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What I find interesting about this article is that the author mentions the ways in which she's disadvantaged compared to Frank Miller (she's mixed-race and fema
by Mezzie 5y ago
What I find interesting about this article is that the author mentions the ways in which she's disadvantaged compared to Frank Miller (she's mixed-race and female to his straight white male), but if you read between the lines, she's quite financially privileged. She's looking at college campuses at 15, her parents bought her expensive new books, she goes to college right after high school and majors in Creative Writing, she's managing a news site at 24 which usually means she's either got unpaid internships, startup help, or a writing network already.
It's not the author's fault, but it'd be really nice if these types of articles started reckoning with the author's privileges and not just their marginalizations. If Frank Miller alienated her because his viewpoint over-saturates his work, how is she going to make sure her work doesn't do the same to poor mixed-race women? Or trans women?
If there's an actual interest in making sure different viewpoints are represented and better stories are told (the part I personally care about), then why do articles so often get boiled down to 'pay attention to my particular identities'?
I don't know, I guess I don't know what the point of the piece is.
- pawelmurias 5y agoIsn't the point of mentioning her identify to show how she viewed the comics from her particular viewpoint?
- tptacek 5y agoWell, there's a whole thread here talking about what the point of the piece is. Miller is frequently mentioned in the same breath as Alan Moore as an author famous for bringing sophisticated, adult-oriented storytelling to comics and thus broadening the genre. But a retrospective look at his work shows that much of what was read at the time as an ironic deconstruction of comic book tropes (the same sort of thing Watchmen is rightly praised for) is probably non-ironic; it's just straight-faced pulp id. That's nothing new to comics; he just happens to have done it stylishly enough to attract fresh attention. So: if Miller's work speaks mostly to young white males, then it's failed to accomplish the artistic goal he's credited for. If it's really meant for adults, that's even worse: then what you have here is something akin to Heinlein and "Starship Troopers" (perhaps substituting jingoism for fascism). That's the critique in a nutshell. If you don't care about the artistic merit of Miller's writing, then the piece is definitely not written for you. It has more or less nothing to do with privilege analysis.
- tedunangst 5y agoJust noting that Starship Troopers the movie has a rather different flavor than Miller's film adaptations, as regards what people recognize as ironic, or earnest, or problematic.
- goto11 5y ago> But a retrospective look at his work shows that much of what was read at the time as an ironic deconstruction of comic book tropes (the same sort of thing Watchmen is rightly praised for) is probably non-ironic; it's just straight-faced pulp id. Yes but that is actually really interesting! We thought he was really clever by ironically exposing the inherent fascist tendencies in the superhero genre. Turns out he wasn't ironic, he just wrote what the liked. But...why does that change the quality of the comic? It still does the same thing, he just removed the excuse that allowed us to enjoy it "ironically". Frank Miller is the honest one, it is the rest of us who have been exposed. Also notable how Rorschach is everyones favorite character in Watchmen. He is obviously intended as deconstruction of the vigilante hero, exaggerating all the negative traits and unfortunate implications of the type. And everybody loves the character!
- tptacek 5y agoI don't think you can plausibly read Watchmen and not understand the commentary that the Rorschach character is making on the genre. If you like the character, his subtext is part of your opinion.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- egypturnash 5y agohow is she going to make sure her work doesn't do the same to poor mixed-race women? Or trans women? One role in the modern publishing industry is “diversity consultant”, which expands to “someone who is sensitive to this sort of thing who will read your in-progress work and tell you how well or badly you’re doing with representing people who are Not You”.