Do We Really Root For The Rebels?
Added 2023-12-29 01:00:05 +0000 UTCMo' Hunger Games, mo' willful ignorance at the politics within the narrative.
Sources: https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/what-is-settlercolonialism https://jezebel.com/another-racist-shitstorm-brews-over-casting-hunger-game-5907900 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie9NOhSG6rI https://youtu.be/fv9Jq_mCJEo https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-classical-roots-of-the-hunger-games-1415897640
Comments
oh my god this topic is my roman empire so here goes my totally unnecessary rant about media representation of rebellion and empires. i find it ridiculous that we keep pretending that we have "rebellion" representation in media because let me tell you we do not! Every time there is some sort of rebel vs establishment dichotomy going on we're shown a) a HERO (singular) a protagonist who goes against the establishment, b) totally unhinged establishment, c) even more unhinged rebellion. and the message that is communicated is "well those guys are bad sure sure sure, but have you seen these other guys? the rebels are more unhinged, are you totally okay with THEM coming to power??" and here sweeps in our Hero who is the perfect centrist and he (let's be real here it's a "he") and slays everyone and establishes a new status quo, yay we won. UGH! part of the reason i couldn't get on the Hunger Games hype train, though the movies are great and the books are as you mentioned very not subtle was the treatment of Gale vs Pete. Gale is always presented as this "radical", and especially in book 3 his journey is one of the radicalization even further down and it's treated as dangerous compared to Pete. I'm not discounting the trauma that Pete went through or Katniss went through here, she totally has the right to chose to not continue to fight, but it shouldn't come at an expense of Gale (and by extension other people) who choose to fight by the means they find necessary against tyranny. and i think it's so hilarious that the singular show that managed to write rebellion from the POV of the rebels is fucking Andor (perfect, no notes!) from star wars. and it's even more hilarious (screaming, crying) that it came out right when people were generally done with star wars franchises and i had to actively recruit my friends into watching the show with me. if the only POV we're allowed to see in the media is one of a confused centrist who doesn't know what to do, or a sexy villain who is ripe and ready for a redemption arc well... i typed this out and realized i said what Princess said in the end we're empathizing with the oppressor. Thank you for coming to my ted talk.
anna
2023-12-29 13:45:05 +0000 UTCLoved this video commentary! Side note: will you be reviewing "Blue Eye Samurai?"
Shannon of House Lee
2023-12-29 05:50:15 +0000 UTCHaters of ATLA: The Promise, we stand together. This is the frustrating thing abt the dissonance people have abt displacement—that settlers seem to *sometimes* understand that displacement was a horrific thing to do to indigenous people, but shrug it off as justified bc we are the beneficiaries, and yet we get viscerally uncomfortable when confronted with the potential of having to be displaced. I’ve always hated that the solution in ATLA was that the earth nation had to give up its territory to form republic city. I’m by no means an expert on indigenous sovereignty but to act like the only solution to the problem is “displacement of the settlers & their families or bust” feels ignorant-to-intentionally-deceptive. Esp bc there’s plenty of activism revolving around landback in the US & decolonization efforts in Aotearoa NZ (there are other examples for sure) that focus on indigenous sovereignty in other ways & don’t advocate on displacement of settlers bc frankly, displacement can be a hard and messy solution that affects families. It’s either a limitation in imagination or an ignorance to the way activism has played our IRL. Your framing really spoke to me—the fear and discomfort of displacement from settlers is always prioritized in these stories, instead of the people tangibly already affected by displacement (& I say this as someone living in colonized land). Srry for being so long winded
Janelle Rose
2023-12-29 03:05:30 +0000 UTCGreat commentary! I wish there was an easier way to bridge the gap btwn media and self reflection. It really is astounding how folks can be anti the capitol/ anti empire/ etc but not be able to recognize an empire they exist within. being willing to allow the truth in , i think is just rly scary for folks! your whole worldview-changed!
Ry
2023-12-29 02:35:24 +0000 UTC
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