Hot Button Topics (religion, politics, sports)

[LeaflameSD]

It's Not SOPA though. I mean, yeah, it's a copyright protection law, but it isn't SOPA. It isn't related to SOPA. Does it suck? Yes. Does it suck as much as SOPA? Not nearly.

Sorry for sounding aggravated, but the entire internet has been whining about SOPA being brought back when that's not the case.

Well I mean, it said SOPA so I just assumed that... sorry.

*shuts up and walks away*

[Bella]

It's not your fault, every tech news site is claiming it's SOPA Revived instead of a different bill entirely. I found an excellent explanation of the differences between this bill and SOPA yesterday ... but I can't find the link at the moment. (I KNEW I should've bookmarked it.)

[Chocofreak13]

i got a message from spence this morning saying SOPA was revived and that i should "spread the word". 4 problems with this argument

1. i had just woken up and was not coherent enough for politics
2. i'm not motivated enough for this kind of politics anyway
3. tbh i found it hard to believe that SOPA itself had come back
4. i don't believe in chain letters

the fact is, the majority of americans either don't care enough about it or are pirates themselves. the government has bigger fish to fry atm. the moral outrage isn't there. it's doomed to fail.

[LeaflameSD]

Hmm, I guess you're right.

I don't even know why I'm bothered by this TBH, I'm not even from the US.

[Chocofreak13]

it could be because if the US adopts this policy the UK might not be far behind. once the US backs something other countries tend to follow suit.

[Simonorged]

;-; sorry

[Chocofreak13]

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/batwoman-writers-depart-dc-comics-after-lesbian-superheros-wedding-is-prohibited-8799900.html

discuss the bullshit!

[NejinOniwa]

It is bullshit, and I am not surprised.

Sacrifice, anyone? The ravens can always use more blood.

[Nichi]

Doesn't surprise me out of DC Comics. I mean, this is the came company that:

- Introduced a popular character from their Young Justice animated series into the Teen Titans comics...only to kill her off in the same issue (see: Linkara's review of The Culling: Part 1).
- Refusing to make a movie based on Wonder Woman because they claim "there's no market for a movie about a female superhero", due to Catwoman being a flop (Which was due to it being a poorly written, crappy movie).
- Once stated that they "don't publish comics for kids; they publish comics for 45-year-olds" when an author pitched an idea for a comic geared toward a younger demographic.

[Chocofreak13]

Sacrifice, anyone? The ravens can always use more blood.

yeeees.....yes they can....

all joking aside, i agree that this is complete and total BS and they should have let the creators know sooner that they were going to be asswads, so that they wouldn't have gotten invested in these storylines. my only hope now is that these lines get continued in some form, perhaps as a webcomic. >>;

to further expand on the topic (and pent's points, lol "pentspoints"), why do you think it is that western comics are geared in such a way? they weren't always so narrow-minded and "think inside the box". manga has NEVER been this way (hell, there is a manga for EVERY taste out there....even for those looking for a romantic comedy that centres around cooking ), and japan can actually be MORE conservative when it comes to gender and sexuality issues. usually the nerd community is so open and accepting, but i suppose this shows the darker side of the nerd community, the one with the fat, hairy guy in his mother's basement saying that you're not a "real" star wars fan unless you own every release of the star wars movie, even the controversial christmas special.

thoughts, people? bells should be here to chime in on this. :\

[Nichi]

I'm not sure, to be honest. Given the stereotype of comic book fans being homophobic males, they're likely afraid to try anything new in fear of alienating them; often shoving minority characters into the background. I'd say it'd be fear of changing things, but given how much I've heard about that was changed causing controversy in the fanbase (The miniseries, Spider-Man: One More Day, being a noteworthy example), I don't think that's the case here

There's also the whole belief that comics is a "boys only -- no girls allowed" zone, as Mark Millar (Author of Kick-Ass) and a few others have said (Which, the article I linked to does also raise some other points on things they've said). This sort of mindset is why comics starring interesting, well-rounded female characters instead of "sexy cardboard cut-outs", as some put it, is so rare; the companies claim there's no market for it, so they refuse to even try. I honestly find it stupid that they think like this; given how my sister is responsible for introducing me to Power Rangers and Batman, among others, plus the fact of assuming that someone would be interested or not interested in something based solely on their gender is a really stupid way of thinking, but sadly, oh so common (As a kid, it felt like me being a boy and not being interested in football or another professional sport was a crime against humanity).

