#thats not how representation works. its not how media criticism works. its stupid | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

onewomancitadel · 1 year

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It's been confirmed that a LOT of the writers for The Witcher actually Hated the show. The hated the franchise and the fandom. Thats the problem with a lot of modern stories really. The people writing them don't care and don't take the work seriously. You see it with shows like She-Hulk which is a horrendous take on the character that the writers admit they knew was terrible when they wrote it and only did it to attack the fans. Not write a good story. These people write out of hatred.

Thanks for your ask, but I am going to qualify that the source for the writers hating the show comes from an ex-writer who left the show, and we don't know how acrimonious (or not) the writers' room was. I'm not one to leap to conclusions but I do think if there's direct evidence (e.g. like the source I provided) of funny business it's worth criticising, because a commercial grab (and general trend of narrative cynicism) is a commercial grab.

I know absolutely nothing about S/he-Hulk because I refuse to pay any attention to M/arvel films or media because I don't have anything polite to say about them. It is frustrating that gender is used as a defense or attack on both sides about the show (I heard of that furore about it unfortunately) though because it obfuscates the actual issue at hand (which is the same with W/itcher to some degree because of Y/ennefer's and C/iri's storylines in the first season), so it makes it harder for everyone to have a real conversation about sincere (or insincere) storytelling. I don't like the implication that (me, especially as a onewomancitadel lol) I have to turn off my critic's hat for the sake of female representation which isn't truly actually radical or interesting at all. (Frankly I don't think M/arvel is all that good on representation front anyway but that's neither here nor there because ultimately I think the foundation of the universe is creatively defunct and offers absolutely no transformation or change or coherent ideas and add in the military propaganda and you have issues.). The masculinist storytelling of True Detective's Season 1 might be offputting to some (though I think particular to that it's not men as the default, just exploration of men), in its philosophy and ultimate thematic catharsis it aligns with things I think are truly interesting and moving.

Then again I'm also somewhat of a problem because I take issue with the idea women only entered visible storytelling in the past few years and this is either a really good thing or a really bad thing depending on whom you ask, because it's just ignorant of worldwide storytelling in general and ignorant of a lot of recent literary and cinematic history. (Certainly I'll allow that much of the discussion takes place in popular culture). But it's like I've written before about fairytales in R/WBY: R/WBY is not, at least in my opinion, making fairytales feminist in whatever fashion by making Salem the protagonist of her own Lost Fable: if it's aberrant, it's aberrant to modern storytelling, but it's certainly not aberrant to feminine storytelling in fairytales historically.

If I've trod on any toes here with anything I've said: I want diverse and interesting and radical storytelling and storytelling to be meritocratic (not in the dickhead sense, in the actual sense of valuing storytelling as an art) and actually about, you know, contributing to something meaningful. I also don't want to be condescended to about gender. Or some idiot with a silver spoon in their mouth telling me ackshually their story about killing bad guys (that you would be stupid to feel compassion for) is radical and transformative because a girl is doing it instead. (:

I don't even think hating/loving the source material is necessarily the issue at hand. You can claim to or act like you love the source material but it doesn't make you a good storyteller (is every old fanfic off the block all that good? Even if it comes from a labour of love? Though probably more sincere than what gets put out for some media lol).

Respect is a little bit of a different question, and so is understanding the thematic thrust of a work and what makes it what it is. Adaptation is really different from writing an original work too, because it's putting you in the interpretive role, which is a different skill that needs developing. I'm sure that it must already be hard because ego is so involved. There's a sense of ownership you want to assert over a story, and that can complicate things. I'm sure you can think of many examples of this where it proves to be too much.

So, I think there's something even more damning here than hatred, because at least that would be passionate: I think it's cynicism (there are lot of nepobabies who don't believe in the art of writing in the industry) and commercialised storytelling (art as content and that asks you to consume more content). I can't really speak to what the personal opinions of the storytellers are but I can certainly analyse their methodology. Though if you do put stock in what the ex-writer said and what an ex-director said, apparently they do actually dislike the source material. Lol. That's one part of it imo and it's part of a much more damning and $$$ driven cycle. To be fair in regards to The W/itcher, genre fiction has always had a bit of bias against it: not real or serious literature to worry about. Then again I doubt these people read very much either. That is a real motivator though and it contributed to the downfall of another major political-fantasy show because it effectively broke the ending.

I think what's demoralising is that you can have successful media (and successful and accessible pop culture) that is smart and respectful. Thoughtful writing heightens spectacle. Thoughtful adaptation can amplify the original material. Thoughtful narrative twists and character development make people talk. Just look at what proved popular in H/OTD: the scene that carried cultural transaction and weight was D/aemon helping his sick brother-king up the stairs and crowning him after his crown fell. That was character- and emotion-driven. It was smart. (Also improvised).

Then again, bigwigs who care about none of this - not the writers and not the actors and not us - have ever-hungry pockets with unrealistic expectations of the next G/OT and think that the average person is stupid and you can just emulate G/OT's fame via bruteforcing the spectacle of extreme violence and sex and maybe dragons or something.

The only conclusion I can draw is that writing is not taken seriously as an art and is secondary to everything else that production pours its money into. It seems like a banal conclusion but it seems like the only one. It's coupled with cynicism. It's a disrespect for the actual talent needed to write well (because nepobabies and networking, seriously if you think I'm making it up, do websearches on the writers of most of these shows and you'll see that they trip upwards. There is a certain show that I shan't mention by name because none of you can force me to and they basically got their shoe in the door with recommendation of J. J. Abrams himself). I mean, I've encountered enough people who think that basic things I talk about (foreshadowing, setup and payoff, thematic consistency, blah blah blah) are too complicated and no story would use that and you're overthinking it. There's a cycle of cultivated ignorance and disrespect for writing. I think that is largely related to a growing resentment of art as an industry and the general sense you can just automate that stuff I guess? What's the point in writers? Just throw in a few twists and quips, that will keep people happy.

