You know what would be EVEN MORE GREAT? Talking about the things that are done *right*.
That is a point well-taken. And I think your DL example is perfect because you're absolutely right that so often it's not an either/or issue. There can be awesome things and problematic things in the same show, with the same characters, and the same stories. I'd love to see more of that complexity in fannish discussion, and I know what you mean about the constant critique getting depressing after a while.
Sometimes I also think the hypercritical reading of culture is kind of a stage in consciousness about political stuff. It's like practicing your skills at seeing problematic representations and figuring out how they fit into your political framework.
I've been thinking about that in relation to doing panels on race at cons. In my experience it can be hard to move conversations past the critique of whatever is problematic. So I was thinking, well, maybe that's where the conversation needs to be for a lot of people, so panels should be designed just to focus on that. And maybe there should be different "tracks" of panels for people who are new to thinking about race in fandom, and people who've been around the block a few times. But that would get touchy, right? *sigh* I don't know.
But, anyway! I appreciate your points here a lot, and they're now simmering around with my other thoughts about how to proceed with the race conversation at cons at this point.
no subject
That is a point well-taken. And I think your DL example is perfect because you're absolutely right that so often it's not an either/or issue. There can be awesome things and problematic things in the same show, with the same characters, and the same stories. I'd love to see more of that complexity in fannish discussion, and I know what you mean about the constant critique getting depressing after a while.
Sometimes I also think the hypercritical reading of culture is kind of a stage in consciousness about political stuff. It's like practicing your skills at seeing problematic representations and figuring out how they fit into your political framework.
I've been thinking about that in relation to doing panels on race at cons. In my experience it can be hard to move conversations past the critique of whatever is problematic. So I was thinking, well, maybe that's where the conversation needs to be for a lot of people, so panels should be designed just to focus on that. And maybe there should be different "tracks" of panels for people who are new to thinking about race in fandom, and people who've been around the block a few times. But that would get touchy, right? *sigh* I don't know.
But, anyway! I appreciate your points here a lot, and they're now simmering around with my other thoughts about how to proceed with the race conversation at cons at this point.