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Replying to Avatar Lyn Alden

In the entire original Star Wars trilogy, no two named female characters ever spoke to each other.

In fact there, were only four named women across the trilogy, throughout six and a half hours of content spread across multiple worlds, and for most people they can only name Leia.

I'm not bringing it up as a criticism; just an observation. Sometimes guys wonder why their girlfriends/wives don't love their favorite fiction quite as much as they do.

It's not to say a given story *should* have more characters of XYZ demographic, but basically if a guy tunes into a movie and no two guys ever speak to each other in it, and it's ladies everywhere with hardly any men around, you'd basically just get the vibe pretty quickly that this wasn't written with you in mind at all. If you like it, that's great, but it's kind of by accident since you just weren't really considered as part of it being put together. I do like Star Wars, for example.

I love the Breaking Bad show, too. The premise didn't appeal to me on the surface (middle-aged guy with cancer, young drug maker guy, and to the extent that there are women in the show it's mostly the wives of the important characters), but my husband told me it was great so I watched it with him and loved it. Wouldn't change a thing about it.

And then of course, since we can't have nice things, over the past decade the attempts to put more diversity into fantasy or science fiction have been pretty ham-fisted. Rey is a trash character, basically. Almost any attempt with this sort of stuff is lazy. Books have generally done it better because it comes from one author's mind rather than some committee.

I think part of why the TV show Arcane was so well-received (especially the first season) was that it had a ton of different characters in it but it wasn't *about* that diversity. It just happened naturally as a byproduct of good writing and care. A bunch of very different characters dealing with themes that are about technological progress vs safety, economic disparity and sovereignty, extremism to achieve goals, etc. Young and old, male and female, rich and poor, all different colors. Rather than feel forced, it just seems obvious in that setting.

I've put some thought into this when writing fiction. Men and women, and people of various cultures, do have a ton in common in the fiction they like. Probably more than most realize.

-My number one priority is to just write good stuff and tell the story I want to tell. By default there are a broad range of characters in a story like that, at least in my head. Otherwise it would feel boring. Unless I was writing a specific period piece (something like Saving Private Ryan set in WWII battle zones where obviously it would almost all be men), I'd have to go out of my way to write a story where no two men ever speak to each other, or no two women ever speak to each other. That would take effort.

-My second consideration is to of course think about my audience (which a lot of current media trends ironically don't do- they just create a piece to fulfill their own grievances and forget about the main demographic that would actually want to watch/read what they made). How would different people experience it? That's where beta readers are helpful, but also just a basic 101 test of imagining like five different people reading it and getting the vibe of whether it's written with them in mind, or not. The goal in that case is certainly not to write for everyone (eg most stories I think of tend to be quite dark and violent, and with substantial complexity, which is a combo that already excludes a lot of people), but to at least be aware of the types of people I might be writing for. The natural state of things in a sufficiently complex setting is a broad range of character types.

Basically when I exclude types of readers, I want it to be a conscious decision rather than "huh, I hadn't considered that."

Lyn, have you watched the first few episodes of Alien: Earth? They are exceptional in my opinion and you may find it worth a watch. It’s a good example of diversity without being on the nose, along with excellent writing.

“Patriotism is supporting your country all of the time and your government when it deserves it.”

- Mark Twain

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered… I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies… The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs." — Thomas Jefferson

The Colorado Avalanche loaded up at this year’s trade deadline for a deep cup run. Could this be their year again? If the team stays healthy, they now look like a top four team in the NHL. A first round against their former teammate Mikko Rantanen would make for one heck of a storyline.

https://denvergazette.com/sports/colorado-avalanche/avalanche-macfarland-stanley-cup-rantanen/article_452ad9fc-fbae-11ef-ab1e-db6aaa66a358.html

I get you but I don’t think it is that simple. Being courteous and considerate while showing initiative can coexist. Talking thoughtfully about it and demonstrating to youth is a viable path.

I watched Transformers: One on a recent flight and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Good writing & characterization. I’m not sure if the development of the early lives of Megatron & Optimus is considered cannon, but it did a good job of explaining what caused the rift between the two & where the decepticons come from & what there agenda is. Solid flick! The most I have enjoyed from #transformers franchise since the first live action film & of course #BeastWars. #movies

Replying to Avatar Lyn Alden

People often assume that whoever their god is, that it is standing with them specifically. In the US, they often separate this view along party lines.