So it's probably even worse than you think. Enjoy!

#seraphina's asks #user: anonymouse #stirring the pot

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uselessheretic · 2 years

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this is a post thats just me complaining based on my feelings as a black person on ofmd and the reaction to it. people can do what they want and be critical of whatever. nobody needs to stop complaining abt ofmd. this is just me complaining abt ppl complaining and this is my official disclaimer of please dont be obnoxious to me

tumblr keeps making me insane bc i keep getting mad at purposefully bad faith and ill meaning "critiques" of ofmd that arent actually trying to open a dialogue or anything, but are just. unpleasant. which its ok to be critical of things including the show i just think a lot of people are fucking idiots unwilling to examine media in an actual critical fashion and instead are just 1. negative for the sake of being negative and 2. shuts down any further conversation on the topics to the point of removing agency from other poc in fandom and the poc (and black ppl specifically) making and acting within the show. like its not possible that other people might just have different opinions on how to portray history, no ofc not, we have to be patronizing and assume that the black writers just dont know any better and are too ignorant of their own history to understand their own subjugation.

its just annoying and unproductive in a way that goes beyond discussing analysis of the show and its relationship to race, and instead gets stuck on this black and white viewpoint that doesnt just express "i dont care for this show" which is fine, but makes sweeping generalizations that ppl consuming the media or participating in fandom are all co-conspirators to bigotry and GOD its so stupid bc its a standard that is flat out not applied to other media. like i dont understand how people can say that black sails is flawed but ultimately good, a show that portrays both fictional and irl slaveowners with white characters who participate in the slave trade and assist in the sexual abuse of a black woman, and in the same breath discredit ofmd as a whole.

like! it doesnt matter that much but it is disheartening bc there flat out isnt that much media with this type of representation both in the show and in the writers room. i feel like people are so used to taika being in big marvel things that they forget that its not common for an indigenous man to be able to act/create things. and nobody needs to watch the show or be kind to it, but it does feel kinda fucked up that theres this encouragement for others to also not watch it or that ppl engaging in fandom are doing harm when theres just not much media with a gay indigenous love interest. theres not much media with latinx nonbinary people and esp not any of them dating a black man.

theres not much media with a writers room as diverse as theirs, where theres several black women/nonbinary black ppl in the writers room alongside other poc (THREE nonbinary writers of color!!!) same with having directors of color, makeup artists, and other crew members who are left off of set and have a hard time finding work in an industry that is not kind to them.

and idk! i think its kinda fucked up that this is not a big show, and that hbomax gave it very limited promotion and the vast majority of its promotion has been from the cast openly pleading for a second season, and word of mouth, but that criticism of it goes beyond personal distaste or open conversation, and instead is this stupid ass thing of promoting this stupid ass idea that a fandom existing is proof that theyre bigoted and that the show never shouldve existed in the first place.

it just sucks i guess! as a black person who genuinely likes the black representation in the show, and feels comforted seeing that the black cast are all openly joyful about the show and have talked abt being able to incorporate their culture within it, and the relief of having a writers room full of poc dedicated to not doing harm. like i was trying to find the article where leslie jones talks abt being excited about having her pirate boots and 20 husbands and how fun the character was to play, and the first thing that popped up on google was a handful of articles about the harassment she received for ghostbusters and the lack of support from her cast members. and it makes me sad that there arent many roles for black people in general, but that the black cast has been so positive about this story and have felt so connected to their characters.

and i just dont see the point in trying to take that away i guess? where you can just not watch the show, and you can be openly critical of it too, but it feels like an over expansion of that criticism to the point of discrediting the writers and actors as unknowing victims, actively and explicitly discouraging a fandom to emerge (the only thing sustaining a show that has not received support bc idk how to break it to ppl but networks arent kind to gay shows with casts of color,) and then purposefully shutting down any conversation on the topic including people bringing further context into the convo. (like that the actor loves the name roach, or that there are prominent black writers on the show, or that a lot of criticism has been specifically addressed before the show started and you dont have to agree with their approach, but its weird to erase the fact that thought went into this via a diverse room)

and its just fuuucking insane specifically because its criticism that is not leveraged at other shows!!!! at the very least, people cant sit here and explain how black sails is more woke than ofmd, a show with very few prominent poc where the main ones are a black woman raped on screen and a slave! with characters ALSO based off of real historical figures (the guthrie clan was a real clan!!!!!!) and white main characters who participate in the slave trade. and im p sure doesnt even have a single poc in the writers room? at the very least i desperately need people to be consistent.

be critical all you want, but it fucking suuuucks that its a hypercriticism being leverage against a show that doesnt have network support and only is able to get attention because of fans/word of mouth. and its fucking annoying how 1. its not even taikas show like he produced four episodes of it so idk why critique is mostly directed at only him but okay and 2. this weird thing where it feels like people deracialize him where i know he makes it look easy bc of how massively talented he is as a creator, but its not easy to get representation for māori or indigenous people and it SUCKS that it feels like people are discrediting and ignoring the fact that there isnt really any gay representation for indigenous ppl :(

anyways this was my long winded way of saying im going to try and be off tumblr for a bit bc this site irritates me and i need to stop being annoyed at tv things bc ppl can do and consume what they want just jfc it annoys me

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liquidstar · 3 years

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i think people who argue about which childrens cartoon has the “best” lgbt representation based solely on whether or not they like the cartoon are the ones that represent our community badly, like, youre embarrassing us lmao

