The Wordsmith's Forge

 Short film of superhero horror.  Yep, that's creepy.

... and all The Problems.  Really thoughtful, often funny stuff. 

Just be yourself.

I've been thinking about diversity on television -- or more like, lack of diversity. Then I noticed all the buzz about Dr. Who and regenerations. I like the idea of characters who change over time. So then I thought ...

Imagine a show based on a team of shapeshifters who travel the galaxy solving problems on different planets. Everywhere they go, they adapt to the local culture and climate to blend in. Each season would feature a new planet with a different race on it -- could be plain humans, or humans modified to suit the local environment. EVERY character on the show that season would belong to the same ethnic group. So it could go through Asian, Hispanic, African-American, Native American, etc. (or smaller and more specific groups). Total representation for a fresh group each season. The plot would arc over multiple episodes, some in the main storyline and others for general character development. I think it would be cool.

Further discussion continues regarding technology, characterization, and other aspects of the show.  Join the fun!

This graphic short points out a crucial fact about child abuse:  not all survivors become abusers later.  (That actually applies to all forms of abuse, not just sexual abuse.)  Some do, because abuse can break people in ways that make them more inclined to hurt others.  We've got scads of stories about that.  I'm thinking we could use more stories about the many survivors who DO break the cycle.  

As a storyteller, I believe in telling all the stories.  I wouldn't want to give up the abusive-background-villain motif.  But when that's the overwhelming majority of stories told about abuse survivors ... maybe it's time to ask if you really need that specific motif or you could choose something else.  It's not so great to make stuff that can hurt people.  Let's see if we can think of more things that are helpful.  

Besides, rehashing a literature superhighway rarely leads to great groundbreaking stuff.  If you want to make an impact, look for the stories that aren't getting told, or aren't told much, or are told plain wrong.  Then go fix that.

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EDIT: This discussion contributed to the following poem in my batch of work from the November 2013 crowdfunding Creative Jam:

From the prompt about seasons of life, I got the free-verse poem "A Seasoned Fighter." It's about a child abuse survivor who grows up to become a superhero and protect other people from abuse.
110 lines, Buy It Now = $55

 ... wearing a lot less than usual, although sadly not nude as the title advertises.  I still give this two wolf whistles up.

I like the concept of this project to re-imagine Disney villains as attractive. Some of them are deliciously well-done and true to type.

What frustrates me is the loss of diversity. Look at the originals. They show a very wide range of face shape, body size, and skin tone. Look at the revisions. The face shapes are more similar, most of them classic oval, with the pear faces lost entirely, the long ones shortened, and prominent features often minimized. The body sizes are much narrower; all the plus-size characters have been slimmed down, while bony characters have been filled out. A couple of the skin tones have shifted whiter. I dislike this implication of a monolithic beauty standard. I would have been happier with a more diverse rendition of glammed up villains.

So I wrote a poem about it, a rather odd addition to the family-of-choice theme. "Sunday at the Disney Villains Café" is free-verse about body image and social acceptance.  

Some of these art remakes are brilliant. 

 X-Men: Days of Future Past.  Well that sounds promising.

Enjoy the history of Magical Girls in anime.  Link courtesy of my partner Doug.

I want movies like this.  I am tired of characters who have the dumb.  I can write smart characters, but not make movies.  Would someone who makes movies please write characters with brains and plots with logic?  I would like to buy that.