Discover Top Posts Tagged with #no representation

I want to share with you this song. It's a 1984 song by the Chilean band Los Prisioneros. They're great, I love them, but this one song in particular has been on my mind constantly the past few months. Here's my attempt at translating the lyrics:

With the authority that has been given to us by good judgement and in full use of reason, We are officially breaking the ties that could once bind us To any institution or form of representation declaring us as part of its entirety. With full honesty and with a cool head We deny any pattern, Any currencies are indifferent to us now, We deny any color, Call it religion, call it nationality, we don't want representation. We need no flags, We recognise no borders, We will accept no affiliations, We will listen to sermons no more. It's easy to vegetate, let others talk, and say "They know more than I do", Put on a badge, march behind a leader and let them wield us as a reason, We are not going to wait, We never liked that idea, They are not doing what had been agreed upon. We need no flags, We recognise no borders, We will accept no affiliations, We will listen to sermons no more.

#Los Prisioneros #No necesitamos banderas #Audio #Música #Chile #No borders #No representation #Spotify

Dear Marvel, Just STOP.

When I wake up, I like to check the articles Google has recommended for me on my phone. I like to see if anything happened overnight, or if maybe some artist just drew some really special fan art. Basically, I like to see what’s up, and it helps wake me up. Today, I saw an article from Gizmodo and now I’m pissed.

This should make me excited, right? The MCU is introducing new LGBT+ characters, or at the very least making the big reveal that a character was LGBT+ all along. I live for representation, so I should be excited, right? Wrong. I am pissed off.

Now, I’m sure some people will get defensive when I say this. Maybe some of you are thinking, “Oh, you’re just another Marvel fanboy upset that PC culture is ruining something you find precious by making it more inclusive!” To those of you who are thinking that, you’re missing my point entirely. Some of you might be thinking, “I agree, it sucks people are pushing their SJW agenda on Marvel!” Again, those of you who think that are missing the point. I think it’s great when an LGBT+ character gets included in a movie, book, TV show, comic book, etc. But the reason I’m upset is because this isn’t what Marvel is doing.

Ever since Thor: Ragnarok, and maybe even before that, Marvel has been announcing that “the next” MCU movie will have their first LGBT+ character. First it was Valkyrie in Ragnarok, but we didn’t have any in-movie moments to confirm this. Didn’t stop Marvel from blowing this news up, though. Then there would be a major moment in Avengers: Endgame. There was a unnamed background character who mentioned having a boyfriend and that was it. Supposedly, this wasn’t supposed to get blown up, and it wasn’t supposed to be a big deal, but it was, and Marvel let it happen. The purpose of it was to show how accepting Captain America is. Once again, a gay “character” is used to make our straight hero look better. Now they’re trying to claim the “first” LGBT+ character will appear in Eternals. Maybe this third time will be the charm, but if history is anything to go off of, it’s just going to be another broken promise from a studio trying to take advantage of a community’s starvation for representation.

And that makes me upset. It makes me upset that I’m a market. Yes, it means I will have products - and that’s what media is, it’s a product - aimed directly at me. But it also means the people who make those products are going to do their best to make me a consumer, even if it means lying to my face.

But is Marvel really lying? Maybe these characters are LGBT+, but we just haven’t seen it yet! If that’s the case, then it’s still as good as giving us nothing. Unlike with racial or religious representation, you can’t just have a character stand there and it count as LGBT+ representation. We can see race, and sometimes religion, but unless a person is with their partner or we see that they’re trans (maybe they’re wearing a binder or stuffing a bra, etc.), we won’t know a character is LGBT+ just by looking at them. And Marvel doesn’t want to do that. Marvel just wants to sit there and say, “This character is LGBT+” without having to do any work, then get all the praise and adoration that comes with “being so brave.” We, the fans, are supposed to do the speculation and build the hype on our own. We’re expected to be satisfied with blink-and-you-miss-it moments that can get cropped out during international release. We’re expected to celebrate Marvel saying, “You exist” as if it’s some big milestone we didn’t already pass.

And some will try to argue, “Marvel is a family friendly company, they have to keep it family friendly,” or “The executives didn’t want us to include it,” or “We don’t want to lose the Chinese market.” You know what else has really strict family friendly guidelines, more controlling executives, and a wide international market? Children’s primetime television shows. You know who has been doing representation better, taking more risks, and getting more done than Marvel? Children’s primetime television shows. Clarence, The Loud House, and, of course, Steven Universe all did more in the way of representation a few years ago than Marvel is willing to do now.

Not to mention, Deadpool 2 already beat the rest of the MCU to the punch? Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Yukio are a couple and aren’t exactly shy about it. It’s acknowledged in the movie. And Deadpool is a Marvel property. But still, with each new installment to the MCU, they claim, “Okay, this will have the first LGBT+ character! We promise this time!”

Ally isn’t a title you can claim, Marvel. It’s a title given to you by the people you’re supposed to be helping. And because you’re doing nothing to help me and my community thrive while still expecting all the praise and brownie points for reminding me that I exist, I have to say that you are not an ally. Actually give me an openly gay character and maybe we’ll talk. Until then, I’m afraid I won’t be watching your new movies anytime soon.