Social Critique in Fiction

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roomforthetuna: Mar 22, 2005; I don't need to know anything about virii! My CUSTOM PROGRAM keeps me protected! It's not like they'll try to come in through the Internet or something!

Nix Panicus posted:

Its also very funny, to me, that Afro-futuristic Wakanda was a hereditary absolute monarchy with a contested succession by mortal combat clause, and that everyone went along with the outcome of a genocidal outsider taking the throne because thats just how succession works. I get that its a Marvel movie but its still very funny that regressive Wakanda was hailed as some kind of utopia because the military backed homogenous oppressor class was black.

I think to some extent the grounds on which it's utopian is that it has technology and politics that add up to something akin to universal basic income, i.e. nobody is an impoverished underclass in their society. However, contradicting that opinion, Dr Doom's Latveria has never been strongly presented in a positive light, and is if anything better than Wakanda because it has all of that and also doesn't require people to be employed as the police/military.

I would love to see a movie or series set from Dr Doom's point of view, where he's desperately trying to spread his utopian society to other more impoverished cultures, and American jingoism and the so-called superheroes who prop it up are all that stands in the way.

# ¿ Nov 3, 2021 13:13

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# ¿ May 9, 2024 21:06

roomforthetuna: Mar 22, 2005; I don't need to know anything about virii! My CUSTOM PROGRAM keeps me protected! It's not like they'll try to come in through the Internet or something!

Oh hey, everyone should read Miracleman (aka Marvelman) if you like social critique in comic book form. Short version, it's basically "what if Superman [but even more powerful] tried to actually fix the world rather than just fight crime". Superfella has the power but isn't infallible, and there's the inevitable thing where ordinary people have a problem with the power dynamic of it even when he's unambiguously helping, and it's all a beautiful dark clusterfuck.

It's also kind of like a precursor to Dr Manhattan, where when the guy with the power is more infallible, he's just like "gently caress it this is never gonna work" and doesn't bother.

# ¿ Nov 4, 2021 03:08

roomforthetuna: Mar 22, 2005; I don't need to know anything about virii! My CUSTOM PROGRAM keeps me protected! It's not like they'll try to come in through the Internet or something!

Sanguinia posted:

Injustice would be a fun version of this if it didn't weirdly and kind-of-misogynistically character assassinate Wonder Woman to facilitate it's plot.

Agree, it was a nice try but missed the mark. It also made all of them a bit stupid in order to get to the point of oppression and random murder, rather than having it be a gradual, totally logical slide that anyone in that position might do without the need for "oh he's just emotional because someone murdered someone, cut him some slack" excuses.

# ¿ Nov 4, 2021 03:17

roomforthetuna: Mar 22, 2005; I don't need to know anything about virii! My CUSTOM PROGRAM keeps me protected! It's not like they'll try to come in through the Internet or something!

Killer robot posted:

As it turns out, that also makes those cataclysmic three times as close together, and the world becomes an absolutely horrifying place for even random bystanders, much less someone connected enough to supers life to know what the mutants are up to these days when it's not international news.

To be fair though, the real world is quite horrifying too, what with plagues and legally sanctified murders and illegal murders and accidental stupidity murders. There's just a bit less inadvertent property damage compared to the impact of superheroes.

# ¿ Nov 4, 2021 13:03

roomforthetuna: Mar 22, 2005; I don't need to know anything about virii! My CUSTOM PROGRAM keeps me protected! It's not like they'll try to come in through the Internet or something!

Raenir Salazar posted:

I suppose maybe says that regardless of system it shouldn't be up to gods walking among men forcing it to work. Which is also interesting because its almost kinda taking a swing at its own universe/franchise.

Reality is basically a really long boring show about how doing these things well without a god-monster to push it through doesn't work at all. The closest we get to the Dr Doom we need is basically Elon Musk.

# ¿ Nov 4, 2021 23:35

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# ¿ May 9, 2024 21:06

roomforthetuna: Mar 22, 2005; I don't need to know anything about virii! My CUSTOM PROGRAM keeps me protected! It's not like they'll try to come in through the Internet or something!

DarklyDreaming posted:

Yeah as it turns out a lot of people are attracted to a narrative involving a Hard Man Making Hard Choices For The Greater Good. Even in the fictional world where the person who scrawled that was undoubtedly a victim of those choices.

Nah, that's not why Thanos Was Right. It's nothing to do with the man or the greater good, it's just that people on average are awful, so it you get rid of half of them at random it's a net good.

# ¿ Nov 30, 2021 13:45

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Social Critique in Fiction