How to Write "Woke" (without sounding cringe)

[@Mushroomelixir]

"Having women and diversity in media does not make things political, it's how you use it that does" Oh my god no truer words spoken before these

[@firenze6478]

Whenever I try to define the difference between w and true diversity my comment gets erased by youtube. ( let me know if you even see this.) but this is how I define the difference.

[@Mushroomelixir]

@@firenze6478 I see ur comment :)

[@firenze6478]

@@Mushroomelixir hallelujah.

[@mayorlight]

Indeed. It ultimately boils down to presentation.

[@itsblitz4437]

Praise the Lord!

[@ieuansmith518]

At a period of my life, I look back on and say, "I wish I could shoot that version of me." I too, was one of these people who said, 'Woke media is running cinema", and now, that I look back on it, and remember a valuable lesson I was taught by some guy on the internet, "There's no such thing as woke cinema, only good and bad cinema" (a needed wake up call, like christ me), and I look back on those days like a plague, a foul, painful, sickening pain. But, I'm no longer that man and better for it. Great video, my dude. (I thought I'd make this comment as a reformed man.)

[@KolkoCat]

Yep. That was me back in the day too. Nice to meet another reformed individual.

[@sampeacaml9307]

Me too. I now realise that diversity, when done right, is a good thing. Hazin Hotel is a good example.

[@ieuansmith518]

@@sampeacaml9307 Yeah, the weird thing was that I loved Hazbin around this period of my life and its characters and saw no problems with its diversity, and yet the rest of cinema I had a problem with, like... What? I was stupid as hell back then.

[@j.j2998]

Well, people can change, I was in the same position as you as I harm my trans twin brother, even that I was jealous of his success at life compared to my life, but we changed for good, like that song from one of my favourite musicals called Wicked. (I’m a Minority as and Asian myself)

[@Nakia11798]

Same same, though I had to go through BOTH sides of the cringe in order to come out with rational opinions.

[@hondaaccord1399]

"Lol I'm quirky XD is not a flaw" so TRUE. That being said, if there was a Disney princess who was an eccentric creature of a woman that gets excommunicated from her kingdom for being considered too strange to lead her peoples, that would be an interesting setup for an oppression story.

[@matityaloran9157]

In Lilo and Stitch, Lilo is actively ostracized for how strange (and unintentionally creepy) she is (and she genuinely is that.)

[@hondaaccord1399]

@@matityaloran9157 Exactly!

[@brutusmagnuson315]

I think the core is being authentic. That’s one of the biggest ways I think we can avoid being corny. Also, the best progressive media, like the original Star Trek doesn’t tell you WHAT to think, but contextualizes how to think about a particular issue.

[@nookiedraws]

Ok Little Mermaid in a Caribbean setting sounds awesome I need this movie

[@amandahealey2216]

Technically, Once on this Island is a musical that was based on a book that was loosely inspired by The Little Mermaid, and it takes place on a Caribbean island

[@nookiedraws]

@@amandahealey2216 oh cool I’ll have to check it out

[@NaveaDraws]

Yeah they really did Halle Bailey dirty in that shitty remake. :( she deserved better. We, the audience, deserved better. It's like these writers, directors, producers put in minimal effort when the lead is a woman, non binary, POC as if all they need to do is lean on tired tropes and play it safe. They're so scared to offend anyone or they genuinely enjoy the smell of their own farts. Or maybe they fired or blacklisted anyone who deviated just a hair from whatever their political (i.e. religious) ideology is at any given moment. Instead of viewing characters as individuals, they view them as some member of a hive mind "identity" which is why they feel so hollow. It's probably easier for an AI writer to categorize people that way, but it's reductionist and not actually how real human beings work. Story flows from the character, and if your characters don't feel like real people - we can't get behind the rest of the story. There is so much more to a person than just their gender, sexual orientation, skin color, religion, or cultural upbringing. Real human beings still have dreams, traumas, strengths, major flaws, interests, things that spark them, or weigh them down. The storytellers of today need to emphasize these human attributes we hold in common. Hopes and dreams, small joys, obsessions. Those little details not only inform the voice of a character, they take us out of the realm of tone-deaf preacher and into the realm of the master storyteller who disappears into their characters. That's what draws people in.

[@sokumachi729]

As a non-black Caribbean, enough room to fit inclusion on the islands too!

[@OpticalSorcerer]

I swear, had Disney marketed the remake of TLM as a reimagining instead of a remake, it'd be much less controversial. Or you know, make a new version of "The Little Mermaid" with all-new songs and story without using Ariel-related content.

[@Lycaon1765]

This is what I think about every race-bend remake. They should have it as a reimagining/AU because then it's actually its own thing. I really dislike racebends cuz it kinda treats it like it's somehow better now because of the race change, which is really racist.

[@OpticalSorcerer]

@@Lycaon1765 Sadly, Disney would never do this: 1. Even with significant differences, putting "Disney" on it would associate it with the animated film and cause confusion. 2. Disney doesn't want to pour resources into something they think people will find confusing, let alone an expensive, original, diverse property.

[@cherrylimeali4393]

You know what I wish we got? Ariel's sisters in the remake are all different ethnicities, and apparently rule over different parts of the aquatic world. Wouldn't it be neat to go into what the politics of merfolk are like, or how the cultures vary from ocean to ocean? I feel like it's a wasted opportunity, plus their designs are beautiful.

