Colour My World

[tielan]

Thoughts on race and fandom by thete1 (link) and sageness (link). Directed there by ladyjax.

Particularly interesting for fans of Teyla, Ronon, and Teal'c in the Stargate Universe.

Also, ladyjax is calling for submissions to a zine about race, culture, and fandom.

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My interest in a fandom is directly proportional to a female character I like who can physically kick ass. Mentally is nice, but the physical aspect is fairly necessary.

My involvement in the broader fandom is directly proportional to the acceptance and inclusion of the female character I like, and my ability to write fiction about her.

Hence, Buffy and Faith (I resonate more with Faith than Buffy), Sam Carter, Teyla, most of the girls in BSG, and, more recently, Temperance Brennan from Bones.

For some reason, however, Zoe from Firefly skimmed my radar but didn't set it off. I don't know why.

I'm not sure that any of the girls in Firefly set off my radar; quite possibly the reason I've never written more than a handful of stories in that universe. I recognise that the show was brilliantly written and had great humour, and I wouldn't mind a literal stab at whatever executive cancelled it. But I like the show and the idea and the storylines of Firefly and the characters. I just don't write fanfic for it.

But in concert with the essays above...it would have been nice to see a few more Asian people in the Firefly 'verse. Like...any?

Comments

[ladyjax.livejournal.com]

Firefly is an interesting phenomenon. On one hand, as you pointed out, it was well written and acted and had a lot of potential. But I can see where it was hard for someone to get into the writing side of the fandom.

I love Zoe's character, but not for the reasons that most people did. I immediately connected to her as a soldier, as someone familiar with following a commanding officer but not blind to his obvious faults. She's a married woman, partnered to a man who at heart was basically a pacifist and is torn between loyalty to her captain and love of her husband. And at the same time, I always found Zoe's connection to Mal much more compelling than her connection to Wash.

I didn't connect with the other female characters a much so I didn't feel a need to really write about them.

I hear you about the lack of a palpable Asian presence within the 'verse. I know initially I gave him a bit of a pass about it simply because I thought the show would go on. But the more I thought about it, it didn't sit well at all - how could he 'not' put Asian folk (or their show equivalent) in the screen from the get go? Which then brings me back to Buffy and the fact that a show set in Southern California had next to no brown folks in it, even as background.

At one point I bookmarked a really good LJ post about Firefly. If I can find it, I'll let you know.

[cherryblosomjen.livejournal.com]

Plus, wan't Chinese the secondary language in the Firefly universe? That culture alone would have had huge impacts on their society. Why weren't there more Asian characters to reflect those influences?

Now that I think about it, it is irritating. :(