Cuz I totally get it: wanting to be offered roles that“any other non-person of color”would be offered–read: roles any WHITE person would get.
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You don’t WANT to be pigeonholed or typecast into The Minority role, your characters always defined & restricted by your IRL race: Oh, an Asian can’t play this role; a Black person can’t play this role; a Hispanic can’t play this role, etc. Like why TF not?! Esp. when the role/project DOESN’T take itself too seriously anyway, and there IS room for anyone of any background to come in and shake things up in new & exciting ways. How many Asian vampires do we ever see in Western Euro-American pop culture anyway? (xxxxx) 🤔
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Or rather: how many Asians get offered roles as major vampires in pop culture; WITHOUT it boiling down to the actors’ race? 👀
(Count Rapula’s not playing into Asian stereotypes, but he’s definitely culturally appropriating BLACK ones–which I guess says something about the wave of Kpop/Jpop appropriation of hip hop, too.)
As a light-skinned Asian, and as a Wasian with a white biological father in particular, I’m sure Hudson recognizes the privileged position he’s in, that dark-skinned monoracial Asians & Bipocs often struggle so much with.
Like, anyone can look at Hudson and tell that he’s East Asian–he can’t white-pass in everyday clothes & roles; even if he can (& does!) take colorblind roles–just a dude doing a bit. (He’s even played a dog–although I would argue that that role had A LOT of nuance that can easily accommodate discussions about race & power dynamics). But sometimes, depending on the lighting, or at the right angle…you kinda have to double-take just to make sure. 👀 And that proximity to whiteness works in Hudson’s favor, in a way that would NEVER work for other half-white biracial Bipocs with more distinctly non-white features (ie: Jacob Anderson on IWTV).
And in his Nosferatu makeup, you can’t really tell what race he is; he’s more racially ambiguous; with minimal prosthetics required to either exaggerate or obfuscate Hudson’s ethnic/exotic features (“ethnic/exotic” ofc used as a response/contrast to the “default” white race).
But then again, Nosferatu & his Dracula predecessor are STEEPED in Victorian England’s xenophobic & racist demonization of the ethnic Other–Eastern European foreigners “invading” Anglo-Saxon territory as minorities in and of themselves.
So yeah, while I get wanting to make sure you don’t get typecast because of your race, we also gotta acknowledge the elephant in the room, how wrt this predominately white racist industry, Bipocs will ALWAYS be seen by our race first, and our talent second. 🤷♂️
I’m just glad for Hudson, that he’s seeing so much success in his breakout role on Heated Rivalry. I wish him all the best in Hollyweird. ❤️
……………..praising Shane Hollander’s portrayal as addressing/combatting the “Asian model minority” is Impossible because that’s a bad reading of both the show/book (which is largely “go girl, give us nothing!” about Shane’s pan-East Asianness and entirely absent from “Yuna” Hollander’s portrayal) AND the sociological theory of the “model minority” myth. TL;DR: think whatever you want but claiming that HR actually engages with Asian diaspora discrimination in a USEFUL manner is very misguided and you guys need to read stories by actual Asian people. please
when “model minority” is used in discourse about Asian Americans, this is understood to mean casting Asian immigrants/diaspora as having unique upwards economic mobility, educational attainment, and (most crucially and cruelly) as having more moral/respectful/civilizedcharacter in contrast to other communities of color (Black, primarily, but also/especially Latino and probably “white” ethnic groups too). Asians are said to be compliant and eager to assimilate OR having acceptable cultural traditions with Western culture–therefore finding success even though they still face racial discrimination, which is used as a cudgel against other marginalized communities (why can’t you roll over like a dog and do that too?).
this racist, divisive theory has been picked to pieces from many different angles (Asian Americans are not universally successful or even universal within the “community”; anti-Blackness by comparing Asians as a “good minority”–which Asian American communities are incredibly guilty of as part of the assimilation to American culture = white supremacy, see affirmative action…). Shane Hollander’s textual portrayal in Heated Rivalry does not meaningfully engage with any of the key facets of “Asian model minority” because the story does not meaningfully engage with his East Asianness.
