Feminist Magic

In the Lord of the Rings trilogy, although the races such as elves, dwarves and orcs are completely fictional created in the virtual world, the Middle Earth, we could still find connections between ethnic groups in real world and virtual races in the Middle Earth. In other words, races in the Middle Earth are reflections of ethnicity in our real world. I think that one of the most typical examples demonstrating the connections and reflections is the orc group. In the Middle Earth, orcs were portrayed as the evilest and nastiest creatures who followed Sauron and aimed at destroying the peace in Middle Earth. Some features of orcs, such as their dark skins and facial and body paintings, actually remind people of the portrayals of Native Indians or some African tribes in colonial era. From the perspective of “white-gaze”, like Native Indians and Africans, orcs are depicted as a group of creatures who are primitive, wild and with low level of intelligence.

In the films of the Lord of the Rings, we even cannot find the gender information of orcs. With characteristics like cannibalism and brutalization, in the Middle Earth, Orcs ranked the lowest level creatures who are quite distinct from “human beings”. They are born to be evil and inhumanity. Opposed to orcs, undoubtedly, the characteristics and identities of elves reflect “Whiteness” of real world. In addition to elves’ features like golden hair and fair skins, their immortality, the highest level of wisdom, noble and pure blood are the ultimate representation of white superiority.

Just kidding, but she is a badass. 

Ok so backstory: She lives on a desert planet called Jakku, alone because her parents left long ago and she’s waiting for them to come back even though in her heart of hearts she knows they’re probably not.

During the Force Awakens (Star Wars Episode 7), she defends a little droid (robot), pilots like a pro, and ends up helping the rebellion and coming head to head with the baddest Jedi of the moment, finding her own Jedi powers in the process.  Which to me is awesome because even after that she forgets she has these Jedi powers until all her other moves (based of her experience, skills, and knowledge) don’t work.  Her skills and abilities have gotten her out of many a battle alive and well but sometimes you just gotta fight Jedi with Jedi.

She’s very quick on her feet, both literally and mentally which has mostly come from the need to survive.

Star Wars has had female characters in the past (Leia and her mother Padme) but they were always the damsel in distress. Yes Leia was a rebel and had an attitude but her story still revolved around her relationship with Han Solo.  Padma too was an actual Queen, for crying out loud, and elected too not just inherited, and her story was still wrapped up in her love affair with Anakin. 

Or survival? Basically people on this just want to live their lives and I feel like it shouldn’t be so hard.

Anyway, we have an interesting topic ahead of us today and that is the diversity of racial representation in Game of Thrones.  

Westeros (the more populated and advanced continent) is particularly lack in diversity.  It is almost like in an extra effort to emphasis the differences between the locations, they don’t have a single foreigner in Westeros. Everyone with a different skin tone or accent is a foreigner and from the other continent. You know what let me correct myself, there are two exceptions to this. One is Varys, the eunuch who sits at the king’s table and is valued for his wisdom and gossip.  The other, more significant, is Dorne, which is a kingdom that is technically in Westeros but at the very absolute southern end and they make a point to separate them. Until Oberyn shows up (and we’ve already discussed my very positive feelings about him) with his beloved and then later, we see the ‘King’ of Dorne, his son, and the daughters of Oberyn and his beloved.  They have an ethnicity which I will not ventured to describe accurately but I will say they have a very Mediterranean/Spanish/Arab look to them. And I realize that these are all very different ethnicities, but as I said, I don’t want to make assumptions and I’m not a great identifier. 

Otherwise, most of the diversity comes from the other side of the map, with the Unsullied (similar to an African ethnicity), the enslaved (varies across the whole spectrum, usually lighter though), the Dothraki (very tan but under that fairly white) and various unnamed background characters.  The cities  here are truly more diverse, even if the main characters that are focused on are white, I think they’re taking a step toward diversity, although I wish it were more mixed in Westeros.  The Unsullied being mostly of an African ethnicity is interesting as they are the most brutally enslaved and they are the first freed by Daenerys, eventually becoming her personal guard and part of her counsel.

