#zoja

SHADOW AND BONE

Hi there, 

I haven’t seen the show -- only the film -- but first I want to make it clear that I am of the belief that one can still have critical thinking of a piece of media and recognize its faults while still being able to enjoy it otherwise. 

As much as I think vampires are super cool and would love to be one (fangs...), there are some issues with this:

1) I doubt the writers on the show, or at least the ones who wrote this, are Romani. That’s not bad in and of itself, one shouldn’t have to be of a group in order to be allowed to portray them, but I doubt any Roma were consulted either despite the heavy stereotypes. 

2) Going off of that, writers and the person who plays Nadja going around using g*psy is uncomfortable to me, as they not only are likely ignorant to the implications but are pervading the idea that it is okay to use through a popular show, which may bleed into fan-created content and beyond. 

3) As to the vampirism and witch stereotypes, all I can say is that to portray Roma as mythical, magical, or monstrous is also... very bad. It could possibly, if it hasn’t already, feed the cycle of misrepresentation and discrimination. 

Thank you for bringing this up and asking, it’s an important conversation to have. 

thank u!!!