Post by @ami_angelwings@urusai.social

@ami_angelwings@urusai.social 3 days ago

#QuestionOfTheDay what's a character in a fictional work you like that you think gets unfairly maligned/judged by the fanbase because of superficial characteristics (race, gender, appearance, etc)?

#writing #fiction #books #comics #comicbooks #TV #webcomics #television #movies #film #anime #manga #scifi #fantasy #videogames #romance #ttrpg #ccgs #musicals #gaming

#musicals #comicbooks #ccgs #questionoftheday #webcomics #romance #fiction #television #manga #ttrpg #anime #writing #film #comics #videogames #gaming #fantasy #books #tv #scifi #movies

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Ami Angelwings

@ami_angelwings@urusai.social 2 days ago

Yes I've taken over from @zhinxy as the Azula defender online, and it's not like she didn't do bad things, but there's definitely a double standard at how she's thought of as irredeemably "born evil" versus other villainous guys in fiction that were screwed up as kids and exhibit mental illness like Kylo Ren who get woobified in fanfic.

Kevin Carson

@KevinCarson1@kolektiva.social 2 days ago

@ami_angelwings @zhinxy Someone recently drew my attention to how unfair Steinbeck's presentation of Cathy was in East of Eden, and now I'm curious about rereading it with Wuthering Heights and comparing her to Heathcliff.

zhinxy

@zhinxy@mastodon.social 2 days ago

@KevinCarson1 @ami_angelwings i don't know if he's THAT unfair to Cathy, i don't think she's meant to be a realistic sociopath vs. an inhuman monster, Eden isn't a realistic novel! There's still sexism, of course.

zhinxy

@zhinxy@mastodon.social 2 days ago

@KevinCarson1 @ami_angelwings if the author straight up says she was born evil and is not to be considered human we can look at how there's misogyny in that portratal, but that's what we are given to work with (and yes, i hate born evil, but it is what it is in text)

~6 more replies

zhinxy

@zhinxy@mastodon.social 2 days ago

@KevinCarson1 @ami_angelwings or rather, i would think he was being MORE unfair by writing Cathy as she is WITHOUT making it clear she's being introduced as one of the "monsters in this world born to human parents" ?! I'm trying to make sense

Kevin Carson

@KevinCarson1@kolektiva.social 17 hr. ago

@zhinxy @ami_angelwings There's at least some nominal attempt to depict her interior mental life and how she sees herself and justifies her behavior -- "everyone is corrupt and out for themselves, and they're out to control me and won't leave me alone." She saw what was meant as a kind touch by Tom as a threat to her autonomy and integrity and lashed out and bit him. And she burned her parents alive and shot Adam because she saw it as a necessity, but only shot him to wound because she saw that as sufficient for her purposes. And in the end, she perceived that there really was a faculty of empathy in other people that she was colorblind to, and despaired.

zhinxy

@zhinxy@mastodon.social 38 min. ago

@KevinCarson1 @ami_angelwings yes, that's why I very much think steinbeck saw her as a tragic monster, not "bad psycho woman" (again, still sexist and etc.)- You know, my mom had a very good take on that back in the day when I first read it in HS, I forget all the details and she probably has too, but she found the work more sympathetic to Cathy than not'