#no critical thought whatsoever its just like ''this shows my personal favorite so its better and the one you like sucks waaa'' basically lol #im not saying its not an important discussion to be had but this is literally just ppl acting like 5 year olds on a playground #and overlooking the important context of the censorship and production but ppl have already said that. bc its obvious if ur not dumb #thats not how representation works. its not how media criticism works. its stupid #and i love animation a lot as a medium i truely do but please for the love of god #stop treating shows meant for kids like theyre the end all be all of media #trust me i get that rep like this can be extra important for kids to see but i dont think its a coincidence that ppl who like #only see things in these super unnuanced ways are the ones that only consume media for children w rly black and white morals #bc its meant to be simple bc its for kids. like challenge your brain a little please #this is what happens when you dont develop analytical critical thinking skills at all -_-

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bidokja · 3 years

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I feel like orv ebook coming out revised will also change the webtoon (as in it would probably be based on revised edition instead of original) so ig time to prep myself for being called stupid and fetishizers somewhere down the line by the webtoon readers for dokhyuk and lgbt rep in orv lol

well. i agree that it will probably affect the webtoon, and i honestly think that what singshong is doing with their edits surrounding YJH and KDJ is bad and homophobic.

but i would definitely not go so far to say ORV originally has LGBT rep in it, at least not in any good way. singshong do NOT deserve any pats on the back for how they wrote anything even slightly related to characters being LGBT. literally None of it is good or respectful.

like. while i, personally, do believe KDJ is bisexual, and that there's plenty of things in canon that support that...it's not like that's ever trully canonically confirmed. and it's not just "oh he's bisexual he just doesn't say the Word". we don't even get that level of implicit confirmation, because everything is intentionally vague.

even the whole incident with Fate and "the one he loves most" was arranged so that "the one he loves most" could be interpreted as either the entire KDJC or YJH specifically. and so that the "love" mentioned was never solely or explicitly romantic whatsoever. while it's possible to interpret it as romantic love for YJH, that is not the only possible canon interpretation for it, you feel.

and like. people need to realize that they made it vague like that on purpose. not to give us readers the thematic freedom over the story, but because gaybait like that - where its vague enough for fujos to confidently cling to it AND for homophobes to plausibly deny it AND for LGBT people to start hoping for more - draws in a wider audience. it's the same thing for the relationship between Uriel and Gabriel. it's all intentionally vague, and i promise you that is Not for the benefit of LGBT readers hoping for it to be canon lmao.

and this bait happens in many moments throughout the series. for example, the "Companions of Life and Death" is never explicitly romantic companionship in nature. Midday Tryst is also a form of gaybait just from the name. The bait is also in the form of Jokes (at gay/bi men's expense) about other characters thinking KDJ and YJH are together when they aren't.

moving on from that, the only confirmed trans rep we have is JHY and Nirvana. JHY's identity is handled Horribly, especially at first. her revealed gender identity is treated with confusion at best, as well as outright transphobia multiple times from both KDJ and YJH. it's also transphobic for Nirvana to be a predatory TGNC stereotype, with the way they act towards YJH as well as YJH's reactions.

i don't think i even have to mention like. Anything involving Loki and how extremely and violently transmisogynistic That One Scene was especially.

as much as i - as a bi trans man - like to draw from these negatives and reform them into positives in any fan-works i make, it needs to be said that singshong did not make ORV with LGBT people as a tatget audience, and almost entirely uses negative tropes and gaybait. they do not get credit for simply including LGBT characters when they write them like this. they don't get the benefit of the doubt from me: i don't think for a second that their intent was to make LGBT character for the sake of representation. LGBT characters in ORV are just for bait, for making fun of, and for violence. that's literally it.

like. i know thats a downer. i get it. but the reality is that singshong are not on our side. theyre not our friends. and theyre not do their best while being flawed. there's no effort put in for LGBT people. none.

that being said, of course i still really do like the story and themes of ORV, and of Course i'm still gonna be making a ton of LGBT-centric ORV content. and of course it's not like platonic bonds are any lesser than romantic bonds in real life. but like. these arent real people, theyre characters without agency and who are written by imperfect people. we need to be critical and realistic if we are to responsibly indulge in this series (and Any media). it sucks and it hurts, but we can't just ignore all the bullshit singshong does and go "lgbt rep!!" simply because they include a few LGBT characters.

#this got rlly long and im on mobile #homophobia ment #biphobia ment #transphobia ment #transmisogyny ment #ky speaks #orv #also!! to the person who sent this:#i dont want you to think that i think You dont know all this already #but i do have a certain following on this blog so its important for me to make My stance clear here #i don't know you and so this response is not a criticism of You it is merely my view about singshong's handling of LGBT characters #ask

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la5t-res0rt · 4 years

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this was written several weeks ago in response to asks i was receiving i am posting it now it is very long the longest i have ever made and it is not very well edited but here it is in this final essay i talk about how shitty rae is about black people in her writing as well as just me talking about how her writing sucks in general lets begin

hello everyone

as you may know i have received a lot of anons in the last week or so about issues of racism in the beetlejuice community both just generally speaking and also within specific spaces

i was very frustrated to not be getting the answers i wanted because i typically do not talk about what i do not see but in an effort to be better about discourse i went looking through discourse from before my time in the fandom and i also received some receipts and information from my followers and from some friends

keep in mind that the voices and thoughts of bipoc are not only incredibly important at all times but in this circumstance it is important that if a bipoc has something to add you listen and learn and be better

i admit that when this happened i wasnt aware of the extent of what occurred and im angry at myself for not doing more at that time and i want to work harder to make sure something like this doesnt go unnoticed again

im a hesitant to talk about months old discourse because i have been criticized for bringing up quote old new unquote but this is very important and i am willing to face whatever comes from to me