[@OpticalSorcerer]

@@cherrylimeali4393 I assume they avoided merpolitics since Ariel was leaving that world--plus I hated how beautiful their designs were; it fueled the misconception that Ariel had body dysmorphoa.

[@cherrylimeali4393]

@@OpticalSorcerer Yes I know- I'm just saying I would find that more interesting than a straight remake.

[@h0rn3d_h1st0r1an]

Wake up. KolkoCat just uploaded.

[@RDAalltheway]

Thanks babe

[@morganbrick9837]

Guess you could say he WOKE up

[@h0rn3d_h1st0r1an]

@@morganbrick9837 bruh lmaooo

[@thelivingzombie8403]

Thay was way too funny ​@@morganbrick9837

[@firenze6478]

If it’s not cringe and not putting down certain groups to prop up others than it’s not really woke. It’s just good writing.

[@Nakia11798]

You mean it's just progressive writing, bc progressive and woke just DON'T mean the same thing anymore.

[@matityaloran9157]

Exactly. It’s woke if it’s obnoxious in its progressive political messaging. If it’s not delivered that way then it’s not woke

[@pbh9195]

I always thought little mermaid 2023 was in the Caribbean

[@lauraw2526]

It's a really good point about the Beauty and the Beast remake. Not sure if it's what you meant, but it subconsciously sends the message that white educated women had it the worst throughout history (in a way the animated cartoon didn't) which was certainly not the case.

[@rayesafan9628]

This! Exactly! A lot of shows do this.

[@morganbrick9837]

Vaggie and Charlie are so cute 💕

[@marisokami5259]

i would love to put up live action one piece as an example of how to do it right, it's a fantasy setting so people won't be racist based on skin colour but on wether or not someone is a fishmen and there were always black characters in the show, the women always kicked ass too, but they altered a significant ammount of things to reflect how society and the writer personally porgressed to retell the same story both differently and improve on it, the best part of one piece is when you watch the anime you can imagine every difference still making sense in various ways, like characters being in different locations that make sense for them to go, i can especially imagine helmeppo still has a dog even though the dog is absent in the life action and the missing lion in the live action deffinitely exists since it's mentioned by name, they just didn't want to animate the cgi for them. the new versions of the characters are very close to the original while being very different so you can imagine the changes in the life action happening in the original anime. anyway there's multiple race swapped characters and more women in the background as well as characters being clearly different like luffy not body shaming villains anymore, also because he's older in the live action version. they still make fun of their own show like "it's stupid to call out your attack names" but then that character is proven wrong by every other character. it just makes the live action easier to watch because you trust it to not pull anything uncomfortable which leaves room for the show to be uncomfortable in fun ways instead. the proud family reboot wants to be woke but actually doesn't since it doesn't actually call out penny's parents abusing her, while one piece features child abuse too but it's always clearly wrong so you aren't confussed about what the writer wanted to say

[@sevenequalsoneheart6710]

Appologies for being off topic. you brought up some good reasons why we loved some of the disney princesses and i wanted to bring up something that i noticed with a lot of them. I want to make a Kingdom Hearts Animated Series to not only expand on Tetsuya Nomura's ideas that never fully made it into the games because of how they may or may not have conflicted with the gameplay or technological limitations but also to give the man and the other devs of the series a well earned vacation. One of the changes i plan on making involves the criteria that determines whom is a "Princess of Heart". If you look back each major Disney and Pixar Female protagonist, from the princesses which includes the dethroned ones, Nala, Kida, Wendy, Elizabeth Swann, Alice, Etc. and also characters like Lilo and Boo...have you noticed that each of them seems to embody one of the seven Heavenly Virtues? Alot of them admittedly falling under kindness. And when you look at the ones whom had been confirmed as princesses of heart we have: Rapunzel and Aurora representing Humility as they both were raised without any knowledge of being royalty, living on the outskirts of their respective kingdom's boarders Belle representing Chastity. Wanting to get to know the Beast and helping him be a better person rather than falling in love for every guy in her line of sight. (Especially since Gaston is just Lust incarnate. Hense why Belle hardly wants to give him the time of day) Elsa and Cinderella are dilligence, Elsa working hard to be a proper queen for her kingdom and later understanding the nature of her powers, and Cinderella works hard doing all of the chores in the Tremaine household. Anna and Snow White are Kindness. Snow White doing chores for the Dwarves, making them meals and brightening up their lives out of the kindness of her heart. Anna trying to help her sister even at the risk of her own life in the first Frozen movie. Anna admittedly does come off as very Naïve but meta contextual love at first sight mockery can do that to you to if you were just a fictional character. Jasmine is Charity as without a second thought (and prior knowledge of needing to pay for thingsbeing a sheltered princess) she gives food to starving children Alice is Temperance. As much as she was fascinated by Wonderland and its curious cast of characters she knew when she had her fill of it and the Queen of Hearts's constant distractions and lashing out at her people. And Kairi being Peace as she is content with her life on Destiny Islands and being with Riku and Sora. She is (in the first game) about being in the now and not concerned with her previous home she has no memories of, and even as a disembodied heart inside of Sora's she seemingly helps keep him from worrying about her too much whenever he has a hallucination of her. And if we absolutely need to be meta about it, she doesn't have an "I want" song like a good chunk of disney princesses/female protagonists possess. The change would be that one princess representing each virtue is required for Maleficent to gain the power to control the worlds. This would explain why Ariel, her sisters, Mulan, Nala, and Wendy didnot fulfil the unknown criteria they never elaborated on in the games, as they had a candidate who already fulfilled the role as Virtue of _____.

