Week Links

Due to school, other commitments and a general lack of time, this week was light on regular posts, but that did not preclude some interesting articles being published elsewhere.

I’m a Black Female Cosplayer And Some People Hate It

Chaka Cumberbatch is an anime fan and cosplayer who happens to be black. Unfortunately, she discovered that racism pervades even the nicest fandoms. In this post over on XOJane, she outlines some of the crap she’s had to put up with while outlining why those who argue that only those of the same race as the character are ‘allowed’ to cosplay as them are, quite rightly, idiots.

The Many Motivations Of Movie Piracy (Notably Absent: ‘I Want Everything For Free’)

Techdirt has a great article that includes the chart above. Notice something that’s missing? Yes, people demanding stuff for free. Such data is proof that even though we are moving towards new business models. there is little reason to assume that people will stop paying creators for content.

The Epilogue By Don Rosa

Don Rosa is the very popular and respected comic artist of many Uncle Scrooge comics. In recent times, a substantial collection of his work has been released for collectors. The final volume of which was meant to contain a letter explaining Rosa’s many reasons for stepping down from the job.

The letter is actually a fascinating read and is extremely honest in tone, but one can’t help but feel incredibly saddened when they read stuff like this:

I couldn’t help but realize that I had provided these people with 20 years’ worth of work that they would reprint and rerereprint for the next century without ever offering me a cent in royalties. It was an insidious worm that worked its way into my soul. It killed my enthusiasm. And my enthusiasm for the fans who loved these Barks characters as much as I did was all that had kept me going.

Jonathan Coulton Vs. FOX

You may or may not be aware of a recent situation where artist Jonathon Coulton got upset that inexplicably popular FOX show Glee used a version of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s ‘Baby Got Back’ that was seemingly a copy of one that he had created. There was a lot of back and forth about it, but Simpsons music editor Chris Ledesma cuts through the nonsense with his simple and neutral explanation of things.

Music and the rights that go along with it often play an important role in animation. They’re the reason the Daria boxset was delayed as long as it was, and even then the original music was substituted. All very good to keep in mind.

I’m a Brony, and… I’m Sorry

In this essay, brony ‘Headless Horse’ professes an uncomfortableness with how My Little Pony as a show has been overridden by the fandom surrounding it and how the resultant media attention has diminished the focus on the show an its characters. A worthy, if long, read on the topic of genderisation and fandom.

Tweets of the Week

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/tommmoore/status/298905189694459904″]

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/davidoreilly/status/299318341351383040″]

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/cathal_gaffney/status/299542363594956801″]

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/faitherinhicks/status/299672984426270720″]

Here’s some of the articles I read this week that you should too!

Independent Producer Nathan Erasmus explains how to get your project off the ground

The always informative FLIP blog interviews Nathan Erasmus about independent films and the not only the struggles and effort behind one, but also the rewards.

Den of Geek on the Disney Renaissance

David Crow over at Den of Geek has a comprehensive review of the films of the Disney renaissance focusing on what made the early films successful and the later films, not so much. I covered a similar topic last week, but David takes a look at the series as a whole rather than just one film.

Permanent Record: Sherri & Terri

The Dead Homer Society always makes for thought-provoking analyses of the Simpsons and this post is no exception. Twins Sherri and Terri were the, dare I say, devious, twins that had no problem humiliating other characters from fellow kids like Bart to enterprising restauranteur Moe. This post looks at the characters and their many conniving actions during the show’s earlier series.

Tube Open Movie is Looking for Interns

It’s been featured here on the blog before, and now the Tube Open Movie is looking for interns to help out for the spring. You can find all the details here.

Disney Infinity: No Girls Allowed?

Lei Adeline over at Smart When Shouting has written an excellent post concerning the lack of female characters in Disney’s forthcoming ‘Disney Infinity’ video game/action figure play sets. The depressing reality that Lei breaks down is that the majority of characters available (at least at launch) are aimed primarily at boys:

While girls are certainly welcome to play, with elements from films like The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and Alice in Wonderland available in token form, they are certainly not being encouraged to. The lack of properties aimed at them certainly serves as evidence of that, with the Princesses oddly absent, Tinkerbell and her gang nowhere in sight, and even Disney’s “cooler” or more “kick-ass” heroines like Rapunzel and Mulan seemed to have missed the cut.

I concur.

Megan Ferguson’s Cool Teen Girl

COOL TEEN GIRL

she has a purple streak in her hair – WONT CONFORM !

She listens to bands with the guitar in it thats not acoustic – SO METAL

All her friends are guys – SNEAKERS NOT HIGH HEELS U GUYZ

dont mind me just poking fun at this weird trend in animated shows where theres this girl with dark hair and a purple streak whos suppose to appeal to the ’ edgy ’ teens lol.

I’m a sucker for character analyses and I think Megan Ferguson nails it with this tongue-in-cheek look at one from her tumblelog.