different scenes/locations". I very rarely see webcomics build to a major climax in the story, then a resolution, then introduce a brand new conflict. The second is what SGKDR represents compared to other action series (specifically shonen manga/anime, as that's what SGKDR riffs off of the most). I can only think of one shonen story with a female lead, I can't think of any with an explicitly LGBTQ+ protagonist (i only know of one implied one), romance is usually handled very poorly (characters usually get paired with the protagonist due to being female and in the same room, with very little actual relationship building), there aren't many varieties of character motivations besides "pursuit of power/status" of some kind, power scaling usually gets way out of whack, and I... I dunno, I love those kinds of stories, but it just gets tiring after a while. So, I wrote my own that had all the things I wanted in it.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@sierrabravo (Hans Vogel is Dead) I totally agree with the difficulty and importance of talking about ace representation in a historical setting! It's extremely difficult to talk about when asexuality was so unknown at the time. I'm eager to see how you handle it!

eliushi [a winged tale]

@snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights) can you speak about

I very rarely see webcomics build to a major climax in the story, then a resolution, then introduce a brand new conflict.

I find slice of life/ some really long mangas with continuous streams of antagonists/web novel like formats use this too but unsure if that’s what you were referring to?

I am also looking forward to more ace representation in the webcomic world

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Yeah that format is the sort of thing I was talking about. It's out there, but I don't see it very often.

eliushi [a winged tale]

Ah gotcha! Thanks! I recall some slice of life high school ones I’ve read years ago that have that sort of narrative structure (which feels like the story can continue forever).

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

There's a recurring trope in SF/F where the robot/AI/golem learns that it wants to have free will and make its own decisions. Or there's a biological species that are assumed to be "natural servants", and inevitably you get to the reveal that they're not actually any different from humans in terms of wanting self-determination and independence. If you think of this as a metaphor for relationships between different groups of humans, then yeah, that's the obvious outcome! But one of the great things about SFF is that you can write things that aren't just "direct metaphors for real-world issues, with spaceships and dragons thrown in for flavor." So in But I'm A Cat Person, I wanted to write something about, what if there's a group of beings who really aren't going to develop free will or self-determination? What's the reasonable, ethical way to deal with that? ...also: there's a ton of nonbinary characters in webcomics these days, but at least I can say BICP did it before it was cool.(edited)

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Leif & Thorn, meanwhile, has a regular old "character forced into servitude, who definitely has independent thoughts and desires that are being controlled" situation. And there's no "Master has given Dobby a sock" loophole they can exploit for a quick fix, so they have to keep up a long-term process of double-talk and rule-bending, to communicate Leif's actual feelings without getting him in trouble. The "realistic language barriers with no convenient universal-translator to get around them" situation -- which, in this comic, is one of the biggest Underrepresented Things I wanted to explore -- makes it that much harder...

Capitania do Azar

I gotta commend you on that, @Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn) because you're out there serving my bilingual needs

kayotics

Ingress Adventuring Company is all about the hero after they've finished saving the world, which I think is pretty underrepresented. It's not a quiet contemplative story, since there's still a lot of fun questing stuff going on, but I'm trying to make it clear that this all takes place after the main character has done his big saving the world quest and is still trying to figure out his place after supposedly settling down.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I love that Kay

Toivo feels like he has so much history behind him

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I'm trying to represent orthodox/religious jews because I almost never see my community represented in media. There are orthodox Jewish characters that will be appearing in Joe is dead. In future comics I want to try to plan the story more around including more religious Jewish characters because there still aren't that many in my current project

Also mental illnesses, like trauma and intellectual disability I want to represent my own experiences with it

There isn't as much of a distinct lack of that in media but it's good to have in stories(edited)

Also androgynous lesbians

Nutty (Court of Roses)

With Court of Roses, I'm trying to tell a fantasy story that's for older audiences but proving that Mature Fantasy doesn't have to be ultra gritty. People have each other to depend on, the world isn't bleak, and not every noble is greedy, peasant is starving, etc. I know a lot of fantasy likes to take from realistic Medieval Europe, but the freeing part about making my own world is that it doesn't HAVE to be like that. Their religion is different, more accepting, and again, people are more focused on looking out for each other and having a good time.

Mature themes are still present, such as murder, banditry/pillaging, alcohol, traumatic experiences, etc. but my goal isn't to present them in a darker fashion.(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I wanted to make something influenced by my culture (Korean) without heavily drawing from the mythology. Mythology is just one facet of a culture, yet a lot of people who haven't read it expect HoK to be all about Korean mythology just because it wears a metaphorical hanbok. No. It reflects the traditional aesthetics, but more importantly, the cultural values and the unspoken rules of the society, regardless of whether I agree with them or not. Related to that is body language. I don't want my non-American characters using American body language, such as shrugging, or American ways of using eye contact, etc. I want to show them using (mostly) Korean gestures, sitting, standing and walking like Koreans. I always feel like there's a huge missed opportunity when friggin' aliens use American body language in sci-fi! I understand why people do that -- it makes the work more clear/accessible to English-speaking audience. But in HoK I'm taking the other path. It's a challenge for sure, but I would not have it any other way.

On a more thematic level, I really wanted to explore deeply hurtful experiences that happen in genuinely caring relationships. It's not about good guys vs bad guys, it's not about a nice person being hurt by someone who just doesn't care. Those stories certainly are valid, just not what I wanted to do with HoK. This story is about people who love each other, but don't always know how to communicate their love or needs.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I am also looking forward to more ace representation in the webcomic world

@eliushi [a winged tale] I agree, the ace rep is a challenge I would like to take on, I'm also curious how it will work in historical times? Even tho I'm ace,I'm still learning new innovative things(edited)

eliushi [a winged tale]

It’ll be important to dig deeper and research into what things were like if you want to capture the authenticity of the period you’re writing in! I’m sure there are personal accounts or documentation of these lived experiences.

Capitania do Azar

I see all these beautiful answers and I almost struggle to find something other than those to say I guess for O Sarilho https://www.sarilho.net/en/ I wanted to write a weird love letter to where I live and how I see my country (tho I'm glad I got other places I love in it too). To my knowledge, we don't get much like that, or at least that's not from a city perspective which is not what I'm trying to go for, at all. There's a lot of tiny cultural things that I want to touch that may be invisible for people who are not from here, but I'm glad that I'm including them for those three readers in the back. Linked to this, in a way, is the fact that I get really tired of those white/gray Sci-fi stories where everything is super clean and super white and technology is absolutely overwhelming and organised. I want Sci-fis in the woods too. And finally, there's something about the way violence is portrayed a lot of times that almost makes you feel like human life just is that cheap. I really don't want to go that road, I'm doing my best to tell a story about war in which death still leaves a toll and violence affects everyone involved

TL;DR I WANTED TO PAINT MY HOUSE

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

And finally, there's something about the way violence is portrayed a lot of times that almost makes you feel like human life just is that cheap. I really don't want to go that road, I'm doing my best to tell a story about war in which death still leaves a toll and violence affects everyone involved

@Capitania do Azar This is so beautiful (and tragic). This is something I also hope to express in my work. Super underrepresented message surprisingly.

eliushi [a winged tale]

I enjoy exploring sci-fi beyond the current conventions and absolutely love your setting shizamura!(edited)

Capitania do Azar

Thank u I really love Sci-fi but I don't appreciate that it has become associated with a very specific aesthetic because tbh I find it very limiting

DanitheCarutor

@Capitania do Azar That is actually really refreshing! Horror and action are so packed with glamorized death and violence, you can get really desensitized. The only stories I've ever seen that take those things seriously are war movies based on real life events, like Saving Private Ryan, (which my grandpa, a Korean War vet, said was the most accurate portrayal of what war was like.) and even then you get flicks that totally glamorize the whole thing. I really admire you wanting to put that sense of gravity onto the violence and death in your work, also I love when creators want to tackle war in all it's "too close to home", upsetting realism.

