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[Sunster]

Benioff and Weiss didn't make the white saviour issue, that was the author of the book.

They created a show where the only black people are slaves and pirates. I read the books, Martin didn't make every single person white.

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

Alternative history is a fascinating and largely unexplored genre. If it's anything like Man in the High Castle, I'm in.

You really think they're going to portray slave owners in a positive light? This is going to be a 1984-esque / V for Vendetta dystopia.

What gives you and so many others that impression?

 

[ryutaro's mama]

You really think they're going to portray slave owners in a positive light?

It doesn't matter if they portray them as POS, fans will make their own decisions on what is positive or not. That's why shit like this is taboo.

I personally believe they will just present them as is, with some nuance and leave it up to the audience to figure out who they root for.

 

[ZOONAMI]

Benioff and Weiss didn't make the white saviour issue, that was the author of the book.

Were the Valyrians ever described as white or just purple eyes and blonde hair?

Valerians are Roman, so not necessarily the whitest of skin tones but yeah still Caucasian.

 

[17 Seconds]

this is fucking awful

 

[SheSaidNo]

Half the writers announced in the press release are black and just looking at their twitter it doesn't seem they would be into the white savior narrative among other things.

 

[excelsiorlef]

Alternative history is a fascinating and largely unexplored genre. If it's anything like Man in the High Castle, I'm in.

You really think they're going to portray slave owners in a positive light? This is going to be a 1984-esque / V for Vendetta dystopia.

I think they'll absolutely humanize slave owners in the name of "we need to how that these people did bad things but weren't monsters"

 

[Slayven]

I hope i am proven wrong and this shit be "woke", but if i had to put real money on it? Always bet on fuckery

 

[jerry113]

What gives you and so many others that impression?

The synopsis says that the Union is alive and well in this fictional reality. They refer to abolitionists and freedom fighters and characters on "both sides of the demilitiarized zone" as being protagonists.

The south doesn't take over the union in this show. The country had just split in two.

The series takes place in an alternate timeline, where the southern states have successfully seceded from the Union, giving rise to a nation in which slavery remains legal and has evolved into a modern institution. The story follows a broad swath of characters on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Demilitarized Zone – freedom fighters, slave hunters, politicians, abolitionists, journalists, the executives of a slave-holding conglomerate and the families of people in their thrall."

 

[ryutaro's mama]

Always bet on fuckery

That's a t-shirt right there.

 

[Bronx-Man]

The reaction online to this is literally the same reaction to Secret Empire. This is not a good time for alt-history.

I'm more interested in why all of sudden you have these "What if Nazis won?? What if Confederates won??" pieces of media going around right as actual goddamn nazis and confederates have taken us over.

 

[Barzul]

The premise is kinda lazy too. Institutional slavery wouldn't have survived that long, even in the South. Now if it was about Jim Crow segregation still continuing, hellish but that would be more plausible. Who asked for this basically?

 

[Dash_Riprock]

Alternative history is a fascinating and largely unexplored genre. If it's anything like Man in the High Castle, I'm in.

You really think they're going to portray slave owners in a positive light? This is going to be a 1984-esque / V for Vendetta dystopia.

Man in High Castle was a great premise RUINED by shit characters, awful pacing, and horrendous plot twists (when your most likeable, sympathetic character is the fucking Nazi you KNOW you fucked up bad).

Hopefully this series does a better job.

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

The synopsis says that the Union is alive and well in this fictional reality. They refer to abolitonists and freedom fighters and characters on "both sides of the demilitiarized zone" as being protagonists.

The south doesn't take over the union in this show. The country had just split in two.

Still don't see how that translates to dystopia, at least not on the Southern side.

 

[Mister Wolf]

I think they'll absolutely humanize slave owners in the name of "we need to how that these people did bad things but weren't monsters"

True story.

 

[rainking187]

I'm more interested in why all of sudden you have these "What if Nazis won?? What if Confederates won??" pieces of media going around right as actual goddamn nazis and confederates have taken us over.

Well...

 

[Sunster]

The premise is kinda lazy too. Institutional slavery wouldn't have survived that long, even in the South. Now if it was about Jim Crow segregation still continuing, hellish but that would be more plausible. Who asked for this basically?

apparently their gonna "tackle shit that's gone unaddressed"

 

[Mechazawa]

HBO is so hungry right now.