lets talk about this

content from our local racist idiot that may be months old but its important

putting my thoughts under a cut to spare the dash but before i begin obviously this is awful

lets fucking unpack this folks

right out the gate op states that she supports artistic freedom but then within a couple words she goes against that statement

being entirely canon compliant isnt artistic freedom and even so if this person has so much respect for canon they wouldnt be out here erasing lydias obvious disgust for beetlejuice in the movie or ignoring lydias age for the sake of shipping that shit isnt canon either

also we love the quick jab at the musical there hilarious we love it dont we because god forbid a licensed and successful branch on a media have any standing in this conversation but whatever

now lets scroll down and talk about the term racebending

the term racebending was coined around 2009 in response to the avatar the last airbender movie a film in which the east asian races of the characters were erased by casting white actors in the three leading roles of aang sokka and katara

whenever the term racebending is used in a negative light it is almost always a case of whitewashing like casting scarlett johansen in ghost in the shell or the casting of white actors of the prince of persia sands of time instead of iranian ones

this kind of racebending erases minorities from beeing seen in media and is wrong

all that being said however racebending has also been noted to have very positive after effects like the 1997 adaptation of cinderella or casting samuel jackson as nick fury in the marvel movies nick fury was originally a white guy can you even imagine

i read this piece from an academic that said quote writers can change the race and cultural specificity of central characters or pull a secondary character of color from the margins transforming them into the central protagonist unquote

racebending like the kind that rae is so heated about is the kind of creative freedom that leads to more representation of bipoc in media which will never be a bad thing ever no matter how pissy you get about it

designing a version of a character as a poc isnt serving to make them necessarily better it serves to give new perspective and perhaps the opportunity to connect even more deeply with a character it doesnt marginalize or erase white people it can uplift poc and if you think uplifting poc is wrong because it tears down white people or whatever youre a fucking moron and you need to get out of your podunk white folk town and see the real world

the numbers of times a bipoc particularly a bipoc that is also lgbt+ has been represented in media are dwarfed by what i as a white dude have seen myself represented in media is and that isnt okay that isnt equality and its something that should change not only in mainstream media but in fandom spaces as well

lets move down a bit further to the part about bullying straight people which is hilarious and lets also talk about the term fetishistic as well lets start with that

this person literally writes explicit pornography of a minor and an adult are we really going to let someone like that dictate what is and what isnt fetishistic

similarly to doing a positive racebend situation people may project lgbt+ headcanons on a character because its part of who they are and it helps them feel closer to the character and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that

depicting lgbt+ subject matter on existing characters isnt an inherently fetishistic action generally things only really become fetishistic when the media is being crafted and hyped by people who are outside of lgbt+ community for example how young teens used to flip a tit about yaoi or how chasers fetishize trans people

but drawing a character with top surgery scars or headcanoning them as trans is harmless and its just another way to interpret a character literally anone could be trans unless if their character bio says theyre cis and most of them dont go that deep so it really is open to interpretation and on the whole most creators encourage this sort of exploration because it is a good thing to get healthy representation out in the world

as for it being used to bully straights thats just funny i dont have anything else on that like if youre straight and you feel threatened and bullied because of someone headcanoning someone as anything that isnt cishet youre a fucking idiot and a weak baby idiot at that like the real world must fucking suck for you because lgbt+ people are everywhere and statistically a big chunk of your favorite characters arent cishet sorry be mad about it

lets roll down a bit further about the big meat of the issue which was when several artists were drawing interpretations of lydia as a black girl which i loved but clearly this person didnt love it because they have a very narrow and very racist and problematic view of what it means to be a black person

and before i move forward i must reiderate that i am a white person and you should listen to the thoughts of poc people like @fright-of-their-lives or @gender-chaotic it is not my place to explain what the black experience is like and it certainly isnt this persons either

implying that the story of a black person isnt worth telling unless if the character faces struggles like racism and prejudice is downright moronic

why use the word kissable to describe a black persons lips now thats what i call fetishistic and its to another extreme if youre talking about a black version of lydia on top of that

the author of this post says herself that shes white so clearly shes the person whos an authority on the black experience and what it means to be a black person right am i reading that right or am i having a fucking conniption

how about allowing black characters to exist without having to struggle why cant a black version of lydia just be a goth teenager with a ghost problem who likes photography and is also black like she doesnt have to move to a hick town and get abused by racist folks she doesnt have to go through any more shit than she already goes through and if you honestly think thats the only way to tell a black persons story you need to get your brain cleaned

you know nothing about the complexities about being a black person and i dont either but you know wh odo black people who are doing black versions of canon characters they fucking know

lets squiggle down just a bit further

so the writer has issues with giving characters traits like a broad nose or larger lips if theyre a woman but if theyre a man suddenly its totally okay to go all ryan murphy ahs coven papa legba appropriation when approaching character design like are you fucking stupid do you hear yourself is that really how you see black men like what the fuck is wrong with you

none of the shit youre spewing takes bravery it takes ignorance and supreme levels of stupidity

do you really think you with your fic where a black lgbt+ woman is tortured and abused where you use the n word with a hard r to refer to her like that shits not okay its fucking depraved and yeah we know you love being shitty but like christ on a bike thats so much

can we also talk about this

what the fuck is this fetishistic bull roar garbage calling this black character beyonce dressing her up in quote fuck me heels unquote are you are you seriously gonna write this and say its a shining example of how to write a black character youre basically saying ope here she is shes a sex icon haha im so progressive and i clealry understand the black experience hahahaha fuck you oh my god

on top of that theres a point where this character is only referred to as curly hair or the fact that the n word is used in the fic with the hard r like thats hands down not okay for you to use especially not in a manner like this jesus christ

