Do not fall for this idea that just because something looks and sounds the part means that it's worth it's coinage. Some like Garnet from Steven Universe and Scallion from Vox Machina are, in my opinion, acceptable, but the most obvious like Revan from Obi-Wan and Kamala Khan from Ms. Marvel are an obvious diversity quota with little to no replayable value.
Now, I am not, or ever was, against diverse casts of characters in any medium of entertainment, be it those of different skin colors, gender, sexual orientation, or political/religious beliefs. What I am against are horribly written characters with the aim of filling up a diversity quota or pandering to a political ideologue. In general, these representation characters have little to no substance to their personalities, other than being an embodiment for the Leftist agenda, and pretty much all they do is beat audiences over the head with a narrative while coddling the target demographic.
Their character traits are basically just blue check marks:
Female/non-binary
Lower class background
Gay/Other orientations
Morbidly Obese
Atheist, Muslim or Non-Christian denominations
Predominately Liberal values
13 comments
I am not racist or sexist or homophobic or in any way bigotted, but if a character in any way deviates from being a Straight Bourgeois White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Alpha Male, they are to be put under extreme scrutinity, because making anything but a Straight Bourgeois White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Alpha Male requires a strong justification, else it is nothing but pandering to people who are not exactly like me! And remember, I am not racist or sexist or homophobic or in any way bigotted, so anyone who thinks I am must be crazy and evil!
Just… how can so many people write such absurd things with a straight face?
What I am against are horribly written characters with the aim of filling up a diversity quota or pandering to a political ideologue.
Normally I might agree with that, making a character a minority just for the sake of being a token minority to seem more diverse is not good writing. I just don’t see how your two examples count in any way. Kamala is a well-written and likable character, from what I saw from the very first episode, but not without realistic flaws. And while I admit Reva (the Inquisitor from Obi-Wan) isn’t the most compelling character in SW, she would still be that even if she was played by a white or asian actress. I don’t see how the actress for Reva being black in any way makes her character worse…
Anyway, might need a “racist” tag, perhaps?
Atheist, Muslim or Non-Christian denominations
...now please point out where your 'God' - or even 'Allah': which is the same as the Hebrew & Judeo-Christian one - is so much as mentioned in "Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi".
We'll wait.
I'm just surprised you haven't mentioned "Dune"...!
You have no idea how fast I had to google the Obi Wan Kenobi series because I haven't watched it, but I had to know how the hell they squeezed Darth Revan in there, and the thought of Disney actually having the guts to make Darth Revan a black woman in today's climate made me a little excited. Turns out it isn't Darth Revan, but someone named Reva. Ah well. Darth Revan will always be a black non-binary bisexual mess to me.
You have nothing against "diverse" characters, except that they aren't straight white men and therefore automatically bad no matter what, is that it? They're not all badly written, you just don't give a shit about their characters. You know, because they aren't white straight men. And again with the "morbidly obese", where the hell are these obese characters? Because I'm sure as fuck not seeing any that aren't just there to be the butt of some cruel joke.
Now, I am not, or ever was, against diverse casts of characters in any medium of entertainment,
"I'm not racist, but..."
So, you think Reva is a "horribly written character with the aim of filling up a diversity quota or pandering to a political ideologue"? If you don't like horribly written characters, why are you even watching Star Wars in the first place? (*cough* prequel trilogy Anakin *cough*). Seriously though, she seems like a pretty typical Star Wars villain. Also, why single her out? The other inquisitors who've shown up thus far are much less well-written characters, IMO. You clearly just don't like her because she's black and a woman.
The ‘lumping’ is kind of a give-away.
“Female/non-binary”
“Gay/Other orientations”
“Atheist, Muslim or Non-Christian denominations”
How about “these people exist in the world”? That’s as much justification as I need. Women, POC, PWD, neurodivergent, non-Christians, and LGBTQ+ people exist in the world. We don’t have a point to the world’s “plot” because it doesn’t have one! We are just as justified to be in any story as white able straight neurotypical cisgender male Christians are.
It’s Reva FFS. By the time of Obi-Wan D.Revan has been dead for almost a millennium. If you’re going to be a shitty critic, at least make the effort to know which character are you even yapping at in the first place.
To the actual point, though I sort of vaguely dislike the way that Third Sister character is written but far as the actress goes, she’s acted solid, not much more she can do to add to the already rather berko villain. If I was to blame anybody for my lukewarm reception of her char, it would be the writers and the char of young Leia really stealing the show for me.
ps. “Lower class background“ That is a general tendency because it’s a simple, factual statement that nobody but a billionaire can truly feel represented by a billionaire character. 99,99% of us cannot form any meaningful connection to a character like that, so they are less written these days. big shit.
It's just possible, I suppose, that the entertainment niche market of straight white physically fit Christian male elites is pretty darn small, with you and your friends on the board of directors being the only ones even remotely entertained.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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