The Walking Minorities: Bitten, but not Dead

I like The Walking Dead. While I only paid attention to the Telltale video game, I still keep tabs on the comic and tv show. The original comic and the video game are in the same universe, albeit with some characters being adapted for the video game. The tv show, arguably the most recognizable to the public, is in its own world. So when the tv show is constantly under fire for how racist and sexist it is (C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!), I feel obligated to address the problem and defend the franchise.




Let's start with the main issue. According to TV Rage's article, the show starts "in Atlanta, the population of which was 54% African American, but of the rather large initial group of survivors, there were two African American characters" and one dies rather quickly. The remaining black man, T-Dog, remains a background character until season three. Then, he finally reveals himself to be a devout Christian, gets bitten, and sacrifices himself to save Carol, a white woman. All in the same episode. But don't worry; he is soon replaced by Oscar, a prison inmate who doesn't even make it to half a season, and Michonne, an angry black woman who does nothing but hate everyone, alive or undead. The one black man slot is then filled by Tyreese when Oscar dies. Why do all of our black characters die? Why can't there be multiple black men for more than three episodes in a row? It's as if the writers of the TV show add black characters only when they have to and really are racist against black people.




If the TV show is racist for constantly placing its black characters into red-shirt sidekick roles, then why does the video game have two black main characters? Is it because the video game demographic is appealed by diversity?

My experience at Acen, part 2: cosplayers and body types

http://www.gweem.net/4.html
http://red3.blogspot.com/2011/07/in-defense-of-fat-cosplay.html
http://geekalitarian.wordpress.com/2012/06/21/cosplay-race-and-fat-shaming/
At ACen, a lot of people cosplayed, including me. There was also a lot of diversity in the cosplayers, which I thought was pretty cool. There were people of all races and physiques cosplaying. Several cosplayers in wheelchairs dressed up with the people who assisted them. Picture requests were everywhere and the atmosphere I experienced was very friendly.

However, some cosplayers were not so lucky. While I saw some cosplay girls wearing sexy costumes (Mario, Wario, Luigi, Waluigi, WOLVERINE, Spiderman, etc.) being drooled over, I also noticed several overweight cosplayers being made fun of due to their largeness. Both groups were being objectified, but the double standard is that the sexy girls got praise, while the overweight cosplayers got disdain. This standard is wrong and ignores the real spirit of cosplay.

The word 'cosplay' combines 'costume' and 'play' to describe people who dress up as their favorite characters from anime, tv shows, books, etc. The essence of cosplay is modifying your appearance to play make believe as your favorite characters, and most people spend hours making their own costumes. Body types shouldn't get in the way of someone's enjoyment of cosplay. The people who criticize fat cosplayers attack them for not having the right body type for the character. But they give gender-bent sexy girls a pass, even though they may be dressed up as originally fat characters such as Mario. These people attempt to impose "no-win rules about what they are allowed to wear. That's not even getting into the ways appropriating fashion standards for conventional bodies onto unconventional bodies can expose the absurdity of those standards" when the models are just as unconventional. Although these girls are just as objectified, only this time as sex symbols rather than targets for scorn. A sexy "male Huntress or Power Girl is a reminder of how dehumanizing portrayals of women" have hijacked the cosplay world. Both kinds of cosplay "have much the same activist purpose in drawing attention both to the objectification of thin women and the way fat bodies are made invisible" because haters are attempting to police everyone until only the sexy girls remain to be gawked at. Overweight cosplayers are shamed for daring "to cosplay conventionally attractive characters" like "she thinks she’s attractive or something" just for the sake of male con-goer fantasy. 

Really, people should "get to make up their own minds on how to express themselves and their fandom," regardless of their actual appearance. Cosplay is a form a self-expression that should be open to anyone without fear of being put down.

My experience at ACen, part 1: creepy white guys, thoughts on Yellow Fever

I had a lot of fun at ACen. It's a great way for anime fans to gather and share their passion for anime. But one fan I met was rather... disturbing. He was an older white man who asked for my picture. I agreed, but once I began to walk away, he tried to talk to me.

"Do you speak Japanese?" he asked in poor Japanese.
"No, I'm sorry, I'm Chinese, I can't speak Japanese," I replied in Mandarin as quickly as I could.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were a Japanese girl." I didn't want to continue the conversation past that and left.

It doesn't seem like a big deal--just a creepy old man targeting young Japanese girls at an anime convention--but it reminded me of yellow fever.

