Culture Vultures of Western Civilization
The hilarity of mistaking replacement and emulation for representation
At this point, it might as well be a recognized trope that anything based on Western culture, history or mythology will be swapped out and skinsuited by unfamiliar or preposterous characters. Said product will then be sold to the public as just as good or even better than the original. Frequent buzzwords fly around these changes as being “inclusive” “dramatic” or “full representation.”
Oh, and if the audience protests or shows discomfort at seeing this form of cultural vandalism, then the usual accusations will rain down from the Progressive Left for those that do not accept their alternate reality. Don't be a racist/bigot/xenophobic/misogynist/blah blah blah, has been the go-to line of attack for around the last 15 years.
It happens so often that an online template response has become the standard.
(Insert non-Western group) were (insert traditional Western IP)
Nod head, keep wage-slave job and avoid social status ostracization.
The latest example is the casting of Nico Parker as the viking Astrid in the upcoming live-action adaptation of How To Train Your Dragon. Quite a change from the blonde, Nordic character.
Many counter with “it’s just a story” or “myths are not part of culture!”
The level of pandering doesn’t escape some in the groups targeted by these race-swapping choices: “Making White Characters Black Isn't Progress—It's Pandering. And It Insults Black Fans Like Me.”
People argue that "The Little Mermaid" is a mermaid and her color shouldn't matter. But if changing the race of a character is ok because race isn't relevant as so many have said, then why make the character Black at all? As soon as you do that, you've literally made race important enough to change it.
Moreover, if the tables were turned, you can bet they would care. One of the best episodes of "The Last of Us" shows the beautifully tragic story of the characters of Sam and Henry, who are Black in the game. Now imagine that suddenly they were white in the show—because apparently race doesn't matter. There would obviously be a huge backlash to such a decision.
Imagine if Marvel's Blade, the historically-Black vampire hunter, became a pasty-white British man; they'd rain down fire and brimstone on Kevin Feige.
Too many deluded people are acting like these race-swapped characters will break some kind of ground, as if Hollywood just freed the slaves with their benevolence. It's sickening. And it's got to stop.
We are laughing at the LARP now. It's not even infuriating anymore, just a sad acknowledgement that Western people created EVERYTHING worth emulating. Not only science, technology and unimagined standards of living, but all of our cultural heritage. What's funny is how this quietly admits that they have nothing worth emulating, thus they have to swap/steal other superior Western cultural examples to remain relevant.
Hell, it's just flattery from the cargo cults of the world at this point.
Saying it's just a story/myth/fable no longer tracks.
You can support my work here with buying me a coffee/book if you so choose.
This is very similar to many European people's claimimg the title of being the inheritors of Rome, they aren't by fact and truth but that isn't all that important.
'Western people created EVERYTHING worth emulating. Not only science, technology and unimagined standards of living, but all of our cultural heritage.'
I must respectfully disagree. 'Western people' created nothing like the I Ching or the Tao Te Ching. The Analects of Confucius would be very hard to match.