There is also, pictured above Missandei (miss-saan-day), who Daenerys rescued from the master of the unsullied.  She is brilliant and knows an abundance of languages (I’m sure she’s said how many but am I really expected to remember that?) and even once corrected Daenerys’ use of the dothraki language.  She is also on Danerys’ consul, which is growing and becoming more diverse all on its own (With Greyworm (the Unsullied leader), Missandei, now Varys and Tyrion, it is an odd little group).

Also, because it is a fantasy world, there are what we like to call “non human races.”  For example, the scariest thing which is the biggest threat in the show but everyone is being a child and denying their existence, are the White Walkers.  Oooooh scary. They are mythical beings, very human like in basic body structure (head, torso, two arms, two legs) aside from the small horns, blue skin, and radiant blue eyes, and snow white hair. Oh and they have a giant army of the frozen undead.  

I’m really terrible at these titles so please forgive me.

Game of Thrones, writer (for those of you who don’t know, the series is based off books) George R.R. Martin, has been widely praised for his depictions of strong female characters. This is one aspect that has remained, if not been intensified in the television series.

The most prominent example of this is in the woman that has become almost the face of the (TV) series, Daenerys Targaryen, pictured above. (Dany, as she’s affectionately known) Throughout the series, she goes from being sold as a bride by her brother to a “Horse Lord” (clan/tribe leader) the barbarian Dothraki tribe, to ruling the vast majority of cities on the western continent. She uses her sexuality and her gender to her advantage, winning the heart of her new husband, gaining alliances and friendships. She is constantly forced to prove that she will not be conquered, that just because she is a women, does not mean that she will easily beaten.  She also has an element of supernatural powers (never being burned by heat/fire) that end up being very useful for that cause. However, as much as I love this character and want her to win everything, I feel as though the supernatural abilities give less resonance to her natural abilities of intelligence, leadership, and diplomacy.

So I tend to lean toward the other women as examples of powerful women, women who have worked hard, and defied the roles that were laid out for them, without status or money or supernatural abilities. For example, Brienne.

Brienne is so fantastic.  When she was introduced, you first saw a battle, during a tournament, between two knights, and when the winner removes their helmet it is Brienne.  Which is a killer way to introduce a woman, not based on looks, but on talent, and talent in a male sphere over a man especially.  She is the daughter of a Lord and Lady but refuses to go by that title, saying several times throughout the show,  that she’s “not a lady.”  I would really love to get more of her backstory to be honest, but let’s just focus on what she’s done so far.

by Peter Lopez

Films from the Walt Disney Company are typically seen as the epitome of happiness and innocence. The control that has been asserted by the company on the culture of the United States, and furthermore the world, is unparalleled by any other animation studio. Through their movies, television programs, merchandise, theme parks, books, and most likely anything else you can think of, they’ve turned generation after generation of children into vigilant consumers from as early as they could talk. One of their biggest franchises include the Disney Princess line, with famous names such as Snow White, Cinderella, and Belle. These princess movies are known to teach values to young girls, but the movies might also be teaching them negative ideologies of what it means to love and what it means to be beautiful. Beauty and the Beast was released in 1991 and is being remade into live action for 2017. The main character, Belle, displays many positive attributes and is widely credited for that. However, it must be considered the negative lessons that this film teaches young girls and boys, and why this story resonates so much that it is still being recreated today.

One of the primary problems with Beauty and the Beast is the stripped down plot of the movie. Belle is locked up, taken prisoner by the Beast, and over time the servants in the castle persuade her to fall in love with him. He gets nicer as time goes on, and Belle has inner “beauty” and accepts him for who he is and that breaks the curse. She gets her prince, of course. All throughout the film Belle is recognized by the townspeople as an intellectual who can’t put her books down, but in the end the only asset she could contribute was her physical appearance. Regardless of what her goals might have been, I’m assuming she had a dream to get away from “this poor provincial town”, it likely didn’t involve being a princess. The only reason the Beast fell in love with her was because of her beauty, considering that he ignored everything about her personality until he just had to try to impress her with a library. Somehow, Belle fell in love with her captive and while many have questioned this as probable stockholm syndrome, Disney has given us a tale as old as time of someone who could love without boundaries. Negative implications of this lesson include staying with someone who is abusing you because if you’re good enough, they’ll change.