Capitania do Azar

I really love Saving Private Ryan, it is a very nice portrayal with a great message: nobody wants to be here

DanitheCarutor

Yes! I love Saving Private Ryan too, it was nice seeing a movie that didn't make war look like some fantastical bs.

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #comic tea party #ctp #creator interview #comic creator interview #creator babble

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purpletalewasteland · 5 years

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Now That We Have Content, I Have Some Thoughts...

A. I don’t think its a coincidence that she did that “pap walk” running thing in the midst of these magazine covers. That “pap walk” thing means something - we can all HOPE it means a breakup soon. If that is the case, I think it was definitely laying the ground for the breakup, but done during a time when the media, internet, etc. are focusing elsewhere. That weird stunt will not leave a lasting mark on us - we are too busy focusing on her ELLE covers and essays to think much about it, but it will serve its place during the breakup. B. This is TS7 era Taylor, a nice middleground between 1989 and rep era Taylor. Instead of oversaturated, constantly papped, hyper exposed media friendly Taylor, and then under exposed, anti-media Taylor, we have middle ground Taylor. She is going to do actual promotion for this album, but it will be on her terms. Instead of interviews where we are only going to get the same questions over and over again, where her team will literally have to ask the interviewers what questions to ask so as to get the narrative they want out there, we have this version where she is writing essays, the highest form of control she can have in an “interview” format. This works well for her because she can choose what information she wants to share, what hints she wants to convey, etc., while expressing herself through writing. We already love her writing, we listen to her music to hear what she has to say, we’ve dutifully read her previous essays. This allows her fans to feel the intimacy of what she is telling us, while allowing her to share what exactly she wants to. That’s not to say that maybe she won’t still do a few interviews. I don’t know the future. But I think we will see more essays from her, more of her being the interviewer rather than the interviewee (Pattie Boyd).

C. I think her Power of Pop essay has hints within.

I think TS7 will be mostly pop. She may use a variety of genres, but I don’t think she wrote an essay about the Power of Pop only to go back to country as some fans are suggesting TS7 may be.

I think because the essay spoke to so many feelings of the past (in particular, her past), that this album will be either explicitly inspired by her past experiences, or allude to the past thematically - ie a retro album. 1989 was inspired by the songs from that decade, perhaps we will get an album inspired by songs from the 70′s. The styling on the first shoot certainly confirmed that, but this latest shoot had an entirely different tone.

She says that listeners connect to highly personalized details in songwriting. Taylor has always given us that, but I think she may be hinting that she will go even further into detail (we can hope!)

She says that everyone is just looking for a song to connect to, to basically validate their own experiences. I think that could go two different ways. Who is still under represented in pop music? Those who are not heterosexual. BUT I think instead of saying "this is the gay experience", it will be that the experience of falling in love is UNIVERSAL, regardless of the gender the person you're falling with. She will help bridge the gap between the “straight” vs “gay” line of thinking about love - love is love and who cares what gender the person is singing about. I think the concept that love is universal will be a future theme.

D. I think the contrast between the 2 different magazines and accompanying photoshoots is intentional. I can’t help but notice the difference between the dark moody Taylor, and then the bright sassy Taylor. Maybe to draw further contrast between the fact there are 2 versions of her - the public and the private. Maybe drawing attention to dark moody rep era Taylor, and then this new sassy bright colourful era Taylor? This is just a thought, as dark moody Taylor was released after bright sassy Taylor (which could go along with the theory that TS7 was actually supposed to come first), so that doesn’t make sense lineally for it to represent rep era Taylor and then new/current Taylor.

E. I think she was genuinely trying to share some knowledge and wisdom in her recent ELLE essay, while allowing us to get a closer glimpse of what she has gone through, and perhaps giving us a couple of bones along the way. I don’t think it was wrote to give us hints. Her intentions were genuine here.

She tells us right there that those “couple goals” pictures she may have posted in the past aren’t real. Whether they weren’t real in the regard that the relationship itself wasn’t real, or whether they weren’t real in the regard that what she was trying to convey from those posts didn’t come from a place of genuineness, its still important to note that some of the content she’s given us in the past wasn’t real. I think this may be given as an explanation as to why she hasn’t posted at all about Toe (assuming you agree with that relationship being real), or then why if she’s been with Karlie all these years she hasn’t continued to post about her. Because it’s all just a fallacy, who you post about on your socials doesn’t mean shit. It’s only the version of yourself you’re willing to show.

She addressed a number of things that have been discussed about her, that other stars may have made a statement about, but she instead chose to remain quiet about. She did this in a highly personal way instead of making a tweet or a publicity statement, or even having an “insider source” dish out the details instead. She tells us that her mother is unfortunately currently fighting cancer. She alludes to body image issues, and that she perhaps didn’t treat her body so healthy in the past all in the name of losing weight. She talks about politics and tells us that she will be more involved in the future, basically admitting that perhaps she didn’t do enough in the past. She’s basically calling people out for making ageist remarks about women (can we please stop making posts about how Taylor Swift doesn’t age, like what an unrealistic ideal to live up to!) She’s hyperaware that there is a risk of gathering thousands of people and even on the day to day she’s prepared for the threat of a potential shooting or some other tragedy. She commented about the stalking she experiences. The sexual assault trial and how difficult that was for her. The pressure she experiences with the media and tabloids exploiting her trials and mistakes. She alludes to the fact that she may have had highly publicized friendships in the past that no longer exist (something tells me this may have something to do with Dianna, and that she doesn’t just mean friendship but a relationship that was a situationship - you think its forever, but its not). She said SO much in this essay, letting us in on small details about her life.

Step into the daylight and let it go. TS7 IS going to be about island breeze, summery bright days. Because she’s stepping into the daylight and letting her past go. Shedding and letting go of that previous skin, the hiding, the bearding, the inauthentic self she may have had to present. Laying it all out and giving us her authentic self, because you can’t hide in the daylight.

