Fantasy Fans: Where’s Your Outrage?

February 25th, 2013 • WTF World?

This is hurriedly written and unedited; gotta take Besame Mucho to the vet in a few. Apologies for typos/inclarities in advance.

If you didn’t know, something relevant to your genre happened last night. Beasts of the Southern Wild, a fantasy film I’ve been raving about, got nominated for four different Oscars — yeah, they didn’t win any last night, but getting nominated is still awesome. One of those nominations was for the film’s star, Quvenzhané Wallis, who also made history for being the youngest-ever Oscar nominee. She’s 9 years old.

Here’s the part that happened last night: half of Hollywood decided that it hated her.

The reasons for that hate vary. Some of it’s just… Hollywood, land of the unbelievably hateful people who tear each other down to build themselves up. (Where I come from that’s called bullying, and it happens most often in a schoolyard.) There’s a billion snickering comments and articles online right now about the fact that one of the Oscar winners tripped. This is a professional culture of 12-year-olds.

Well. Except. Most of the ones with power are old white guys. They just have the sense of humor of 12-year-olds.

Here’s some things they did:

The show’s host, Seth MacFarlane, made a joke that I guess was meant to be a jab at George Clooney. Except I don’t think Clooney has ever seen a 9-year-old as a sexual object, which MacFarlane apparently did when he made that joke. Well. Lots of people see little black girls as sexual objects, I guess. MacFarlane was just trying to put her in context. Right? Right?
Multiple reporters struggled to say her name correctly, sometimes to her face. A few even tried to dub her “little q”. She’s the youngest nominee ever, and they can’t be bothered to learn how to say her name. Hint: it has as many syllables as “Galadriel.”
Academy voters voted against her because of that name, and said so.
Oh! And I almost forgot: The Onion called her a cunt. I generally try not to use that word in full, like the n-word — but sometimes it’s important to use it, to bring home the full power of just how ugly a word it is. Especially when applied to a child.

Oh, and it wasn’t just Hollywood misbehaving. The better-known chunks of the feminist community got in on the act, calling her “disgusting” and “insufferable” in the comments. Those people are getting told by quite a few people, but just goes to show you that even (sometimes especially) feminists can be racist fucks.

And what terrible things did Ms. Wallis do to invite this kind of vitriol? Oh, just stuff like this:

Just be herself: talented, happy, pretty, and proud of her achievement. She didn’t misbehave, she didn’t snark at anyone the way winner Jennifer Lawrence did (and Lawrence was awesome for doing so, but it’s interesting how white girls can get away with being confident more easily than black girls. Isn’t it?). Ms. Wallis committed the crime of being confident while black and female. Hey, it happens to all of us, often starting around puberty; I guess Hollywood just decided to start the shaming and systematic tearing-down early.

::sigh::

So here’s the thing: I’ve seen a lot of outrage over this from folks on my Twitter feed, which includes a lot of people in the genre community. It’s heartening to see that. But I can’t help thinking that there should be a lot more outrage than I’m seeing. After all, a fantasy film just came very close to winning an Oscar for Best Picture — yet I don’t see the community even embracing this as a fantasy film, let alone leaping to the defense of one of our biggest stars. I wonder about that. Really, I do.

Here’s what I’d like to see: more people talking about this, in social media and other places. I’d like those people to unfollow The Onion, if they’re following it, and un”like” it on Facebook — because social media capital is valuable these days, and doing these small things is the equivalent of a boycott. You can also write the Onion and tell them what you think of this. I know people are looking up lists of their advertisers even as we speak, so when there’s a list of Onion advertisers to write to, I’ll add that to this post.

But aside from that, what I’d like to see is some good old-fashioned geek rage. I mean, seriously, ya’ll. Geek rage is an awesome and beautiful thing when it gets behind a cause of worth. This one’s worthy.

And I’d like to see it because I was this girl, once. Oh, not famous, but just that cheerfully focused on a goal — in my case, becoming a published novelist. And I’ve had my share of people trying to tear me apart for daring to want such a thing. Like I said, it happens to a lot of us. But a little support goes a long way.

ETA: Closed some open tags, linked to the article about the anon Oscar voter who said he wasn’t voting for her b/c of her name.

Daughter of ETA: The Onion has apologized.

Spoiled Niece of ETA: Apparently people are playing silly buggers, reporting me for spamming my own website. Apologies for the brief downtime, and hopefully it won’t happen again. Note: I hotlinked the “fistpump” gif because I can’t seem to get it to upload on my site. I got it from here, tho’.

89 Responses »

Matthew MacNish
February 25, 2013 • 9:35 am

Not funny, Onion. Not even close.
Becky Mahoney
February 25, 2013 • 9:45 am

Absolutely horrifying. What the fuck?
NicoleL
February 25, 2013 • 9:52 am

In addition to contacting The Onion, there’s also a petition you can sign up at Change.org: www.change.org/petitions/demand-an-apology-from-the-onion.
Mark
February 25, 2013 • 9:54 am

I’ve been wanting to see it, and I had no idea it WAS a fantasy film.
AK Anderson
February 25, 2013 • 10:00 am

Agree, agree and agree.

