Thaidakar the Ghostblood

I was just listening to an older (as in like 10 months ago) Shardcast (the 17th Shard's very own podcast, check it out it's hilariously awesome and I mean that in a good way) about adaptations for the Cosmere and realized I should probably clarify something I've said before in relation to diversity in media. (And a note at the end about something about myself that I'm trying to correct that might become relevant of an adaptation comes)

Time to launch into it, this might be a longer one or a shorter one, all things considered, but here we go! 

The post I refer to is an SU about the diversity and representation in the MCU, Miss Marvel in specific. (I haven't seen it, btw, what I said is based on what I've heard and some vids I've watched and the general vibe I've been getting) Feel free to disagree with me on any point I made there or any point I'm going to make here.

Diversity in casting is wonderful, and in characters too! In fiction and non-fiction set on Earth, it gets dicier. that is why I'll dump on things like Ms. Marvel while letting other things slide like Rings of Power (I'm not going to talk about Rings of Power whatsoever here, at least in reference to diversity. They were trying to do something good, albeit if not in the best handled way). When it comes to diversity in casting, I'm all for it, as long as they can act as the character in a way they should be done, or in accordance with what the director is trying to get to. That is wonderful! I love having diversity in casting. 

Diversity and representation in stories altogether is also wonderful, as long as it's naturally done in a way that will represent those groups well. That is absolutely wonderful and should happen if the creator in charge of the media can pull it off in a way that represents the group well. It's important to me to eventually be able to do that myself, I really want to get to the point where, in my own writing, I can represent groups that I am not a part of. I hope to be there, and I want to be able to consume media that does that well too. 

To continue the overall theme so far: The Cosmere adaptations should include every ethnicity, every group, every body-type, every eye color (see what I did there? Stormlight *wink wink*), every straight person, every queer person, etc. As long as they can portray the character well without betraying how they were performed in the book. That is what is really important to me, and what I think everyone will agree on. Anyone can play the characters we know and love in my opinion as long as they do a good job of it, and that part really depends on the individual who will be watching the entertainment that's either being created or is going to be created about the Cosmere. 

It is abundantly important to me that people understand that anyone can portray these characters. It doesn't matter if they don't look exactly how you thought they'd look. It doesn't matter if they identify with something you don't think the character would identify with. I think that's something most people on here will agree with and I hope that will be more and more discussed as potential adaptations are coming nearer and nearer to the space. 

I think that wraps up mainly what I wanted to talk about. Well, except for one thing.

In the Shardcast epsiode that I'm currently listening to, they've mentioned casting threads and how some people are unintentionally racially biased in how they fan-cast characters. I'm soooooo guilty of that. I wish I wasn't, but I am. Yes, I know, it's bad and I've been more diverse with my casting (or I've tried to be... still guilty of white washing in fan casting unintentionally), but I am, and I'm sure many others are, trying to be more diverse with who they suggest. Diversity, as I've said above and others will inevitably say in the future, a good thing that helps more people be able to do what they love, not just one group, or one ethnicity, or whatever. It can only, in the end, be a good thing. 

In the end, I think diversity and representation are two good things that are awesome if done right in the media space. 

Congrats for making it this far if you've read all of it! As always, if you found any of this offensive or down right wrong, please pm me or mention it in the responses because I would love to know what it is and either explain it or edit it out of my SU. 

This has been the latest entry in "Thaidakar has an addiction to writing only when it's not his books." 

Have a great day, everyone!