One must, however, understand the positive step taken by Disney with Belle. Beauty and the Beast is especially interesting because it’s the first Disney princess to show a different interest than in love. Unlike the other princesses, Belle is interesting to deconstruct because she was never looking for love. She repeatedly refuses Gaston, and although she’s talked about as the town’s most beautiful girl, she remained involved with books and supporting her father. The only reason she got in the whole mess was because she sacrificed herself for him. For these reasons, Beauty and the Beast is sometimes seen as progressive by having an intelligent female protagonist who falls in love over time and not overnight, but one must consider all the negative implications in this film regardless of the few steps that Disney might have taken forward. By propelling Belle up a few notches in any sort of female empowerment, it just brings to attention how many of the other Disney princesses only have beauty to offer. These ideologies affect children, and even though they are young they won’t only see these films as pure entertainment. There is learning going on, there are dozens of subliminal messages, and even though these films are marketed towards children they are of course not made by children.

In conclusion, critically thinking about the themes in Beauty and the Beast are interesting because while many negative implications can be found, there are many positive things to say as well. Taking into consideration the time period, it’s going to be telling to see how this film will be remade in 2016. It’s very probable not much will change, but Disney has been taking some steps following all the online criticism their culture has gotten as can be seen in their Star Wars movies. A cultural presence as strong as Disney should be held accountable for the messages they convey to young minds. Consumers can only be hopeful that change will in fact come, since they did after all wait around and love Disney the entire time while they were abused just like Belle.

by Peter Lopez

Fantasy films are known for being built upon very intricate and immersive worlds. Popular fantasy films have laid out different foundations, but somehow find themselves only using a population of Europeans with British accents to inhabit the worlds. Game of Thrones, a television show on HBO based on the A Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R.R. Martin is barely an exception. While the show makes use of plenty of people of color, the Dothraki that buy Daenerys Targaryen, a white main character, nor the slaves that she goes on to liberate, are positive representations. Game of Thrones is credited for being rooted in realism, regardless of the dragons and magic, but still, one has to wonder whether only caricatures and pitied characters can be people of color while only white characters fight for an iron throne. George R.R. Martin has said himself that the story is based on snippets of history all pasted together in a fantasy setting, but if he can have giants roaming around Westoros why not a diverse group of people as well? That surely didn’t exist in medieval Europe.

Game of Thrones is about struggle for power, and is meant to mirror our actual history and world. In the show, however, there is no impending struggle of power between anyone of color. The universal lesson being shown to us can only be done through the eyes and presentation of white bodies. Think of Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Cersei Lannister, Tyrion Lannister, Sansa Stark, and many more who play this political russian roulette: they are all portrayed as universal because they are white. People of color like the Dothraki and the slaves of Yunkai, Astapor, and Meereen only served to further the army and following of Daenerys Targaryen. Other than that, they seem to have no hidden motives or interesting plots like many others do in this show. Even the Wildlings/Free Folk who are seen as outsiders do not act as uncivilized or brutally unintelligent because we must still see them as people.

George R.R. Martin self-describes himself as being political and his books are about that. He is a feminist, he is anti-war, but one wonders what his stance on race is. Robin Kawakami wrote for The Wall Street Journal that Martin has said in an interview, in response to criticism, “Westeros around 300 AC is nowhere near as diverse as 21st century America, of course… but with that being said, I do have some ‘characters of color’ who will have somewhat larger roles in WINDS OF WINTER. Admittedly, these are secondary and tertiary characters, though not without importance.” While it’s important for him to respond to the criticism, one has to wonder what kind of response this really was. The series is basically a worldwide story and Martin has not found it necessary to make any characters of color who hold primary roles. In doing this, knowingly or not, Martin is perpetuating that white bodies are universal and applicable to everyone, while “ethnic” ones can only exist in certain roles. Viewers may not see the power behind these visuals, In a series about realism and history and power struggle, it’s odd that Martin just left this one out.

In the header image, we can see Daenerys Targaryen liberating thousands upon thousands of brown slaves from a city called Yunkai. These slaves were able to fight back their masters and gain their freedom, but only because Daenerys Targaryen was there to make it all happen. The scene where she’s being praised by these slaves, one white woman with blonde hair in a sea of color, is very iconic in the show but also very controversial. 