[Chocofreak13]

it's another side of the multi-faceted gem that is gender and sexuality issues. i meant to comment on this sooner, but it seems i forgot/lost the links/both. >>;

(further reading from pent's article, btw)
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114150/mark-millar-kick-ass-2-author-comics-sickest-mind#
http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2013/08/08/2433121/legendary-superhero-creators-the-comics-follow-society-they-dont-lead-suggest-women-look-elsewhere/
http://comicsalliance.com/mark-millar-rape-kick-ass-2/

the idea that comics writers don't write stories that are gender or racially diverse "because that's the way things were/are done" or "no one wants to read those" or "because it'd be the token black/gay/female comic" or "because society likes it this way" is a lazy perspective on writing. Gerry Conway said in the second article i posted that it's a failure on the readers' part because "we condone the status quo" (or something like that), to which i call extreme bullshit. YOU sir, YOU are failing US. YOU who chooses to write a flat character simply because you cannot relate to said character or choose not to. at the very least, though, you're not as bad as Millar, who at this point condones rape as a storytelling tool, so at least you're not the FINAL circle of hell. (just the 5th or 6th.)


on an unrelated note, have an article i found on facebook. it gave me a laugh. -w-
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tuenight/silly-things-people-have-said-to-me-when-i-tell-them-im-not-having-kids_b_4098642.html

EDIT: here, have something else to laugh at. -w-;;;
http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2013/10/18/2802871/book-matt-prove-size-stephen-jimenezs-ego/
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/10/17/former-nyt-editor-rebuts-stephen-jimenezs-claim/196469

[Bella]

God, his reaction is infuriating. I don't think rape should be off-limits in storytelling, but authors have to check themselves and make sure it actually has a purpose, is treated with due gravity and isn't just thrown in for shock value, a regurgitated cliche, or worse still, to titillate the audience. The author of that first article makes a good point, something I've thought about too - when the rape of a woman is depicted as something that effects a male character, it's disgusting because it makes rape out to be a property crime, where the woman is just another "object" ruined and the real victim in the situation is the guy. I've thought a lot about why rape should be more taboo than, say, torture or murder or other acts of extreme violence; my conclusion was that rape is already trivialized and normalized in our society, while murder and torture are not. That article makes a good point though - you probably won't know anyone who is sliced apart by ninjas or hacked to death with a chainsaw, but rape is a very real threat that many people fear for good reason and for that reason alone it should be approached with extreme caution and sensitivity.

As for representation in comics - can they seriously dislodge their heads from their butts? I'm not fond of the state of female OR male representation in superhero comics (wow, more amply-muscled gods and goddesses in too-tight spandex? Such creative genius.), but would it kill them to make things more diverse? Also, I hate the idea that women and minorities are automatically token characters. We live in a diverse world, "white" and "male" isn't the default human being now, nor was it at any other time. Why don't authors get this?

As for that HuffPo article, well, if anyone tried this on me:

"Why wouldn't you want to have children if your body is capable of it?"

...I would just reply with, "My fists are capable of smashing your teeth in, should I do that, too?"

I know I've written a lot here, but can we talk about this:

http://fuckyeahhardfemme.tumblr.com/post/65354225532/rosalarian-its-with-extreme-sadness-that-i

I think it's an important read for anyone who is planning to get into the art / comic industry on a commercial level.

[Chocofreak13]

i'm always apprehensive of that tagline since i'm worried i'm gonna be preached at. >>;

upon reading it, however, it rings true with so many sentiments of mine, that i refuse to ever fully sell the rights to MY work, that i will have lawyers involved from day one, that i will sue the pants off anyone who tries so much as to CLONE my stuff (or anyone on youtube who goes against my wishes for a live action Ace's High--never happening, never will). i feel awful for her, since the whole series sounds so wonderful. anyone here who has a comic like i do (which i believe none of the OSCers who did are around atm) knows the pain of this article, because it's your baby. you have so many ideas and plans for it, and want to nurture it and see it grow until it has reached its pinnacle and there is literally no more you can do with it. you want to be able to exahust EVERY idea you have for it, until you are left, 10 years later, exahusted and satisfied with both yourself and your creation. so to have that precious potential stolen away by someone so greedy, so eager to milk you for every drop they can, is a devastating blow.

being in print isn't worth sacrificing your art in the process. and if you feel it IS worth selling your comic's rights, well, you're no better than the soul-sucking corporations out to latch onto anything they can.

[Nichi]

Indeed. The best art is made by the people who have a passion for it, rather than the ones looking to make a quick buck :\