oop heres a little more a sampling for you of the hell i am enduring in reading this drivel

oh boy lets put a leash on the angry black woman character lets put her in a leash and have the man imply hes a master like are you kidding me are you for real and what the fuck is with calling her shit like j lo and beyonce do you actually think thats clever at all are you just thinking of any poc that comes into your head for this

also lydia fucking tells this girl that she shouldnt have lost her temper like she got fucking leashed im so tired why is this writing so problematic and also so bad

hold up before i lose my head lets look at some of her own comments on the matter of this character and what happens to her

hi hello youre just casually tossing the word lynch out there in the wide open world as if thats not a problem that is still real like are you fucking unhinged there have been multiple cases of this exact thing happening in our firepit of a country in the last five months alone like how can you still have shit like this up for people to read how can you be proud of work like this in this climate

and also what the fuck is that last bit

what the actual fuck

i dont speak for black people as a white person but you do!? im sorry i had to get my punctuation out for that because wow thats fucking asinine just because one black person read your fic and didnt find the torture and abuse of your one black character abhorrant doesnt mean that the vast majority of people not only in the fandom but in the human population with decency are going to think its okay because its not

i started this post hoping to be level headed and professional but jesus fucking christ this woman is something else white nationalism is alive and well folks and its name is rae

if you defend this woman you defend some truly abhorrant raecism

editors notes

in order to get some perspective on these issues more fully some of the writing by the author was examined and on the whole it was pretty unreadable but i want to just call back to the very beginning of this essay where the person in question talked about holding canon in high regard but then in their writing they just go around giving people magic and shit and ignoring the end of the movie entirely like are you canon compliant or nah

the writing doesnt even read like beetlejuice fanfic it reads as self indulgent fiction you could easily change the names and its just a bad fanfic from 2007

also can we talk about writing the lesbian character as an angry man hater like its 2020 dude and als olets touch on that girl on girl pandering while beetlejuice is just there like here we go fetishizing again wee

i cant find a way to work this into this already massive post but

im going to throw up

okay so thats a lot we have covered a lot today and im sure my ask box will regret it but this definitely should have been more picked apart when it happened

please feel free to add more to this i would love more perspectives than just my own.

#long post #racism #raecism #im so tired #thanks for reading

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patriotsnet · 3 years

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Who Do Republicans Think The Whistleblower Is

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/who-do-republicans-think-the-whistleblower-is/

Who Do Republicans Think The Whistleblower Is

Opinion: At Hearing Republicans Sink To New Lows In Trying To Expose Whistleblower

Do voters want the whistleblower to testify?

At Tuesday mornings hearing of the House Intelligence Committee, ranking Republican Devin Nunes appeared to attempt to get information that would lead to the exposure of the whistleblower whose complaint touched off the impeachment inquiry.

It was a disturbing moment in a set of hearings that have featured many of them, and it showed just how determined Republicans are to get that persons name out into the public so they can initiate a campaign against them and distract the publics attention from the substance of the impeachment inquiry.

It came during the questioning of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, one of many officials in the Trump administration who was shocked and appalled by President Trumps fateful call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. Unlike others, Vindman was one of those listening in on the call.

Nunes asked Vindman whom he spoke to about the call; Vindman listed a number of officials with a need to know, including George Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state in charge of Europe and Eurasia. He also mentioned an individual in the intelligence community, without giving a name.

Identifying the whistleblower and then releasing his or her name publicly has become something of an obsession for Republicans, though their explanations for precisely why they want to do this run from the incoherent to the absurd. And its important to understand why this would be so dangerous.

Trump Says He Wants To Box Biden On 9/11

Washington The House Intelligence Committee and lawyers for the whistleblower who filed a complaint about President Donald Trump’s conduct are discussing extreme measures to protect the individual’s identity amid growing concerns about his or her safety, according to several sources familiar with the process.

Other Agencies Protect Identities

In both the Securities and Exchange Commission and IRS;whistleblower programs, which can feature multimillion dollar awards, the agencies scrupulously protect whistleblowers identities.

For example, the SEC program permits whistleblowers to submit their information anonymously. Over the 10 years of the program, SEC attorneys have told us many times that targets of the resulting investigations are not informed of;the existence of a whistleblower,;let alone the person’s identity. The IRS provides similar assurances of confidentiality.;

The protections that shield the Ukraine whistleblower from disclosure wisely mirror these corporate whistleblower protections.

The reason for such policies is self-evident. Whistleblowers point people to critical facts being hidden. But they sometimes provide information about misconduct of which they have little or no direct knowledge. The whistleblower may provide a witness directory but not be a witness. In that case, the governments case will generally not depend on the whistleblowers credibility, but on the credibility of witnesses with firsthand knowledge and evidence.

Safeguarding an identity:Trump has no right to confront the whistleblower who triggered an impeachment inquiry

If the opinion of congressional lawyers prevails, we may never know who blew the whistle. And that is exactly how it should be. The whistleblowers service is done. It is up to the witnesses;now.

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Some Gop Senators Buck President Trump Rand Paul On Calls To Release Whistleblower’s Identity

Republicans and Democrats were quick to defend the whistleblower.

White House officials skip their scheduled testimony in impeachment inquiry

Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill are coming to the defense of the whistleblower at the center of the impeachment inquiry after President Donald Trump and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., called for the individuals identity to be revealed.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Monday said in response to Trump’s comments that it was up to the whistleblower to decide whether or not to come forward.

“That’s strictly up to the whistleblower,” Grassley told reporters.

“All I want to do is make sure the law is followed,” Grassley said, when asked by reporters if the president’s comments were appropriate. “A person like me that has advocated for whistleblowers for a long period of time — including this whistleblower — I want maximum protection for whistleblowers.”

