Forum - View topicNEWS: Power Rangers Film Includes 1st Big-Screen LGBT Superhero
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Ironhide
 Posts: 2 |
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This whole thing is just wrong on so many levels. And from a marketing standpoint it is a stupid move which will put off a lot of people, especially considering this franchise has an international fanbase and not everyone in the world feels the same way about the subject matter. God know I'm put off and nearly all my friends have lost interest too.
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Lord Oink
Posts: 876 |
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Kinda ironic example given the OscarsSoWhite stuff last year and the Oscars this year's huge 180. Of course this is all ironic to talk about with Power Rangers given its a race lift from Japanese anyway. You're just shafting one minority in exchange for another. Your argument would work better if you were talking about a movie that wasnt patting itself on the back about being the " first gay superhero in a movie'". Its not a natural insertion, its a PR boost. Just like Female Thor or Ms Marvel . Its the very definition of pushing an agenda. |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16935 |
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Keep it civil folks. Some of you are skating the line very closely.
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TenCentFang
Posts: 31 |
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That's not automatically a bad thing. Everyone loves Ms. Marvel, for instance. At the end of the day everything corporations do is in someway for profit. Do you think major companies would give to charity if they could keep the money and still get the good will? Or should the charities not accept their checks because it's a soulless marketing opportunity? Yes, as a queer person, I find going out of their way to pat themselves on the back about this stuff is terrible and results in further tokenization, but the first thing anyone says about any representation is whining about how they aren't doing it "naturally". You know what wasn't natural? Nearly the entirety US media doing their best to write around the existence of minorities for the better part of a century, and making them one dimensional stereotypes when they were included. Winston Churchill said "Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack". Sometimes you just have to go ahead and do it no matter how "forced" detractors may claim it is. Now, I'm not saying Power Rangers is doing the best job of it. Far from it, I came to this thread just to comment it seemed weird they were only mentioning it just now as it's about to release, and yet there's all these sad puppies-sounding people that I'm completely flabbergasted to encounter in the wild. I have no idea how some of yall are even 1% worked up about this. |
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WeirDiE_InC
 Posts: 414 Location: The GVRD |
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The furore over this has been blown out of proportion, considering some of this was already alluded to in the audition sides and interviews prior to the review embargo. It sounds to me like they approached this similar to how ParaNorman did.
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Ironhide
Posts: 2 |
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Some of us avoid trailers, interviews and any piece of spoiler because going to the movies is an event. Last edited by Ironhide on Tue Mar 21, 2017 8:15 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar Posts: 16935 |
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I did just say to be civil did I not Topgunguy? I suggest you drop the condescending attitude and posts where you simply bait or insult another user. And tencentfang next time just report such posts, don't respond to them and make matters worse.
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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If anyone is interested in a really good depiction of a character with autism who has superpowers, as well as other non- neurotypical superpowered characters check out the underrated Syfy show [url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphas_(TV_series)]Alphas[/url]. Ryan Cartwright did a lot of research while working on developing the character of [url=alphas.wikia.com/wiki/Gary_Bell]Gary Bell[/url], and does a fantastic job showing a person with autism who is a well rounded, three dimensional person both despite and because of his condition.
This is a slightly spoilery (for both seasons) review from Todd VanDerWerff about how Alphas handled not only autism, but mental illnesses like OCD and depression, with sensitivity. It was also an incredibly culturally competent show, I loved how they portrayed Rachel Pirzad, an Afghani-American character from a very traditional household.
I agree, and want to add that in the best case scenario, Hollywood would just give more chances to behind-the-scenes talent that includes women, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ people. Ms. Marvel, for example, is written and edited by Muslim women--they are writing, in part, from their own real experiences, not tokenism based on stereotypes. I think that plays a big part in how well people connect to the story. The entertainment industry needs a more diverse field of writers, directors, and producers--that's the best way to introduce diversity in a way that feels natural. But Hollywood needs to give people a chance, and not keep hiring from the same ol' boys club. |
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residentgrigo
 Posts: 2421 Location: Germany |
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Legion (he isn´t technically human) by Fox has a strong focus on Dissociative identity disorder. They obviously go hog wild with it but still. It´s the best new show of the year and a sign that superhero adaptations can now go as broad as the comics themselves.
Aquaman´s arch nemesis Black Manta used to be autistic before the N52. That storyline was abysmally handled though. It was also a retcon to an even worse retcon. Ah comics... What i am surprised by is that no one on the Doom Parol apparently had autism, or wikia lies. The comic covered every other topic possible and needs to be adapted properly one day, as it prominently features a transgender street. Here comes Danny the Street, the most progressive superhero of all time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_the_Street Get to it WB! |
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Lord Oink
Posts: 876 |
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Do they? Given the numbers it must not be a lot of people. All of Marvel's agenda-pushing titles like Squirrel Girl and Moon Girl are selling poorly. Marvel said they'll back off politics next year, but I'll believe it when it happens. But Marvel would probably publish Ms Marvel no matter how low the numbers get because cancelling it would result in a huge PR backlash for them.
