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So, Ming the Merciless gets a long overdue content warning for his stereotypical, East Asian-coded presentation. Cue the inevitable howls of 'Whhhhhhhaaaaaat!' from white people who love Flash Gordon. If you don't get why this is problem, this thread is for you ...
Sci Fi has a long history of racist tropes. The notion black and brown people are 'exotic' or 'alien-like' have inspired countless characters, particularly antagonists and 'savage' races in such stories. This shores up the status quo of 'white = default'
Note that nothing has actually happened to Flash Gordon. It has not been removed for rent or sale. All that has occurred is that Ming the Merciless is recognised as being an outdated stereotype. That alone acts as THE TRIGGER
Cue the next inevitable wails:
- 'But he's an alien!' - Yes. Played by a human man. A white man too, no less
- 'there's no East Asian tropes!' - East Asian ppl disagree
- 'People are looking to be offended!' - hmmm, seems like those complaining are most offended, ironically
- 'But he's an alien!' - Yes. Played by a human man. A white man too, no less
- 'there's no East Asian tropes!' - East Asian ppl disagree
- 'People are looking to be offended!' - hmmm, seems like those complaining are most offended, ironically
It's really depressing to me how eager people are to give the benefit of the doubt to stories that have NOT aged well, just because they loved them as children. It's perfectly possible to enjoy something & recognise it has dated.
I even understand why some writers get confused. After all, you have to create within your own human experience, so doesn't that mean creating aliens is within that too ... ie. create an alien race 'inspired by' other races is kinda inevitable, isn't it? More, next
The answer: yes, you can be 'inspired by' whatever you like. The key is in creating NEW stuff from the mixing up of the old stuff. A great example would be The Xenomorph. Both humanoid and insectoid, it is a NEW THING
The Xenomorph owes its real life heritage to stuff like bees, wasps, scorpions and ants but also big cat predators and to some degree, humans. It is a ***great mix of the things*** that scare us which is why it is iconic
New races of human-type aliens can be more difficult, it's true. But the answer is still to MIX cultures & tropes rather than fall back on racist codes like 'black = savage' or 'East Asian = exotic'.
When it comes to writing, most writers don't set out to be racist. I doubt anyone on FLASH GORDON overtly thought, 'I know, let's code Ming as East Asian'. It's just it was 1980 or whatever and China seemed 'alien' to them.
... And now we're back to the content warning. All a content warning is: 'Oops, we got it wrong back then, we recognise it'. It doesn't stop anyone watching it, but that recognition also tips a hat to those people stereotyped before. THAT'S IT.
So go ahead and keep watching Flash Gordon if you love it. Just recognise the thematics at work here, or accept the character is dated. You don't have to defend the movie, it's made & done & out there. Everyone accepts this.