[@silvanalucas6403]

I feel like the little mermaids look could of been worked a bit more in the live action like where thr color naral hair colors can get more vibrant and even if it can't she's a bloody fish girl let her keep the red hair .

[@Nici-nl9re]

The fact that there is a black ruled kingdom with a white adopted kid in the little mermaid was the most unbelieveble thing about the film 😂

[@matityaloran9157]

0:38, I actually don’t consider Wish woke

[@rayesafan9628]

I think the issue is that Hollywood is appropriating Progressiveness. It’s a costume to appeal to a demographic. Nothing more, for many things like Wish.

[@lakshaykochhar6799]

15:30, Cleopatra show gotta be one of biggest ragebaits out there.

[@someonewhotalks]

Hopefully Mattel can take notes from this video since they’re race swapping Bob the Builder to be Latinos.

[@harrygardner7257]

How come they choose to be lazy in writing when it comes to diversity and not put effort in writing when it comes to diversity

[@firenze6478]

Because they are purposely trying to be controversial to divide people and keep their power as we fight one another

[@AnimeFan0048]

Wish was good, you have that opinion and I have mine that it was good 🙄🙄🙄🙄

[@rayesafan9628]

I’m glad you liked it, Unfortunately, Disney really dumbed it down from what it could have been.

[@giantpinkcat]

ARGGGG How dare you like something I don't like!

[@AnimeFan0048]

You both just don’t understand

[@silvanalucas6403]

Oh like the movie you people. It's was so bad like it acsaly made me mad

[@williamstark9568]

I have always felt like the real crime of many progressive shows is that for some reason the director hates the source material a LOT and you can tell. Or they just want to do their own thing. I will never understand why people want to put directors that hate the source material in charge.

[@andreabanuelosavila2317]

That’s a wrong move specially if the source material is already progressive on it’s own.

[@marocat4749]

Or worse take away th ehumanity, snyder seems to be a decent person, but boy is he the wrong director for superheroes@@andreabanuelosavila2317

[@AnInkStick]

My big problem with race swapping is frankly as someone who is a person of color I find it to be lazy. And it’s sloppy seconds. It’s basically saying that we’re not good enough for our own characters to make an original one and instead they’re just expecting us to just write off the coattails off of an established white character. Especially considering there’s so many interesting stories and legends from the areas that they race swap from that could have made a better movie. But again it basically says that we’re not worth putting in the effort for it.

[@matityaloran9157]

Eric July makes that argument

[@nonsensestash2293]

To be fair, I can see how it can start innocent enough. You could argue that some characters (particularly public domain fairy tales) are so iconic and well-known, and have been adapted so many times, that something as simple as skin color couldn't detract from that. While there are times where a character's ethnicity is significant, I don't think it's bad that other times skin color is considered casually and on the same level as something aesthetic like hair color or freckles. Here's an example: Alice in Wonderland is a story that is so famous around the world that nearly everyone has their own take on Alice, with so many different illustrated editions being published every year. There have been Alices that don't wear a blue dress, or aren't blonde, a little girl, or even British; it would be understandable that some people don't consider ethnicity a change too far compared to what already exists. Admittedly, if skin color was the only difference, it would of course be quite shallow, and ought to be combined with other interesting things like a unique art style, fashions, and neat designs of the other Wonderland characters. Unfortunately, the vitriol is whole other matter. I don't think it's unreasonable to assume race swapping started out as just a "what if" of "just for fun" sort of thing, but then after the first few rude and derogatory comments, artists got defensive, and then it just snowballed into a terrible cycle of everyone just doubling-down and refusing to give up.

[@matityaloran9157]

@@nonsensestash2293 I have heard variations of that argument made. The anti-woke podcaster Tim Pool made it in defence of Tiana (in The Princess and the Frog) being black when the Princess wasn’t black in the Grimm’s tale (and contrasted it with The Little Mermaid Remake where he opposed the race swap.) And Shady Doorags made the argument that if they were simply re-adapting the fairy tale then he’d have been fine with a black Little Mermaid but since they were specifically remaking the 1989 film, she should bear as close a resemblance as possible to the animated Ariel. (I actually feel a lot less strongly about this than they do but it seems you’re making a similar argument.)

[@Lycaon1765]

My problems, as a latina and artist, are many: It's almost always an uneven swap, usually just white to black and not to others. There's a huge double standard in where you can't race swap from POC to white, and I just think it's kinda bullshit. Folk's arguments FOR swapping just fall apart when you ask them about swapping to white and then they just deny they're being racist by acting as if swapping from white is better for a character. The double standard also ties into how recently people have been getting more on the segregation and "appropriation" train. Apparently white folk aren't allowed to make media using influences & stories from other cultures, and if they make a POC character then they'll be accused of trying to make money off the blood & bodies of dead minorities and their struggles. They'll be accused of trying to insert their whiteness into the story. If they make something inspired then they'll be accused of "fantasizing about being oppressed". But when someone else wants to force a POC into some Viking story or some shit suddenly that's progressive and white people shouldn't get mad, cuz apparently only POC are allowed to have their own culture. It's just entitled as shit. Culture is meant to be shared, that's what makes it culture and that's how it thrives. Everyone is just building up their little race fandoms now, that's basically what it's like at this point. People have lost the plot and forgot that we're trying to tear down barriers, not build them back up. Like literally, I agree so much that it's just sloppy seconds. There's so many stories out there from other cultures but all these damn companies just don't want to bother with risk and make something good again.

[@sonicpsycho13]

But then I ask what's the difference between "race-swapping" and "color-blind casting." Did Disney cast Halle Bailey because they wanted a black Ariel or did they just not care about the actress' race and they felt Bailey was the best fit for the role? I don't recall any official statements by Disney, only the casting announcement getting lost in rhetoric and screeching. When casting for the redheaded Irishman Ellis Redding in "The Shawshank Redemption," was it race-swapping to cast Morgan Freeman?

[@AnimationFanboy2k4]

The Owl House OK KO Let's Be Heroes Fionna and Cake Nimona (obviously) Craig of the Creek Amphibia Dead End Paranormal Park Infinity Train Glitch Techs Monkie Kid Kipo Disney films like Pocahontas, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Mulan Those were the good woke shows/movies that I love. And they even shown us that the "get woke go broke" is a lie.

[@jordanscott2858]

Pocahontas while a very well-made movie for its day, is not historically accurate. Both it and Braveheart, which also came out the same year and starred Mel Gibson, are among the worst examples of artistic license of history in film. Its controversy over colonial history is so bad it's the only animated film from the Disney Renaissance to not get a remake. You heard me right, this is ONE Renaissance film that the remake trend won't touch. Also, Aladdin had the lyrics to Arabain Nights rewritten due to outrage from Arab-Americans, it is only found in the first edition of the original soundtrack and the Alan Menken and Howard Ashman demos. So the three out of four renaissance films mentioned are not without some controversy. Don't get me wrong I LOVE those three films, but like most films and other media, they are a product of their time. We have to keep that in mind when viewing them.

[@Nakia11798]

Fionna and Cake was SO good

[@marthademovimaus5140]

Nimona was 100% idiot plot🌈🤡💩!!!!!!!! Graphic novel was way better, and it actually made sense!!!!

[@Bonaboo]

Allow me to add: Spider-Verse films Avatar TLAB and Korra She-Ra (reboot) The Dragon Prince Barbie Everything Everywhere AAO CentaurWorld Inside Job Carmen SanDiego (reboot) Andor Ms Marvel Wakanda Forever Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Tangled the series Umbrella Academy (I agree with peoples’ hesitancy about Pocahontas. It took the story of a 12-year-old victim and made it a romance, which wasn’t cool. Should have just come up with a new character. I think a better Disney movie for this would be Moana!)

[@marthademovimaus5140]

This is a pretty thorough list of CRINGE, especially Nimona, which was a 🌈🤡💩abomination!! They eviscerated the original graphic novel and filled it full of generic woke Disney-style propaganda! They gave it a total idiot plot and dumbed-down characters.

[@thegayghost872]

The reason Disney includes sexism in their movies but not racism or homophobia is because they're a company that desperately wants to seem "woke", but doesn't want to scare away their conservative fanbase.

[@lisah8438]

I understand what you mean by historical accuracy. But lets keep it real though. Black people are tired of being portrayed as slaves in media. Many black people have made this complaint for years and it keeps on being ignored. Black people want an escape too. Thst is one of the reasons the Color of Purple musical did not do well. Black people are tired of our trauma being on screen.

[@Rikken552]

Except that's not even close to the only piece of black history?

[@ArbitraryOutcome]

I mean, black history isn't JUST chattel slavery? Though I definitely where you're coming from because it might send the message that "marginalized people are only valuable for their trauma".

[@Lycaon1765]

A long time ago I saw an article that said "Politics is the realm of the amateur artist" and tbh I think that's kinda true. It's one of the first things many new artists try to make, and it's often done poorly with them forgetting that it should be art first and message second.

[@marocat4749]

The thing is its not a bad thing to include societial commentary or influence from it, can flesh out a story a lot. But then do the world and characters and how that organic could manifest, like xmen, xmen organically as its known delves into that. Because the world is that bigoted and bad and the civil rights thing, just comes up because off that valid coice to show human society at its a worst due big parts while having hope. But thats because its not just that put in, its thought out how that would organically fit in and how the world can get that across thought out. And the characters stories contrast there. Its a realized thought out world, not just the message. But thoughts how it would play together best. Same with the characters really, that ther eis thought about how characters would progress and affected, or if you are toward a goal, build that up gradual. While being that ideally part of the characters growth. Also a thing that often exists , let characters fail, and humiliated, before they get back, and let them be flawed, even better something can be a flaw and strengh. And failing and humiliation can be, anything small even to show that a character fails at something and they are human and its funny maybe even and , it shows they arent perfect, and more dimension.

[@beatlefreak67]

Ill never forgive Harvey Birdman being brought back for a * orange man bad * joke, like I've waited for a proper finale since I was a kid! Then it comes back for some political BS??!? So lame

[@josteinhenrique2779]

Politics is based on ideology. Good stories are based on universal themes. Ideologies, by nature, are NOT universal, it's pretty the opposite. The basis of almost (if not) all ideologies is basically: "we must stand together against the rest of the world".