I didn’t watch the Oscars. I don’t care for the whole thing. I don’t pay attention to most things from Hollywood, to be honest. But it’s sad and strange that I didn’t even know there was a Fantasy film among the nominees. I’d have thought that the media savvy geeks that I follow would have mentioned that.

I’m watching my Twitter feed this morning (where I spotted this RT) and I am seeing the critiques. I’m seeing outrage at the Onion. I’m seeing critiques against Macfarlane and feminists speaking against the “boobs” song.

What I hadn’t seen before your blog post was someone pointing out that half of Hollywood has decided to dislike this child for no reason. Did they do the same thing to Anna Paquin? Nope.

You’re right to call for outrage.
Tiffani Diggs
February 25, 2013 • 10:05 am

I saw people ACTUALLY defending the Onion. What the actual F***. Are you not decent human beings? What if it had been Abigail Breslin (Nommed for Little Miss Sunshine) or Hailee Steinfeld (Nommed for True Grit)that these things were said about. Someone would have been fired. But since it’s a black child, who gives an actual F***? Yeah, I went there. People should be OUTRAGED, because it could have been their MOTHER/SISTER/AUNT/COUSIN/GRANDMOTHER that this word could have described. I weep for humanity.
Konekon1nj4
February 25, 2013 • 10:06 am

That kind of behavior was gross on the part of everyone who participated. Thanks for putting this out there and bringing it to people’s attention. The more pushback the Onion gets about this, the better!
Nico
February 25, 2013 • 10:08 am

Makes sense except the Onion thing. The Onion’s on your side. They do satire, in this case, satirizing idiots who think that they need to call a 9-year-old girl “insufferable.” They satirized that by calling her a cunt, which is obviously absurd and offensive, and calls attention to the absurdity and offensiveness of her treatment at the hands of everybody else.

It might have been too offensive to get its point across, but there’s also no need to take it at face value and try to boycott the Onion.
Jann M.
February 25, 2013 • 10:09 am

At the very least, the Onion should apologize and discipline/fire the writer of the tweet. So not cool. I do not understand this backlash against the star of BoSW. I had an acquaintance comment the other day how they didn’t like her because she seems too full of herself. Seriously. A child. A child being thrown into the craziness of publicity and fame. And why shouldn’t she be full of herself? She did an awesome thing. Add to this racial stereotyping and my mind explodes. I just do not understand this mindset. I guess it is on us to not accept this kind of behavior, eh? Great post!! Thanks.
Chris Lites
February 25, 2013 • 10:20 am

While I agree that The Onion wasn’t funny, I don’t think the vitriol over the girl is a rebuke of feminism. It’s the Oscars. People watch to be catty, snide and self-indulgent. hosts make fun of the stand out films/actors of the time. A cigar is sometimes just a cigar.
Ken W.
February 25, 2013 • 10:21 am

I definitely agree that the tweet was way over the line. From what I’ve read of last night, it sounds like there was a large amount of sexist, and truly humorless remarks coming from Mcfarlane and others. The Onion is fond of deriding things by taking them to the utmost extreme, and in that regard they succeeded in crafting a truly unfunny, sexist, and reprehensible comment.
Irfon-Kim Ahmad
February 25, 2013 • 10:32 am

In terms of why people haven’t been *more* outraged, is it worth considering that the sort of people who are liable to call Hollywood on its poor behaviour are a highly overlapping set with the sort of people who don’t watch the Oscars? I’m not saying it’s 1:1, but I know that I didn’t watch the Oscars, and thus hadn’t heard about any of this (or anything else about the Oscars) thus far.
Betsy Dornbusch
February 25, 2013 • 10:34 am

disclaimer: I didn’t watch the Oscars. Having read your link, I didn’t really make the connection between her color and the George Clooney joke (though that stat is consistent with what I knew of girls when I taught in Wichita, Kansas). The rest of it is atrocious. Onion unfollowed, blog post retweeted, etc. Time for geek rage indeed.

Plus, a movie to watch! Yay!!

Thanks for writing on this.
kathy swanson
February 25, 2013 • 10:46 am

I watched the oscars and I did not hear most of what you are claiming but anything close to sexual comment is discusting when involving a child PERIOD, but I have to say I thought the same thing. I thought even before the oscars this little girl was rude. I don’t know what that has to do her race…. for me any child actor that comes off the way she does (and I don’t think that has to do with confidence, i think its a kid that is allowed to be a brat)has always got on my nerves. Sorry!
Elizabeth Moon
February 25, 2013 • 10:51 am

Since I don’t watch or follow any awards program, I missed all this last night and only found out this morning.

Disgusting. Just…nauseatingly disgusting. WTF is wrong with a lively, intelligent, VERY talented 9 year old girl? Nothing. What is wrong with the people who think being a lively, intelligent, VERY talented 9 year old girl is cause for smackdowns, crass comments, and snide remarks about her name? LOTS.

