Gender, Color, and Sexuality in Characters

I’m currently working on the script for my manga project Astral Rain for the April edition of Camp NaNoWriMo 2014. Well, more accurately, I’ve been working on a lot of background notes, plot notes, and world-building because I noticed that a lot of that hadn’t been worked out in advance. As I was writing, I came across the article “I’m Demanding Better Representation For Black Girl Nerds in Geek Culture” by Chaka Cumberbatch. And that’s when it hit me: all of my characters in Astral Rain are white.

Granted, it’s supposed to be an OEL (Original English Language) manga, and most anime and manga lack people of color. I have no problem featuring white characters, but what surprised me is that the idea of any of the cast of Astral Rain being anything but fair-skinned never occurred to me. And that concerns me.

Image via What If Books Etc (click for link)

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“What do you protect?” Storytelling Shifts Focus

A few days ago, I was listening to the song “Hail the Hero” by Celtic Thunder, and something in the lyrics struck me:

“Hail the hero, strong and true,
Who fought the fight, and saw it through,
Who swore he ne’er would be a slave
And gave his life our land to save.”

Do you see it? No? Look at this line then:

“And gave his life our land to save.”

There’s been a subtle shift in the focus of what is being protected in a story. It used to be that the hero was trying to save a land, a world, or a people as a whole rather than being devoted to an individual. They gave everything “for the land.” Often, rulers were tied to the land in some way, either through mystical means (having a literal bond with the earth) or through responsibility as a prince or princess, a king or queen.

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Why Love At First Sight Doesn’t Work In A Story

I recently watched Steven Spielberg’s Titanic for the first time in over a decade. My first experience was less than stellar; I remember liking the visuals, the cinematography, the effects, the music. But I loathed all of the characters. This time around, the visuals remain stunning, breath-taking, well-worthy of all the Academy Awards this movie received. The sinking of the ship itself remains powerful, heartbreaking, and utterly chilling.

Yet I still don’t like the main characters, Jack and Rose. I understood them better, understood their choices, their positions, and empathized more than I did when I was ten. But I still didn’t really like them. Or maybe it isn’t a matter of “liking.” They would be fine as acquaintances. But I didn’t…connect with them, not on any meaningful level that persisted past the end credits.

Why?

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Two Movies, One Verdict

Okay, time for another rant about movies. I know, this is a writing blog and I keep talking about films. But really, if you want to learn how to write tight, self-contained, highly visual stories, then study screen writing. Good screen writing, that is. And there seems to be less and less of that out there these days, at least in the realm of Hollywood.

CAUTION! THIS ENTRY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!

I recently had the dubious pleasure of viewing John Carter and Green Lantern. Aside from having a pulp fiction background and a male protagonist sent into space, these two movies might appear to have little in common. But actually, they have a lot in common. They suck. They don’t suck so bad that they are unwatchable, but with such rich source material it’s almost a crime how not-good they turned out. The visuals are excellent (as always, with the benefits of CGI) and the acting wasn’t horrible (although Carter and Dejah Thoris had no chemistry whatsoever, which made their romantic scenes laughable), but the screen plays were unfocused and muddled, like no one could decide exactly what movie they wanted to make. There were actually several similarities between John Carter and Green Lantern that probably contributed to their dramatic failure:

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The Avengers: A Tribute

I’m currently glowing with the aftermath of my fourth viewing of Marvel’s The Avengers. Until about two months ago, the movie was on the periphery of my radar. Now I have gone to see it in theaters every weekend this May, from the cool, buzzing anticipation of opening night to the heat-soaked afternoon of my Memorial Day weekend. And I have enjoyed every second of it!

Before I continue, I must post a disclaimer: I know nothing about American comics. Everything I am aware of has come from the recent slew of Marvel movies. Those are the only versions I know. I’m sure that some comic book fans out there are just waiting to pounce on my ignorance as I bubble over with fangirl enthusiasm, so I’m gonna take a leaf out of Captain America’s book and say: “Son, just don’t.” If you enjoyed the movie as much as I did, great! High five! Keep reading and know you are not alone! If you just want to point out all the discrepancies or ways that it failed as a comic book adaptation, as a film, or both, please don’t. You can keep reading if you want, but please froth at the mouth quietly.

THIS ENTRY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!

So, now that that’s been taken care of, on to the question that I’m sure some of the people I know in real life have been asking:

“Why do you love The Avengers so much?”

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Give the Men Some Love

I was going to write a more serious entry this week, but decided against it. I have been at the epicenter of some of my favorite shows in the past few days, so that’s where my mind has been. Since I believe in following my literary impulses, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite male characters. (I will avoid spoilers as much as I can.)

GALEN
Actor: Peter Woodward
Series: Babylon 5: Crusade

Wizard, British, wry sense of humor, and black leather coats…what more could a girl ask for? Galen is a techno-mage, part of an eclectic order that uses an ancient advanced technology to simulate the effects of magic…and is pretty odd and mysterious even by the standards of that order. He’s highly independent and powerful as well as irritating to other characters in Crusade because he “shows up when he’s least wanted and most needed,” not to mention having a habit of withholding information. I love Galen’s wry, often cynical sense of humor, his crisp, precise way of speaking, and his eyes are some of the most expressive I’ve ever seen. He’s also one of my favorite character-types, what I call “the Tortured Soul.” Characters of this type have hidden histories, often tragic, that slowly comes to light over the course of the series. Galen is one of those who tries to be completely self-sufficient, but his efforts only highlight his isolation and loneliness. Which only makes me want to give him a hug. ^_^

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Book and Movie Review: ”Guns, Germs, & Steel”

I’ll admit that I haven’t actually read the book this time. (But I do own a copy.) I did watch National Geographic’s video version that has the author, Jared Diamond, as its host covering the same material that was in the book…so I think that counts. The book, and movie, is entitled Guns, Germs, & Steel: The Fates of Human Societies and takes an in-depth look at why there are haves and have-nots in the world. Why did European societies rise to such great technological heights while African societies, for the most part, remain under-privileged? It is not because one race is inherently superior to another…every derivation of human has its share of the talented and the talent-less, the smart and the stupid, the weak and the strong…so what caused some societies to develop rapidly while others did not? As a writer, this is a fascinating and complex question to be answered and does a lot to advance one’s world-building.

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The Benefits of Fan Fiction

Fan fiction has a bad reputation on the Internet. It’s usually looked down upon as a pass-time of rabid fangirls living out their fantasies with or between their favorite characters. Poor spelling, poorer grammar, Mary Sues, and slash abound.

I’m not saying that fan fiction doesn’t have these elements because I’ve seen enough to know it exists. What I am saying is there is a lot more to fan fiction than just that.

I used to think that fan fiction was the last resort for people who couldn’t write. A cop-out for people who weren’t original enough, creative enough, or talented enough to be “real writers.” Ironically, no one had defined fan fiction or even explained it to me at that point, so I had only the vague image of teenagers with no lives mangling someone’s characters because they couldn’t make their own. What I didn’t realize was that I had been creating fan fiction ever since I could read. I just didn’t know that’s what I’d been doing.

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