Yellow fever is defined as "sexual obsession felt by a non-Asian (usually white, usually male) towards Asians of the opposite gender" on Urban Dictionary. It is identifiable by a non-Asian's specific targeting of Asians as partners. No other race will do, and the entire Asian race is assumed to fit this non-Asian's stereotype. An excellent (read: terrifying) example is this man from OkCupid, who claims to be "only interested in the best [women]: Asian women." This man goes on to praises Asian women for their "long, fine silky hair," their ability to "remember what it's like to be woman: to be docile and submissive to a man," and their "delicate, playful personalities" as if all Asian women were the same. This disturbs me a LOT. It's not just because it's directed towards Asian women: there are other cases of race fever that are just as delusional. And this man has more problems than just his yellow fever. He is misogynistic, stating that the way to be a woman is "to be docile and submissive to a man," a trait all women would find unattractive. This man picks women like picking a breed of dog: he goes for a 'breed' he considers to be the most meek and submissive to him, trashing other breeds in the process. It's disturbing and offensive to everyone. Non-Asian women shouldn't be automatically rejected because of their supposed inability to fit one's outdated idea of an ideal woman and Asian women shouldn't be exaggerated and assumed to be all the same.

Yellow fever isn't just limited to men, however: the advent of anime and Kpop in America has created a wave of young girls who take a limited view of Japan or Korea based on anime or Kpop and become completely obsessed. Korean pop culture blog Seoulbeats singles out extreme Kpop fangirls for their unreasonable expectations South Korea due to their narrow view of Korean culture through the lens of Kpop. Due to prolonged exposure to Asian pop culture, these girls have come to target specifically Asian men "to display their 'Koreanness,' their perception of what they think it means to be Korean" or 'Japanese-ness.' To these fans, normal "South Koreans are often treated like prized possession, often to the point of fetishization, as though somehow being in acquaintance with a beautiful Korean somehow makes themselves Korean by association" and follows the same beliefs of the older man on Ok Cupid and at ACen. South Korean men become fetishized "prizes" who can validate a fan's inner Koreanness "by association."

In fact, one commenter on the article pointed out the similarities between one of these girl's sick fetishizations and "one of those guys who are struck with Yellow Fever — fascinated with Chinese culture, want to have Chinese girlfriends and have their own notions and perceptions about China, or that girl who thinks that everything from the West is better," including the humans.

Mo' Money Mo' Problems?

Memorial Day Mattress Sales

Did everyone enjoy their Memorial Day? What did you do on your holiday? Some people went to parades, others wore poppies, or just enjoyed the three day weekend. Other people went to one of billions of mattress sales. Mattress retailer Amerisleep This Memorial Day, Amerisleep sought to honor past and present service members and all fellow Americans with their best deal of the season on memory foam mattresses! Amerisleep promised  "$200 off any mattress and... free shipping throughout the continental United States!" "$200 dollars?" "ANY mattress?" "FREE SHIPPING?" WOW! What a deal! Good ol' mattress retailers, providing a mattress for our national heroes!

But seriously, why have we diluted Memorial Day to the point where it can be associated with enormous mattress sales?

One theory is the generational gap between World War II veterans and 'millenials,' the newest generation, which includes mainly children actually born in the 2000s and 90s kids, with some late 80s kids. Basically people who have grown up in the 2000s, far away from the Cold War. The New York Times showed in a study that "in the past decade, less than 1 percent of the American population has been on active military duty, compared with 9 percent of Americans who were in uniform in World War II. As a result, there is a growing generation gap, with younger Americans far less likely than older ones to have a family member who served" and, subsequently, experienced war firsthand. I consider 9 percent to be pretty low, but "less than 1 percent" is microscopic. And "the growing generation gap" between those who have served in the military during a war or even had a relative who served diminishes.

And empathy for veterans decreases as a result. Millenial man Mike Goorhouse explains his separation with veterans.Even though he has "grandparents who served in the armed forces" as do many of us, "their terms were complete well before I was born" In terms of the >1% of Americans on active military duty, Goorhouse has some "classmates from high school who currently serve in the military but none of [his] close friends have ever served our country in this way" and he has no solid connection to anyone served in the armed forces. Goorhouse believes that his "experience is that rare among members of the Millennial generation" and is one cause for the lack of love for Memorial Day.

So if our veterans mean less and less to us, then our national holiday turns more into a three day weekend. And with three day weekends, most people stay at home and rest on Monday. With customers staying at home (right where they want us!), mattress retailers like Amerisleep are pretty smart for creating an annual mattress sale for Memorial Day Weekend. Obviously no one cares anymore about our veterans, so let's make some money!


However, we are still fighting in Afghanistan and have plenty of Iraq War veterans, so the idea that we lack veterans or a war to remember what war feels like feels a little inconsistent. I also still don't know how mattress stores started their sales on Memorial Day. Maybe other retailers (like clothing, food, etc.) have or have had sales for Memorial Day, and the mattress sale became more iconic. Maybe this is one of the few times mattress retailers have sales, which is why it's become such a big deal. What do you think? Feel free to comment.

Race Substitution: Was there really no one else at the audition?

