Jones-Quartey’s comments ushered in a new phase of the debate, as fans began criticizing his comments, along with series creator Rebecca Sugar. The response was Racist fanart doesn't stop being racist just because it's fanart.- Molly the Great October 26, 2015 On Sunday night, the turmoil reached the Steven Universe production crew, prompting series co-producer Ian Jones-Quartey to weigh in with a now-deleted tweet, saying artists should be allowed to draw what they want. “Me not being a pushover for oppression makes ME toxic?” wrote one user. On the other side of the issue, plenty of people have insisted that it’s more important to continue calling out what they see as problematic behavior-even if that extends to the kind of social ostracism that led to all this to begin with. The wave of support for Zamii on Tumblr has led to a paradoxical campaign: Other fanartists are deliberately drawing the character of Rose Quartz as thin in protest. The Steven Universe and related tags on Tumblr have been overflowing with similar outrage, backlash to the sentiment that harassment and bullying are somehow justified when they’re in the name of progressive ideals. A post made last week on Reddit‘s Homestuck subreddit about the situation garnered dozens of supportive comments condemning the culture that motivated the bullying. Though Zamii is recovering-her most recent update was Monday-the concern over the abuse she received has caused a maelstrom throughout her fandoms. It wasn’t enough to halt her feeling that she was being bullied. In response to claims of racism against Native Americans, she wrote, “ have apologized for it countless times and have deleted the picture within a few days of posting it.” Over time, Zamii created a list of rebuttals and explanations, including apologies, to many of the accusations of transmisogyny and problematic elements in her art. Part of the “evidence” that she was transmisogynistic included her using the words “dude” and “man” as interjectory statements while talking to a woman, then joking about the word use. Here’s how one character, Rose Quartz, looks in official Steven Universe (SU) animation: While the reasons for some of the criticisms are plain, others were harder to parse. For example, when Zamii drew a Japanese character from the popular anime Yowamushi Pedal, she came under fire for giving the character yellow skin and slanted eyes when she drew a black character, she came under fire for removing her Afro and giving her blonde hair when she drew a “Native American Fluttershy” from My Little Pony, the response was mixed and often critical, pointing out that she had further stereotyped the character. During her time in fandom, Zamii had been accused of a litany of flawed portrayals of characters, including perpetuating “racism/stereotyping, transmisogyny/transphobia, apologism, incest, pedophilia, fatphobia, and ableism” in her art. Prior to Zamii’s alarming initial farewell, members of the Steven Universe and Homestuck fandoms had reportedly created more than 40 critical blogs and other social media accounts directed at her because they believed she was purveying problematic depictions of many of the characters she drew. When she re-emerged, it was to post a tearful video she claimed was being filmed at a hospital where she said she was getting the help she needed. It all started last week when a fanartist going by the name Zamii caused a scare on Tumblr when she posted an apparent final note to her Tumblr, then disappeared for three days. In a bizarre turn of events prompted by the ensuing debate over what kinds of fanart are acceptable, some fans have now turned even against the show’s creative team, including show creator Rebecca Sugar. Steven Universe is a beloved animated children’s show known for its smart and progressive depictions of its diverse and lovable cast of characters.īut these positive qualities in the show itself have led to a very ugly turn of events in the Steven Universe fandom, after a beleaguered fanartist said she attempted suicide after being bullied by members of the fandom who felt her art was problematic.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |