Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #627 - ASM#25 - Spider-Man pauses midfight to consider racist message

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #627 - Amazing Spider-Man #25 Review - Spider-Man pauses midfight to consider racist message

Hi Mom,

So, this is how the blog works: material always presents itself.

If for the Internet alone there's always material coming at me in all kinds of ways, but I am also reading a great deal every week, and from my own reading, material will present itself.

So, last week, while recuperating, I was reading this huge, extended, mega-issue of The Amazing Spider-Man and it's $9.99 price tag. Wow. I hadn't noticed that when I bought it.

And out of the whole story and all the many things about it which are very good, one thing struck me: Spider-Man pauses mid-battle to consider the subtext of beating up just Asian people, who are given no characteristics other than being Asian. At least, they're not mute, faceless, hooded ninja (IE. the Hand), which we see Daredevil beating up a lot in comics and now on NETFLIX, too.

Spider-Man takes the time to wonder about the message of the great white heroes, himself, the All-American nerd genius, and a tall, athletic blonde, beating on the "Faceless Yellow Menace," Asians, something white hegemony has been doing to the Far East for a couple of hundred years.

Spider-Man comments that his New York battles are less homogenized and more diverse: "I am just used to beating up people of all races and creeds," he says. "That's how I do it in New York."

I loved that Spider-Man took the time to wonder about this inherent message, while Mockingbird acknowledged that they're in Hong Kong so "the good guys are Asian. The bad guys are Asian. Everyone here is Asian." Well, she may be oversimplifying, but by and large she's right.

Here's some pretty decent pictures I took of this sequence:

So, I started doing some digging to see what public opinion is about this page on the Internet.

Most reviews didn't even mention it.

Check them out here:

COMIC BOOK ROUNDUP OF AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #25

http://comicbookroundup.com/comic-books/reviews/marvel-comics/amazing-spider-man-(2015)/25

Also, the issue got a fairly high rating for comic book reviewers and fans who tend to be over-picky and a bit socio-pathic. The issue rates 7.8 from reviewers and 7.1 from general users.

But then, I found this guy's review (link below). The link goes to the print version and I also linked his You Tube review (also below).

Mr. Ernst though that Spider-Man's moment of social consciousness and Social Justice Warrior motivation was "unrealistic" and suggested that Mockingbird would not engage in discussion with him but would call him a "loser" for even bringing up the issue.

Also, he suggested that Slott was trying to prevent whiny kids on Tumblr from complaining about the racism, this guy whined in his You Tube review.

Well, that set me off. So I left him a comment (see image below) on his You Tube channel.

I saw notification that he responded.

I touched a nerve with my White Privilege comment as apparently he's a vet and has a huge chip on his shoulder about his service to the country.

Though that's my quick take on his rebuttal.
I actually didn't read it, and I don't plan to read it.

I said what I had to say.

I wanted other people to see my criticism, and then I am done with this moron.

I don't need to get in a flame war with someone such a lack of sophistication and such a lack of awareness about world problems.

https://douglasernst.blog/2017/03/19/amazing-spider-man-25-dan-slotts-peter-parker-wonders-if-punching-asian-criminals-is-racist/








As I wrote above, most reviewers did not mention the page. But a couple of critics did tackle it. Their reactions were a bit less pejorative than Mr. Ernst, but they also failed to "get" what Slott was doing with that page. Both of them thought the page was supposed to be FUNNY, you know, because racism is FUNNY and so commenting on racism is FUNNY.

Not surprising that none of these "reviewers" are Asian.

More White Privilege ignorance and blindness.

http://whateveraspidercan.com/2017/03/17/stillanerd-reviews-amazing-spider-man-2015-25/

So an entire page of a forty page story devotes itself towards a joke about Spider-Man wondering if he’s racist or not for beating up Asian gangsters in Hong Kong? And this scene is necessary because…?

http://www.spidermancrawlspace.com/2017/03/15/alford-notes-amazing-spider-man-25/


The Asian racist panels were just not funny. I’m not an overly sensitive guy and was not offended by it, but if you are going to make a joke that plays at all on racism, it really ought to be funny. Otherwise, it is just not worth the risk.

http://www.weirdsciencedccomics.com/2017/03/the-amazing-spider-man-25-review.html

Anyway, there's a lot to like in this comic. I have really been loving that Peter Parker is not perennial loser with no money all the time given that he's a genius with SPIDER POWERS. So finally, having played out that "Parker is always broke and a fuck up" angle for over 40 years, Parker now has a huge multi-national conglomerate and is putting his genius to work. I am praying that Marvel keeps this element for a long time and does not tear down Parker's success just for some extra pathos.

Likewise, this issue does a great job with the extended cast: Aunt May, Betty Brant, Harry Osborne now Lyman (changed to his mother's name), and even Mockingbird, whom Peter asks out on a date!

Also, the build up to the return of Norman Osborne is well handled, and Stuart Immomen's art is gorgeous.

Plus, I loved the commentary on racism.

More of the same, please.

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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 629 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1703.25 - 10:10

NOTE on time: When I post late, I had been posting at 7:10 a.m. because Google is on Pacific Time, and so this is really 10:10 EDT. However, it still shows up on the blog in Pacific time. So, I am going to start posting at 10:10 a.m. Pacific time, intending this to be 10:10 Eastern time. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom. But I am not going back and changing all the 7:10 a.m. times. But I will run this note for a while. Mom, you know that I am posting at 10:10 a.m. often because this is the time of your death.