Posts

Showing posts from 2017

The character sex-change, white washing issue

Image
Maybe it’s because I was born and raised in Mexico, but there’s been an interesting phenomenon in the media (mostly in the US) that I can’t but marvel at, due to the apparent complexities and cultural ramifications. I’ll try to make my case without being insensitive or offensive, however I believe I need to give a bit of background information on my upbringing just to clarify where this is all coming from: I’m a gen-Xer through and through. I was born and raised in the seventies, while my teens took place through the 80’s. I grew up watching, among many other things, Warner Bros cartoons with abundant racial stereotypes that would seem unthinkable under today’s political correctness’ standards: there were slow-talking black skinned manservants and cannibals, bucktoothed and spectacled oriental characters, and Mexicans (yeah, that’s us) portrayed as lazy zarape-wearing, sombreroed smartasses who spent the day sitting next to a cactus in the company of a donkey. I was al

The Action Figure Conundrum

Image
Clearly I need to dedicate more time to writing. I started out this blog before Christmas 2016, and I am finishing it just now, April 2017... note to self: be more constant on my writing habits! Ok, so, back then, as Christmas was rapidly approaching, I started thinking more and more about the subject of  Action Figures. I used to love them. As a matter of fact I still do. When I was a kid I spent long hours playing with my Big Jims, GI Joes, Mego’s Planet of the Apes and Star Trek action figures, Mattel’s Space 1999 figures and of course, Kenner’s Six Million Dollar Man.  When Kenner launched the Star Wars 3 ¾ figures… well, that was a turning point that revolutionized the industry and the way we played. A lot of movie properties were released on that format (and are still being released for collectors). However I’ve noticed today's kids outgrow action figures at a very early age. As they get older, they buy them mostly as collectibles, not toys to play with