Chuck Wendig, False Accusations of Racism and Leftist BS

(Screen shots of Chuck Wendigs comments can be found at this link.)

My friends, I have a confession to make. Whenever I hear a cast or crew member (or a director if he's not part of the crew, I always get confused about that) come out with an announcement about a character's sexuality and/or status as a trans person and/or talking about "representation" in a film I assume it's because they're trying to lay a guilt trip on all of us. Think about the Ghostbusters reboot that we were supposed to see, not because it was a good movie, but so our daughters could "have their own heroes." As long as there is a good story behind a film, I'm all about it. But in too many cases, I think Hollywood has mistaken "inclusive" for "entertaining." I don't go to a movie to see "inclusion." I have a limited amount of money and I worked sixty-five hours last week. I spend my time and money on your product because I want to escape for a couple hours. A good story helps me do that.

That's not to say that inclusion is a bad thing. Black Panther was inclusive as all hell and it was one of the best Marvel movies up to this point. Wonder Woman was an excellent flick and had a female main character. Of course, action movies in general have had black leads for decades. Just ask Wesley Snipes and Will Smith how they spent the Nineties. The Star Trek franchise, especially the original series, was inclusive when inclusive was still referred to as "integrated," and it's been a favorite of mine since before I learned to walk. They were good stories and I enjoyed them all.

It's just that when I hear a Hollywood insider bragging about how inclusive their movie is I assume that it sucks. When they start bragging about things other than the plot and the characters, I start assuming that they're either

A.) Looking for an excuse as to why the movie bombed ahead of time

OR

B.) Trying to keep it from bombing by telling us all that we're either an -ist or a -phobe if we don't go see it and therefore attempting to force us to buy tickets.

OR

C.) Hopefully B but maybe A. This is probably the most common reason.

That's why I waited to go see Black Panther (It was a damn good movie. See my review.) and also why I hesitated to see Solo: A Star Wars Story. When writer Jonathan Kasdan came out stating that Lando was I just assumed that what I just talked about was happening. Looking back on it, I guess it was inevitable that people would talk about skin color and the cast of Black Panther but I was hesitant there for the same reason. In both cases, I waited to see what other people would say after they saw the movie before I went. In the case of both movies ninety plus percent of the people I know who saw it loved it and I, therefore, went to see them. In the case of Ghostbusters I can't remember a single person who said they like it after they saw it and I haven't see it. I didn't go see it at the theater. I haven't rented it. I don't plan to. If Hollywood wants my money for an inclusive movie they can have it IF they can make a good movie, that I want to see.

All of this leads me to Chuck Wendig's little hissy fit. Apparently, anyone who didn't like The Last Jedi or hasn't seen SOLO is, indeed, an -ist or a -phobe. The audience didn't hate TLJ because of the extreme stupidity of some of the characters or because they ruined Luke Skywalker for us. They hated it because the characters had different skin colors and the main character was female. Listen guys, I've had enough of the lying here. I'm going to lay it out for you.

Yes racism still exists. No, it should not. Not everything that happens is good. That much being said, it's not the be-all, end-all reason that everything happens. Really. Are there some people that hated TLJ because it had a mixed cast? I'm sure there are. I haven't met, talked or electronically corresponded with any, but I'm sure they're out there. I already admitted that racism happens. The thing is that we're talking about a very small percentage of the fan base here.

And yes, I'm aware of the harassment suffered by Kelly Marie Tran. Some assholes ran her off of social media. That's exactly what they are: Assholes. That doesn't make them racists (Yes, all racists are assholes, but not all assholes are racist) and it doesn't make them misogynist. I had no problem with the Rose character, but a lot of people did. They were too stupid to separate a character from the actress who played her. Harassment is illegal and Tico would be perfectly justified in taking some type of legal action but don't mistake straight up trolling for racism. Sometimes an asshole really is just an asshole. And, for those out there who missed the entire point of this paragraph, no it was not okay that those assholes harassed Tran.

The problem like Wendig and others like him is that they live in a world where what succeeds should depend on how well if supports their political beliefs and not whether or not it's a quality movie. Listen folks, it doesn't work that way. For one, not everyone believes as you do. For another, you haven't reached the level of political power where you can force people to watch something just because you told them to. This is still the United States and not Panem. There is no such thing as required viewing.

And yes, you are lying when you try to make everything about racial hatred. It is possible to dislike something a non-white (or not-male, or-non straight, or non-cis) person did on its own merits and not because you hate them for being what they are. Really. It's even possible to like something that a non-white, or non-male or non straight or non-cis person did and not like it just because they fit into that category as well. Seriously. I loved Doogie Howser as a kid and How I Met Your Mother as an adult. Barney Stinson is the man. I'm a Neil Patrick Harris fan. No, it's not because he's gay. It's because he's a good actor. That's the way it should be.

Yes, modern social theory does say that we should seek out -isms and -phobias in all of their forms, but you're forgetting that there is something called confirmation bias. Basically, and this applies to all human beings including myself, if a person expects to find something they will. If a person expects to find racism they'll find it. If a person expects to find sexism, they'll find it. If a person expects to see evidence that the other side is over-reacting to something because they perceive something as an -ism when it's not they'll find that too. I'm not perfect but at least I acknowledge my biases and try to work around them. Those of you out there who like to label everyone they disagree with as an -ist don't bother. We're all the same to you and any objection to your ideas means hate, at least as far as you're concerned.

Star Trek is a cultural icon. In a society where flashes in the pan are common it has thrived for over fifty years now. It was the first integrated show. It featured the first interracial kiss. It has tackled ideas like racism, sexism and environmentalism for decades. If you don't think that having a bridge crew featuring white men, a black woman and an Asian man was cutting edge in 1967 then you really need to take a history class. The reason that it works is not that it supports those ideas. The reason it has succeeded is because it is entertaining. If you want to get your point across you need to chill on the screaming hatred and finger pointing and work on putting a quality product together because we're not going to buy your crap just because you yell -ist. Nor do we care if you're offended.