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Doctor Who and the Hypocrisy of Safe Space Denial

19/7/2017

4 Comments

 
Good morning, Readers!
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Meet the 13th Doctor. Yes, she's a woman. Image courtesy of denofgeek.com. Click for link.
So, the 13th Doctor has been announced, and to the delights squeals of people everywhere, this time, The Doctor is a woman.

And then there are the not so delighted squeals.  There's a whole lot of butthurt out there about the fact that The Doctor is not a man this time around.  Here are just a few idiotic examples of the broflakes freaking out:
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Oh, what special little broflakes we have in the world.

I actually don't have a horse in this race.  I don't (gasp) watch Doctor Who.  I am glad to see women finally getting to be the hero instead of the sidekick or love interest, though.  For others, this is a huge moment, and one they've been wishing for a long, long time.  I witnessed first hand the sheer joy from friends and online from strangers who are over the moon with this.

As I sit and watch the backlash, all I can do is shake my head.  Those who rail against "political correctness"—as if this casting decision wasn't more about a brilliant actress than "PC culture"—are also, it has been my observation, the same people who decry safe spaces.

But here's the thing, until very, very recently, the whole world has been their safe space, particularly entertainment media.  Entertainment media has been a space where heroes are straight, white and male.  Now that is changing, and all the broflakes who've gotten used to it are freaking the fuck out.

They flipped out when one of the Fantastic Four was played by a black character.  The freaked when Ghostbusters decided to do a film with an all-female cast.   They had an absolute meltdown when Idris Elba was cast as the Gunslinger (I'M SO EXCITED TO SEE HIM IN ACTION YOU HAVE NO IDEA!).  They got really cross when Ubisoft decided to make the villain of their next instalment of the Far Cry series a white Christian extremist.  There's actually a petition going around demanding the that the Black fucking Panther movie be "less black."

What a bunch of fragile, hypocritical morons these people are.

For all their lives, and the lives of every generation before that in the West, entertainment media was designed for men, particularly straight, white men.  Video games were tailored to the power and sexual fantasies of straight white male players - the assumed demographic.  Films and television were largely made for a straight white male audience.  They starred white men - even in non-white roles - as the heroes.

Entertainment media was the place where straight white men could go and feel safe, represented, and listened to.  Entertainment media was the straight white male safe space.

And now that's changing, and the need for safe spaces has become apparent to these broflakes, even if they aren't consciously aware of it.  It's apparent in the whining and crying and knee-jerk reactions when their broflake safe space bubble is burst.

And I'm sick of it.

Find a different safe space, broflakes.  Start a "butthurt fragile" club or something.  Entertainment media is for everyone, and you aren't everyone.  You aren't even most these days.  Welcome to the real world.

And when you do find your new safe space, perhaps stop laughing at those who are demanding theirs, because your hypocrisy is making me physically ill.

And so ends today's rant.

I'm off to get more coffee and learn some Welsh.

​Ciao!
4 Comments
April Laramey link
19/7/2017 10:21:22 am

Yes, many people freaked out when they made Starbuck a woman in the new BSG as well. I for one, have never been so glad they did!

Reply
S.M. Carrière link
19/7/2017 10:26:20 am

OMG! Katee Sackhoff was SO GOOD in that role!

Reply
Eric A Desmarais link
19/7/2017 01:38:47 pm

The fandom of Doctor Who is filled with people who hate change. Every new doctor and every new companion is faced with so much hate it's ridiculous.

It's twice as bad now but completely in line with the fandoms regular hate.

There's an old saying that two Doctor Who fans can never agree on anything.

Reply
Garth Hale-Hodgson
21/7/2017 02:09:55 pm

The hate this time is just stupid. Like Eric said, the Doctor Who fandom is rabidly allergic to change, which is bizarre since the show can't go three years without some kind of major shakeup. And this isn't a recent thing, that's something that was true of the original show as well.

I've been saying that they should have a female doctor since the Matt Smith incarnation, if not before. There is nothing in the show that prevents it, nothing to say that the Doctor HAS to be a man, or white, or anything really. Except british. The Doctor MUST be british, that's where I draw the line.

As for the other screaming whines about other properties that you mentioned... well, nothing says that any of the Fantastic Four have to be white. They were originally, but so what? Nothing says the villain of a FarCry game can't be a crazy christian fundamentalist. Hell, there's real-life examples of just that sort of person doing just the sort of things a bad guy would do in a FarCry game. An all-female Ghostbusters was a perfectly sound idea, it's just the execution that was left wanting. Black Panther be... less black? Really? The hell is wrong with them that they want that?

The only quibble I have is with the Gunslinger. Roland's being white actually means something in the story. Specifically in his relationship to Detta. Now, they're changing the story massively for the movie, so this likely won't be an issue there if they ever get to the Drawing of the Three. We will have to wait and see to find out how they handle it. Not worth screaming about, certainly.

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    S.M. Carrière, a Celtic Studies enthusiast, writes fiction.  And this blog.

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