Long-standing whistleblower laws protect the identities of government employees who come forward with accusations of wrongdoing within the government. The whistleblower’s lawyers have said that revealing their client’s name could threaten their client’s personal safety and that there have already been death threats made against the individual.

ABC News is not reporting on the whistleblower’s identity. All that is publicly known of the whistleblower is that he or she is a member of the intelligence community.

Republicans were quick to denounce Paul’s charge.

Freedom Of Association Protects The Identities Of Whistleblowers Acting Collectively To Expose Wrongdoing

In addition to the right of whistleblower confidentiality enshrined in the Inspector General Act,;the First Amendment right of association is a compelling justification to bar outing a whistleblower or compelling a whistleblower to out other whistleblowers.

About three decades ago, the Government Accountability Project , a non-partisan organization that defends whistleblowers, received a subpoena from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission concerning GAPs representation of whistleblowers disclosing safety concerns about the South Texas Project, a nuclear plant nearing completion southwest of Houston. ;GAP provided information about their clients safety concerns but omitted the informants names and other identifying information on the basis that compelled disclosure of their identities would undermine GAPs ability to assist whistleblowers in presenting safety concerns to the NRC and the public.

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Republicans Echo Trump In Suggesting Whistleblower Complaint Is Politically Motivated

Republicans responded with a collective shrug to explosive news that an intelligence official had lodged a complaint with the inspector general about President Trumps communications with a foreign leader, the latest example of GOP lawmakers falling in line.

Rank-and-file Republicans on Friday repeatedly dodged questions about a whistleblower allegation that a promise Trump made to a foreign leader jeopardized national security. Some even went so far as to dismiss the complaint as politically motivated even though they hadnt seen the full details of the allegation.

Its not like we havent seen this movie before: Democrats come out, theyre all spun up, Adam Schiff makes all kinds of statements, and then when the facts come out, whoa, different story! said Trump-ally Rep. Jim Jordan , the top Republican on the House Oversight and Reform Committee. He compared the latest allegations to claims that Trump worked with Russia to win in 2016. This seems to be the same kind of deal.

The GOPs nonchalance even extended to the decision by acting director of national intelligence Joseph Maguire not to share the complaint with Congress, though the law says explicitly that national security matters deemed urgent should be shared with intelligence committees on Capitol Hill.

A few Republicans did express concerns as details emerged, but they were reluctant to criticize the president or even suggest Trump had done anything wrong.

Will The Whistleblower Testify

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who chairs the U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee, has said it is likely the whistleblower wont testify in person, citing security concerns.

However, on Sunday, Zaid said his client would answer questions directly from Republican members in writing, under oath and penalty of perjury in a bid to stem escalating efforts to reveal the persons identity.

READ MORE: White House learned of CIA whistleblower soon after complaint filed but how?

In a tweet, Zaid said being a whistleblower is not a partisan job, nor is impeachment an objective.

That is not our role, he wrote, adding that Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, a ranking member of the House intelligence committee, had been notified of the offer.

Lebo, though, says he doesnt think it is necessary for the whistleblower to come forward and testify.

Pretty much all the aspects of the story that the whistleblower first brought to our attention have gone in front of congressional committees and have been corroborated by witnesses, he said.

With files from the Associated Press

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Gop Senator On Whistleblower Complaint: ‘there’s Obviously Lots That’s Very Troubling There’

Donald TrumpFormer Sen. Heller to run for Nevada governorOvernight Defense & National Security Milley becomes lightning rodJoint Chiefs Chairman Milley becomes lightning rod on rightMORE and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky contained lots thats very troubling, warning his GOP colleagues not to dismiss it.

Republicans ought not to be rushing to circle the wagons to say theres no there there when theres obviously lots thats very troubling there, Sasse said after reviewing the complaint, according to an NBC News reporter. The administration ought not be attacking the whistleblower as some talking points suggest they plan to do.

However, Sasse also castigated the media and House Democrats, who have announced an impeachment inquiry based on the whistleblower complaint, saying, Democrats ought not to be using the word impeach before they have the whistleblower complaint or before they read any of the transcript.

SASSE also says The administration ought not be attacking the whistleblower as some talking points suggest they plan to do.Heres more of s full Response:

Frank Thorp V

The media humbly should not pretend that this story is about something thats going to be resolved in the next two hours, he added. Done right with lots of deliberation, this is going to take a lot of time, but theres obviously some really troubling things here.

They’re Already Running The All

WE WANT THE WHISTLEBLOWER: Republicans DEMAND Testimony at Impeachment Hearing

More than two and a half years into the Trump presidency, Republicans have a tried and true strategy when it comes to dealing with whistleblowers or any other witnesses who threaten to expose the president and his administration’s corrupt or unethical behavior. Following the president’s lead, they do everything in their power to discredit the individual and destroy his or her reputation, questioning the subject’s honesty and integrity, portraying her as a politically-motivated opportunist, and digging up whatever kind of dirt they can true or not to sully the person’s name. After tarring and feathering the witness or whistleblower in question, they move on to the press and the journalists who reported the story, fulminating against the “fake news” media and the dishonest reporters who would do anything to bring down the president. Finally, if things really look bad, they point to a vast “deep state” conspiracy to undermine and ruin President Trump, who has spent the past three years fighting off baseless smears and treacherous attacks from people within his own government.

The whistleblower report has now been provided to the congressional intelligence committees and, according to Schiff, the whistleblower has asked to testify and could do so as early as this week. One can only hope that he or she is prepared for the mudslinging vitriol and intimidation tactics that Republicans are getting ready to deploy.

