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So, I picked up the Weekly Planet, Forbidden Planet newsletter, along with The Voice and the usual "Saturday = Yay!" periodicals for errand running and quick read throughs, that is until I come upon the column "El Static Ageo" by Juan Ayala.
Being a New York native, melting pot of the fucking universe, I learned early on that it's just as easy to be prejudice for something as it is to be prejudice against something. And while I'm terribly proud of my hodge-podge of an ethnicity, the last thing I would lend to it is any of my talents.
When I read a line like "Hispanics are the new Zombies," I wanted to projectile vomit in rage. Yes, this article in particular made it feel like a very possible and likely thing to occur. I've noticed this lean in the genres of art and film growing past few years but I tried to think better of it...
You see, it's a widely known fact in the artists circles I run in [or so I'd like to believe] that not all mangaka are talented simply because their Japanese. Also, amazing but true; not all British authors are prolific at creating world-altering prose. So, no, our modern culture wouldn't possibly lump sum our ethnicity into the deciding factor of whether our art is relevant!
Naive? Maybe. I was going for hopefully, something I rarely do.
You know, over the past 3-5 years there is an exploding community of impassioned and talented artists, notably from Mexico or Venezuela per se. They've been deeply affected by the American culture as well as Asian and have come up with something unique and amazing onto themselves. I'm not Mexican or Venezuelan; I'm Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian. What I do is nothing at all what they do, so why should me being a spic and proud without pandering to it, be taken into account...ever? Honestly, aside from some dishes and maybe a liking for certain liquors they're different planets. [It would be like calling someone form LA and New Yorker the same specimen of human. Very much no; there is the language and the penchant for energy drinks, but other than that different animals all together!] So while I'm aware of this movement, I consider myself an avid fan of it and not any sort of member.
So, did this utterly insignificant flash in the pan piece of trite recyclable disgust and infuriate me beyond logic and common/public decency? [My Tourette's syndrome riddled inner monolog, which nowadays has gone by the name 'Pepito', says yes in the most colorful of ways.]
Lets see, how can I put this even simpler... can't I just like Rosario Dawson for her acting and the nice rack instead of having it crammed down my throat she's a spic? This works in reverse too, you know, when I show an interest in her 'talents' I really don't care for the assumption and blanket-statement that I'm only a spic looking out for other spics. Same goes for Jessica Alba, Freddy Rodriguez and Selma Hayek. Look, even if they were my cousins I still wouldn't float their boat just 'cuz they're my cuz. I'd hold them to the same standards I would any other talent trying to fill the same position.
It isn't the talent that's milking this, although I sense soon it will be, but it this parasitic pop-culture and it's scary as hell.
This is going to get worse before it ever gets better...if it gets better.
I've never had such a strong urge to toss out my scanner/printer, sketchbooks, microncs and 2HB to go live on my Grandfather's 'Toa Baja' farm in all my life. This is not where my head needs to be right before a convention.
Remarkably I don't blame Robert Rodriguez for this, just Hollywood and for the rest of today all the boroughs of New York.
Too spanish for my art... not spanish enough for my neighbors... I'm in no mood for an identity crisis, for fucking fuck's sake!
Being a New York native, melting pot of the fucking universe, I learned early on that it's just as easy to be prejudice for something as it is to be prejudice against something. And while I'm terribly proud of my hodge-podge of an ethnicity, the last thing I would lend to it is any of my talents.
When I read a line like "Hispanics are the new Zombies," I wanted to projectile vomit in rage. Yes, this article in particular made it feel like a very possible and likely thing to occur. I've noticed this lean in the genres of art and film growing past few years but I tried to think better of it...
You see, it's a widely known fact in the artists circles I run in [or so I'd like to believe] that not all mangaka are talented simply because their Japanese. Also, amazing but true; not all British authors are prolific at creating world-altering prose. So, no, our modern culture wouldn't possibly lump sum our ethnicity into the deciding factor of whether our art is relevant!
Naive? Maybe. I was going for hopefully, something I rarely do.
You know, over the past 3-5 years there is an exploding community of impassioned and talented artists, notably from Mexico or Venezuela per se. They've been deeply affected by the American culture as well as Asian and have come up with something unique and amazing onto themselves. I'm not Mexican or Venezuelan; I'm Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian. What I do is nothing at all what they do, so why should me being a spic and proud without pandering to it, be taken into account...ever? Honestly, aside from some dishes and maybe a liking for certain liquors they're different planets. [It would be like calling someone form LA and New Yorker the same specimen of human. Very much no; there is the language and the penchant for energy drinks, but other than that different animals all together!] So while I'm aware of this movement, I consider myself an avid fan of it and not any sort of member.
So, did this utterly insignificant flash in the pan piece of trite recyclable disgust and infuriate me beyond logic and common/public decency? [My Tourette's syndrome riddled inner monolog, which nowadays has gone by the name 'Pepito', says yes in the most colorful of ways.]
Lets see, how can I put this even simpler... can't I just like Rosario Dawson for her acting and the nice rack instead of having it crammed down my throat she's a spic? This works in reverse too, you know, when I show an interest in her 'talents' I really don't care for the assumption and blanket-statement that I'm only a spic looking out for other spics. Same goes for Jessica Alba, Freddy Rodriguez and Selma Hayek. Look, even if they were my cousins I still wouldn't float their boat just 'cuz they're my cuz. I'd hold them to the same standards I would any other talent trying to fill the same position.
It isn't the talent that's milking this, although I sense soon it will be, but it this parasitic pop-culture and it's scary as hell.
This is going to get worse before it ever gets better...if it gets better.
I've never had such a strong urge to toss out my scanner/printer, sketchbooks, microncs and 2HB to go live on my Grandfather's 'Toa Baja' farm in all my life. This is not where my head needs to be right before a convention.
Remarkably I don't blame Robert Rodriguez for this, just Hollywood and for the rest of today all the boroughs of New York.
Too spanish for my art... not spanish enough for my neighbors... I'm in no mood for an identity crisis, for fucking fuck's sake!
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The thing about this article that really pissed me off was the name dropping of EVERY hispanic in "The Biz" for the sake of name dropping with utterly no context. It was obscenely retarded! I thought it was my hyper!imagination but my indian [therefore, non-spic = non-biased] roommate read it and her eyes rolled up so high into her head they fell out the back. They're rolling around on the tiles somewhere. This type of careless ingratiated media stupidity just encourages violent and equally retard reactions.
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Probably why I bothered posting, m'getting tired of all the brain screamy Blargness.
--sigh--
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And agree
That's why I feel so stupid when Israelis and Israeli newspapers love artists/singers/models just because they're Israeli (or were born in Israel, have an Israeli cousin, lived in Israel for a month or passed over Israel in a plane once on their trip to Iraq)
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There really is no way to cope with it without coming off as hating your own kind. Isn't that stupid? jeez, its so fucking disgusting.