#I want to hear everyone's thoughts #ELLE cover #new content #TS7 hints #Kaylor hints #coming out hints #TS7 era HAS BEGUN #Genuine Taylor is the Best Taylor #just my thoughts #not married to any of these theories

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arethereanyoriginalusernames · 5 years

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Writing Advice (mostly for beginners )

Dark Sides

MUAH-HAHAHA! Welcome to another edition of writing advice that ....no one asked for. Ok, just for the record, I'm making this post mainly as a sort of stress relief. I would've worked on my character spotlights, but I'm still figuring out how I'm going to do them exactly. Don't worry, I will start that right after this

Before we begin proper, let me make something perfectly clear. You do NOT need to take my advice or agree with me. This is simply me giving advice that I hope will help others. If you'd like to add on anything, or give your own thoughts on this matter, please feel free to do so. Btw, here, table of contents because yes:

1. WHAT THE FLIPPITY-FLOP IS A DARK SIDE

2. CAN A DARK SIDE COME FROM A CHARACTER'S PERSONAL FLAWS?

3. DEMONIC POSSESSION

4. THE PROBLEM WITH USING DISSOCIATIVE PERSONALITY DISORDER

5. DISCUSSING JEKYLL AND HYDE

6. WHAT DO WITH DID?

7. FINAL THOUGHTS

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Part 1, What the flippity-flop is a "dark side"?

For formality's sake, let's discuss what a dark side is. A "dark side" is a term meant to discribe how a usually good thing or person has a more negative aspect about them. "Dark", of course, being used to describe behaviours that are seen as being morally wrong. Greed, anger, you get the picture. As an example, say you have a character who is usually sweet and harmless, but has a hidden malicious streak. Congrats, you've found a character with a dark side. However, let's be a little more specific as this definition of having a dark side can apply to any usually character with a flaw. In storytelling, a character with a dark side is almost always a good person, however, they have some negative quality about them that society doesn't see. And this negative quality is usually something extreme, like being a serial killer.

You'll often see this trope in genres such as horror, or thrillers. There is more then one way go give your character a dark side, so let's go over some ways to do so.

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Part 2, Can a dark side come from a character's own flaws?

Absolutely. A character doesn't need to be processed or have something out of their control occur to them in order to have a dark side. I honestly find it disappointed how few people actually allow a character's dark side to come from their own flaws. It can lead to great character depth and even character development, two things that can make a really interesting character. These characters don't need a demon or anything outside their control. They're rotten apples that just have a bright exterior.

An example of a character with this kind of dark side is Johanna from Sweeney Todd. Specifically, the musical. The movie admittedly butchers (pun intended) her character. After her father was unjustly imprisoned and her mother went off her rocker, Johanna became the ward of the despicable Judge Turpin. Under his care, Johanna was imprisoned inside his house for most of her life, and of course, Turpin is perving on her and wants to marry her. During the story, Johanna meets Anthony, who she doesn't even know much about, and he falls in love with her at first sight. Turpin tries to stop this relationship by locking Johanna in an asylum, but she kills the guard and runs off with Anthony. Throughout the play, we get hints that Johanna isn't as sweet and pure as she appears, and who knows how much of her relationship with Anthony is really love or her desperately trying to get away from Turpin, taking advantage of Anthony and using him for her own gain.

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3. Demonic possession

I'll be honest, often times this can feel like a cope out. Oh it's not the character's fault. A demon is just controlling them. My advice for dark sides that involve possession is to perhaps focus on the mental state of the person being possessed. Did they want to be possessed? Do they like it? How do they deal with it? How does it affect them? Yada, yada, yada. By focusing on how the person feels about the possession and how they deal with it, you can create a sympathetic and interesting character the audience can care about.

Also, try to make whatever is possessing them interesting. This may be a me thing, but honestly, almost all the time the thing doing the possessing is just some one note baddie, whose entire personality is "LOL, evil." Look, yeah, the idea is that they're supposed to be bad, but can we get some variety? Maybe they like cracking bad jokes. Maybe they enjoy Shakespeare. Maybe they're a romantic. Maybe they're possessing someone in order to escape something. I don't know, just stop with the one note baddie!

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4. Problem with using DID

Otherwise known as multiple personality disorder, this disorder used in media to give some excuse for our good guy to be a bad guy. A recent example of this has been done in the movie, "Spilt". Again, this is often seen as a bit of a cope out as it gives a lazy excuse for a good guy to suddenly be Jack the Ripper. However, in recent times, this trope has been scrutinized by writing critics, and since a lot of amateur writer's use this trope, I feel as though I should touch on it here. A lot of people feel as though the portrayal of DID in this fashion is, well, offensive. It portrays those with DID as dangerous individuals with some sort of Jekyll and Hyde thing going on. Speaking of Jekyll and Hyde....

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5. Discussing Jekyll and Hyde

While The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is by all means a wonderful story, I find that a lot of people rip this story off when they use the evil split personality trope. The funny thing is, Jekyll and Hyde is actually a better example of a dark side coming from one's own flaws rather than that of an evil split personality. In the story, Hyde is created when Jekyll experiments on himself. What is this experiment? Jekyll is trying to seperate the good and bad from a person to see what would happen if you had an individual who was "unrestrained by morality ". Guess what that means, kiddos. Hyde, in a way, IS Jekyll. Hyde is Jekyll unrestrained by morality. He's all of Jekyll's flaws anthropromorphed into a person. Hyde isn't a case of DID. Personalities created by DID, also known as "Alters" , are created by the individual experiencing trauma at a very young age. Trauma so severe, their brain develops different personalities just so that that person can deal with it. Hyde isn't an alter. He's a glorified display of all of Jekyll's flaws created by science magic.

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6. So what do?

According to people far more knowledgeable about DID than I could ever be, alters generally aren't violent mass murderers. Alters can, however, be angry and even violent. Another thing to take into consideration is representation. Do you really want to risk representing a group as terrible people? I personally do not recommend using this trope if you're just starting out. DID is a complicated topic for a lot of people. If you really want to take the plunge, I highly, HIGHLY encourage you to do your research.

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7. Final thoughts

Dark sides can be so much fun to do. There's so many directions you can take them in, and different ways of going about giving your character a dark side. However, be careful if your dark side is in some way due to a mental disorder your character has. If you don't feel as though you're ready to tackle mental disorders, I'd strongly recommend staying away from using them. When done right, a dark side can make a character not just sympathetic or scary (depending on what you're going for), it can create an interesting character.

Thank you for reading, and as always, please let me know what you think.

I apologize for wasting your time.

-ATOUN

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bethkerring · 5 years

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10 Tips for Writing Characters with Depression

Depression isn’t exactly the easiest topic to write about, in fiction or otherwise.

I’ve struggled with writing about it personally, and I’ve experienced it, so I know it must be a hundred times harder for people who have never been through it. I’ve seen depression, as well as other forms of mental illness, pop up more and more in books, movies, TV shows, and other forms of popular media, and the quality of that representation is … extremely varied. Sometimes it’s done so beautifully it affects the way I view my own experiences, and sometimes it’s so bad that I worry for how many people it harmed.