[@Lycaon1765]

@@beatlefreak67 well I mean trump IS terrible, but I haven't seen that show nor that episode so I can't comment on whether it was good/done well.

[@ArbitraryOutcome]

In other words, don't pull the cart before the horse.

[@itsblitz4437]

So glad you touched upon this topic, because while i dislike how much the word "woke" have been used and abused to death it lost meaning but I am glad you showed how diversity and identity works, and just first and foremost make a good movie or show first to entertain the audiences and escape the realities of mundane and sometimes painful life😀 👍.

[@paschameleon]

Why does Eric even need a mother? She was not important at all and did nothing

[@insectostrich4407]

Great video. Now I actually want to see you do a comic about this Caribbean Little Mermaid, I’d definitely read it.

[@AnimationFanboy2k4]

Hot take: The Owl House series finale is a perfect way to celebrate Disney's 100th Anniversary

[@rayesafan9628]

5:54 THANK YOU! My problem wasn’t that they made Ariel black. It’s that they made every other lead character white. And then they tried to make it up by making the queen black, but literally no one cares.

[@Telimency]

that's a good take. I'm so tired with the outrage on the internet about everything (and as I don't have a twittex I've thought I'm safe, but yt is full of vitriol lately)

[@firenze6478]

I don’t count woke and diversity as the same thing. One has been around adding variety to stories for years while the other is pure propaganda that shames unprotected groups out of spite usually for political reasons.

[@NIHIL_EGO]

Today in "Woke really means whatever I want":

[@firenze6478]

@@NIHIL_EGO what is this even supposed to mean?

[@NIHIL_EGO]

@@firenze6478 "Woke" is a meaningless word whose definition largely depends on what the speaker thinks.

[@firenze6478]

@@NIHIL_EGO it’s actually used very consistently to describe the politically driven narcissism that so many people are sick of. I’ve defined woke so many times and it’s always this, and this is always what others whom I speak to mean.

[@NIHIL_EGO]

@@firenze6478 Damn way to say you're mostly just active in echo chambers.

[@tommyadkins844]

As someone who is conservative i have to agree with you KolkoCat it the bad writing that screws up a lot of movies from both the left and the right. The only reason they make it because they just want to seen a message not a story. This goes both for Disney and Daliywire, as a conservative i hate Daliywire`s stuff and i have fallen out of Disney`s stuff for the same crap. Oh and that little mermaid idea sound awesome as someone that lives in Puerto Rico.

[@nothing-of5yc]

Couldn't say it better myself

[@tommyadkins844]

@@nothing-of5yc i wrote it from the heart

[@nothing-of5yc]

@@tommyadkins844 I don't watch move anymore unless I know what I getting into

[@tommyadkins844]

@@nothing-of5yc That is understanble consider how stuff is these days.

[@nothing-of5yc]

@@tommyadkins844 I hate how crazy the US is. It is always a us vs them type of thing is it that crazy everywhere else

[@vibing_person]

I fell like this is a re-uploqd since i saw a video with the same thumbnail yesterday

[@EpixAndroid]

Yes, just the title was changed from “progressive” to “woke”.

[@davidhwang5838]

They were having copyright issues with the last one (it’s in the description)

[@KolkoCat]

I was having copyright issues. So I had to reupload with some changes.

[@matityaloran9157]

@KolkoCat, personally I tend to distinguish between Progressive and Woke. I use Progressive to mean having a left-wing political message and Woke to mean obnoxious in progressive political messaging. (Yes, I’m aware there are Right-Wing media with obnoxious political messages.)

[@howardlanus8467]

THIS is EXACTLY the message we all needed to hear! I cannot express how wonderful your video made me feel! This was outstanding work, and I look forward to your next release!

[@lionmom7629]

This video took on a topic that is normally very divisive, and covered it with grace, fair mindedness and authenticity. A lot of the points made are ones I normally only hear from the worst kinds of people, or levied as an insult. But having that statement up front, that bigotry is *bad* and that's not up for debate, changed the whole dynamic. Take note, those who argue and rage about the "woke" in media. Not insulting everyone who is open minded and having a baseline of bigotry being something that's not okay makes all the difference as to how your messages are received. And after all, we can all agree on Velma and Madame Web and other awful media. Yep. Awful shows and movies sure are awful! See? We all have more in common than we think we do.

[@LuisAlfonsoAlvarez_Syrup_gamer]

Such a deep analysis of the topic. I love it!

[@remnantballsofficial]

total drama having the gay character have stereotypes is also just part of the show. in a show where every character is a stereotype it would be weird for him not to be

[@RambleMaven]

The new little mermaid literally does take place in the Caribbean.

[@jerecklacap8867]

This is what annoys me with the Snow-white remake. Elsa, Anna, Ariel, Belle, names that can be given to any race or whatever. But a character named SNOW-WHITE? who's literally described to have "a skin as white as snow" and you cast a fairly dark toned actress? HWHAT? I'm fine with diversity, but it has to make sense like with the Little mermaid being/having a carebian setting.

[@92JazzQueen]

I heavily disagree calling something woke is bad.

[@alananimus9145]

There's no such thing as apolitical. What someone means by apolitical is "something I agree with and assume most everyone else agrees with." Assuming the "default" is not apolitical. Does a message support the "default" assumptions or does it go against them. If it goes against them how? If it supports them how? Why? What is it reinforcing?