In conclusion, the representations of race and power in the Game of Thrones world is problematic. While many fantasy stories completely neglect any kind of characters of color, Game of Thrones does make the effort of including other kinds of people on screen. The ways that they are included, however, makes as negative of a statement. In order to break the cycle that media has given the public with whiteness and colored-ness, people of color need to occupy more spaces than just the savage or just the slave. Game of Thrones still has time to potentially break away from this hegemonic way of film and television, or continue to fall victim to it.

by Peter Lopez

Harry Potter is one of the most famous franchises of all time. The books and movies have accumulated a multi-billion dollar empire, and made J.K. Rowling the first and only author in history to become a billionaire off of writing books. 

While I love this series with all my heart, as a Latinx-American, I cannot imagine myself fighting alongside Harry. I am not British, but mostly importantly, I am not white. 

The Harry Potter world does have a person of color or two, but they are never that important in the storyline, and are eventually pushed aside for the white heroes that really save the day. 

One of the interesting things about Tauriel is that this character does not exist in the original Hobbit novel. She is created by filmmakers of the Hobbit film series and appears in the second and the third part of the trilogy. Tolkien implicitly defines the Middle Earth world as a male-dominated world and great cause and revolution should be led by males. We could find several outstanding female characters in the Lord of Rings trilogy; however, female images are too few in the Hobbit story. Maybe Peter Jackson and his partners realize this gender issue so that they create Tauriel to break the gender inequality in Middle Earth context. 

I would like to regard Tauriel as a representative of minority groups in Middle Earth. From the aspect of gender, as a woman, Tauriel represents females’ revolt against male hegemony and privilege. Her features and character settings like red hair and archer identity makes her stand out from traditional “lady” images. These characteristics make her look more rebellious. Like Eowyn in The Lord of the Rings, Tauriel is constructed with some “masculine” characteristics: she is intelligent and brave with great strength. Unlike Eowyn’s dependence on males’ help (Eowyn is healed by Aragon), Tauriel is more independent and even plays an active “savior” role in the films: she saves the dwarf prince Kili’s life for more than one time although as an elf she is warned by her king Thranduil to stay away from dwarves’ issues. Tauriel is a female soldier and fighter that does not conform to patriarchal orders and values.

Obviously, the Mirkwood Elven king Thranduil is the symbol of patriarchy and male hegemony in the world of Middle Earth. Thranduil strictly obeys and values the hierarchy of race within the elves’ group. He forbids the possible love relationship between Legolas and Tauriel because Tauriel’s “ethnicity status” is lower than Legolas. Here comes Tauriel’s racial identity in the world of Middle Earth. From the aspect of race, she stands for the racial minority groups in elves’ community. Moreover, the cross-racial romantic relationship between Tauriel and Kili also shows Tauriel’s revolt against “racial barriers” in the world of Middle Earth.  

by Peter Lopez

Sexuality is a natural part of many stories, even fantasy, but not in any progressive way. There is love stories but they involve brave cis-men and passive cis-women. Most often, at least. One thing I can save is that I love Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling has confirmed, and has many hints in the books, that Dumbledore is gay. 

The story of Dumbledore and Grindelwald (the man he loved) basically goes that they became really close in their youth, and Grindelwald sensed that Dumbledore was falling in love with him. Thus, he used him to further his own dark regime. In the end, Dumbledore had to choose between good and love, and he had to do what was harder for him. He defeated Grindelwald in a “legendary duel”, put him in jail, and never loved again. 

The last conversation of Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was with Harry and it was about Grindelwald. Harry explained to Dumbledore (in a heaven-like place. Dumbledore was already dead) that Grindelwald was kill by Voldemort for protecting his secret, where the Elder Wand was. In the writing, Rowling wrote that Dumbledore was tearing up and wiping his eyes during this discussion with Harry. 

While Dumbledore never told Harry the words, “I’m gay”, the story of him and Grindelwald makes it very clear but only if you know that J.K. Rowling confirmed it outside of the text. For this reason, while Dumbledore may be one of the only gay wizards we know of in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, it’s not explicitly in the text, and so I can’t be too happy about it. 

