Why do people in fanspaces not let me live laugh live in fucking delusion? I dont care if its out of character I am hard-core shipping two characters that dont even fucking interact in the source material. Like people get the stick out of your ass and let me have fun if you dont like the idea dont scroll dont shit on others my god.
It's worse when its a cannon ship too like girl let me breathe in deulu
Why do people treat Thrax and Osmosis like That? A Discussion About Fandom and Antiblackness
Happy black history month!
I’ve been considering making this post for a long time, and I wasn’t sure when, but I think now is a good opportunity.
NOTE: Let me preface this by saying that with a movie with a predominantly black main cast, the fanspace has been predominantly white/non-black, and I feel that has effected the conversations surrounding this movie for a long time.
Fandom, in general, continues to have white voices and perspectives highlighted, while black and poc voices are drowned out. Compare 2014 to 2024, and it’s obvious that there’s been a shift in diversity among all fanspaces, and I’m so very glad.
I want to continue this shift, by giving my own perspective as a black person who loves this movie, and I’d like to highlight the way the OJ fandom has treated these black characters (and spoiler, it hasn’t been great.)
Firstly, too many people are comfortable with portraying Thrax as this sexual r*pey monster, and I need it to stop. ESPECIALLY when he’s explicitly a black coded character.
From what I’ve seen observing and participating in this fandom over the past few years, is that Thrax and Ozzy is a very popular pairing, and honestly, I’m not a fan. It’s onesided, there’s not that much chemistry on screen except the dynamic of Jones being afraid and Thrax trying to kill him. I can’t control what people ship, but I absolutely can condemn the way people have paired these two up. Because… As a black person, I don’t like seeing these black characters in (oftentimes if not always) inherently racist dynamics.
Let me explain:
CW // mentions of racism, rape, grooming
Both Jones and Thrax are black coded characters. They use AAVE, have black VA’s, and Thrax literally has locs While Mayor phlemming is very much racist towards Jones in the movie (ie refering to him as “incapable”, treating Ozzy badly why Drix is praised, there’s obviously racial coding there). So, I can say with certainty that these characters are black, because of how theyre treated and also the cultural motifs in their story and character.
With that said, in the pairing of Ozzy and Thrax, so many people depict Thrax as this sexy controlling or possessive boyfriend that’s monsterous and the “top”, while Jones is the submissive scared stupid and sensitive “bottom”. I’ve seen this in fanfic, fanart, etc. It’s a shame that these characters have been boiled down into something like this, especially when I love Thrax as a villain, and I think Jones does a great job standing his ground as a hero even when he’s scared.
Thrax has high kill count and he wants to keep the killing going, and it’s refreshing to see a unrelentless villain like that in kids Animation; That’s one of the reasons why he’s so popular. But, everytime I bring up this character to people, its either “he’s so hot i need him” or “he should fuck osmosis”. Pushing aside the good writing of black characters in order to satisfy sexual fantasies via a ship is Certainly a Odd Choice. But, it happens anyway in a lot of fanspaces, and Osmosis Jones is no exception.
This type of dynamic of Thrax in particular just continues to perpetuate stereotypes of black men that are inherently racist. (ex: black men are rapists, are hyper sexual monsters, etc). Like, Historically, this stereotype has been used to dehumanize and incarcerate black men, And the stereotype in its self began with American slavery and the practice of “breeding” the enslaved. So, why do so many people continue to project this type of behavior on Thrax (particularly with Jones)?
Is it because he’s hot? Or that he’s just sexual in nature? Or was it that “big daddy thrax” line in the movie? Regardless of how Thrax was written compared to how he has been protrayed in fandom spaces, at the end of the day, thats fanon. Thrax isn’t a sex monster, he’s a egotistical virus with the intent to kill and win!
Themes of R*pe come up a lot with Thrax fancontent, for some reason. Maybe it was the choking scene, because it has sexual themes, but is not consesual in the slightest. Majority ozzy and thrax fanfics on AO3 have tags for Non-c0n and explicit. Sometimes, instead of fanfic it’s digital art, and it isn’t always tagged.
I vividly remember scrolling on tumblr when I was 14, looking for Osmosis Jones art, only to be flashed by r*pe and explicit content of Thrax, Jones, Leah. I remember Leah, a black woman character, often being pushed to the side and demonized. Little black kid me got so, so scared of the fandom, because of the racism and graphic content.
So, I kept lurking, holding my breath as I scrolled, and never interacting or posting my art, sharing my ideas, nothing. I felt alienated from the fanspace of a animated movie meant for kids, a movie that I loved. Online fanspaces are a great way for people to find other’s who have the same interest, but that wasn’t the case for me. I was deprived of something I should’ve had fun with, especially as an autistic kid who had no one else to talk to about the things I liked. I hated it; being uncomfortable and scared, because of something I loved, but feared the things that could come with it.
I tried overcoming that fear and branching out but it ultimately got me groomed by people who liked the movie on different occasions, and now that I’m 18, older, and wiser, I don’t want repeats to happen to anyone else.
There is no reason a animated movie, that’s meant for children mind you, has had such a racist and explicit fanspace.
There is no reason to not properly tag your content, not just for organization purposes, but for safety.
There is no reason why the most popular ship in this fandom is the one that has so much underlying themes of racism and SA, canonically and in fanon.
This is just my opinion, because I think black voices are important in fandom especially when so often overlooked, and I’m willing to discuss this further or answer any questions. It’s just tiring as a black person to keep seeing this happen with black characters.
