fandom and authority
2013-12-24
since i was just watching the animated avengers movie and thinking about how uncritically a lot of the avengers fandom seems to just buy into the inherent nationalism that captain america represents because they think he is cute/clueless/innocent.
which is such a fucking strange perception to have of a person who participated in one of the so-called world wars. the way that the war is presented in the comics is not only about making good story, but it heavily relies on white american, historical revisionism/mythology about their role in the war. that narrative that frames the americans as the ‘good” liberators fighting against the evil, fascist nazis. how they won the war and saved europe.
except none of these things are actually true. or, they are as true as captain america is real.
but one of the more uncomfortable things about (sort of) being part of the avengers fandom is the way that many of the authors are perfectly happy with buying into this propaganda. so much so, that it is pretty impossible to tell whether or not they are doing it because the captain america narrative requires white mythology for coherence, or because they simply don”t see a problem with uncritically valourizing an imperialist army responsible for the death of millions upon millsions.
likewise, the teen wolf fandom fucking loves sheriff stilinsky. loves. him. he definitely is set up to be some big fucking hero despite it even being canon that he clearly (as sheriff) did not give a fuck about the missing Boyd.
like. straight up: cops are evil assholes. all of them. even sheriff stilinsky. you think that fucking white man isn”t going around fulfilling his job as the guardian and enforcer of white supremacy? you”d be wrong. he isn”t a good man. if he were, he wouldn”t be a cop.
and uncritically buying into the narrative that police exist to ‘protect people” and ‘solve crimes” is just… yeah. more fucking white lies and mythology.