[@Rikken552]

You're thinking of centrist. Apolitical means they show no interest in politics in general

[@alananimus9145]

@@Rikken552I will respond to your centrist comment in a moment but let me show you how your response actually proved the point I was making. There is the status quo and then there is the challenge to the status quo (note I am not here assigning value to either). What you said is someone who is "Apolitical" means they show no interest in challenging the status quo. Baked into your framing is the assumption that not challenging the status quo is non-political, while challenging the status quo is political. Let's use an example that will really highlight the absurdity of the idea that apolitical exists. According to you taking a "neutral" position on slavery in 1813 is apolitical. Except it's not neutral because inaction is a form of action. Someone who did not oppose slavery in 1813 supported the perpetuation of the system. If you do not turn the light off consequentially you support the light being on. Or using another example if you do not push a button a million people will die. If you push the button you saved a million people (your actions are causal to their survival). If you do not push the button you killed a million people (your inaction is casual to their death). Politics is a dichotomy not a trichotomy. Someone either (through action/inaction or directly/indirectly) supports the status quo, or (through action/inaction or directly/indirectly) oppose the status quo. Centrism is simply a variation on the theme at best, or more typically it's a means of masking being right wing. Something most Americans are ignorant of is the *fact* that America does not have a political left. Democrats are the centrist party and they are a right of center party at that. That is not to say that there are not Left Democrats within the Democratic party, however the party itself (with particular reference to it's platform and the voting history of its members who exercise power) is right of center on the whole.

[@Rikken552]

@@alananimus9145 Ah, the old us vs them mentality. People like you are the reason people hate eachother these days. The average person can't do shit so making them feel guilty for not caring is like making someone feel guilty for the color of their skin.

[@Nakia11798]

Glad I'm not alone in thinking sometimes progressive points are cringe in their preachiness. I have to add, I dont think diversity is cringe, but forced messages and forced diversity is painfully ignorant.

[@matityaloran9157]

There are media with Leftist messages that I think are pretty good stories even if I don’t agree with the messages but I don’t consider those woke. What makes it woke isn’t that it’s left-wing, it’s that it’s obnoxiously and insufferably left-wing

[@ArbitraryOutcome]

I pretty much only understand the term "woke" under the traditional meaning (the "consciousness of social issues and injustices" type definition), so I've really only considered media "woke" if it actually has socially progressive ideas it wants to say and not "a woman or minority exists". And it's this idea I have where I'm noticing a media literacy issue going on with media discussion, where people are just straight up blind to ideas unless they're jangled in front of them like keys.

[@krishnavinesh5638]

td reboot actually exceeded my expectations. I thought it would "woke garbage" looking at the designs but it was so cool

[@renemartinez3451]

Your ideas for a Caribbean Little Mermaid reimagining sound awesome. I’d love to see artists incorporate your ideas

[@SilverRagaire]

23:43 Am I remember the original Mulan wrong or is this just false? When did she ever have to “be smarter” than the guys? They were just as untrained as she was. And if anyone says “the part where she uses the weights to get the arrow,” that was a test none of the men could pass. It was always about intelligence with that test.

[@Kusanagikaiser999]

1000% AGREE, I just wish some of these modern writers watched videos like these, and also I wish Disney and other big companies hire and treat well the people who actually KNOW how to do this right..........like Disney actually have done progressive right.....3 times in MODERN TIMES........oh but not in movies, in CARTOONS, the Owl House, Amphibia and Gravity Falls (and I dare also put Ducktales reboot there) are great examples of do this right, they have diversity, LGBT characters and political themes.....but are STORY and CHARACTER driven shows that first care about writing good characters instead of telling a message. Netflix have it's issues not get me wrong, but when they nail this right THEY NAIL it, shows like Arcane, Hilda, Blue Eyes Samurai, Carmen Sandiego, and one that I thing nail all this so well is SHE-RA Princesses of Power, all this show are full of things that would and had make some anti woke people cringe, but, they also have great characters, good stories, know how to tell a message without hammer in, and care about telling a good story before preaching a message......I feel like Disney and WB and others companies not hire the right talent, instead they hire glorified YES MEN AND WOMEN who happens to be into activist, instead of hiring capable writers and showrunners who happen to know how to tell these kind of story careful.......and if they had them, then they treat them bad.....like Dana Terrance the creator of The Owl House or Alex Hirsch the creator of Gravity Fall, instead of hiring people like the ones who work on WISH the 100 anniversary disney animation studios, like Julia Michaels who only knew how to make POP SONGS not Broadway musicals, imagine if instead you hired someone like REBECCA SUGAR from Steven Universe/ Adventure Time, modern shows praise by amazing musicals that feel modern but classic and knows how to tell stories.......I pay to see that in a Disney film but no, we got the person who write songs for JUSTIN BIEBER instead......this is my major issue with these people, they have no experience on how to proper write these topics and all they know is PREACH, instead of hiring talent like ND STEVENSON, MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO, DANA TERRANCE, REBECCA SUGAR, MATT BRALY, CRISTIAN LINKE, people who have literally already write these type of stories.........this is why we got this year the perfect KARMA payoff...............Disney cancelled NIMONA....was saved by Netflix and Annapurna and Nimona the story that literally tackle all the topics modern Disney can't do well, ended NOMINATED by the Oscars, while WISH got nothing.....karma is a B%&h

[@Blub31]

Awesome video! Really provides a lot to think about.