There is hope, however. The new 5-part movie series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is about Newt Scamander, a zoologist, and his case of magical creatures. It has been hinted at and basically confirmed at this point that the series is really about Dumbledore and Grindelwald, and the first movie is just a setup for that. It is an important part of magical history and I’m very excited for that. What I’m hoping for more than anything is to see on-screen evidence that Dumbledore and Grindelwald had this intimate relationship and I can finally see some gay wizards making magic. 

Although Eowyn is not presented through the whole the Lord of Rings trilogy (she appears in “Two Towers” and “Return of the King”), she is one the most important female characters who deserves more attention and research. Many spectators would like to consider Eowyn as an extremely strong and empowered woman contributing a lot to the last battle of the “Return of the King”. This tough battle is supposed to be led, controlled and fought by males; however, as a female, Eowyn bravely devotes herself to the battle and indeed plays a key role in it.

 In the last battle, Eowyn’s confrontation against the Witch King of Angmar, Lord of the Nazgul proves her strength, courage and firmness, the characteristics which are often used to construct male characters. In other words, Eowyn is endowed with some masculine qualities that make her distinct from traditional female characters who are often represented with qualities of loving, nurturing, and fragility. The King of Rohan, Eowyn’s uncle, did not allow Eowyn to join in the war; however, to demonstrate that women can fight against enemies and protect the Middle Earth like men, Eowyn dressed up as a male warrior and bravely joined in the last battle. When Eowyn tried to stab the evil witch king with a sword, the witch king claimed that:

“You fool! No man can kill me!”

Then Eowyn took off her helmet and said loudly:

“I am no man!”

Eowyn tries to break the masculinity hegemony and gender stereotypes put on women. She tries to escape the “cage” (Eowyn once told Aragon that she was not afraid of death, what she felt afraid of was the “cage”) which stands for the hegemonic rules, such as women should not be allowed to contribute to big cause. Seen from this angle, we may regard Eowyn as a feminist in the Middle Earth world, who advocates equal rights and females’ empowerment.

Since this is the first post about Game of Thrones, and because I’m going to be throwing some people and places at you, let me first give a small overview of the world of GoT. 

Also, obviously, spoilers.

There are two main continents. One continent, called Westeros, is made up of the 7 Realms (kingdoms that were conquered and brought together under the current regime). The other has never been united and can’t be named altogether. The important thing to know about these two different regions, is that they are very separate and opposing systems.  Westeros, is more “civilized” and “advanced,” while across the great sea, there are slavers and barbarians, and many more mystic things that are beyond comprehension.

We are mainly going to be talking about people in Westeros. There are two key characters that are the focus of sexual orientation issues in the show.  Loras Tyrell, who is a knight from a wealthy and important family in one of the “realms.”  And Oberyn Martell, a prince of another “realm.”  I will also touch on one other character Yara, a woman, from yet another realm.

As this is a medieval type of world, it is important to remember that these characters, although the show is written in modern times, the characters think in medieval ways.   This is important because it allows us to compare how we think now, to how the world used to think, and particularly how thought changed and developed to become what it is today.  With all of this in mind, we may be able to say that the writers are trying to incorporate the two ways of thinking, or even if that wasn’t their intention, we as viewers can interpret it this way.

Let’s start with Loras.  Loras, is gay and since the beginning of the series he was in an relationship with the then king’s brother Renly Baratheon.  Loras, became and used his status as a Knight, a very masculine position, to defy the rumors of his sexual relationships.  In medieval times, sexuality was not a defined concept, it was not a label placed on a person as a whole, but simply on an act, or a set of acts that they did (or were rumored to do).  This is why a character in this time could say that Loras Tyrell had with sex men but they still would not define him by that. They would still expect him to marry a woman.

So long as there is an heir to be got, most people don’t truly care what a man does in his bedroom.  They may gossip and whisper but nothing more harmful. In the most recent episodes, a certain religious group gained power and convicted Loras, but this is an extremist religious-based reaction, and did not reflect the general public opinion. Up until recently, Loras was the most prominent and long-surviving character of LGBTQ quality.

