5. So far as I can remember, the show didn’t have a sympathetic gay character—that would be different today. In fact, the show features an unsympathetic fey and camp character. In this respect, it doesn’t reflect contemporary social justice themes—but it’s very close.
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6. “The Thin Blue Line” (1995-1996) is an example of an adult BBC show with some social justice themes. Set in a police station, the show features gay, Asian, and black police officers overseen by an incompetent straight white man (Roman Atkinson) who is henpecked by his gf/sgt.pic.twitter.com/xHFn2HDuPU
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7. The composition of this fictional police force is more representative of today’s British police, but less so of the police 22 years ago. In this sense, the show was mass propaganda for how the BBC wanted Britain to develop (this gay pride event is still quite monoracial).pic.twitter.com/tHO7uFycc4
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8. What to conclude from all this? Firstly, social justice themes—particularly in state-sponsored mass culture—are not new. The concept seems new in the area of comics, video games, and films where social justice has made a sudden inroad in recent years.
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9. Social justice themes (or “political correctness” as it used to be called) just seem new to certain audiences. It’s possible that these themes appear in declining industries or failing companies where profits are down. It’s been going on for a long time, though.
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10. The reason why it’s v. divisive in the field of comic books (movies & games based on these) is that the characters in these products are almost the equivalent of new pagan gods in post-Christian countries. This gives the
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11. The introduction of social justice themes is seen, from the perspective of the displaced fan, as a literal desecration. Anyway, it’s been going on a long time—possibly to the beginning of human cultural history.
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Replying to @tomxhart
It’s become much more aggressive in the last decade. Back then most media wasn’t social justice flavored, and now all of it is. Partly it’s just because recycling old franchises is seen as less risky than inventing new ones, and every creative venture must now pay tribute to SJ
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Also I think it has taken time for those memes to “vest”. The kids who grew up in the 90s on social justice media are now content creators—all their referents are socially just, and anything else is seen as heretical
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Replying to @0x49fa98
1. I grew up on these shows, though I had a mixed media diet (see picture below). They always felt “wrong’” to me, even as a child something was bent out of shape (it’s because they have to show women doing things women never do). I took them as satirical or like a Saturnalia.pic.twitter.com/1oX1Dbqls8
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2. I don’t know if people are actually more propagandised than in the past. The right maintains certain characteristics are innate, and, therefore, there must be innate resistance. I’m not convinced that the BBC “converted” many people.
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3. One problem today is that almost everything is satirical or an inversion. This makes the satire or inversion pointless, because there’s nothing to push against.
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