you can’t address the “model minority myth” when Shane does not convincingly read as Asian or even Wasian. but you also cannot have a critical examination of it when you do not address anti-Blackness present in the setting, which should be incredibly easy to do since your setting is hockey. but dropping a single commentary line about “strange to see Shane fight” is not actually engaging with “well-behaved/robotic” stereotypes about Asian athletes when you don’t also acknowledge how that stereotype is rooted in anti-Blackness and Orientalism (Shane’s abnormal but acceptable unlike–. I get it’s also a narrative contrast against Ilya, and yes, the NHL was/is super xenophobic, but the show also doesn’t meaningfully engage with Ilya’s heritage culture so…..). because sure people might say that about Shohei Ohtani in a racist way but they also say that about Sidney Crosby (lol). if you’re going to address anti-Asian discrimination in the NHL then you gotta get more specific and incisive with your microaggressions, I’m being so serious right now. can’t even slip in a social media comment comparing him dating a hot white actress to Glenn from the Walking Dead? Heated Rivalry is also incapable of engaging with the NHL in a truly critical manner, so whatever.
to give a fair counterargument, I can see a reading of “Yuna’s” capitalism as mirroring Asian upwards economic mobility/assimilation to dominant white culture, but this is really only engaged with as a universal athlete tropes “I just want to play the sport without all the publicity” and “I’m hiding my real (gay) self behind all these advertisements.” you can’t drop a “going to Wimbledon is a white people thing” line when Shane does not engage with Asian diaspora/culture/tradition otherwise and in the same breath, acknowledges that he is white-passing in white-dominated sports settings (“my western last name vs other Asian kid” – I actually did appreciate this scene and have little issue with it, but it lacks weight when it has no structural effect on his character/the narrative).
he’s Wasian. he’s mixed! he’s Asian, but he’s also white. that isn’t inherently a problem (discoursing about mixed/adherence to Eurocentric beauty standards instead full racial minority representation is another conversation I don’t want to have) but this is also never acknowledged. which could be great commentary about how mixed kids are only ever seen as either but we never get meaningful interiority about Shane’s view of himself wrt race because the narrative only engages with his identity as a gay man… because there is ZERO conversation about the intersectionality of race and sexuality and gender in someone’s identity when they are a racial minority in a white space. East Asian men have to have different complexes about sexuality/gender presentation than white/“post-racial” men, it comes with the being East Asian!!!!!!!
this is not to say that I want to see Reid or the show writers’ take on any of these issues; this is to say I need to stop seeing fans say that Shane and especially “Yuna” Hollander are meaningfully or critically written to address harmful stereotypes against East Asian diaspora, especially the “model minority myth”. it’s not a myth in this story.
PREACH!!!!
“you also cannot have a critical examination of it when you do not address anti-Blackness present in the setting, which should be incredibly easy to do since your setting is hockey…. you can’t drop a "going to Wimbledon is a white people thing” line when Shane does not engage with Asian diaspora/culture/tradition otherwise"
Shane snarking Wimbeldon for them needing him to make them seem less white is ironic AF. Despite tennis & golf being some of the whitest sports on Earth, they’ve both been dominated (some even say “infiltrated,” LOL) by goated BLACK athletes: the Williams sisters, and Tiger Woods (who ALSO has an Asian mother, but Tiger gets sidelined from a lot of Orientalist Asian-Hate BECAUSE he’s half Black; so pro-Asian stereotypes about discipline & high work ethics HELPS him, while antiblackness HURTS him). Tierney missed a golden opportunity to make a MUCH more nuanced parallel by mentioning Naomi Osaka and NOT the Williams sisters, because Naomi is ALSO half-Japanese. 🤦♂️ And the bullcrap the media & sports pundits all put on Osaka was WILD to witness, as they actively tried to push her into Serena’s spot, like: FINALLY, we don’t have to deal with that ghetto AF “real” Black woman from Compton 🤢🤮 beating us anymore–Osaka, tell us about how ✨Asian ✨ you are~! 😍 (While ignoring how the Japanese were just as racist to her cuz of her Blackness as white folk do to monoracial Black people, LOL.)
Racism doesn’t work the same way for Black athletes in white sports as it does for Shane & co., because Asians are THEE model minority in North America (Canada inc.). They’re put on a pedestal–especially the white-skinned East Asians like Shane–as better & more acceptable than any “Darkie,” because it’s comparatively easier for them to blend in around white people without sticking out like sore thumbs like Black folk otherwise would. Naomi is the more acceptable Bipoc who can help tennis look progressive & integrated, while not being TOO Black, since she’s mixed, and not as confrontational as those loudmouthed uppity Williamses.