Oberyn Martell. A beloved character, gone too soon, much too swoon, I mean soon, I definitely meant soon.  Oberyn Martell was much more successful than Loras in living in the world of politics in Westeros with similar sexual desires and actions based on three things, his home region of Dorne, his renown fighting skill, and his higher (prince) status.  In today’s terms he would be considered a bisexual character.  He has a significant other, a women, and they are devoted to each other, with children, but not married.  

Through him we learn that Dorne, his kingdom, is a much more open and one might even say liberal place.  This is reflected, not only in his sexual practices, (his relationship with a woman who is a “bastard,” and with other men and women) but also through his opinions on “bastards.”  Bastards, a child born illegitamitely, outside of marriage, are looked down upon in much of Westeros.  All throughout the seven realms, bastards are identified by their surnames (family or last names) simply by the fact that they don’t have one.  Because of their illegitimate status, they are denied their family names, and instead given one from the region (i.e. John Snow, Ellaria Sand, etc.). He makes it clear that bastards are just as respected in Dorne.

Although Loras Tyrell was a well respected knight, he was called the Knight of the Flowers, because of his family sigil  (crest/symbol), which is a golden flower.  While this title celebrates his masucline knighthood, it also feminizes it with the image of flowers.  Oberyn, however, seems to be more famed, partly because of his status and partly because of his fighting skills, with particular weapons and strategies.  He is known as the Red Viper, because he is very light and quick on his feet.  While knighthood is masculine, it is less so in the case of a high class knight who jousts simply for entertainment and fame, especially when compared to man who has acquired a name for himself by his skill in actual battles.

Lastly, there’s the simple fact that he is a prince, which stands him above a more average, wealthy knight.  This status gives him leverage, power, and influence.  Since the relationship between Dorne and the Kingdom is also not entirely stable, they are less likely to gossip about him and anger him.  However, that is not to say that he is ashamed of his actions. In\ of his more known scenes, when told everyone has a preference (between men and women) he states that  “Then everyone is missing half the world's pleasure. The Gods made that (motions to Ellaria[F] and Marei[F]), and it delights me. The Gods made this (spanks Olyvar's[M] bottom), and it delights me. When it comes to war I fight for Dorne, when it comes to love... I don't choose sides”

Last, and sort of least, is Yara (seen walking in the gif above), a women from the Iron Islands (another realm of Westeros) and who has become her father’s(the king’s) favorite and heir, and a respected captain (of ships and crews).  Yara, not only breaks gender norms by becoming the heir (more on that in a following post), but also gave us one of few glimpses of female homosexuality.  Once again, it is not fair to categorize these characters in strict terms, just because she may have engaged in sex with a woman, does not make her a lesbian. Because these are the terms we work with today, it can be difficult to place yourself in a separate mentality.

The reason I bring up Yara at all is that the show is very obvious in its depiction of male sexual relationships but not as much with women.

(Although there is a large amount of female prostitutes in the show, and in fact, this exactly the type of woman that Yara is seen with, they’re partners are not their choice, and so I consider them less, although they are important, so I will cover them in another post.)

There is a scene much before this where another character, Loras’s sister who is set to marry the King, makes an allusion to potential same-sex desires in herself.  “Some women like tall men, some like short men. Some like hairy men, some like bald men. Gentle men, rough men, ugly men, pretty men... Pretty girls! Most women don't know what they like until they've tried. And, sadly, so many of us get to try so little before we're old and grey...” She is saying here that it’s a shame that women are not able or allowed to explore their sexuality in this time.  She speaks particularly, though, about women in high stations, whose virginity is valued much more than lower class women, and women of different societies.

Yara is for sure, a woman of a different society.  One can interpret her in two different ways. In her father’s lack of sons, has she taken up the role of a man to make her father proud.  Or has her freedom of station, and family, as well as status in a highly masculine society (of the Iron Islands), made her free to have this experience of exploration and the freedom to choose who and what she wants.

These characters all lead us to different interpretations.  How important is freedom, and status in the expression of sexual desire?  In today’s world, how would these characters fair? Better or worse?