[@sunsetvibe1063]

Be empathetic. Whether your media is diverse or not. Some part about it needs to be empathetic. It could be your characters dynamics, your themes, the sense of humour or the overall all message of the product. There’s a reason why a film like Barbie worked despite being called “Woke” & a tv show like Velma didn't work despite also being caller "Woke" one was a visually & comedically unique comedy that took the time to show both sides of the gender spectrum & be able to play with them in unique ways. From America Ferrara's speech all about the difficulties of being a woman in society. To how men in the current climate feel the need to play up their masculinity & self righteousness because they’ve been told for decades to never show empathy. The film uses diverse media & political commentary to present ideas in today’s climate & even give a solution to some of them. I didn’t even realise that one of the Barbie’s was played by a trans actress. That’s how well it implements diverse casts into its product. Whereas Velma on the other hand. Has cynical writing, cynical characters, cynical messages & a cynical conclusion to its themes. And when you’re writing a comedy. You want some things to be cynical. Even the Barbie film painted a pretty cynical picture of the patriot mindset. But that film still had an optimistic view on the future & was empathetic enough to see the motivations for why conservatives are so insecure. Even if in the end it showed how conservatism is the and mindset in this context. But when every single part of your project has the identity of being bitter. Where’s the fun, what’s the point, where is the part of your commentary that’s supposed to challenge the people you’re making fun of. In Barbie, it showed how men can feel just as insecure as women & the differences in how the two genders react to that insecurity. In Velma, they make fun of Fred’s duck because I guess body shaming is alright as long as it doesn’t happen to a woman. That’s not equality, that’s not diversity. It’s just the same problems conservatives have to face except it’s the other extreme of the political spectrum. It doesn’t matter if your media is diverse or not. If it isn’t empathetic. The only people who’re going to care are the extremist conservatives who use your media as a point in their own discussion on why “Woke” media is bad. And extremist liberals who think the only way the discussion will change is just baiting the conservatives with media that they know are going to piss them off. If it’s empathetic though. The average normal person isn’t going to care.

[@trixsomethingsomething2095]

God I always hated that word "WOKE" ugh yuck... Lol

[@johnmanole4779]

I love your videos on writing? Can you do more?

[@matityaloran9157]

21:32, it can be, if it’s written well. Lilo and Stitch proved that

[@mileslugo6430]

Woke; diversity, Inclusivity, and most importantly a focus on Equity/equality of results/the center of power

[@estebangutierrez160]

Another show that's actually progressive w/o having to be in your face about it is Dead End Paranormal Park.

[@Doodleandcompany]

I’m so angry they canceled it

[@estebangutierrez160]

@@Doodleandcompany so am I. The show helped me so much.

[@sugarzblossom8168]

Didn't people still call that woke and complain?

[@estebangutierrez160]

@@sugarzblossom8168 if they did, then they have never seen the show. Since it's basically Scooby Doo, with characters who happen to be LGBT.

[@sugarzblossom8168]

@@estebangutierrez160 I recently watched a video where they called in the transgender kids show

[@doomarang3208]

You should've just kept the word "Progressive" instead of "Woke" in the title of the video.

[@matityaloran9157]

1:55, Once again, the Anti-Woke crowd constantly contrasts “Strong Female Characters TM” with Strong Female Characters done right and while they do criticize “forced diversity”. They don’t denounce diversity as such

[@angelagokool9514]

I think what people need to realize is that when it comes to fairy tale adaptations, or adaptations of classic novels, is that they don't follow the books that they're based on. I'd like to see more discussions about that. I don't know many people actually read the original versions, though. That being said, however, I think that while there are some well-made remakes or retellings of fairy tales (Cinderella in 2015, The Princess and the Frog in 2009), others did not need to exist (The Little Mermaid. I didn't bother to watch it, but I do hate the premise). Also, I think that there should be more original stories, that represent different cultures, that either the writers can create, or that can be based on myths or legends of other cultures, that we may not be aware of. Writers should do some research and learn about other types of folklore, that can be adapted to the Silver Screen. I've seen other KZbin videos where the hosts have similar opinions.

[@mayorlight]

Good points on the fear of flawed characters. Looking back at some of the James Bond and 80's action movies I watched in my youth, entertaining as they were, the protagonists sometimes bordered on being Gary Stus (which are just as obnoxious as "Mary Sues"). On the note of subtly presenting a message to the audience, a good example from 1955 is "Bad Day At Black Rock," which used a Neo-Western mystery tale to pose questions about the anti-Japanese sentiment during WW2.

[@MsSunnyMuffins]

Caribbean little mermaid is a great idea, but, if everyone's black then it's a "black movie". In princess and the frog it was easier because they could throw in a white friend, white city folk. a racially questionable prince, and some talking animals. Little Mermaid would just be live action black people existing in isolation and Disney isn't ready for that. Realistically, even LESS white audiences would show up and that's just too big a financial demographic to miss out on. But, unrealistically, it's too woke lol

[@tirzahroseroot]

I’m just gonna say it. I think Wish is a million times better than Nimona.