It’s the exact same issue we see in Sinners with the Chow family; how even in segregated AF Jim Crow Mississippi (the most racist state in America), the Chinese were allowed to run white-only stores on the white side of the street, while the Black people were forced to stay away from white shoppers in a totally separate store on the Black side of the street. Once again, Asians are the preferred minority, even when they too are Othered cuz they’re NOT white–but thank God they’re NOT Black either. So Grace Chow runs the white store; while her husband Bo runs the black store.
So Shane being half-WHITE puts him in a VERY different position than Tiger Woods, let alone the Williams sisters; and Tierney failed to bring in the fact that Shane’s operating in a totally different lane from antiblack racism in sports, even though all of them are Bipoc tokens in predominately white sports.
“….it lacks weight when it has no structural effect on his character/the narrative)….. we never get meaningful interiority about Shane’s view of himself wrt race because the narrative only engages with his identity as a gay man… because there is ZERO conversation about the intersectionality of race and sexuality and gender in someone’s identity when they are a racial minority in a white space.”
Even Asians called her books out on how whitewashed & colorblind she wrote Shane; like why even bother making him (w)Asian if he reads as any generic white person, because you DON’T talk about race or racism?! Not even wrt to processes of acculturation/assimilation–she doesn’t talk about Shane’s culture AT ALL–Canadian or Japanese. He’s just there, and it’s up to the reader to put additional meaning on him, when the author doesn’t GAF about providing as much nuance for Shane as she does for her fave Ilya.
So yeah, I love OP’s post, thank you, you’re SO right.
The goat [Deleted] just BEAUTIFULLY broke down the similarities between fictional vampires like Remmick from Sinners, and IRL skinhead culture vultures like Rory from the Rory & Mal Podcast–white men who have the caucasityto exploit Black culture through Black music (rap/hip hop), give literally NOTHING of value back to the community they profitted off of, meanwhile being a whole Klansman lying about their disgusting history of racism & misogynoir. 👌🤌👏😤💯
Louis’ wounded soul healing by listening to Sammie’s music, reconnecting with the spirit of PAUL, and finding his love of dance again.
Them coming to the juke joint not to go on some evil killing spree, but to actually connect with THEIR Black people; cuz it “feels like home” and reminds them of NOLA.
I like where this video is going. We gotta keep cooking though, and fry these mofos, cuz Lestat & Remmick’s triflin arses ain’t ISH! 😤🔥
Lestat and Remmick represent the same idea, but their approaches are very different.… Vampirism is a metaphor for the power of white privilege in its relation to capitalism and classism, [but] it’s not the only thing that it represents…. Lestat represents this in a more overt way. He’s a Frenchman who’s come to Louisiana, he’s very wealthy, and aristocratic….. Louis is a black Creole brothel owner who’s unable to garner respect from the white businessmen, unlike Lestat, who’s given respect freely. Lestat sees Louis for who he is, his brilliant mind and his tender heart, and he wants him for himself. Lestat is aware of the power dynamics in the area, when he offers him the Dark Gift, it comes with social mobility. Becoming a vampire, Louis gains supernatural power as well as access to white privilege through Lestat … If one isn’t aware of the system, they will be weaponized to maintain it.“
I think Remmick more overtly represents white privilege, and Lestat more overtly represents classism. 🤔 If anything, Remmick weaponizes his white privilege FAR more nefariously than Lestat does (in S1 at least; this video isn’t talking about S2 or Lestat in that racist AF Trial)–we see it over & over in how he manipulates the KKK & leverages them against the Twins; and how he violates Bo & Grace. The Choctaw, Annie, and Sammie are the only genre savvy ones who know The Devil is a Liar. Remmick isn’t unaware of the system at all, he’s WELL VERSED in oppression & discrimination & racial profiling; so he weaponizes it against everyone (he’s more similar to Armand here 👀).
Lestat’s status ofc comes from his whiteness; but as a mixed-race Creole, Louis already had social clout & access to white spaces well before Lestat ever showed up (”How’d you manage to get yourself through the front door?“) But Lestat was Mr. Money Bags. 🤑 He had the ”endless supply of CAPITAL“ Louis needed–the CLASS status that comes with being rich AF. But owning the Azalea & getting super rich didn’t REALLY change Louis’ social mobility at all. He was still playing poker with the exact same white men he’d BEEN playing poker with for years–now they just resented him more, (”Yeah, I’ll admit, I prefer the days you let us win on occasion, days of deference!“). Louis just went from being a struggling pimp to a rich pimp. Meanwhile, white Tom Anderson went from from being a rich pimp to a rich politician. Louis’ social mobility had plateau’d years ago–he was a dead man walking.