I’ve also heard writers talk about how scared they are to write about depression, because they want to do the topic justice and aren’t sure how to present it accurately if they don’t have personal experience. I’m not an expert by any means, but frankly, I don’t think anyone is. Everyone’s experience with depression is different, but I hope that sharing some of the things I’ve learned from my experience and others’ can help writers create characters with realistic and properly represented mental illness.

That said, a quick disclaimer: these tips are, again, based on my personal experience and those of people I know. They are not universal, and not everyone agrees on everything. If you’re writing a story that features one or more characters with depression, please do your own research and listen to as many different experiences as you can.

Also, trigger warnings for, obviously, discussion of depression, as well as brief discussion of suicide.

Good? Good. Let’s go.

1. Depression is an illness, but that doesn’t mean it’s just like having the flu. I’ve heard people compare mental illness to physical illness to make the point that we don’t take mental illness seriously, treatment is harder to get, we blame people for mental illness where we don’t with physical illness, etc. And these are all perfectly valid points. But it’s also important to recognize that the metaphor does, at some point, break down. Mental illness is, indeed, an illness, but the way people experience it and the way it affects their lives is often very different from, say, catching a cold. It’s often a long-term condition, for one, and we know a lot less about the mind than the body. There are some similarities, and mental illness should be taken just as seriously as physical, but mental illness also comes with some unique factors that often make it more difficult to treat.

2. There are countless treatment options, and there is no one universal “cure.” If someone discovers that they have depression, the solution isn’t as simple as “get therapy” or “get medication.” Those are two possible treatment options, but the treatment will depend on the severity of the depression, how long it’s lasted, the individual’s life situation, and, most importantly, what the individual prefers. Some people don’t want to go on medication but like the idea of therapy. Some people can’t find/afford therapy and want to try medication instead. Some people do both. Some people seek other treatment options or decide to give it time before deciding, especially if the depression is clearly related to a life situation. Everyone is different, and treatment options are exactly that: treatment, not cures. What works for one person will not necessarily work for another, and even if a treatment “works,” that doesn’t mean the depression goes away forever.

3. Therapy can be expensive and hard to get - and finding the right therapist is even harder. I’ve only had one experience of searching for a therapist as an adult, and let me tell you, the process itself ended up actually contributing to my depression. Though every country is different in terms of access to good therapy (counseling, especially), my country—America—has a long way to go. First you have to find a good counselor in your area, then you have to see if your insurance (if you have insurance) will cover treatment with that particular counselor, then you have to see if you can afford what the out-of-pocket cost will be, then you have to make an appointment that works with their hours and your schedule (some therapists don’t work weekends or evenings), then you actually go to the therapist and hope that they are a good match. If you’re very lucky, this is the end of the process.

If you’re like many, though, you realize the counselor isn’t a good fit, and the process begins all over again. All while you’re suffering through the mental illness you need treatment for.

It should also be recognized that therapists aren’t perfect: they’re human beings with differing personalities and approaches to treatment, and finding the right therapist is just as important as actually, well, finding a therapist. Because of the position they’re in and how much influence they have on someone’s life, the wrong therapist can potentially make someone’s mental illness worse, or create problems that weren’t there already. Even if a person finds the right therapist, the benefits of that therapy often don’t show themselves immediately, and that good therapist can still make mistakes (saying the wrong thing, making false assumptions, bringing in their personal biases, etc.). Basically, don’t have your character enter therapy and magically end up cured. Therapy can be fantastically helpful and important for someone with depression, but it’s not quick, it’s not always easy, and it’s not perfect.

4. Medication is not a miracle cure. I hope that most people reading already know this, but just in case, it’s worth repeating. Many people with depression have found medication helpful, but there is no “magic pill” to “cure” depression that works for everyone. There are many, many different types of medication, which work in a variety of different ways. Many of them can take weeks to have a noticeable affect, and an individual might need to try several medications—and dosages—before they find what works for them.

Side effects are also very common and can sometimes outweigh the benefits. Even if the side effects aren’t bad enough to stop the medication, they might still be annoying, so be sure to look up the side effects of any medication your character might be taking. Finally, not everyone benefits from or wants to take medication: unmedicated depression is not necessarily untreated depression.

5. Lifestyle changes are also not a miracle cure - but that doesn’t mean they don’t help. I want to be very clear here: telling someone with depression to “just go for a walk” is, frankly, disrespectful toward their suffering. But so is suggesting that they should “just get therapy” or “just get medication.” Treating depression is never simple, and though going for a walk isn’t going to cure longtime depression, exercise and sunlight, among other lifestyle changes, can make a difference to someone suffering from it. Depending on the reason for and the type of depression, someone might find it very helpful to get more sunlight, to take up exercise, to eat healthier, or to spend more time socializing. Conversely, if someone spends all day secluded in their room with blackout curtains and junk food, their depression is unlikely to get better, and may, in fact, get worse. Depression and lifestyle can even become a vicious cycle, where someone feels unsociable because they’re depressed, so they don’t go out, which makes them more depressed. The same goes with not feeling up to exercising because of depression, so lack of exercise ends up contributing to the depression, and eating junk food for comfort, and that junk food making the depression worse. Again, lifestyle may not be a miracle cure (or the sole cause), but consider how your character’s lifestyle may interact with, contribute to, or help their depression.

6. Depression can be caused by a wide range of things, and often more than one. I often hear depression described, almost exclusively, as a “chemical imbalance.” And it’s true that a chemical imbalance can cause depression and, technically speaking, any form of emotion is caused by chemicals in the brain and body. But I don’t believe it’s that simple. Many studies have linked depression to experiences and trauma in both childhood and adulthood. This doesn’t mean that chemicals don’t play a part, or that these experiences don’t affect brain chemistry (they absolutely do), but there is no single cause for depression, and often it is result of a combination of genes, environment, and other factors. Keep that in mind when creating your characters and their backstories. Does your character have a family history of depression? Does this make their family more or less supportive? Has your character dealt with life experiences that contributed to their depression? Is your character dealing with a difficult situation during the story that causes a depressive episode or makes it worse? You don’t have to know the exact balance of nature and nurture—no one does in real life—but consider these factors and remember that depression and its causes are much more complex than you might think.

7. Depression is more than a single episode. That’s not to say someone can’t have just one long (or short) depressive episode, which is then treated and disappears forever, or goes away on its own. That’s certainly possible, but it’s not the norm. Many people with depression experience it as “episodes,” which can be short or long. Those episodes might come about due to a specific event or apparently randomly, and they might end due to treatment or just disappear without a clear cause.

That’s not to say that treatment can’t help prevent future episodes, or make them less severe. But many people with depression don’t expect that their depression will ever completely go away. It might, but for many people, depression is something to treat and to cope with. It may go away for years and then suddenly come back. It may just hit occasionally and, hopefully, less severely as better treatment or coping resources are available. But in my experience, it’s rare that your depression is “cured” just because you feel better. That particular episode has ended, but someone who has proven to be “prone” to depressive episodes is likely to have them again in the future.

