SomeOtherAmazon

SomeOtherAmazon

Contributing writer for The Artifice.

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    Latest Articles

    Latest Topics

    4

    Hidden Holiday Legends: Should we start seeing some of the darker holiday legends?

    Much of the holiday season is saturated with a canon of Christmas movies. However, the recent release of "Krampus" has reminded movie goers that there are some darker holiday legends. Analyze these lesser known stories and whether or not you think they should be considered for holiday prime time.

    • What I like about this concept is that we can start expanding the lens through which we look at holidays. Many of the modern Christian religions have pagan and polytheistic roots, and gives writers and audiences new territory to explore in regards to other cultural mythologies, as long as the proper respect is paid to the originators and the context of the story. – artemis822 9 years ago
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    • I love this idea, and agree with the above comment - there are a lot of darker roots that would be fun to explore. Great concept! – Hannah Spencer 9 years ago
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    • I think they should be explored. At the very least some of them have some moral lessons. And others remind us of what's important in life. – Tatijana 9 years ago
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    • Wow, I love this concept! I am totally up for exploring the roots of holidays! As someone who identifies as pagan, I would love to see the original roots of the holidays explored more. I don't know if "holidays" specifically refers to the winter season or holidays in general, but the director of "Krampus," Michael Dougherty, has done the original, "darker holiday legends" theme with both "Krampus" and "Trick 'r Treat" (Samhain). In regards to "Krampus," It is also an interesting question how we determine what is a true "holiday movie." Krampus is a Christmas movie, but it likely won't air on Lifetime any time soon. – emilydeibler 9 years ago
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    • Krampus has come up in recent years in different genres of tv as well. American Dad has an episode revolving around Krampus. Although not Krampus, in The Office (US) Dwight brings up the Christmas legend of Belsnickel. What's inspired the reintroduction of Christmas-time dark tales? Are we just bored of Santa Claus? – Slaidey 9 years ago
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    4

    How Do We Get People to Read Comics?

    Over the summer a friend expressed an interest in starting to read comics to me, however he seemed overwhelmed and eventually disheartened by the idea. Too many titles, too much history, and too expensive… it can be a little much for people on the outside. It's become a somewhat accepted fact that actual reading of comic books is a subculture. Look into how this small readership (vs cinematic and televisions viewers) effects the industry. What can be done to make people more interested in picking up the titles? How do we help people with the interest start?

    • A good way to go about this piece could be to offer tips for people who want to get into the world of comic books. It could also work well in list format. – Marcie Waters 9 years ago
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    • If anyone should want to get into comic books eventually, as I do myself, it's perhaps best to look at what scholarly authorities on comic literature consider to be the finest examples of comic book stories, characters, or franchises; and then look to see what might interest you most. Personally I'm more into the independent comics, the unique comics, the ones that lie outside your typical Marvel and DC super-hero series (Judge Dredd, Tank Girl, Hellboy, Vampirella). Most of the main pantheons don't really interest me as much. But if I ever wanted to explore say... X-Men, or Batman, or Wonder Woman, I'd probably look to the compilation reprints that I can buy on Amazon Kindle, rather than picking up some hard copy that used to cost fifty cents. Buying comics digitally, what ever you can, makes for an easier price tag, and a smaller foot-print in the house. You can't collect them in quite the same way. But if you're just starting out and you want to read them rather than build up a stock pile of them, it's probably best to go digital and piece meal it out just to get a taste of a few things first, before you dive headlong into a particular franchise. – FilmmakerJ 9 years ago
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    Teenage Girl Heroes: How are the Big Two Writing Young Women

    With Ms. Marvel and Batgirl of Burnside as just two examples, how are Marvel and D.C. writing young women as heroes? What sort of plot devices do they use to make them relatable? In what areas do they succeed or fail? Furthermore, analyze whether or not these characters have been successful in reaching a wider demographic for the comic industry.

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      Creating New Heroes: How Do We Decide What's Good Enough

      Comic fans love their heroes, and their tested and true stories that have been rewritten and reimagined for well over half a century. Recently, however, there's been talk of creating new heroes, new teams, and new identities that better represent our modern ideologies and culture. What really makes a new hero worth publishing? What sort of criteria should be followed to give a character the longevity of the greats? What aspects of our society can we fuse into new heroes to further the ongoing mythology of the superhuman? Analyze whether it is about diversity, history, relatability, or something else entirely.