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Trump Impeachment Inquiry: Three Republican Claims Fact

BBC News

President Trump and his Republican supporters are fighting hard to control the narrative of the ongoing impeachment hearings, hitting back with their own allegations against Democrats and the whistleblower at the origin of the affair.

They’re also questioning the actions of Ukrainian politicians, as well as pushing for greater scrutiny of allegations that Joe Biden and his son Hunter were up to no good in Ukraine.

Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the committee holding the impeachment hearings, made three specific claims in his opening statement on Tuesday.

So what are these allegations and how valid are they?

Why Are Republicans Hell

By David Morgan,

6 Min Read

WASHINGTON – An aggressive push by President Donald Trumps Republican allies to unmask an anonymous whistleblower who ignited the impeachment inquiry could help shore up voter support for Trump, as Congress enters a critical new phase of televised hearings, party officials and strategists say.

The whistleblower, a U.S. intelligence official who complained about Trumps July 25 telephone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has in recent days increasingly become a target of noisy attacks by Trump, his allies in Congress and the conservative media, all of whom have pushed for the whistleblower to be named.

Trump has suggested the whistleblower committed treason.

Lawyers for the whistleblower have refused to disclose their clients identity and have expressed fears for the persons safety. They say Trump is violating federal laws.

Let me be clear: should any harm befall any suspected named whistleblower or their family, the blame will rest squarely with your client, whistleblower lawyer Andrew Bakaj said in a Nov. 7 cease-and-desist letter to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone.

Democratic lawmakers say they no longer need to hear from the whistleblower to make their case that Trump abused his office for personal political gain. The president has denied any wrongdoing and accused his opponents of a witch hunt.

It fits in the larger narrative that this has been a partisan effort from the beginning, the official said.

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Key Takeaway #: The Partisan Fight Over Whistleblowing That Took Place In And Around The Impeachment Of President Trump Has Not Caused A Partisan Split On Whistleblower Protection For Federal Employeesregardless Of Party Voters Overwhelmingly Agree That Federal Employees Who Blow The Whistle On Government Misconduct Should Have Stronger Legal Protections Against Retaliation

In this question, respondents were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with this statement: There should be stronger legal protections from harm for whistleblowers who are federal employees who report fraud in government programs.

In every region of the United States, voters support federal employee whistleblower protections. The survey shows that whistleblower protection has a bipartisan, multi-faceted coalition of supporters who believe that civil servants who risk their careers to report fraud and other misconduct should be protected.

House Republicans Want To Subpoena The Whistleblower

According to The Hill, it looks like we need to prepare for a Category 5 idiot wind howling in from the House Republicans.

Republicans intend to subpoena the government whistleblower to testify in the Houses impeachment investigation into President Trumps dealings with Ukraine, according to Rep. Jim Jordan .

The effort is not likely to bear fruit, as Democrats have rejected the idea of outing the anonymous figure, citing safety concerns, and they have veto power over any GOP subpoena requests for witness testimony.

But Trump and his Republican allies in the Capitol have made the whistleblower a central part of their defense, casting doubts about the figures political motivations, even as they readily acknowledge they dont know the persons identity.

Donald Trump Jr. has already named the person the Republicans suspect of being the original whistleblower and RealClearPolitics published an article explaining their suspicions. House Republican staffers have used his name in private depositions in an effort to get his or her name in the public record. And I suppose this is the person they would have to subpoena since I dont think you can subpoena someone unless you can name them.

That the American public has to be subjected to this crime against reason could form its own article of impeachment.

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Gop Senators Attack Whistleblower’s Credibility

Republican senators scrambling to protect President Trump

GOP lawmakers are asserting the whistleblower did not have firsthand knowledge of the actions detailed in the complaint and question whether the person had a political agenda.

It doesnt come from a person with personal knowledge. Its like I heard these people say this, and now Im reporting it. I think that is pretty bizarre, said Sen. John CornynJohn Cornyn‘New normal’: GOP signals big headaches for Biden after midtermsEmbassy says US can’t guarantee safe passage to Kabul airportDemocrats take first step toward .5T spending planMORE .

Secondly, after a certain point, it doesnt just allege facts, it really is kind of a dossier or political diatribe, so I think there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical. Having said that, we are in the process of talking to the director of national intelligence and the inspector general.

Chuck GrassleyLobbying worldRural community foundations support the ACE Act you should tooCotton to stump for Iowa GOP candidate amid 2024 speculationMORE , who has had a reputation for protecting whistleblowers, said the one at the center of the Trump impeachment inquiry didnt necessarily deserve protections.

If they are not really a whistleblower, they dont get the protection, he said.

I think the whistleblower did the right thing, Maguire told the House Intelligence Committee.

I want to know who was the person that went to the whistleblower, he said.

The Washington Post: Schiffs Claim That The Whistleblower Has A Statutory Right To Anonymity

Note: this article, featuring our National Security Analyst Irvin McCullough, was originally published here.

Schiffs Claim That The Whistleblower Has a Statutory Right to Anonymity

I am concerned about a bad-faith effort to out a whistleblower who has a statutory right to remain anonymous.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff ,;in a closed-door deposition of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, Oct. 29, 2019

The whistleblower has a right to anonymity. There are public reports that the life of the whistleblower has been threatened. We do not want this committee used, or this testimony used, to try to exact political retribution against the whistleblower.

The whistleblower has the right, a statutory right, to anonymity. These proceedings will not be used to out the whistleblower.

Schiff, in a public hearing with Vindman, Nov. 19, 2019

Does the whistleblower who filed a complaint about President Trump have a statutory right to remain anonymous, as Schiff claims?

Its not a right spelled out in any statute. But national security experts warn that disclosing the whistleblowers identity could expose him to danger and retribution, and chill whistleblowing in general.

