Blackcat130

Blackcat130

Professional procrastinator/Blogger on the side/ lover of all things animated/Bachelors in English with a concentration in creative writing/ promoter of chill vibes.

Contributor III

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Latest Articles

Latest Topics

11

Has Body Positivity gone to far?

In 2020, during an appearance on BuzzFeeds "AM to DM" Julian Micheals (Personal Fitness Trainer) was criticized for comments she made about singer/rapper Lizzo. "Why are we celebrating her body? Why does it matter?…’Cause it isn’t gonna be awesome if she gets diabetes". At the time many accused Micheals of fat shaming, but Micheals went onto explain in future interviews that it wasn’t about what people found attractive. That she had a concern for what we as a culture were valuing. She had an issue with us being okay with a health problem that could lead to further health issues like "diabetes". This does not appear to be an isolated incident either. As there have been calls for more diverse body types appearing in media (whether it is video-games, movies, comics, television or advertisement) to help spread body positivity. We have seen comics like "Daughter of Starfire", "The ‘New’ New Warriors", featuring large bodied superheroes. And more recently we have seen the premiere of "Lizzo’s ‘Big Grrrls’ " a show about big bodied women competing to be backup dancers for Lizzo. A counter argument that is often brought up is how media (television, comics, games, etc.) will often overly promote physically fit bodies and how many believe it can be just as damaging. The problem with this argument is that both the hyper acceptance of large bodies and the need to fit what society deems “healthy” is believed to lead to unhealthily results. Making this counter arguement a logical fallacy known as tu quque. In both situations the hyper marketing of a certain body type is believed to lead to negative results, so it doesn’t invalidate Julian Micheals criticism of Lizzo, and vice versa. This once again brings us to the question: are producers of visual media (video-games, comics, television, or advertisement) responsible for their viewers, mental health, self-worth, and body image? Should those who work in visual media try to promote a healthy body image? Are they responsible for what becomes a cultural trend? Or is it on the individual to manage their mental health, self-worth, and body image?

  • This is a great topic. However, I think you've accidentally made your whole argument in the topic instead of an article. Narrow it down a little--or broaden it so that the argument is not focused on two specific individuals. Then you can craft a piece that will reach a broader audience by covering more facets of the body-shaming conundrum. – Stephanie M. 2 years ago
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  • I think that you could look at Michaels presumption that Lizzo was unhealthy and prone to diabetes because she is larger. Whereas smaller body types are mostly presumed healthy, though those with them can have eating disorders, take diet drugs, smoke etc. to stay thin. There is also the fact that a lot of doctors blame all symptoms a larger person complains of on being overweight and refuse to look further, as they too presume that fat=unhealthy – JDWatts 2 years ago
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  • I love what you pointed out. This is the similar issue we once saw in sports and in education. Inclusiveness and body positivity are meant to reduce discrimination. Rather, the way it was promoted eventually become sabotaging to existing, healthy standards. For example, promoting body positivity doesn't mean neglecting healthy eating and nutritional balance. Accepting your current body doesn't mean antagonizing a big girl wanting to be smaller when they realize their current body type isn't the best for their body. I wouldn't say it's going too far, but I definitely see our approach nowadays being problematic as many are supporting body positivity from a defensive, negative mindset that doesn't truly allow the concept to do what it's supposed to do: to encourage more self love and self care, which naturally include toning up your body to be "better," as much as the crowd would hate this word. And another under-discussed issue is forcing someone critical about their body and trying to make change to "feel enough" or to accept body positivity could easily turn into another form of bullying. – Xiao 10 months ago
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Published

The magic of dubbing

Often times, when an anime is dubbed people, will say the dubbed version is inherently inferior to the original Japanese. Which in the case of many early 80’s to mid 90’s I would agree with to an extent. Often times the voice acting is poorly directed and cheaply done with amateur actors, but I believe that changed largely due to Dragon Ball Z. The massive popularity of Dragon Ball Z brought more money into the localization process of many Japanese products when they were brought over to the west and this can be seen in how the dubbing of Dragon Ball Z. Despite these improvements why do people continue to believe that dubbed anime is inherently inferior to the subbed version? Both types of localization have their own strength and weakness, so why does the western anime community hate over the other?