      • I like this topic and think it would make a great subject to analyze. I think as our society has evolved new heroes, teams, identities, etc. have been created that are emblematic of modern ideologies and cultural trends. The question of what makes a hero "modern" and what characteristics define this new type of character would make a great topic for exploration and discussion. – Morgan R. Muller 9 years ago
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      2 vs. 1, Captain America and Racial Identity: Does the fact that there have been 2 black Captain Americas and only one white one matter?

      I'm taking a course on race in pop culture and was recently assigned to read Truth: Red, White, and Black. This alternate mythos of the Captain America story suggests that before Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson there was another Captain America- a black man named Isaiah Bradley. Bradley (and many other African American men) are unwillingly forced into government experimentation to perfect the super serum that will later make Rogers a hero. However, many of these early test subjects died on the table, or suffered from complications later on. Isaiah is the only survivor, and dawns the Captain America costume on a suicide mission behind enemy lines. Though he survives, Isaiah is ultimately mistreated by the American government until Steve Rogers finds out about him and demands a form of justice. Including this title, there have now been two black men do wear the Captain America persona. Should this be getting more attention? Does the popularity of Steve Rogers (as much as I love him) above Sam Wilson and Isaiah Bradley say something about the way we accept our superheroes; especially one as symbolically loaded as Captain America?

      • I see it as a nod to change. Historically there have been a lot of white men as superheros due to racial pregudice and societal norms. Now thst its changing and theres a growing acceptance for different races, sexualities and religions; comic writers are looking to show that they believe in the changes society has made. – Cojo 9 years ago
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      • You raise a good question. There is something essentially American about Steve Rogers, but it is important that the mantle of Captain America represent more than one man or one race. Several other white men have worn the costume as well, including John Walker (U.S. Agent) and Bucky Barnes. It might be more telling that the black cultural experience appears twice, whereas there are no iterations of the character that are Hispanic, Asian, or (native) Indian (unless alternate Universes count). Does the black American experience validate American symbolism in a way that is different from white versions? Questions like this are why I thoroughly enjoyed the real world Sikh Captain (http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30941638). – KingSheep 9 years ago
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      • As someone who has not heard of Sam Wilson and Isaiah Bradley I find this an interesting topic to raise. This of course emphasizes the good nature of Rogers while raising political issues about the racism of the American government. If there was a movie centered the character of Wilson or Bradley instead of Rogers their popularity might be raised. – melimangoes 9 years ago
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      • Correct me if I'm wrong, but you called this an "alternate mythos", meaning someone came up with a different background for the Captain America character. As an author, I strongly dislike when people do this simply to satisfy the current culture's hot topics (In this case, racism). There's so much complaint about whitewashing, and rightfully so because whitewashing can be very damaging, but I have an issue with taking a story and changing its 'white' origin to one of 'ethnic' to satisfy pop culture. – Qiao ChengHua 9 years ago
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      • As someone who has not had much exposure to comics, I can see why this alternate story is an interesting way to point towards the "obvious" stereotyping of super heroes. I would disagree with Qiao's argument that the story is being changed from a "white" origin to satisfy pop-culture. I think it is a rightful hypothesis that points to the fact that during WWII the African American soldiers were forced to endure deadly and painful experimentation - for the sake of enhancing the survival rate of their white counterparts. (Just look for an Article recently released by NPR called "Secret World War II Chemical Experiments Tested Troops By Race"). I would argue that the alternate story takes "reality" into effect and tells the story of how it would really be, if during those experimentation's one of the African Americans became "super powerful" and how, or if, Americans would have accepted him as a hero. After all, when Jesse Owens won the Olympic medals in 1936 - he became a test subject. Somehow I think it is important to notice the ease with which we suspend our believe of a white soldier being experimented on and becoming a hero vs. the criticism and reservations we have thinking that a black soldier could ever become a super hero - even though they were actually experimented on and even though they have proven their exemplary abilities time and time again. – pmaschke 9 years ago
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      Published

      How effective is changing the race of a preexisting character as helping to create diversity in the comic world?

      There’s a steady mix of both praise and outrage at the idea of a black Captain America; but the real issue is not a question of Steve Rogers or Sam Wilson. It’s a question of what diversity means to different fans and what solutions can be reached to ensure the inclusion of everyone invested in comic book culture. Does changing the race of a well known character help this process? Would it be more effective to just create new characters?

