you sound like a retard when you get all apoplectic about names and terminology. i’m an editor whose job is preserving high standards of the english language ffs, and i do not give a fuck if someone wants to refer to themselves as a ‘latinx’ or whatever. to me it has the same gender-neutralising intent as using author/actor in all cases and doing away with authoress/actress. there are (or can be) coded histories and power dynamics in these terms. if a non-binary or excluded minority (that is, a group who are particularly sensitive about names and being named, more so than you or i) feels that ‘latino’ as a category doesn’t encompass them, then let them have their letter substitution. how does it EVER affect you? it’s just snark for snark’s sake. move on.
if a lot of these neologisms seem daft or hopelessly niche and recherche, and if they don’t have a wider purchase on the lexicon generally, then they will naturally drop out of use. it happens all the time. not many of us are still talking in the slang and argot of the 1990s with its ‘rad’, ‘gnarly’ and pronouned ‘dudes’. let them experiment and try to find a language that fits.
macbeth you collect gundam toys and make up shaggy-dog stories on the internet all day. stop interjecting yourself into issues like ‘the cast of this movie have been whitewashed’ or ‘why does 1970s newark have black characters?’. just like tortured masculinity and italian-american identity was part of the tv zeitgeist in the early 2000s, black history (of which newark surely has significance) and women’s rights are trending now. you’re upset that contemporary media is somehow reflective of its moment? are you really this dumb?
whilst we’re on the early 2000s theme, the sopranos had plenty of racial politics and nods towards broader themes. the entire issue of italian-american representation – and denigration – was there through every single damn series. there were numerous subplots that hinged on jewish characters – even hasidim – and on black gangsters, or gangster rappers, or black hired guns, black boyfriends, and inter-racial dynamics between two ‘victimised’ groups such as when the native americans clashed with the italians over columbus day, etc, etc. half of the show was taken up with the domestic life of a modern american male and his marriage infidelities and children’s growing up. large parts of the show riffed on these themes to expatiate on ‘the american dream’ and direction of american society. this isn’t political to you? how do you think black viewers, or even women viewers for that matter, thought about a show that dwelled for 6 seasons on male angst and debates over the popular portrayals of italian-americans? stoP foRciNg poLitiCs onTo mY tV!
you may as well complain that the sopranos bothered you because it was excessively concerned with catholics, their domestic life and family rituals. ‘why is this popery on my TV, spoiling my dinner? tv shouldn’t be political!’ 'catholics are a minority group in the USA, get this crap off my TV and stop forcing me to take notice and care!'
now, what would make sense is if you accused the new movie of lacking a sense of humour in its treatment of these issues. or of being heavy-handed and poorly written, so that what should be a part of the fabric of the fictional world seems awkwardly foisted upon it. that would make sense as a criticism or objection to me. but don’t complain that ‘omg politics is interrupting muh media’. the sopranos was always fucking political and closely observant of identity politics.
Last edited by uziq (2021-10-05 17:44:54)