Voting against someone because you don’t like their name? Oh, right, so that’s why movie stars are told to change their names, so the Academy voters will pick them…never mind whether their acting ability exists or not. Shows such amazing intelligence among Academy voters (yes, that’s the sarcasm glyph, flaming over all.)

If any feminist is defending the Onion calling her a c*unt, that person should lose her fem-card for at least a year. (That may not be what’s being said. I haven’t looked, and won’t. I’m supposed to face an elementary school class this afternoon with a smile on my face, not the look of someone ready to swing heavy clue-bats in all directions.) What’s not to like about this kid? I saw an interview with her a few weeks ago and she was delightful. All the things I’d want a 9 year old daughter to be.
Katrina
February 25, 2013 • 10:53 am

As a note, I’m more outraged at MacFarlane than the Onion since in his ending song he referred to Ms. Wallis in a song line that would have had to have rhymed with Helen Hunt. It gives a little context to what The Onion tried an failed horribly to do. I would like some of this to come back to Seth MacFarlane since he made two jokes at this little girl’s expense, both of them completely and inappropriately sexual.
Katrina
February 25, 2013 • 11:01 am

As a note, The Onion has already apologized: https://www.facebook.com/TheOnion/posts/10151500974969497 I recommend, however, for sanity that you not read the comments.
Megan
February 25, 2013 • 11:02 am

I heard MacFarlane’s joke about it will take 16 years for her to be too old for Clooney and did not see it at all as attacking Ms. Wallis. He did not say that she’s Clooney-bait now, but that in 14 years she will be, and two years after that, she’ll be too old.

MacFarlane was a pig, but that is one sin he did not commit.
Angela Beegle
February 25, 2013 • 11:04 am

There was huge outrage from the political conservatives, geeks or not. Twitchy.com did a story on this, absolutely blasting the Onion for it. As a group, SoCons find it egregiously wrong to label little girls with vile names. Interestingly, of the tweets I read, none of them pointed out the color of her skin. She is a little girl, and the fury was all about *that* — nothing more or less.
John E. O. Stevens
February 25, 2013 • 11:37 am

Really tasteless and mean, whether intended or not.

It’s sad to watch people rise to the defense of this because they want to preserve some consequence-free space for saying nasty things. Not surprising though.
Miranda
February 25, 2013 • 11:55 am

I wrote to The Onion.
Thank you for sharing the contact information.
I’m sharing this post on my social networks, too.
Sara Amis
February 25, 2013 • 11:59 am

Having been the mother of a very bright nine year old…she seems exactly right. Ebullient is the word I would use. I think the adults around her have made the very wise choice of not over-schooling or quelling her. She’s expressing her real feelings her own way, and confidently.

And anyone who looks at that and feels the desire to take her down a notch has a moldy conscience and a rotten peach pit where their heart should be.
Martina Dinale
February 25, 2013 • 12:01 pm

Seth was a jackass but the Onion ? And everyone who came down like the Wrath of an Old Testament GOD on……a NINE YEAR OLD CHILD??? …for being talented and confident and HAPPY and UNAPOLOGETIC ????? Just , fuckyoudie. No , really. What the hell is WRONG WITH YOU people ? Obnoxious? A brat ?? On what planet was that please ? Because here on EARTH all Miss Wallis was , was talented , confident , happy and unapologetic. All of which she was right to be , all of which any normal decent person would have expected her to be , would have wanted their own child to be in the same circumstances . Lastly, what EXACTLY do you worthless unacknowledged racist pieces of shit feel she needs to be apologetic ABOUT ?? Just diggusted.
nkjemisin
February 25, 2013 • 12:09 pm

OK, so, folks, apparently someone subscribed to the comments on this post, and then reported my site to WordPress for spam when they… got sent comments for this post. I have no idea if this person was just stupid or whether it was malicious — I’m leaning malicious, but who knows — but for now I’m disabling the subscribe to comments feature. Not that that will really stop someone who’s determined to be an asshole, but might as well not make it easy.
Wednesday
February 25, 2013 • 12:24 pm

While I’m pleased that the Onion’s CEO has issued an actual apology and not a “we’re sorry if we offended anyone” pseudo-apology, I’m still beyond pissed that anybody anywhere thought that tweet was funny, clever, or appropriate.
Brad Beaulieu
February 25, 2013 • 12:26 pm

Thanks for this, Nora. I have to admit this completely slipped by me. The movie (I’d no idea it existed until last night. Yes, I’ve been in a bit of a bubble these past many months.), Miss Wallis, and the kerfuffle. But now I’m going to make a point of seeing this and crow about its coolness.
Los
February 25, 2013 • 12:36 pm

When ever you mention someones race or ethnicity the first letter of the word is capitalized. Black girl is appropriate, even if you made the mistake when saying White girl.
Andy
February 25, 2013 • 12:59 pm

Agreed, agreed, agreed, but I don’t think Beasts of the Southern Wild is a fantasy film. Magical realist, if anything. Not that they’re the same in any other way, but would you consider Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to be a fantasy film because it features depictions of creatures that (debatably) don’t exist outside of the main character’s mind?
Haleigh Watson
February 25, 2013 • 1:05 pm