8. Stigma toward depression is still alive and well. I’ve referenced this already, but it’s worth repeating: though stigma toward depression (and other mental illness) is getting better, it definitely still exists. People are still accused of “faking it” or “being dramatic” if they claim to have a mental illness, and mental illness is still often brushed aside as not necessarily serious. Plus, the simple fact is that society is much more accommodating and understanding toward physical illness than mental illness: it’s considered more acceptable to ask for a day off of work for a stomach bug than a bad depressive episode, even if they might be similarly debilitating. This differs significantly depending on where your story is taking place, of course, but assuming you’re writing about a real, modern society, many don’t take mental illness as seriously as they should. But this is not universal, and if you’re writing about a society you don’t belong to, please do your research regarding how people in that society react to someone suffering from depression—and remember that your character's family and friends might have personal prejudices that their society doesn’t share.

9. Suicide is a real and important issue - but please be careful writing it. It’s very important to have good representation for people who suffer suicidal feelings. This is a serious phenomenon and people dealing with it should have characters they can empathize with. However, this should not be done lightly, and if you’re going to deal with it in your story, please do your research ahead of time, because bad representation can do a lot more harm than none at all. There are dozens of ways suicide can be written badly, but I especially want to warn against romanticizing suicide and its effects on survivors. Many people who deal with suicidal feelings think that, if they kill themselves, the people who hurt them will finally see the pain they caused and either get their “just desserts” or become better people. Though this feeling is common, this is very dangerous to present as a reality—not only because it (unintentionally) might help convince someone suffering from suicidal feelings that suicide will accomplish their goal, but also because it’s almost always false. Suicide rarely leads survivors to suddenly regret all any harmful actions—even if it does, it often doesn’t happen to the people who caused genuine harm. Usually, the people who wallow in guilt are the people who genuinely cared for the person and did their best to help them, and they will be stuck with that guilt for the rest of their lives—sometimes leading that survivor of suicide to attempt suicide themself. Most often, suicide leaves the survivors confused, angry, grieving, and understanding even less than they did when the person was alive—and in the rare case that they do understand the harm they caused, and regret it, there is still nothing to be done. The person is dead and the survivors live on in guilt. Nothing is solved. Nothing is fixed. There is just more pain. So please, be careful when writing suicidal feelings, attempted or completed suicides, or the reactions and survivors—do your research, read real people’s stories, and consider the effect your writing will have on those reading it.

10. Yes, you can live a full and happy life and still deal with depression. This might sound like some cheesy motivational post, but it’s completely true and very important, both for people suffering from depression and people who write characters who suffer from depression. Just because your character has depression does not mean that they will live a life of constant misery—and your character’s depression does not have to be cured for them to have a happy ending. A “happy ending” for someone with depression might be finding a form of treatment that helps, or coming to understand that things will get better, or learning to ask for help from those that love them. Even learning that they aren’t broken because of their depression can be a valuable and life-changing lesson. Be realistic when thinking about where your character ends up, but also keep in mind that many, many people live with depression and, with time and support, can find a treatment plan and coping resources that allow them to enjoy life and be happy.

Original post on my website.

#writing #writing tip #writing mental illness #depression #writerblr

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sandstonesunspear · 6 years

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Best Friends

Supercorp, Lena-centric

Found a prompt chart for Pride Month and figured I’d try my hand at it. I’m a day behind because life. Parings are random.

Based off this headcanon from @unnecessary-database. Thanks for letting me run with it today.

AO3

When Kara had first asked her to do a TedTalk, Lena had immediately said no. She was, after all, a Luthor. Who in their right mind would want to listen to a speech given by a woman who was the sister to a psychopathic mass murderer and the daughter of a woman championing genocide and terrorism in the name of humanity?

You’re not Lex, Lena, and you’re not your mother, Kara had protested almost immediately before pulling out her trump cards: a pout and a set of puppy dog eyes.

Between Kara’s words and the puppy dog eyes, Lena never stood a chance. She had just sighed and agreed to exactly one talk, ignoring the way her stomach fluttered at the wide smile on Kara’s lips.

Three days later, she spoke on the need for more women in STEM while highlighting the achievements of those currently in the field.

Women in STEM is not some idealistic or politically correct idea, she had told the audience. It is a must, because you cannot be what you cannot see, and there are little girls out there who have ideas that could save the world, but unless they see themselves represented here, in a room exactly like this, those ideas will just stay ideas.

It had been well received. She had received a standing ovation from the crowd once her speech was over and journalists in attendance had written glowing pieces about it. To her surprise, one successful TedTalk led to the request for another one, which was just as well received as the last one. Before she knew it, she was being asked to give more talks at science and education conventions.

I can’t believe they want more, she had told Kara over dinner.

Kara had just laughed. Why wouldn’t they? You’re an amazing woman, Lena.

Lena had felt her stomach flip at Kara’s words and settled for ducking her head instead of stammering out a response.

It was no surprise that when she bought out CatCo, Lena made sure that there a TedTalk channel was quickly set up. Unlike many of the other TedTalks she had given in the past, the videos featured on the CatCo channel were more comical, but still incredible informative. The features videos covered a wide variety of topics, from self-defence, which featured Agent Danvers throwing around a hapless Agent Demos,

Sandra Bullock was pretty spot on for the SING method. Agent Demos here is going to help me demonstrate it for those of you who are unfamiliar with it. Agent Demos grabbed her. So, SING: Solar plexus. A pained grunt from Demos. Instep. A yelp from him. Nose. A sickening crunch followed by swearing. And groin.

Whoa whoa whoa wait, Danvers--- A swift jab backwards that was followed by a squealing noise and then a thump as he collapsed.

To mental health, which saw Lena speaking about what it was like to be the sister of a mass murder,

You come home and find out from the news that your brother is a psychopathic mass murder. What do you do? she had started. Well, first thing’s first, you take a deep breath, close your eyes, count to three, and tell yourself that you are not to blame.

She had locked eyes with Kara. Because you aren’t your brother and holding yourself responsible for his crimes isn’t doing him or you any favours.

And more. There were few things that Lena wasn’t willing to cover, especially as she grew more comfortable with the compliments and praise the videos received. Having Kara as a rehearsal buddy certainly helped as well.

That was great! They’re going to love it! Kara would always say.

I think you’re a bit biased, Kara, Lena was say, blushing and rolling her eyes as her stomach flipped.

Maybe, Kara would shrug while her smile would turn shy for just a second.

It was about nine videos before Lena realised she had a crush on Kara. Every time she would see Kara’s proud smile in the audience, she felt her stomach flip. It took a conversation with a very exasperated Sam to make Lena actually do something about it.

“She’s my best friend, Sam,” she said for the umpteenth time.