  • Being a keen fan of anime I can certainly agree with the points you've raised in this topic suggestion although I generally prefer to watch anime subtitled and hear the original language, but that's my personal preference. I have seen some dubbed anime in which the voice actors did a splendid job - Crispin Freeman's voicing of the Kyon character in 'The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya' series and film (2006 - 2009) is a good example, but in direct contrast to this is Emily Hirst, whose whiny, nasal drawl was not at all in keeping with the character Makoto Konno from 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' (2006) and annoyed me intensely. One of the problems with dubbing (and subbing) is transference of cultural idioms and references. Simply switching these from one language to another, e.g. Japanese to American English doesn't always work and (no offence intended towards Americans) it shouldn't automatically be assumed that everyone in the English speaking world will necessarily understand the American reference or idiom. One size doesn't always fit all! Whilst professional subtitlers will sometimes, by necessity, have to be linguistically creative with translations and transference of idioms and cultural references, any competent translator will never balk at translating a difficult turn of phrase - which can't be said for some fan 'subbers' I could mention - so will try to keep as close to the original as possible whilst still creating text that can be easily understood by non-Japanese speakers. This doesn't make subtitling superior to dubbing as the two approaches to translation are completely different, as any professional voice artist will confirm. There is, admittedly, some 'snob bias' from some who prefer subtitling and there always will be; it's just the way of the anime community. Coincidentally I'm presently preparing an article about the history of subtitling in which I also cover anime fan subbing - both its good and bad points, so it would be interesting to see someone take up your topic suggestion and write about the development of dubbing; I have some fascinating source material I could suggest for anyone interested. – Amyus 6 years ago
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  • I tend to prefer subbed anime over its dubbed counterpart. My main reason for this being that I feel the original Japanese voice actors are able to capture concepts and convey them more effectively than an American voice actor. Abstract concepts that are unique to Japan like the red string of fate or even the various ways to say "I love you" may be things an English-speaking voice actor might not completely understand and will therefore not be able to capture the subtle nuances associated with the idea. However, that's not to say English dubs don't have their merits. There are a number of anime in which I actually prefer the English dub. FMAB, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu Yu Hakusho, etc. Possibly the reason why some people in Western audiences hate dubbed anime is a matter of superiority and originality. The Japanese dub came from Japan where anime was born and is thriving. Because anime is still a relatively foreign concept for Western audiences, it may take a while before the idea of something belonging to one country can successfully bridge the gap across cultures. – ceekim 6 years ago
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Latest Comments

Blackcat130

Never said I was offended. In the section “(I Feel) Artist Should Never Stop Acting up” literally say artist shouldn’t worry to about offending people. I say at least three different times anything can offend anyone. So, it’s a waste of time trying to be agreeable to everyone. Now, I’m willing to accept that I wasn’t as clear as I could be at certain points. But, it seems to me you didn’t read the article all the way through, and are assuming how I feel. Because the few instances where I state my direct feelings, I’m in support of free expression, and believe people should simply ignore people they disagree with. As long as people aren’t doing anything illegal or hurting someone, why should we care? You don’t have to interact with content you find disagreeable. Personally I really enjoyed writing this. Got to watch stand-up performances and hear artist opinions on their work. Two things I really like. I could think of worst ways to spend a weekend.

Comedy: When the Jokes Go Too Far
Blackcat130

These shows are certainly influential. But, I wouldn’t call them propaganda.

Modern Propaganda: How Animated Comedies Can Change Our Opinions
Blackcat130

Even after all these years I can still remember the intro theme.

Danny Phantom: The True Motion Comic
Blackcat130

While I understand why people compare games to novels/movies, I’m personally not a fan of this comparison. I think that narrative just diminishes all of these mediums strengths. Its like comparing plays to movies. You effectively have to ignore unique qualities of each medium. Not saying you’re doing this, as you say later that games have an unique strengths.

Why it's a Good Time to be a Gamer
Blackcat130

I own this movie, but never found time to sit down and watch it.

Perfect Blue: A Genre Study
Blackcat130

I know this is an older comment. But, I don’t think most people are ignoring Lovercrafts or any authors racism/questionable past. (At least I’m not.) I think most people who love art for arts sake understand that some individuals are going to have ideas that they don’t agree with. That some individuals out there have done horrible things. I understand if some people can’t turn a blind eye to it. And in that case I think they shouldn’t support Lovecraft or any artist who offends them on such a level. But, if you’re going to read,watch or explore someone else’s art your going to have accept that they have different ideas. It doesn’t mean you, yourself are complicate in their action or enable them to behave in such away. Everyone is ultimately responsible for their own actions and beliefs. No one can change that. I also believe you can appreciate the artistic talents of someone, while not endorsing the personal choices of an artist. For me I love many of the games created by Hideki Kamiya, but I don’t think me and the guy would get along in real life.

H. P. Lovecraft: The Science of Horror - Part 1
Blackcat130

I would also say fighting games like Street Fighter and Tekken also force players to improve, especially if they want to compete online.

How Dark Souls Teaches Us to Accept Failure
Blackcat130

R.I.P Kevin Conroy. Really brought Batman to life in the animated series.

What Batman can Teach Us About Depression