Doesn't that depend where you live? My school and work are all pretty much white. We never had that Power Rangers diversity where white, black, latino, and Asian people all hung out together in the same circle of friends. Not every community is San Francisco. |
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Agent355
Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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Do you have a source for that? From what I've gathered, it's hard to get an accurate picture of comic sales because Comixology doesn't release their numbers. If you're just looking at monthly floppies , barely anything sells anymore, period. Now, if you want to look at movie ticket sales, the MPAA just released a report in which they concluded themselves that an increase in African American, Asian American, and female moviegoers is due to an increase in diversity in films.
Putting aside the many historical reasons behind why so many communities in America are that segregated in a country that's only 62.6% White, (Non Hispanic or Latino) (which includes Middle Easterners, because the US Census classifies people of Arabic and Persian origin as "White"), Why do you think that where you live is an accurate representation of what an average American community is like? Again, based on the latest census data, 81% of Americans live in cities and suburbs, most of which aren't that segregated (although, individual neighborhoods and schools might be). Your experience living in an all white neighborhood is valid, and is certainly reflected in media, but many other Americans live in more diverse communities--not only in coastal cities, but in most states in the country. Why does it bother you when media reflects that? |
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HeeroTX
Posts: 2046 Location: Austin, TX |
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I haven't looked into the comics numbers, but one could argue that any increase in "minority" viewers for movies is more than offset by a large exodus in "majority" viewers, which is bad for the "bottom line". Since movie ticket sales are on a downward trend since the peak in 2002. (box office numbers are up only due to ticket price inflation) http://www.the-numbers.com/market/ |
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EricJ2
 Posts: 4016 |
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Well, I wouldn't call a 53% drop in Kong's second weekend "strong", but Warner should learn to tell the difference between a front-loaded Spring Break ("Geek-Week") fan-opening first weekend and a word-of-mouth mainstream audience second weekend, before creating that "New crossover universe". (And is it really Kong if he, y'know...doesn't climb a big building in NYC and fall off of it? Or am I just being too picky?)
Paranorman, like Beauty/Beast, was ONE gagline fueled by a disingenuous audience's parasitic hype for attention: In the movie--at the very, very, very, ending post-climax wrapup--the annoying frustrated comedy-relief big-sister finally asks the big dumb high-school jock bully for a date after throwing herself at him for the entire movie, and he replies, "I dunno, I'll have to ask my boyfriend." Wah-wahhhh....boiinnng!! (70's-laughtrack) 
Most of the straight audiences took it as a corny sitcom line you could see coming up two blocks away (given that the rest of the script was almost as bad as a Goldbergs episode), but once the, ahem, interested parties got a hold of the hype, all of a sudden it was a SOCIALLY BOLD stunt to feature the FIRST OPENLY gay character in a mainstream animated movie! Take your children to teach them tolerance! (Oh, freakin' stop...  )
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Lord Oink
Posts: 876 |
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Floppys still make up the vast majority of sales for comics. Unless Moon Girl is selling hundreds of thousands of copies digital to offset the 8000 floppys it moves, I'm going to count it a dud.
Correlation doesn't imply causation. The movies they listed for female dominated viewers were Finding Dory, Secret Life of Pets, and Jungle Book. Only one of those starred a female, and two don't even star humans. How do they know the increase in black or Asian viewers wasn't because they saw Deadpool, Captain America, or Suicide Squad? I don't remember any Asian led films last year at all.
I just find it contrived is all. The group of protagonists always just so happens to be an ethnically diverse team. If the show takes place in the city then sure, makes sense, even though self segregation exists but is never snown, which is awfully convenient, but whatever. It's strange in fantasy settings though, where a diverse cast wouldn't make sense logically but is done to be diverse anyway. It makes the world and writing seem lazy and illogical. |
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BadNewsBlues
Posts: 5920 |
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Don't Marvel titles sell poorly even when they aren't "pushing an agenda" lord knows the number of books Marvel has canceled during their entire existence that weren't canceled because of "diversity".
Given they've apparently been here before with Ms.Marvel (i.e. the original) I doubt it.
The public are made up of people who like to complain for the sake of complaining though like when Miles came into the Ultimate Comics. And then did it again years later when Doctor Octopus took over Peter's body in the main books, they can't win either way. |
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