Sam just rolled her eyes. “People don’t buy media companies for their best friends,” she said. “CEO’s with no idea of scope and have a major crush on someone who works for that company do.”

“It was a business decision!” Lena protested. “What better way to counter negative press than by buying a press company!”

“Aside from how unethical that is, you and I both know that’s not the reason you bought CatCo, and besides, CatCo hadn’t printed anything negative about you,” Sam said. “If you wanted to counter negative press, you would’ve bought the Daily Planet because they dragged you through the mud after Lex was arrested and to be honest, the tone they take whenever L-Corp comes up isn’t the greatest.”

Lena scowled at her friend.

Sam tried a different tactic. “You wear her NCU sweatshirt when you’re at home, Lena,” she pointed out.

“Kara left it and I get cold sometimes,” was Lena’s immediate response. .

“Uh huh.” Sam sighed. “Why don’t you just tell her?” Lena gave her a flat look. “Maybe drop some hints?”

“Hints?”

“That there’s something more there.”

Lena bit her lip.

“Look, I’m not saying outright tell her, just, do something, please?” Sam asked. “Before you buy out Netflix or something for her.”

Lena leaned back. “I’ll think about it.”

It was several days before Lena came up with the idea to do a TedTalk on how to make a best friend. It was her way of channelling her feelings into something productive while. That it would be a rehearsal of sorts for the day when she actually confessed said feelings to Kara just happened to be a convenient bonus.

Unlike previous TedTalks, Lena chose not to rehearse this one in front of Kara. Instead, she had dragged Winn into her office and used him to practice. To her dismay, he had started tearing up the first time he heard her speech. Winn was quick to reassure her that it wasn’t a bad speech, there was just a lot of emotion and subtext underneath.

It makes you sound human, he had said. More than the other TedTalks you gave, which is good.

Lena ran through it a few more times just to make sure. Winn nodded approvingly at each one before giving her a thumbs up.

You’ve got it, he had said and smiled. Lena’s stomach had remained still at the sight as she returned it.

That had been just two days ago. Now that she was on stage, Lena could feel her stomach getting ready to fly up her throat.

“Miss Luthor?” one of the stagehands asked.

Lena glanced at her.

“You’re up.”

Lena walked out onto the stage. She was met by cheers and applause and smiled. She waited for it to settled down, scanning the crowd while she waited. Almost immediately, she found Kara sitting in the front row next to Winn.

Lena felt her heart stutter in her chest. She took a breath. Then, Kara gave her an encouraging smile. She felt herself relax.

It’s just like any other TedTalk.

“So, you’re trying to make a best friend,” she started. “Where do you start? What do you look for? Well, in my experience, a best friend is someone who will stand by you despite your name and accept you for you.”

She saw Kara’s eyes widened.

“They’re someone who thinks that you’re a hero even though you feel like you’re not.”

Even with the distance between them, Lena could see tears starting to gather in Kara’s eyes.

“They’re someone who inspires you to be better and holds you up even when things look rather bleak.”

She locked eyes with Kara.

“And they’re someone that you could love.”

She could see Kara starting to cry silently. She bit her lip and focused back on the crowd.

“If you find someone with some or most of those qualities, then congratulations, you’ve found your best friend.”

Laughter broke out. Lena smiled right alongside with them before clapping her hands. “Now for the hard part: becoming friends with them…”

Lena was in her office going over the latest reports from R&D when Kara walked into her office. She looked up to see the Girl of Steel looking rather nervous. She raised an eyebrow.

“You look like someone just told you that they’re closing down Noonan’s,” Lena remarked.

“What? Oh, no, I’m fine,” Kara stammered out. “Wait, are they really?”

Lena laughed. “No, they’re not,” she said. “Although, if you’re concerned, I could always buy them for you.”

“That’s not necessary!” Kara rushed out. She let out a short breath. “I’m actually here to talk about your TedTalk.”

Lena bit her lip. “What about it?”

“What you said, were you talking about me?” Kara asked.

Lena sat back. “Yes,” she said without hesitation. “You, Kara Danvers, are most definitely my best friend.”

“So, that part about a best friend being someone you could love, does that mean…?” Kara trailed off.

“That I love you?” Kara nodded. “Yes.” The moment the words were out, Lena felt panic flare in her gut but she quickly pushed it back.

There’s only two outcomes, nothing to be afraid of, she told herself.

“Oh.”

Lena looked away, feeling a flush creeping up the back of her neck. “You don’t return the sentiment,” she guessed and tried to hide the embarrassment and grief that was starting to settle in.

“I do!” Kara blurted out.

Lena blinked. She stood and walked around her desk to stand in front of Kara. “You do?” she asked.

Kara nodded. “I do,” she said quietly, giving Lena a small, shy smile. “I just, you know, didn’t want to say anything because you’re Lena Luthor, CEO of L-Corp and to the rest of the world, I’m just Kara Danvers, journali--”

Lena interrupted Kara by pressing her to hers. It was an impulsive move, but it was one she didn’t regret. She placed her hands on Kara’s hips and let her eyes slip shut as Kara kissed her back. She felt Kara place her arms around her shoulders.

They broke apart when air became an issue.

“Sorry,” Lena apologised. “I couldn’t let you put yourself down like that. You’re not just a journalist, you’re my hero, Kara.”

Kara’s cheeks turned pink. “You really have a way with words, Miss Luthor,” she teased.

Lena grinned. “I would certainly hope so,” she said.

Kara pressed her forehead to Lena’s. “So, how what?” she asked.

Lena pretended to think. “How about dinner?” she suggested. “I was thinking about that place on 32nd street, the one with the potstickers that you like.”

Kara smiled widely. “Sounds perfect--” She cut herself off when the sound of alarms from downtown filtered in from the balcony. She winced. She looked back at Lena. “I’m sorry, I have to--”

Lena placed a hand on Kara’s chest, right on top of where she knew Kara hid the crest of House El.

“Go,” she told Kara. “It’s okay, we’ll talk more tonight. Now, go be a hero, Supergirl.”

Kara nodded. “I’ll be back,” she said as she stepped towards the balcony. She glanced to Lena, then she was gone.

Lena watched with a fond smile as Kara flew off.

“A Super and a Luthor, who would’ve thought?”

#supercorp #kara danvers #lena luthor #my writing #supergirl

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claireolejar-blog · 6 years

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Social Media & Participatory Culture

In class last week, we talked a lot about digital literacy. This week, we talked and learned about the participatory culture theory and its relation to digital literacy. The participatory culture theory helps us understand the different changes going on in our current technological world. According to Henry Jenkins, participatory culture embraces the values of diversity and democracy in media through every aspect of our interactions with one another (Jenkins 2010). This theory overall assumes that we are capable of making decisions, and that we should have the ability to express ourselves through a broad range of different practices.

