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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   34422 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of March 13, 2023

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Well, Wizards of the Coast is making Aragorn Black.

This doesn't even make sense storyline wise. What with Aragorn being descended from the kings of Numenor, it's not as if he could be from some distant land. I suppose there is still the possibility that all the Numenoreans are black, but, Arwen's white in the same picture, and she, being the daughter of Elrond, is closely related to the line of the Numenorean kings.

It's clearly for the sake of diversity, but couldn't they just do things in their own intellectual property instead of messing with what belongs to others? There'd be no harm in making up a ton of new Magic characters who just happen to be black, instead of changing already beloved characters from who they are.

But at least, could they have gone with someone who it would not mess with the backstory, like Gandalf, who has no national origin? I suppose that would make the moniker of "The White" a little ironic, but that's still better than the current state, to me, at least.

This significantly decreased the chance that I get cards from that set. I play, (but I don't spend very much on it), but if this is supposed to appeal to a fanbase, whether to get them to start playing, or get them to spend more, it would probably be wise not to alienate them. Why not put your diversity where it won't hurt your bottom line?

Rings of Power had some questionable things racewise (and a whole lot more unquestionably bad things in other domains), but at least it wasn't doing this.

WotC hates white people.. They aren't even being subtle about it.

“This is not the face of the hobby anymore,” Brink said, “and I think there’s been mistakes made in years past where people assumed that D&D players were all, you know, white dudes in a basement. Which has been a faulty assumption for a lot of years and gets more and more false every day. And so in my viewpoint, guys like me can’t leave soon enough.”

"I'm never writing another white main character and that's on period"

"White men. I mean, really. Where to begin."

"I remind myself of this every time doubt or imposter syndrome begins to creep in. I'll be damned if I sit there waffling while some mediocre white dude who thinks he's the shit swoops in and steals the opportunity. Take the chance. Do the thing."

"When did mohawks become the hair style of choice for white trash kids?"

Imagine if any other group of people was the subject of these tweets.

The Dungeons & Dragons Movie Intentionally Emasculates Its Leading Men

While speaking with Variety, Daley and Goldstein discussed how Michelle Rodriguez's Holga the Barbarian and Sophia Lillis' Doric the Druid tend to engage in the frontlines of battle compared to their male party members. "That was not an attempt at wokeness on our part," Goldstein said. Daley elaborated, saying, "Swear to God, it wasn't. We liked that Holga is the bruiser that does the dirty work for Edgin, and he doesn't like to get his hands dirty. We also love emasculating leading men."

WotC has a full blown culture of hating white men, and wanting to see them miserable. They must be denied anything they enjoy, and all the things they used to enjoy must be ruined. They love watching white men suffering and miserable. They literally could not be any more clear about this.

Stop giving money to people who hate you. They aren't even hiding it anymore.

We liked that Holga is the bruiser that does the dirty work for Edgin, and he doesn't like to get his hands dirty. We also love emasculating leading men."

The thing is... it didn't have to be this way. Bards (from at least 3E onwards, I can't recall if AD&D 2E was where they were badass or not) are inherently funny. You're down there in a dungeon, playing a whistle or something, while everyone else is stabbing things! You don't have to make it "haha men".

Also, isn't there a male paladin in the upcoming movie? I'm pretty sure they're frontliners (except, you know, for Paladins of Murlynd, but I'm pretty sure WotC doesn't really care about Greyhawk anymore).

We like our male heroes to be challenged and not simply heroic," Goldstein explained

That... implies that female heroines shouldn't be challenged, which is just bad writing. Even the pulpiest of pulp heroes, such as Solomon Kane or John Carter of Mars, are challenged. All the damn time! Even Aragorn, who's already completed his character arc, is challenged during the events of the Lord of the Rings!

That... implies that female heroines shouldn't be challenged, which is just bad writing. Even the pulpiest of pulp heroes, such as Solomon Kane or John Carter of Mars, are challenged. All the damn time! Even Aragorn, who's already completed his character arc, is challenged during the events of the Lord of the Rings!

These people live in a world where white males never earn anything. Merit is a myth. Everything is just handed to them. It's privilege the whole way down. It doesn't reconcile with the heroes journey as we know it. I think it's why they write their minority characters which "fix" things the way the imagine white males have it. Arrogant, obnoxious, handed everything, and not challenged in the slightest. They think it's some sort of role reversal. It just shows their bigotry.

This mindset was well-embodied by Mr. Chavez (Todd's Latino adopted father) in BoJack Horseman when he was explaining his harsh parenting style, which had failed to straighten Todd out:

I know I was hard on you when you were growing up, but I was trying to protect you. Nothing came easy for me. It took hard work, focus, discipline to get me where I am today. Things didn't just work out. But I should have realized: you're white.

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