philippos42 (
philippos42) wrote2015-06-04 09:53 pm
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So, what I take from this, is David Walker is writing Cyborg, and I may want to look at that.
My response (could probably be better) to this piece: https://themiddlespaces.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/humanity-not-included/
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Interesting and partially persuasive points. I think you're trying a little too hard to force a pattern here. But I agree that DC is a terribly conservative company in some ways, and their output reflects that.
I'm bothered by your attempt to condemn any echo of the Huck/Jim relationship. Surely the intended audience is the large proportion of the potential market who are white and not from great economic privilege? They are likely to identify with Huck (less so with Gar and Dick from the Teen Titans, who are wealthy). Huck's relationship with Jim humanizes Jim for them. That's not playing to a black perspective, no, but it's not a bad thing.
I'm not sure what you expect a "radicalized black person with superpowers" to do, in the Justice League. Maybe be some kind of "scary black" antagonist? Or perhaps be recast as the "social justice warrior" wet blanket on the team, as Geoff Johns used to write Wonder Woman?
Would I like a little more social awareness in the Justice League comics? Yes, of course I would. I would like to see them hire a new writer, who doesn't see "29-year-old white male mesomorph with a generic action-hero personality" as both default and necessary majority. But writing Cyborg better should be possible in this framework. A David Walker series may be a step in the right direction. I'm not optimistic, but I think I leave more room for subtle progress than you do.
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Interesting and partially persuasive points. I think you're trying a little too hard to force a pattern here. But I agree that DC is a terribly conservative company in some ways, and their output reflects that.
I'm bothered by your attempt to condemn any echo of the Huck/Jim relationship. Surely the intended audience is the large proportion of the potential market who are white and not from great economic privilege? They are likely to identify with Huck (less so with Gar and Dick from the Teen Titans, who are wealthy). Huck's relationship with Jim humanizes Jim for them. That's not playing to a black perspective, no, but it's not a bad thing.
I'm not sure what you expect a "radicalized black person with superpowers" to do, in the Justice League. Maybe be some kind of "scary black" antagonist? Or perhaps be recast as the "social justice warrior" wet blanket on the team, as Geoff Johns used to write Wonder Woman?
Would I like a little more social awareness in the Justice League comics? Yes, of course I would. I would like to see them hire a new writer, who doesn't see "29-year-old white male mesomorph with a generic action-hero personality" as both default and necessary majority. But writing Cyborg better should be possible in this framework. A David Walker series may be a step in the right direction. I'm not optimistic, but I think I leave more room for subtle progress than you do.