According to the Jenkins article, participatory culture is defined in many ways: “with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement”, “with strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations with others”, and “where members believe that their contributions matter as well as feel a social connection with one another” (Jenkins 2010, p.9). Participatory culture is overall emerging as a culture that responds to the new array of media technologies that make it possible for average consumers to archive, annotate, appropriate, and recirculate media content in powerful new ways.

I myself participate in many social media platforms; for example: snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, VSCO, and Youtube. I love being apart of the online world as it gives me the opportunity to engage with my friends and family members. It also allows me to receive the latest news, or silliest memes. I participate on Facebook mainly to keep in contact with distant relatives and close friends. This app gives me the opportunity to not only share my own life updates with my family/friends, but for me to see what the latest update is with my own family and friends. Snapchat is another app I use, as it allows me to share pictures/videos with my friends quickly. I usually will share funny moments I experience over snapchat, as well as share videos about what is going on, on a particular day. I kind of use snapchat as a “vlogging or blogging” platform to update my closest friends about what is going on in my life. Instagram is my absolute favorite media platform. I love creative pictures and videos, and Instagram allows me to see not only my friends photos, but other cool profiles photos. There are just so many cool things on Instagram that I love; there are food videos, hair tutorials, travel pages, etc. I just feel this app offers the most self expression. VSCO is sort of similar to Instagram, just not as big. VSCO you strictly post pictures, and your followers can simply like the picture or re-vsco it, otherwise, that is all you can do. Lastly, Youtube. Youtube is probably my second favorite app, maybe even my first. Youtube acts as a google for me. I often times search videos for my sign language class on Youtube, but also like to watch other random videos such as travel vlogs, vloggers, news outlets (interviews), and more. Overall, what inspires me most to engage with others online is the fact that it opens new doors to so many things. You can meet friends over social media, as well future bosses over social media. You can simply catch up on a friend or family member, as well as follow up on certain news outlets, like E! News. There is just an endless amount of connections online that allow people to communicate and interact with one another - and that is what I love the most.

Some content that I have shared online are Instagram pictures and Youtube videos. On my Instagram, I usually will share/post pictures of my vacations with my family, or just general events that are going on in my life. I don’t have a specific target on my Instagram, I just kind of post whatever I feel like. On Youtube, I have made several class related videos. But my all time favorite is using Youtube as a platform to post my travel vlogs. My personal Youtube account is basically a platform of “home movies” that I have made over the past 5 years while traveling. I have never been apart of an online community/movement, but would be open to the idea of doing so.

"According to a 2005 study conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life project (Lenhardt & Madden, 2005), more than one half of all American teens (and 57 percent of teens who use the internet) could be considered media creators” (Jenkins 2010, p.8). I found this statistical fact to be super interesting. This fact represents how big of a deal media is becoming amongst our younger population; teens are using media as a way to make an income, or simply just a hobby. Media creators are people who create media content such as blogs, podcasts, vlogs, artwork, photos, videos/stories, and so much more. Our younger culture is embracing this new technological culture as a way of life, or as Jenkins likes to put it, the participatory culture.

In the article by Hinton & Hjorth, it outlines how participation plays into the big idea of social media. Participation is the central idea of what social media is becoming in our current world. Social media encourages production, distribution, and storage of content less challenging and affordable (usually even free). Something I found interesting in this article was the mentioning of the word “produsage”. I had never heard of this word before reading this article, and found it very interesting, as it relates to the concept of this week’s class very well. In this article, they illustrate the word produsage as the type of user lead creation that takes place in a variety of online environments, such as a crowd sourcing, Wiki, citizen journalism, and online activism. Produsage just shows how we as a community are engaging in not only the internet but society itself.

In the article by Hinton & Hjorth, I really liked how they defined participation in the eyes of media. They stated that “our online experience increasingly involves methods of actively providing information about what we are doing, or what we think of something” (Hinton & Hjorth, 2013). They gave the example of liking a Facebook post. This is one interactive way our society tells people what we like on the internet. Liking a Facebook post can indicate that you clearly like what the person posted. Maybe you like what the picture or message portrays, or maybe this is your way of agreeing with something someone has posted. There are many different forms and meaning to participation.

References:

Hinton, S., & Hjorth, L. (2013). Understanding Social Media. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Jenkins, Henry. Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. 2010, www.macfound.org/media/article_pdfs/JENKINS_WHITE_PAPER.PDF.

#socialmedialearning

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jessefferguson · 6 years

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My Double Life: 5 Years And Going

It’s been a LONG TIME since I wrote one of these, so I figured now was as good a point as any.

Words, spoken out loud, are funny. They can mean very different things.

Try this one:

I am still here.

and

I am still here.

Both of those are the best summary I can think of for how I feel today since today, May 21, is the 5th anniversary of when I was diagnosed with cancer. Five years ago, I sat in a sweltering doctors office in Washington, D.C. as he told me the results of my first biopsy. Five years later, I still have it.

After 5 years, I have two conflicting emotions: I’m still here (thank God) and I’m still (only) here. Five years later, not much has really changed but, also, everything has.

Over the 5 years, I’ve sort of lived a double life – that of a cancer patient and that of a political operative. Sometimes they overlap but, more often than not, they’re separate worlds.

By my best count, over the 5 years, I’ve had 4 surgeries, 33 days of radiation, upwards of 60 rounds of either chemotherapy or targeted therapy, about 75 blood tests, and 150 doctors’ appointments. And over the same 5 years, I’ve worked on 191 television ads, 311 polls, thousands of press releases and speeches, spent over $100 million (of other people’s money), and sent over 40,000 of my own tweets.

I continue to believe the same thing I did – and wrote about - 5 years ago, there are three keys to getting through this sort of thing: (1) Your family and friends; (2) Doctors who are the best; (3) Doing something with your time that you love to do. Even on the worst days of work, the fact that I was doing the work I wanted to do made it that much more possible to fight a disease I did not want to deal with.

WHAT’S THE LATEST WITH ME

I’m living and working from Brooklyn, still. I decided to stay here after the Clinton campaign ended rather than move back to D.C. for a bunch of reasons – closer to my doctors at Sloan Kettering and further from Trump at the WH. Both sounded like good ideas.

For just under a year, I’ve been on a clinical trail and it’s getting some pretty good results. It’s a targeted therapy drug and I’m one of the first to apply it to my unique disease. It’s unlikely to result in me being “cured” or “cancer free” but it’s definitely shrunk the disease in my skin tissue and throughout my head, neck and chest. It’s also brought down the swelling. The swelling issues are far from gone, but they’re better. The best case is that it continues shrinking things; the next best case is it stops anything from getting worse again. Either way, it’s turned my condition to a chronic one, for now. I’ll take it.

Every three weeks I do the same routine. I book a someone to come clean my house for that morning and I take a car down to Sloan Kettering. I take a blood test. The doctor and I talk about medical stuff for a few minutes and politics for a few minutes and then he sends me for treatment. He’s not from America and has a healthy interest in all the crazy things in our politics.