"Louis and Sammie are…connected to their blackness, and white privilege is out of reach, but that kind of power is very destructive. Lestat and Remmick both saw something special in their targets, but how they went about trying to achieve their goals speaks to how differently they view the world. Lestat was methodical, because he knew the rules, whereas Remmick was forceful, because he didn’t understand nuance.…. [Remmick] offers Sammie fame and immortality and freedom from oppression, but he’s not as aware as Lestat is...”
IMO Lestat & Remmick see the world the exact same way; that vampirism will “solve” all the problems their Black fledglings face.Like yes, Lestat was AWARE of the racial power dynamics, but he didn’t UNDERSTANDLouis as a Black man. Lestat didn’t have any better a grasp of racial nuance than Remmick did; he didn’t get WHY Louis was so angry at the French Opera House, or by what Fenwick’s lawyer said about him doing a good job, or why Louis was so upset about the race riot, or why having the Azalea was so much more than “Louis’ hobby.” Cuz Lestat IS seated in his white privilege. Vampirism solved MANY problems for Lestat, cuz he died poor, illiterate, & hungry. But as a vampire, Les inherited bottomless wealth from Magnus; the Dark Gift gave him all kinds of superpowers that allowed him to finally learn to read & speak different languages & play musical instruments & mimic the fancy airs of a gentleman aristocrat; he turned his mom & boyfriend into vamps; he traveled the world & found the secret origins of vampirism itself & drank from Akasha.
Les is a Gary Stu; and vampirism was a net positive. So Lestat doesn’t realize that the societal hindrances he faced are NOT the same as the ones plaguing Louis as a gay Black man. They’re not as easily overcome, when at the end of the day you can’t throw money at white supremacy; you can’t throw immortality at a homophobic mother who thinks you’re the Devil and dies still hating you; you can’t just murder everyone & say eff human morals; you can’t give magic blood to a child & expect her to always be a baby to coddle. Les fumbled his future with Lou, by withholding info about his past, while also refusing to listen to Louis’ problems about the present. Cuz despite how much Lestat was genuinely in love with Louis, he never RESPECTED Louis’ as a person: his Blackness, family ties, religiosity, moral dilemmas, diet, traumas, and certainly not Louis’ mental/bodily autonomy. He SAW Louis, but he didn’t KNOW Louis; and vice versa–Vegas Married.
Remmick is an Irishman who faced discrimination and colonization by the English, and…he’s deluded himself into thinking that he’s the same as Sammie because they both experience discrimination, but now he’s the oppressor… In America, during this time, he would be considered white…“
"In Sinners, Remmick went Sammie because his music has a connection to the past and his ancestors…he longs for a return to his cultural roots… Remmick sees his intentions as pure, because he wants to reconnect with his loved ones from the past, but he’s attempting to steal Sammie’s culture to do it. ”
IMO, Remmick represents the Horror genre’s Vampire as monstrous hunger/appetite even better than Lestat, because Remmick can NEVER be satisfied. Cuz he IS cursed, like Annie said. Anne Rice’s vampires are damned/forsaken from God’s Heaven, but DO find companions and happiness & joy on earth in the Savage Garden; spending eternity with the people they love. LOVE is what saves the vamps in AR’s stories. Sinners is a direct warning against predators who only FAKE allyship & fellowship & love, but who have ZERO good intentions towards you; with no REAL love in their heart at all.
In my experience it depends on the fandom & demographic. I’m actively starting to hate listening to white people talk about Black media anymore. Take Sinners for example. I’ve talked to so many white people IRL who LOVE the movie, but istg all the racial context & nuance flew right over their heads. Like, HOW are you this under-educated about US history? So at this point, I’d rather talk to someone who knows the entire context, and critiques the show using actually valid points that get my brain synapses firing, like: Wow, that’s a really good point; yes, Coogler should’ve focused on XYZ; I can see why the movie disappointed you for these reasons. Neither of us are tryna change each other’s minds about loving/hating the movie more/less; it’s just engaging in healthy media discourse & analysis to talk about what worked and what didn’t; and what we the audience takes away from it based on our own unique perspectives. So yeah, I’d rather that, than just hearing the same braindead takes over & over again, even if it’s by well-meaning people who genuinely love the movie, but didn’t actually understand a single bloody thing they were watching, and stare at me like I have 2 heads when I try to have an actual conversation with them about anything not about REMMICK (lord, don’t get me effing started about that racist p.o.s.).
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