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princessesfanarts · 7 years

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Racebending a black character like Tiana into any other race is harmful because black women have so little representation compared to, say, white women. Thats why its fine to racebend snow white and aurora, etc, because you arent actually stealing representation from white women---they have enough to go around. If black women werent marginalized in media then this probably wouldnt be an issue--but they are. so racebending tiana is harmful. Im unfollowing over this and others should too.

Well so long and please for the love of god do not come back !

The fact is that yes black women are under represented in medias . That does not mean automatically that those fictional black women are to be separated of the rest of the fictional characters . The artist did a racebend exercise of disney characters , Tiana is a disney character , Tiana belongs here .

A racebend is not about erasing the race of the original character , it’s about being creative enough to reinvent the character in a different setting while still keeping its main traits .

The fact that Tiana is black should not separate her from other disney characters . She is not untouchable . She is a disney character like any other . And she is african american . The original canon character is african american . How is a racebend suppressing the representation ?

Just a tip for you : Ariel , Aurora and Snow white aren’t “ representation for white women” . They’re disney characters with their own stories and struggles and their tale are supposed to be universal ( and they are because disney movies are translated in almost every language in the world ) .

Tiana is representation for black women . But she is also a disney character with an universal tale, her own story , her own struggles . Tiana’s character does not stop at her representation role . Because her character does not stop at the color of her skin .

While having her being african american is important given the fact disney is an american company ( and I was here when the princess and the frog was being made and I saw how every choice disney made for this movie was turned political by the fanbase ) it’s being plain stupid to reduce her to the color of her skin and try to differenciate her from other disney princesses .

I’m gonna tell you what is the problem : I have had this blog for several years , I have posted countless of serie depicting the disney princesses . And the sad sad truth is that Tiana is very very very often left out . I don’t know about the personal motivation of every artist who left tiana out of their work but I know some of them did it because they were afraid of the backslash . They knew that in whatever way they would depict Tiana they would be criticized for it . I do not say this is the motivation of all the artist who do that but it’s the motivation of some and Tiana is left out of the disney princess mythology because of people like you .

TL;DR: Tiana is a disney princess , the artist did a racebend of disney princesses , tiana belongs here .

#rey-s-speeder

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smallbenson17-blog · 7 years

Text

Task 2 unit 24, Collect and prepare background research

Published scripts

The first paragraphs in the script is very discripted about the location and the scene, its important that this information is written down and set before characters are introduced to keep the script in order so that mix ups don’t happen. The sounds and characters are also discribe so that the director and casting people know exactly what there looking for, there is a divide so that there is no confusion with the dialogue and description. All the directions are made simplier using short forms of writing. The second part doesn’t contain much information in the setting as we have already seen a very deatiled lay out of the scene. Actions are also made very clear to be avioded with any other type of movements or action it could be.

The script created for the talk show is what a normal talk show script would look like, including all the dialogue and topics of convosation that could be brought up. The drama script the speech is a lot shorter and easier to be seen. Actions are added using paragraphs around the audio so that movements match perfectly with convosation. The other script has less detailed movements added into brackets which is more likely to be easier to read for the first time.

Factual information

When undergoing the process of creating a script it is important who ever the writer is knows everything about the topics they are covering, if that be portraying a character to undergoing a task. For example if a writer was basing a production on a drug addict they would have to learn about what a drug user looks like, how they feel, what they would say and most importantly about the mental abuse they deal with. If this is portrayed wrongly the script could come across unprofessional or if the topic is a little more of a touchy subject it could upset certain people.

Writers get a better understanding of topics through talking to experts or working with people that were at certain scenes in a first hand experience, for example war and conflict. A writer must understand how real life solider’s operate on the battlefield if they want to get the full emotion and the idea of a situation across to the viewer, it also makes the script more appealing to production companies that may be interested in buying the rights. Historical films and series also need to have an accurate representation or when it comes to being viewed by an audience they risk being slated for inaccuracy which could result in a loss of viewers if a writer creates a stupid script. Its also important that some sort of explanation is given when characters are performing actions that have been made up by a writer so for example if an actor is performing surgery on a creator thats made up or if someones hacking into a made up system. If it is badly explained viewers can be easily confused by a situation and mislead certain story lines.

Opinion

In order to create a good entertaining script the opinion of the writer must be included and shown to the audience through the writing, you have to make sure that the audience understands whats going on and keep them entertained. You have to keep the audience asking questions and having their own opinions to keep people talking and arguing about the film/show. For example if there was an actor who was shown to be the main leading hero character, but throughout the film there are suggestions that they may be with the bad guys or a leading bad guy, we see this in the film Salt where the main character seems to be switching constantly.

Speculation

It is vital that if your script is based around some sort of important event such as war, politics or crime that is doesn’t come across as labeling a certain group of people or one individual as bad. This is a good way of creating hype around your production so the viewings are likely to be good but theres always the chance that critics will give bad ratings could stop people viewing. There are ways around the bad press however, it is completely fine to take the mic out of everyday life and make a joke of events or people similar to the ones that have happened in real life. As long as no names are dropped it is considered completely fine.

Script transformation/Existing material from other creative media

The most popular material to be turned into another form of creative media is books, the most popular books that get published tend to be picked up by production companies. Some films are built exactly like the book to almost guarantee success but some are changed slightly or have completely different characters. One of the most popular styles is to create a whole new story but in the fantasy world of the book including the same sort of enemy creatures and situation. Productions tend to make sure there is a strong presents of character development, its important characters develop throughout story lines its even more vital in a series. An excellent example of character development would be in the series The Walking Dead as we see characters go through the apocalypse and change dramatically through the actions they perform.

#Unit 24 task 2

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