It takes them about 2 hours to prepare the drug, so I have found a corner in the hospital that is usually empty for work — open the laptop, put on the head set and get to work. It’s my own cancer-center-based mobile-office. I have edited TV scripts and polls, held conference calls, did a radio interview and even convinced a donor to contribute – all from a table in a hospital waiting room. Last week’s discussion was about the placement of a media buy. It’s amazing what you can pull of when people don’t really know where you are.

The drug I’m on is an easy one – targeted therapy. It’s like a smart bomb of chemo that only goes to the cells that have the disease. The worst part is the IV, which I barely notice anymore and after 30 minutes, I’m out. On the road home to a clean house with the mild side effect of an uneasy stomach for a few days. Compared to the other drugs I’ve been on, this is like a piece of cake took a walk in a park.

How long will I stay on it? No clue. But it has made this condition chronic. If you offered me a deal today — get this treatment every 3 weeks for 30 minutes and the disease stays under control, I’d sign in a minute. I’d sign it for the next 10 years. For now, I’ll stay on it unless or until it stops working – then I’ll try something else.

WHAT HAPPENED SINCE 2016

As you may remember from my last blog post, just before election 2016, I had spent the previous 6 months working while dealing with the return of my disease.

On election night 2016, I did venture out. It wasn’t something I did often but I wanted to be with the team that night at the Javits Center in Manhattan. I could, now, try to pretend that I had doubts about the outcome of that night to try to make myself look extra smart, but that would be bullshit. I didn’t; I thought we’d win.

The beginning of that afternoon and evening were great. We were monitoring voting and doing the work we needed to do and I was also seeing some good friends who I had been away from while I worked the last few months from home.

Then, the results started and the mood changed. My heart started to sink, but I kept hoping. Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and others poured in. We knew we needed to hold Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania to make it work.

While we waited for those results, I got up to go to the bathroom. As I stood at the urinal, a friend who had better sense for numbers and data than I do, approached the stall next to me. We looked at each other with the same forlorn look of despair as if our confidence was waning. He said “I just looked at the latest data from Michigan; it’s gone.” And with that, I found out we had lost in a way befitting the occasion -- standing at a urinal.

Whether you believe we lost because of a mission from Russia or a miss in Michigan, or any other reason, one thing was clear: we lost the electoral college. It was over. And while I stared at my peers and colleagues – friends who had hired me and friends who I had hired – I couldn’t stop thinking, “What’s next?”

Despite what you might see or hear, the group who I worked with on that campaign were some of the smartest, most talented and most committed people I’ve ever had the privilege to work with. As I stared at all of them, I wonder what was next for them. As I thought about it more, I worried what was next for me.

At one point, I wandered away and ended up sitting in the middle of the massive loading dock in the Javits Center with 4 senior staff from the campaign. There where shipping boxes, fork lifts, and one table with a few plastic chairs in the middle. We all just kind of stared at each other. Someone would say something about what we should do or what we should say and we’d all agree but, for the life of me, I couldn’t tell you today what anyone said.

As the night ended, I was one of the last ones to leave. I’m not really sure why, I just couldn’t. I kept finding someone else to talk to. I was trying to be a bit of team cheerleader – as best as was possible at that moment.

At around 4:30am that night, I left the Javits center along side two reporters I had gotten to know. We walked for a bit and then they got into cabs and drove off. I just started walking. And walking. I was thinking about what had happened and what it meant for the country. And, if I’m honest, what it meant for me. I had cancer and had just devoted two years of my life to trying to win the presidency – and had failed. I just kept thinking, maybe even crying a bit, and walking.

When I looked up, it was 6 am and the sun was rising. I had walked from the Javits Center at 36th street down almost to the World Trade Center. Much like I did while wandering around the streets of Washington on May 21, 2013, I had done lots of thinking. But now it was November 9, 2016, and it was time to go back to work. I took a cab home, slept for a few hours, and opened my laptop.

WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING SINCE

Since the campaign ended in 2016, I’ve been “consulting.” I’m still not sure what “consulting” means but it’s what I’m doing. I’m working on my own for a variety of political projects on a variety of important issues, trying to lend my experience to things where I think I can do something interesting and make a difference in the insane moment we’re in right now.

My work has ranged from the fight over the tax plan and some new digital campaign innovations, to a new polling project and an advertising campaign and others. It’s all kept me busy and kept my mind going – in the fight and doing what I love to do. The work is good cause it’s meaningful, it’s the work I want to be doing, and the variety of projects appeals to my attention-span-of-a-fruit-fly-nature.

It’s also allowed me to speak up a bit more about what I think, which has been quite a change. For the last 15+ years, I’ve always represented someone else – the DCCC Chairman, Secretary Clinton, etc. Now I’m speaking more and writing more in my own voice.

I still feel somewhat like a hermit. I live and work in my Brooklyn apartment. I get out more now than I used to, but, nothing like I did when I was healthy. When you’ve been dealing with this as long as I have, you start to lose track of what looking, feeling and being normal would be like. I get to the deli almost every morning and they know to make my eggs and have my iced coffee ready. Others around know me too. Life is easy and that’s important for me right now. One of these days, I’ll be up for making it harder again – but not yet.

THE HEALTH CARE ISSUE

The first project I took on was to help some friends with the coalition fighting the Obamacare repeal legislation. It’s been a hard-waged battle over the last 16 months to improve health care for people instead of letting it get dismantled.

But it’s also been the first time my double lives overlapped a bit. When the Affordable Care Act passed Congress, I was at my office near capitol hill, celebrating with everyone else. But it didn’t really mean anything to me. It was a good thing, but it wasn’t personal.

Seven years later, when repeal of it failed – repeal that would undercut protections for people with pre-existing conditions like I have – it was a very different moment. In fact, when the first repeal plan was pulled from the House floor, I was actually sitting at Sloan Kettering getting my chemo. I was on the phone talking with someone working with me while in the hospital room getting treated as a news alert came across my computer screen.

I don’t often invoke my own personal health care situation while working on the issue because it shouldn’t be about me. I’m fortunate and would be able to get the care I needed if I had to. But sitting there at age 37, with an IV bag dripping a toxic chemical designed to keep me alive into my arm, I certainly had a different perspective than I had 8 years earlier as an otherwise-healthy, overweight 29 year old who saw passage of the ACA as a good reason to go to the bar and celebrate.

FIVE YEARS AND COUNTING

Once and a while I think about what I could be doing if I was fully healthy. I get sad. Maybe I get mad. As I approach 38 years old at the end of this year, more and more of my friends are having their first or second child and I’m forced to think if my life would be different if I hadn’t gotten this diagnosis five years ago. For sure, it would be. But, in the end, you play the cards your dealt and make damn well sure it’s a game you enjoy. You could win big or you could lose your shirt, but either outcome has to be worth it.

Five years ago I was diagnosed with a disease that probably should have killed me. Five years later, I’m still here. When I put it that way, it actually brings a smile to my face. I know talking about having cancer isn’t something that normally is joyful but being able to do what I love while living with the disease sure beats the alternative.

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