InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Buh"

sandoz_iscariot (sandoz_iscariot) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-08-09 21:17:00

Current mood:	sleepy
Entry tags:	char: fantomah, creator: fletcher hanks, era: golden age, theme: racism

Fantomah from Jungle Comics #7.
More insanity from Fletcher Hanks, this one featuring my favorite of his creations, Fantomah.

...wat.

(note to mods: the comic is in the public domain, so I'm posting the complete story.)

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houbanaut
2009-08-15 05:33 pm UTC (link)

Your argument that over-sensitivity to imagined racial slights isn't a real issue would be more convincing if you weren't using it to bolster an absurd claim that giving Fantomah an Egyptian origin story is an example of "whitewashing" (without having even seen the story), thereby providing a perfect example of the kind of nonsense I'm talking about.

If anything, this is an example of the phenomenon of reimagining characters of the culturally normative group (e.g. white/male/straight) as a "minority" (POC/female/gay) in an attempt to be more politically correct.

I find that the rest of your post is an attempt to change the subject to other topics, and responding to it would just confuse the issue. I will say a few words about hair color, though:

You've not convinced me that white hair is not, in general, seen as a sign of infirmity, even (or especially) in young characters. The best example I can think of in comics is Hippolyta Hall in Sandman. Even when white is seen as representing platinum blonde hair, I think it's tied in to a stereotype of the spaced-out, childlike blonde - seen as mentally or emotionally weak. The fact that not every character conforms to this pattern just shows that hair color is not rigidly coded in our culture, and - as you say - must be seen in context. The site hosting the comic is back up now, so you can see the context for yourself.

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	schmevil 2009-08-16 04:30 pm UTC (link)
	skalja didn't say that making the character Egyptian is an example of whitewashing. She said that making her a blonde Egyptian might be whitewashing. ie. The character has been rebooted as a woman of colour, with 'good hair'. Good hair being long, straight, blonde hair. (Reply to this) (Parent)

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