Oh, race substituting. The awkward cousin of race lifting that tries so darn hard to deny relation to racism in TV or Hollywood. Don't think you can get away. Race substituting isn't exactly race lifting, but it's very similar. We've all seen it before--some Japanese female character turns out to be portrayed by a Chinese actress, prompting us to groan and wonder if there really weren't any Japanese actresses who auditioned for the role. However, unlike race lifting, I am a bit more forgiving towards race substitution.




One of the most infamous examples of race substitution was in Memoirs of a Geisha, where all of the lead female roles were portrayed by Chinese actresses. The story is (shockingly) about the life of a young girl as she grows up into a famous geisha to reunite with her true love. It's a very Japanese story that (allegedly) reveals the darker side of the Japanese geisha system, so it should be pretty offensive for three Japanese roles to go to Chinese actors, right? I don't think so. Zhang Ziyi, the lead star of the movie, explained that the director's casting decision was based purely on ability. According to Memoirs of a Geisha's director, his priority is "casting someone he believes is appropriate for a role" and he felt that the geisha role would be a challenge for anyone, "because almost nobody today knows what that means--not even the Japanese actors on the film" and chose Zhang Ziyi for her acting and dancing ability. Zhang Ziyi noted that the role was extremely demanding for anyone, regardless of nationality.




Meanwhile, film critic Roger Ebert had a different idea, suggesting that the Chinese actresses were specifically chosen for their fame. He points out that even though the film was made by a Japanese-owned company, the Chinese stars of the film "are not only great beauties and gifted actresses, but box office dynamite. Even in Japan, Zhang and Li outgross any Japanese actress" and guarantee success for a film. If you run a film company and want to make an internationally-successful film, then choosing internationally-successful (all of the actresses speak fluent English and have had films that were popular in America, such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) actresses who "outgross any Japanese actress even in Japan" is a no-brainer.




In addition, I believe that most of the rage directed towards race substitution is about Asian roles. Danish-American actress Scarlet Johansson plays Russian heroine Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Where is the call to arms for racial accuracy in Hollywood for European or American roles? The distinction between actors of European descent is far weaker than Asian actors, and no one would bat an eye if a English-American actor played a French character. But this isn't a case of 'all look same'. The audience is more accepting of race substitution in this case because they are willing to put that aside and focus on the actors' performances. This isn't dismissing the race of the actor vs his role. It's accepting minute imperfections for box office gain and more capable actors. As long as the actor can convincingly portray his role, then what's the problem?

I have no title. Gatsby and four. I don't know where to go with this but I like it.

I noticed a big coincidence in The Great Gatsby. But I'm not sure how many people agree with me. While reading Gatsby, I realized that Fitzgerald mentions the number four a lot, especially in scenes that are very negative or involve death. I find this interesting because in Asia, the number four is considered an unlucky number because it sounds similar to death.
I am quoting TV Tropes or Wikipedia? Both are nice. TV Tropes has more examples as well as Western examples.  http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FourIsDeath    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraphobia

The death of Wolfsheim's friend: "'It was four o'clock in the morning then, and if we'd raised the blinds we'd seen daylight.'" (page 70) Afterwards, the friend was shot.

Gatsby's plan to take Daisy back. "He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: 'I never loved you.' After she had obliterated four years with that sentence they could decide upon the more practical measures to be taken." (page 109)

The room of Tom, Gatsby, and Daisy's fight scene: "The room was large and stifling, and, though it was already four o'clock, opening the windows admit only a gust of hot shrubbery from the Park." (page 126)

The introduction of Michaelis before Mrs. Wilson's death: "Michaelis was astonished; they had been neighbors for four years, and Wilson had never seemed faintly capable of such a statement [to lock Myrtle up and move away]" (page 136)

Gatsby observing Daisy: "'Nothing happened,' he said wanly. 'I waited, and about four o'clock she came to the window and stood there for a minute and then turned out the light.'"

Nick trying to talk to Gatsby before he dies: "I called Gatsby a few minutes later, but the line was busy. I tried four times; finally an exasperated central told me the wire was being kept open for long distance from Detroit." (page 155)

Michaelis after attending to Mr. Wilson: "Wilson was quieter now, and Michaelis went home to sleep; when he awoke four hours later and hurried back to the garage, Wilson was gone." (page 160)

Gatsby's last hours in his mansion: No telephone message arrived, but the butler went without his sleep and waited for it until four o'clock--until long after there was any one to give it to if it came." (page 161)

Wolfsheim reflecting on his first encounter with Gatsby: "'He ate more than four dollars' food in half an hour.'" (page 171)
The funeral procession: "and a little later four or five servants and a postman from West Egg, in Gatsby's station wagon, all wet to the skin." (page 174)

Nick's dream about West Egg: "In the foreground four solemn men in dress suits are walking along the sidewalk with a stretcher on which lies a drunken women in a white evening dress." (page 176)