 

[lightskintwin]

I'm somewhat interested and will withhold judgement until after watching it, however it's a shame they just didn't adapt Octavia Butler's novel Kindred for this and at least have a sci fi/time travel aspect to it.

 

[superdeluxe]

They created a show where the only black people are slaves and pirates. I read the books, Martin didn't make every single person white.

Majority of the seven kingdoms was white, what are you on about? You have Dorne in the south, but the majority of 'brown' people we across the sea.

There just was not a lot of blacks in the books with large roles

 

[Random Human]

I'm more interested in why all of sudden you have these "What if Nazis won?? What if Confederates won??" pieces of media going around right as actual goddamn nazis and confederates have taken us over.

Nazism and racism has been effectively normalized, so you can use it as "cool" world building now.

 

[adj_noun]

I'm more interested in why all of sudden you have these "What if Nazis won?? What if Confederates won??" pieces of media going around right as actual goddamn nazis and confederates have taken us over.

I think you hit on the reason in the latter part of your post. It's a reaction to what we're seeing happen.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

The synopsis says that the Union is alive and well in this fictional reality. They refer to abolitionists and freedom fighters and characters on "both sides of the demilitiarized zone" as being protagonists.

The series takes place in an alternate timeline, where the southern states have successfully seceded from the Union, giving rise to a nation in which slavery remains legal and has evolved into a modern institution. The story follows a broad swath of characters on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Demilitarized Zone – freedom fighters, slave hunters, politicians, abolitionists, journalists, the executives of a slave-holding conglomerate and the families of people in their thrall.”

The south doesn't take over the union in this show. The country had just split in two.

How much you want to bet the "slave hunters" become fan favorites in many circles? Again, as a person whose family line was directly affected by that "institution" why again would I want to see a vision of what if people that look like me weren't freed?!?!

 

[Jarmel]

This sounds fucking terrible on so many levels. Even if I trusted the writers, I wouldn't want this.

 

[Kyzer]

I'm more interested in why all of sudden you have these "What if Nazis won?? What if Confederates won??" pieces of media going around right as actual goddamn nazis and confederates have taken us over.

hot topic

 

[Psychoward]

Nazism and racism has been effectively normalized, so you can use it as "cool" world building now.

The Man in the High Castle was released in 1962 as a book by Philip K. Dick.

 

[More_Badass]

I'm more interested in why all of sudden you have these "What if Nazis won?? What if Confederates won??" pieces of media going around right as actual goddamn nazis and confederates have taken us over.

It's not all of a sudden. "Nazis won" alt-history has been around for decades, as have "Confederates won" stories. Man in the High Castle came out in 1962. The show came out in 2015

Also speculative fiction, and sci-fi in general, is often used as a reaction and reflection to the problems and concerns of the era they're released. Hence these stories coming out and getting adaptations now

I think you hit on the reason in the latter part of your post. It's a reaction to what we're seeing happen.

 

[Ocarina_117]

GoT has given me 0 confidence in D&D.

I'm expecting this show to be quite bad to mediocre.

 

[Sunster]

Majority of the seven kingdoms was white, what are you on about? You have Dorne in the south, but the majority of 'brown' people we across the sea.

There just was not a lot of blacks in the books with large roles

I am more referring to extras (something they had direct control of), not characters. In all the trading ports we see in the show, no black traders or merchants. Only slaves and pirates. It's not some huge issue, but it's a thing, a thing that leads me to believe the white savior will appear in this show.

 

[Kaizer]

HBO needs to have more black writers and directors than white ones for this show. This is essential.

Insecure is a good start & I miss The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency show that Jill Scott was in on HBO a few years back.

 

[Slayven]

How much you want to bet the "slave hunters" become fan favorites in many circles? Again, as a person whose family line was directly affected by that "institution" why again would I want to see a vision of what if people that look like me weren't freed?!?!

Concept art

 

[Mister Wolf]

How much you want to bet the "slave hunters" become fan favorites in many circles? Again, as a person whose family line was directly affected by that "institution" why again would I want to see a vision of what if people that look like me weren't freed?!?!

