#mod ch

[unwhitewashthebadbatch]

"Tech is pale to play on the nerd trope!" Why is the nerd trope a white man? Why *must* a character be pale, light skinned, or even white to be associated with that type of intelligence? Can nerds and super geniuses not also be brown?

[starwarscultureweek]

Day 5 - Food

Probably nothing is more popular or easily recognizable than food. Food almost defines a culture before anything else. National dishes and local delicacies help bring countless people together. Immigration, colonialism, disasters, and far-reaching trade networks have changed food maps for eons.

What are the foods that make up Star Wars? What foods would you put into Star Wars? We've seen the tomato slices and drum sticks from The Clone Wars, the infamous war rations, and the popular nuna. Mandalorians have uj cake, while Jedi might have their own versions of home delicacies. Maybe there are outer space versions of jollof rice or moon cakes. Show us what you got!

[unwhitewashthebadbatch]

Stereotyping and racism come in layers: it's not just that Wrecker is the only identifiably brown member of the team, but also that he's written primarily for comic relief or aggression. He gets development but does not receive it to the extent every other TBB member does.

[unwhitewashthebadbatch]

Te reo to make up 30 percent of dialogue of new TV series Tangata Pai

Iwi and producers are collaborating to "create something which tells our stories in a different way".

Filming on a television series, believed to be the first mainstream prime-time production to have 30 percent of its dialogue in te reo Māori, has just wrapped in Taranaki.

The Warner Brothers Discovery-backed drama Tangata Pai is being made in partnership with Te Atiawa iwi and Ngāti Te Whiti hapū.

It tells the story of five people whose worlds collide when a bomb is detonated at a peaceful Māori protest against a licence to mine a sacred site.

Writer-director Kiel McNaughton, who has whakapapa to Taranaki iwi and Parihaka, said the show had parallels with past struggles and contemporary issues such as seabed mining.

"In terms of Māori needing to stand up. Stand up for their rights, stand up for their land, stand up for what we believe in.

"And we are having to do that now and we were having to do that 140 years ago, so for me it's about looking at what's changed. Has anything changed?"

McNaughton, who is still on his reo journey, said it was important to normalise the use of the language.

"What's exciting about this is that it is being embraced by a broader network which has a much larger audience.

"And being able to get this 30 percent reo content, which shouldn't be intimidating for a non-Māori speaking audience, so for us to have that on Three and for Warner Brothers Discovery to support this is really exciting."

Former journalist Mereana Hond, who is from Taranaki and Ngāti Ruanui iwi, is overseeing the use of te reo and tikanga.

She said Tangata Pai would include subtitles to make it accessible to as many people as possible.

"The fact that it is 30 percent te reo Māori is what sold it to iwi that have chosen to be a part of this.

"This is a collaboration, it is a partnership, there is a memorandum of agreement between iwi and the producers to create something which tells our stories in a different way."

Theres heaps of background talent here in Ngāmotu, so that's been terrific to engage the local community and have them come and be a part of the series and the filming.

"And then we have lots of crew that we've brought from different parts of the country. The majority I would say from Auckland."

Warkia - who has Scottish and Papua New Guinea heritage - agreed with Hond that one of Tangata Pai's strengths was its illustration of how disputes could be dealt with.

"The idea of maungaarongo which is very much about creating space for people to speak even if they have very different opinions.

"Creating a space where they can specifically discuss all of those differences, and that is healthy and important and shouldn't be avoided."

Filming of Tangata Pai, which has Te Māngai Pāho and NZ On Air funding, has now moved to Auckland.

It will screen on Three and Three Now next year.

[unwhitewashthebadbatch]

As much praise as The Bad Batch is getting for improved writing and increased stakes, it's important to remember #UnwhitewashTBB and the valid critiques that fans of color and Jewish, disabled, and ND fans had about the series and the ways it's harmed them.

Frankly, fans' concerns over bigoted writing and portrayals should have been taken seriously and taken into account when writing + designing the second and third seasons.

In a perfect world, there never would have been whitewashing. There never would have been ableism and antisemitism, either. The creators would have seriously examined the Bad Batch from ALL angles, not just the ones that make the show fun or look good.

Unfortunately, the series has its glaring issues, and they were not corrected by the time the final season was set to air.

However, other creators in #StarWars can learn from this. They can examine their own unconscious biases and avoid, for instance, making a genius a white man with a British accent, while his brawns over brain counterpart can only be read as a man of color.

They can look into harmful tropes for the marginalized people they do want to represent and head in a different direction. They can change. They can improve. They can guarantee that when they say #StarWarsIsForEveryone, they mean it.

[unwhitewashthebadbatch]

With The Bad Batch now over, the hope for many fans of color now is that future Star Wars animation will avoid any racism in writing or character design; that it will respect fans and characters of color, Jewish fans, and disabled and ND fans in its pursuit of telling a story.

Nobody deserves to see a series dedicated to whitewashed characters who are written to be genetically superior to men of color. Nobody deserves to see an antisemitic stereotype on their screen. And nobody deserves to see ableism in their shows.

If future showrunners truly believe Star Wars is for everyone, they'll do the work to root out their unconscious biases, learn about stereotyping, and create a show that reflects the diversity of the Star Wars fandom.

There should never again be any room for racism, ableism, or antisemitism in a Star Wars project.

[unwhitewashthebadbatch]

When we say that future creators can do better, we mean it. Our carrd has some reasources, but everyone in the Star Wars fandom is encouraged to not only go out and do their own research, but to spread what they find among their peers. Learn how to draw the facial features of different ethnicities. Large noses, flat ones, hooked ones. Round faces, full cheeks, hooded eyes. The full range of skin tones. Learn about the tropes and stereotypes surrounding your marginalized characters. Learn what to do, how to avoid doing the same things as the Bad Batch creators. You'll be shocked to learn how popular media has historically gone out of its way to demonize people of color, disabled people, neurodivergent people, and Jewish people, among others. What may seem like a harmless trope to you often has decades or even centuries of hate behind it. No trope exists in a vacuum, and no creation does, either. You can do better.

[unwhitewashthebadbatch]

Stop the Treaty Principles Bill - TOITŪ TE TIRITI!!

UPDATE: 203,653 Signatures will be handed over at Parliament today! But you can still sign - we'll keep you updated about submissions opposi

Sign this petition to protect Māori rights in NZ!