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As unbelievable as [White Dude Super Detective (WDSD)] characters are, they would become infinitely more so if their race or gender were changed. In The Mentalist, WDSD Patrick Jane once grifted clients as a fake psychic, but now works as a hard-to-control resource for the California Bureau of Investigations. What if the Jane character were a Latino ex-grifter? Would his arrogance and propensity for sneaking into suspect’s homes and accusing wealthy businessmen of impropriety read as quirky and charming? Would anyone believe that a police force would allow such behavior? Could the Scotland Yard of fantasy be down with a coke-addicted black Sherlock—no matter how clever?



The San Francisco police department abides Adrian Monk’s obsessive-compulsive disorder, as the FBI allows Perception’s Dr. Daniel Pierce to assist on cases, despite his unmedicated schizophrenia and paranoia, which results in hallucinations. Could a black woman be cast in those roles to the same effect? I submit, that even in the fictional worlds of literature and television, race and gender matter. Belief can only be suspended so far. And this archetype is reliant on power that comes with white maleness in American society.

Tamara Winfrey Harris | Privilege And The White Dude Super-Detective (via trollny-stark)

 #i still remember bossymarmalade and glockgal’s deconstruction of white privilege in supernatural #and how dean and sam worked so well #because no one ever questioned white dudes #even when they were sketchy as fuck #and then glockgal drew racebent spn comics #where sam and dean really had to work to be able to be hunters #because they couldn’t just get away with fake IDs now that they weren’t white anymore #it was so amazing #i would’ve watched THAT show forever

(via ave-atque-vale)

This. This. And This.

(via bana05)

A dramatic Shakespearean response to every situation

  • When something bad happens:

    True is it that we have seen better days.

  • When something REALLY bad happens:

    O woe! O woeful, woeful, woeful day! Most lamentable day. Most woeful day That ever, ever I did yet behold! O day, O day, O day! O hateful day! Never was seen so black a day as this.O woeful day! O woeful day!

  • When people say that something is wrong because the Bible says so:

    The Devil can cite scripture for his purpose.

  • When my girlfriend abandons me for food:

    FRAILTY, THY NAME IS WOMAN!

  • When someone doesn't thank me for holding the door open for them:

    BLOW, BLOW, BLOW, THOU WINTER WIND! THOU ART NOT SO UNKIND AS MAN'S INGRATITUDE!

  • When I burn something while cooking:

    MY CAKE IS DOUGH!

  • When human stupidity frustrates me:

    LORD, WHAT FOOLS THESE MORTALS BE!

  • When someone says I'm going to hell for my sins:

    NYMPH, IN THY ORISONS BE ALL MY SINS REMEMBER'D.

  • When I'm broke:

    My pride fell with my fortunes

  • When someone turns the light on after a period of darkness and blinding light ensues:

    OH, SHE DOTH TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN BRIGHT!

  • When someone disagrees with me:

    THERE ARE MORE THINGS IN HEAVEN AND EARTH, HORATIO, THEN ARE DREAMT OF IN YOUR PHILOSOPHY.

  • When I argue with my girlfriend:

    The course of true love never did run smooth.

  • When I'm embarrassed:

    MUST I HOLD A CANDLE TO MY SHAMES?!

  • Someone says "Good Night":

    Good Night, Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.

sirprezzatura:

Elementary’s finale was absolutely, mindblowingly fantastic. FINALLY a show in which women are not merely shadowy, unidimensional characters permanently impressed by Sherlock and his male nemesis and completely helpless when in the eye of the hurricane.

Finally a show in which genderbending is actually empowering and women are not merely a female version of something. And oh, the way that trans* woman character was portrayed was also a true piece of narrative, non-cissexist art.

Whether you enjoy it or not, this show’s depth and ability to portray women and trans* characters in an accurate and thoroughly humanizing way is  simply superb. 

I did enjoy Sherlock, though. A lot, I truly did, specially the acting. But I’m sick of female characters being used just in order to make their male counterparts appear grander, better and far more unique than they actually are. 

I lost a lot of steam halfway through this painting, so parts of it were left very rough. I also made up the lighting source, so any errors there are mine. :P Adobe Photoshop CS6 (+ minor touch-up in Painter 12). Referenced from this photo of Annie Ilonzeh. Inspired by Mike Tompkins & Christina Grimmie’s mashup of “My songs know what you did in the dark” & “Girl on Fire” (that’s a mouthful!).
Zoom

I lost a lot of steam halfway through this painting, so parts of it were left very rough. I also made up the lighting source, so any errors there are mine. :P

Adobe Photoshop CS6 (+ minor touch-up in Painter 12). Referenced from this photo of Annie Ilonzeh. Inspired by Mike Tompkins & Christina Grimmie’s mashup of “My songs know what you did in the dark” & “Girl on Fire” (that’s a mouthful!).

So apparently there’s a movie coming out called “The Purge” which sounds like a dystopian story premised on the idea that if there is one day per year when all crime is legal, the rest of the year there would be no crime and unemployment is at 1%. In other words, utopia.

But here’s my question: how the hell would legalizing crime for a day lower the overall unemployment rate???

In the original Trek, Khan, with his brown skin, was an Übermensch, intellectually and physically perfect, possessed of such charisma and drive that despite his efforts to gain control of the Enterprise, Captain Kirk (and many of the other officers) felt admiration for him.

And that’s why the role has been taken away from actors of colour and given to a white man. Racebending.com has always pointed out that villains are generally played by people with darker skin, and that’s true … unless the villain is one with intelligence, depth, complexity. One who garners sympathy from the audience, or if not sympathy, then — as from Kirk — grudging admiration. What this new Trek movie tells us, what JJ Abrams is telling us, is that no brown-skinned man can accomplish all that. That only by having Khan played by a white actor can the audience engage with and feel for him, believe that he’s smart and capable and a match for our Enterprise crew.

Marissa Sammy on Star Trek: Into Whiteness.

perfect commentary which parallels what Rawles was saying earlier about the possibility of Moriarty being a person of color: 

  • “…The actual issue is that black people aren’t often allowed to play full and complete characters, and an antagonist who isn’t unintelligent, thuggish cannon fodder is just as much of a rarity for black men as the stubbly hero who saves the world or wtfever. “
  • “…The stereotype in no way intersects with brilliant geniuses who choose to step outside of the boundaries of society in order to exercise their intellect while having no concern for lesser beings.

    Or to break it down further: the problematic stereotype regarding black people is that of being, in essence, subhuman. Characters of the Moriarty (and Holmes) archetype are rooted in being superhuman.”

You see? It’s more complicated than “people of color get typecast as villains.”

Black people get typecast as an extremely specific type of villain - they’re thugs, brutish and animalistic. South Asian actors are similarly typecast as scary oppressive (usually coded Muslim) terrorists.

But when your villain is of the superhuman archetype? When they’re brooding antiheroes, when they’re nuanced, when they’re multi-faceted?

They’re white.

(And check out this post on the glorification of white criminality in shows like Dexter, Breaking Bad, Weeds, Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos, etc.)

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