Don't be surprised if the "slave hunters" are black.

 

[Dead Man]

In a show about black slaves owned by white people written by 2 white guys with a history of writing about white saviors saving black people I am pretty comfortable assuming that there will be a few in this show.



Really though this is the question. "Hey what if this oppressed and marginalized group was still in chains and considered subhuman property? Let's explore that!"

For those who do glorify the South it might be a bit of a wake up call as to what their victor would entail in the 21st century.

 

[Slayven]

Don't be surprised if the "slave hunters" are black.

I got jokes, god help me, I got jokes

 

[DominoKid]

Could be interesting. Not gonna jump off the couch about this until I see more about where they're going.

 

[Beefy]

Half the writers announced in the press release are black and just looking at their twitter it doesn't seem they would be into the white savior narrative among other things.

It doesn't mean shit until I see a trailer etc

 

[Sunster]

For those who do glorify the South it might be a bit of a wake up call as to what their victor would entail in the 21st century.

or they will just decide its an SJW cuck show and disregard.

 

[TheClimaxan]

This could end up being a total trainwreck but I'm not gonna shit on it before seeing it. I'm at least interested to see how well these guys can build a world on their own (without source material that is).

 

[Psychoward]

Would them releasing footage of trump's presidency as the trailer be the greatest practical joke in 2017? Probably

 

[TheCochese]

It's not all of a sudden. "Nazis won" alt-history has been around for decades, as have "Confederates won" stories. Man in the High Castle came out in 1962. The show came out in 2015

Also speculative fiction, and sci-fi in general, is often used as a reaction and reflection to the problems and concerns of the era they're released. Hence these stories coming out and getting adaptations now

This. It's been explored from an academic standpoint as well, and not just of the white power persuasion. I have a very good book from 2000 that explores Hitler's tactical mistakes. One from 2003 that explores different scenarios in American history - John Tyler, Revolution of 1877, Whiskey Rebellion, JFK lives, no Pearl Harbor, etc.

For me I love the academia of it, having a premise and trying to see if it was plausible for it to happen. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

I'm still on S1 of GoT, so all of the criticism there I'm not familiar with.

 

[The Faceless Master]

HBO needs to have more black writers and directors than white ones for this show. This is essential.

they really don't

how many Black people are gonna watch this bullshit?

it's obviously a show aimed at trump voters

 

[Dead Man]

It's not all of a sudden. "Nazis won" alt-history has been around for decades, as have "Confederates won" stories. Man in the High Castle came out in 1962. The show came out in 2015

Also speculative fiction, and sci-fi in general, is often used as a reaction and reflection to the problems and concerns of the era they're released. Hence these stories coming out and getting adaptations now

Indeed.

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

If it goes through though, I hope they show slavery lobbyists having meetings with pseudo-woke congresswomen lol

 

[More_Badass]

they really don't

how many Black people are gonna watch this bullshit?

it's obviously a show aimed at trump voters

That's like saying Man In The High Castle is aimed at neonazis and Handmaid is aimed at right wing religious extremists.

 

[Dead Man]

If it goes through though, I hope they show slavery lobbyists having meetings with pseudo-woke congresswomen lol

LOL that would be perfect....

 

[ryutaro's mama]

Don't be surprised if the "slave hunters" are black.

You're right.

Re-enforcing the "Blacks sold out other Blacks in Africa so..." narrative.

 

[Jarmel]

Don't be surprised if the "slave hunters" are black.

black on black crime

 

[supermarioworldE]

Just no. Fuck no. In an era where black actors are still struggling to get decent roles, I dont need to see anymore media with us portrayed as subservient and abused. There's enough of that shit going on in real life and Im tired of seeing it in film and television. Give me more shows like Blackish and Atlanta that put a primarily black cast in positive roles.

 

[excelsiorlef]

For those who do glorify the South it might be a bit of a wake up call as to what their victor would entail in the 21st century.

No it wouldn't, if it went that way it'd be just dismissed as liberal propaganda,

 

[Sunster]

I just wanna know what unaddressed issues they are going to tackle in this groundbreaking tale.