Meanwhile, The CW are bringing out a Batwoman show starring a gay actor, and white male comic book fans everywhere are obviously delighted.
https://youtu.be/vrIiPcv4_iY
I don't know about any of that but the virtue signaling is off the chart in that trailer, so I can understand why some fans might take exception to something they care about being adopted to so brazenly peddle a political agenda. On that note, I can't stand it when writers write their characters as women. What I mean by that, is when one of the character's key "personality traits" is defined as 'woman'. I've always viewed Ellen Ripley in the
Alien films as the gold standard of how to write for a female lead; that is to say that Ripley wasn't written as a female character. None of the characters in the script for
Alien were assigned genders and so all genders were considered when casting the film. In doing so, audiences were treated to a female protagonist who's written as a human being, as opposed to 'woman'. The result? One of the, if not
the greatest screen heroine in all of cinematic history; strong willed and prepared to take action when the going gets tough but also someone with a very humanistic philosophy and not once does the film draw attention to Ripley's gender. She stands toe to toe with the men around her but is never dismissive to the opposite sex based upon their gender. She commands respect by virtue of her strength of will alone. Both women and men can find inspiration in Ellen Ripley. Both women and men can look up to that character and aspire to be more like her in life.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, we have
Batwoman. Women in real life don't go around constantly thinking 'I'm a woman' and informing every man that they happen upon of this fact, as though it were a revelation. Not that you'd believe it, going by the trailer for
Batwoman. The audience is constantly reminded of the character's gender, to the point of absurdity (they even used a song with the lyrics 'I am a woman', for Christ's sake). Not only is this bad writing but it's actually harmful in the long run because it's defining people by their gender and in doing so, creating a division between the sexes. You cannot achieve unification through division.
Equally, pouring scorn on one gender with lines such as "I'm not about to let a man take credit for a woman's work" is not conducive to bringing about the winds of change. If a misogynistic man were to watch this trailer and hear that line, it's not going to make him reflect on his worldview, it's only going to inspire him to dig his heels even further into the sand out of defiance. As is so often the case with woke entertainment, it exists as a form of masturbatory material for those who are already woke. Those same people tell themselves that this show is changing the world. Newsflash, people; the bigots aren't watching the show.
To come back to that line; "I'm not about to let a man take credit for a woman's work". Imagine if you will, that the roles were reversed and a male protagonist stated "I'm not about to let a woman take credit for a man's work". Doesn't sound great coming from the mouth of a hero, does it? So why is that kind of divisive writing given a free pass when it's a woman saying the line? Historically, woman have been oppressed. I get that. However, two wrongs don't make a right. How is oppressing people because of their gender, whether they be male or female, a good thing? Black people have also been historically oppressed and yet would we condone that a black person go out into the world and vocalise his disgust at every white person that he or she encounters? No, because it would be advocating racism. Racism is racism, no matter the target. Just as sexism is sexism, no matter the target.
Batwoman isn't progressive, it's one step forward, two steps back.
Alien is what a progressive portrayal of a woman looks like and is done in a way that may very well have actuality altered a few sexist men's worldviews along the way because it didn't preach to them in a lecturous manner. That was all the way back in 1979. I lament how far we've fallen since then, in terms of credible and relatable heroines.
I desire to watch characters who are human beings. I desire to watch characters who I can relate to, regardless of gender. I don't want to watch 'man' and 'woman'.
Having said all of that, the sexuality of the actress is a hateful thing for anyone to rally against. No arguments from me on that front.
