wankgate | 169: i just learned about this person and already i hate them

I think it has less to do with Bismuth being a stereotype and more with Bismuth being presented to the audience as being in the wrong because of her idea to kill the Diamonds. Like that is the entire crux of the tumblr beef.

It just feels so... vastly removed from the context of the series. They weren't saying violent resistance is wrong, because the Crystal Gems frequently beat up their enemies plus the whole WAR thing. They weren't presenting a black coded character as wrong because they're black coded because another black coded character, one who has been there the whole fucking time, was ideologically opposed to her, so it wasn't a commentary on black behavior towards resistance or whatever.

I feel like the only way you can hold the position that the show was doing a disservice to black people in any way is if you didn't actually watch the show.

people want to be angry. because steven universe is a show that actually tries to be sensitive and inclusive, people started holding it to an absolutely absurd standard. if it's not absolutely perfect and inoffensive on every possible level, no matter which way you look at it, then it's the worst bullshit they've ever seen.

and even when it is inoffensive, at least on a sj level, they'll still find reasons to shit on the show they supposedly like, because these people just thrive off of drama, i guess.

but she isn't portrayed as a villain just because steven disagrees with her

i hate this idea that representation is bad if the character isn't a cinnamon roll and has actual flaws or conflicts, i always find characters like bismuth interesting but according to some parts of tumblr it's only "unproblematic" if they're a cishet white male

it is an issue when antagonists are the ONLY minorities on any given show, but like we said, Bismuth isn't the only black-coded Gem. Garnet's been there the whole fucking time.

I think this is the crux of the problem right here. Usually in any given show/book/movie/etc we only have ONE black character, and usually that one black character ends up being the antagonist. And even in cases where that black antagonist is redeemed, they usually end up dying too. So outside of media specifically made for black people, there is not much in the way of good representation.

So what happens when we have a show with several black-coded characters, all a mix of good and bad? People tend to forget the important part of the problem (that having a black character be the antagonist is primarily a problem when that antagonist is the ONLY black character in the entire canon), and automatically jump to getting angry when a black character isn't on the protagonist's side, even when there is plenty of representation within that series.

usually that one black character ends up being the antagonist

I don't know what media you're talking about, but this is very uncommon in modern children's media. The rest of your point is accurate, but black characters are more likely to be token friends in children's TV.

I was thinking more of media in general, not just kids media. Since the people complaining about this are adults, and probably have seen general media before.

Though "the one black kid in the group of kids ends up being the mole/the son of the bad guy/becoming the new bad guy" certainly does happen. I can think of two examples already, and I haven't seen much children's media beyond what I watched as a kid.

what you said isn't often true for the rest of media, either.

bismuth isn't even an antagonist though, she's still portrayed as a hero, just a tragic one and i'm not against seeing those roles with minority characters. the only real antagonists is jasper, who could be redeemed, and the diamonds.

and there's garnet and human black characters on the show who are obviously not bad guys. but i'm so tired of this idea that it's safer for minority characters in fiction to have no flaws, just because parts of fandom is stupid and mistakes a character having flaws with them being evil.

I'm gettin real tired of the people protesting Jasper as unfair representation of a butch body type being an antagonist, too.

She big because quartzes are built to wreck your shit. And she mad because her power and purpose has been undermined by the gems.

Like she's a fucking flawless warrior, manufactured perfect by total fluke, bred for massive aggression, what are you expecting exactly?

i hate jasper stans who try to argue that hating a villain is butchphobic or she needs to be redeemed just because it would be problematic

just admit you don't want to like a villain who acts like a villain, guys

nah, she was an antagonist in that episode. keep in mind that the term antagonist isn't a judgment on a character's morality or inherent goodness. all it means is the character opposes the protagonist in the plot. when she attacked steven and they fought, she became an antagonist.

She might not be a villain, but she is an antagonist.

most of fandom doesn't see it that way. they think it is a judgement on a character's morality or inherent goodness, and they're really angry at the crew for giving people a reason to disagree with bismuth on something.

169: i just learned about this person and already i hate them

Re: STEVEN UNIVERSE

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AYRT

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da

+1

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