Conservatives to some extent imagine Jesus standing with them on the border with a rifle protecting Christendom against anarchy. Even if many of those immigrants are ::checks notes:: also Christians. If a "woke" bishop calls for compassion on immigrants and is not a fan of the twice-divorced President who can't name his favorite bible chapter and forgot to put his hand on the bible when being sworn in, she's somehow the baddie rather than him, even among Christians.

Progressives to some extent imagine Jesus walking around in Gaza or Haiti or Sudan attending to the least advantaged among us. He shuns the empire and tends to them. And yet, while Jesus called for pacifism and was a rhetorical saint among chill speakers, many of them find a way to mentally turn extremists into heroes. Anything the underdog society does against the dominant society is justified. Even if it's violent toward civilians. In our media rebels are cool, but in reality they often like to kill the gays or the civilians, so it gets awkward pretty fast rather than being like the cool Star Wars rebels vs the Empire.

I find myself in a weird camp that almost nobody is onboard with.

I'm like, "Yes, we actually need to secure our borders. We need to be more scrutinizing for our society's sake. We need slower, higher-end immigration. And we actually need to enforce the rule of law for theft on the streets."

But also,

"No, I don't think Jesus of Nazareth as depicted in text would be onboard with this border view. He'd view us like Rome. Let's not re-imagine him as onboard with this. We're rooting for ourselves; he'd root for the underdogs."

I'm too woke for the conservatives and too based for the progressives.

The US was involved with multiple coups in Latin America. We ran the reserve currency and tried to bend them to our will with their dollar-denominated debt 40 years ago by spiking the value of that debt. Some of them went into retarded socialism and rekt themselves throughout that time period too; it's not all our fault. But it's some of our fault.

And then we militarily entered the Middle East. We made deals with them, funded them against the Soviets, and then turned against them. We've invaded them at like a 100:1 ratio vs them invading us with one major incidence (9/11). And as much as I am a fan of Jews as a people (as someone who grew up in Northeastern USA where Jews are relatively dense, I'd happily have them settle all around here), Israel is a state is colonial; our western powers displaced Gazans to make it and have been fighting that reality ever since.

We're Rome. And like Rome, we think we are justified. And along those lines, we're probably partially right, and probably partially wrong.

When you take a view, imagine every possible view opposing it.

And as the US dominates as neo-Rome, I think we will realize how distant we are from Jesus the hippie.

Thanks for this post Lyn. We share a lot of perspectives and thanks for being courageous in sharing yours. Balance is what humanity needs in the modern world. Awareness and moderation of middle ground is what moves society forward.

HDMI

#StarWars #yoda #humor #scifi

I’m a total BruvBro and bow to Ospreay. 🙇‍♂️

#aew #aewdynamite #wrestling #prowrestling

Today’s trades by the #coloradoavalanche are huge swings that could pay off long term. Potentially addressing the 2C position and creating a potentially dominant top four D for many years to come. With Nichsuskin and potentially Landeskog returning, the #Avs look positioned for another deep playoff and cup run. #GoAvsGo #nhl #hockey

(1/2) I was a #wrestling fan for a few years of childhood and then again in my teens—all during the 90s. I started to pay attention to it again last year at the encouragement of a friend. Sting was my favorite, along with RVD and Mick Foley. Watching Sting’s last match and his following speech and presser was cathartic as a fan. Terms like icon and legend are thrown around a lot these days in a variety of industries. Hero is another term that is used loosely on occasion. #aew #aewrevolution

Modern Dune > modern Star Wars outside of Andor? Sure.

Hello #nostr! 👋 Very curious to see how this platform evolves. #introductions

The upcoming #Crow movie flew under my radar until just recently when a friend brought it to my attention. I’m a big fan of the original film, soundtrack, and graphic novel. They had a big influence on me during my development through adolescence and into adulthood. I think the original film is untouchable but part of me genuinely hopes that the new film will be solid to great. Skärsgard is a good actor and the director seems to have genuine reverence for the franchise. #thecrow #movies🤞🏻🐦‍⬛

Hey humans on the internet, just say NO to corporate-owned social media. That option exists now. Or don’t and be part of the modern social dilemma. You cast your vote with your data.

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