      • Fascinating topic! The most important questions to consider are probably: Does it make a positive impact to move Sam Wilson, a black character, to the forefront by giving him the identity of a more prominent, well known superhero? What kind of implications are there when Sam Wilson abandons his own superhero identity as Falcon in order to take on the persona of a white superhero? Are there negative connotations about the way we value one race of superhero over another? Would a better solution be giving Falcon a more prominent place in comics, with promotion, more issues, etc? Or is this a strategic move to use the large audience that Captain America has in order to depict diversity to a larger audience? – KTPopielarz 9 years ago
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      • I think it would absolutely have been better for Sam to stay Falconear and just accumulate more publicity under that persona. That way he wouldn't be tied to a white identity at all – SomeOtherAmazon 9 years ago
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      • It's interesting to examine how comic book fans--who have traditionally felt they resided outside of the realm of the mainstream--are adjusting to the new, wider audiences comics are gathering. Also interesting to think about: what are the main goals of the big publishers? Are they trying to gather a more diverse audience? Are they attempting to reflect the diverse audience they already have more accurately? Are they motivated by the bump in sales generated by the buzz and controversy? – allisonparker1 9 years ago
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      • I really do worry that some of these race and gender changes are just a publicity grab from the publishers. If we don't have solid storytelling to back these characters up then nothing good will actually come of it. Like personally I thought Batgirl of burnside was not good, but it's supposed to be this beacon of social justice in the comic world. It felt like a money grab to me- the villains were lame. We don't get the sense that Barbra is fighting for something bigger like we did in Gail Simone's title. I'm afraid it's the same way with a lot of these race swaps- all flash and no substance. – SomeOtherAmazon 9 years ago
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      • Love this topic! I really really would like to see new characters personally, because it would give them a chance to make an entire new backstory and interpret the struggles of African Americans if they wanted, as opposed to, going from a caucasian character to an African American one, it doesn't get a chance to get that backstory if that makes sense. I can't wait to see what happens with this one! – scole 9 years ago
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      • It's a shame that the world has to become so PC that we have to change beloved comic book heroes who have been around for decades need to be tweaked because it doesn't coincides with today society. It's like comic book creators cannot come up with original characters or that if they did create new characters, they wouldn't stack up to the tried and true characters of the past. – JustJohn 9 years ago
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      Latest Comments

      SomeOtherAmazon

      This is a really interesting point. Since graduating college I’ve been helping a good friend develop his comic book series, and he made the point that the lack of diversity in superhero bodies gets to be really boring. It’s boring to draw, animate, and write- and it seems to take away layers of creative potential. What drew me to this article was the picture of Faith, as it’s a title I’ve just started reading. It may be safe to speculate that with the amount of physical activity superheroes partake in, they probably won’t be overwhelmingly overweight. However, I know plenty of people who have healthy lifestyles and are just naturally bigger. I don’t think it’s fair to only show super skinny or super muscular body types as either male or female comic book characters. As pointed out in the article, there have been a few overweight comic book characters, but what about just different body types? Beer bellies and curves are pretty common in reality, I think it could add to stories to start throwing in some new body types.

      Overweight Superheroes and Supervillains
      SomeOtherAmazon

      This is a really fantastic title. I’ve read up to issue 15 so far and I love it. Thanks for explaining the mist, I wasn’t clear on that. Great article!

      Kamala Khan: The new Ms. Marvel
      SomeOtherAmazon

      Defining something through race is completely different than being defined by race

      How Isaiah Bradley and Steve Rogers Define Captain America Through Race
      SomeOtherAmazon

      This is a really great analysis. I’ve always thought that the family dynamic is why I prefer Bob’s Burgers to other animated families. The characters are actually likable, which I cannot say about the Griffins.

      Familial Love: The Special Ingredient in Bob's Burgers
      SomeOtherAmazon

      this might be more relevant https://the-artifice.com/women-in-refrigerators-killing-females-in-comics/

      Moral Truths Within 'The Killing Joke': Tragedy and Choice
      SomeOtherAmazon

      I’m not sure how this comment is relevant as this article in no way discusses female characters/ gender issues. That being said, there is a lot of work on Barbara Gordon who has recently been revitalized and remedied in her most recent title. So I suggest you read that.

      Moral Truths Within 'The Killing Joke': Tragedy and Choice
      SomeOtherAmazon

      These movies often get left out when I think of movies I loved as a child. but seeing them here I remember how much I enjoyed them all, especially Anastasia!

      Five Animated Musicals That Are Not Disney
      SomeOtherAmazon

      I don’t really see what any of this has to do with the point of the article. It’s about sexuality (gay or straight and so on) not sexualization

      Sexuality in American Superhero Comics