Lit Ignorance is Bias: The Diversity Manifesto

Olive skinned, almond-shaped grey eyes, straight black hair - which is how all the people from Katniss' part of District 12, the Seam, are described (Katniss, her dad, Gale and, in the book, Haymitch). The wealthier merchant class of District 12 are described as fairer skinned and generally blonde (Peeta, Katniss' mom, and Prim is described as taking after her mom). Because the stories take place in a nondescript distant future, the impression I got was that Suzanne Collins was describing a distinct racial phenotype, but not necessarily one that exists in the modern day. The auditions for the film, unfortunately, specified "Caucasian" for Katniss, when based on her description she could be a broad spectrum of ethnicities. (Given that District 12 is meant to be vaguely Appalachia, it's been suggested that people from the Seam are based on Melungeons.)

It's got to do with that yellower/greener undertone, as opposed to reddish or more pale.

ALSO IT'S NOT UGLY

 

Pretty sure "olive skinned" comes from the color of "olive oil".

 

Green and gold undertones? really green undertones, I guess they are seeing something I am not.

 

From left to right, 1 and 2? Gold? yeah I see it. But I don't see green in 2 and 4.

 

I read the first book right before seeing the movie so I was already aware of both the casting and the controversy--I honestly can't say how I would have pictured her otherwise.

 

this maybe?

 

I pictured Peeta much pudgier. Also I pictured Cinna as Ru Paul out of drag.

 

Maybe...I just searched for fan art I remembered just before the first movie came out. Its all reader interpretation.

 

Of course! I'm just saying that's what I happened to picture.

 

To be totally frank, I've always tended to file "olive-skinned" as another case of "people's ethnicities really shouldn't be compared to food."

 

Starbucks skin scale?

 

Even though the book described him as tall dark and handsome, I pictured Finnick as creepy Sewage Joe from Parks and Rec after that initial creepy "Want a sugar cube?" scene. I was watching a lot of Parks and Rec at the time and the way that scene went down was like clutch Sewage Joe.

 

Speaking of diversity, anyone Star Trek Discovery just did a FANTASTIC job in their season finale. Look at these shots:





Humanity in all of it's brilliant shades! Not only that, but a truly diverse Federation is show. Just look at that crowd. Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites, all united in the ideals of the Federation and Starfleet. THIS is Trek at it's finest.

--Adm. Nick

 

Of course that would contradict Azetbur's line in Star Trek VI.

 

There are ways to explain that...

 

The simplest being that she's exaggerating, and baiting - she's not nearly as enthusiastic as her father about the whole "peace" thing - and only carries it on after his death because she promised him she'd support his efforts no matter what.

 

And also (not that I know the context) one line from a less-enlightened work shouldn't have to impact or lessen current and future diversity in the name of meticulous continuity, right?

 

I figured she was being sarcastic, given that really only Spock and Gorkon were "enthusiastic" about the peace process.

 

The comment was a response to Chekov's rather poorly worded comment about rights:

Chekov: We do believe that all planets have a sovereign claim to inalienable human rights.
Azetbur: Inalien. If only you could hear yourselves. Human rights. Why, the very name is racist. The Federation is no more than a Homo sapiens–only club.


That said, it did seem a bit nitpicky - reminded me a little of Fey'yla in the X-Wing books.

Borsk Fey'yla: "You refer to us as 'alien,' and the Princess calls us 'non-Human.' Why are we defined by you and in comparison to you?"

 

"Well, you call everybody else non-bothans, it's like your people define us by your standards and in comparison to you. So I guess we live in the same glass house."

 

I mean, it's literally conservative mockery of so-called SJW whining.

I think it's petty commentary (both Azetbur's and Borsk's), and some of it only exists because of the problem of writing a universe with other sentient lifeforms in a language that isn't really prepared for it, to an audience that hasn't had to think about it. It's purism, imo.

I never took Azetbur's comments seriously, and I don't think they were meant to be taken seriously. She's presented as a whiny college girl meant to be laughed at for being so ridiculous. She's not presented as someone who has a point, she's presented as someone who does not have a point.

 

I think it's probably a somewhat credible criticism from someone who, unfortunately, would rather have a Klingon centric government.

 

I'll take Legends Mandos over NuMandos any day of the week and twice on sunday. I loved the idea of a group of warriors, some descended from the original race, with other species not just let into the ranks/clans but welcomed as long as they shared the ideology of what it means to be Mandalorian. Edit: Sidenote...I think Sabine would have fit so well into old Mando culture, where everyone was warrior but they had other trades and skills beyond that.