[@samiracle13]

4:33 i thought it was set in the carribean in the new version? thats what i gathered when i watched it at least. the marketplace scene made me assume that, mostly, theres a lot in it that indicates it’s a carribean island and not where the original little mermaid was set. i coukd be incorrect though-it’s been a while since i saw the remake.

[@miscellaneoussarnian5282]

Hey, Kolko. I’ve got this series that’s similar Hetalia and Countryhumans, and part of its lore (which is just history) is that modern-day Germany is same person as the past German states, most importantly, the Third Reich (Germany’s evolution goes something like this: daughter of the Germanic tribes/Germania, East Francia, Holy Roman Empire, Confederation of the Rhine, German Confederation, North German Confederation, German Empire, Weimar Republic, 3rd Reich, Allied-Occupied Germany, West Germany, Reunified Germany). and we all know about the messed-up stuff that the Nazi’s did So the dilemma is. How do I redeem Germany she committed such heinous crimes? (she got brainwashed by the NSDAP after the failure of the Weimar Republic). Or do I make Modern Germany the daughter of Historic Germany, killing Historic at the end of World War 2, like I did with Imperial Japan and Modern Japan? (but Modern Germany’s in a WLW relationship with France (who’s about the same age as Historic Germany). So that could be a bit of a problem). Not to mention that Germany matured/grew-up much later than the rest of her contemporaries as she essentially just represented the wider-German people group (who were very organised due to the HRE being a “loose collection of states”) whilst Prussia and Austria were calling the shots. It’s really quite complicated, yet simple at the same time. Italy could also fit the bill pretty well, but he’s not that important to the (his)story of the “post-WW2 villain redemption” as Germany is

[@matityaloran9157]

1:06, obnoxiously and insufferably left-wing. Not just having a left-wing political message but delivering it in a manner that comes across as preachy and sanctimonious, often subordinating the story to the message in the process

[@mysticalteration498]

I want to write a show with six characters that come from different cultural backgrounds. I was having trouble writing them because I truly didn't want to be seen as "woke". But from what I've watched in the video (and read from the comments) is that it's okay to write characters with diverse backgrounds...You just have to give the characters- Personality A reason for motivation Flaws (Let them make mistakes and LEARN from them) Equality between genders. (I remember watching an arcane video and someone in the comments mentioned that they appreciate the girls getting beat up. SO, treat your girl characters like people. Don't make them agile or not get a scratch in a single fight, especially if the fight is brutal and the girl is either new to fighting or is used to fighting brutally, like Vi. Women/girls aren't fragile or dainty creatures.) Don't just make the characters good at everything, let them fail in some areas and/or only have them be good at certain things. In other words, LET THEM BE PEOPLE!! (My story focuses more on mental health, stress, and unreachable expectations BUT also delves into different types of cultures and magical bits. Both will be done equally but more focused on the characters themselves and what they are going through.) ALSO, when it comes to writing cultural backgrounds please do your research. And get a cultural consultant (or cross cultural consultant.) from that certain background you're writing about as well. They'll help make things more understandable from their perspective and help your writing be better. For villains, give them a REASON to be evil. World dominance for power, money hungry/greedy, or just evil just for the fun of it. It's okay to have villains be nuts and do horrible things just because they can (people like that do exist in reality anyway.) All I'm saying is, if you want to write about diversity, please don't make that the only thing your story is about. Make it interesting to the point where it's not stale or repetitive. Give the characters meaning, give the audience a reason to care about the characters. In other words, ART FIRST, MESSAGE LATER! If I missed anything, please let me know!

[@bryanrodasmontoya3864]

You forgot Steven universe,OK ko,amphibia,owl house,shera,voltron all of them.are shit

[@InternetSexyLoser]

SHIT?! Excuse me!? Owl house, Amphibia, and OK KO is good.

[@garynaccarato4606]

I would say that with what I gathered about High Guardian Spice is that it seems just good enough for me to have wanted it to be good.If I wanted to be charitable I think I would call High Guardian Spice mediocre at best however I think that High Guardian Spice stops just short of being mediocre.I think that for me one thing I thought seemed cool is the fact that its the fantasy genre the fact that it did seem like they were trying to go for a little bit of a wholesome feeling vibe,the fact that it did seem like it tried to push for acceptance and inclusivity and tolerance towards those who were different and the fact that the animation and the aesthetic did look cute and did look good in my opinion despite the fact that there was a fair share of glitches and flaws with the animation.Besides from glitches and flaws with animation there seemed to be a pretty issues having with plot and execution and I definitely would say that High Guardian Spice seemed from being one of the most well crafted examples of story telling.

[@kated442]

Really good video! I liked that you differentiated preachy stuff vs characters just existing. And highlighting the paradox that means female characters have to be 100% Perfect to avoid crit and then get crit for being boring. And I adored the rewrite of The Little Mermaid that had black fashion as something Ariel could learn about on land.

[@matityaloran9157]

1:12, I just defined it. Obnoxiously and insufferably left-wing.

[@matityaloran9157]

1:34, but that’s not a fair assessment. There are media with progressive messaging that the anti-SJWs don’t hate. What makes it woke is the obnoxious delivery

[@cherrylimeali4393]

Heck, as one myself, I don't even consider TLOU2 to be woke.

[@matityaloran9157]

@@cherrylimeali4393 The Critical Drinker praised Arcane (and gave it as an example of a show with a Progressive message that he recommends) rather than considering it woke. And Shady Doorags (explicitly) doesn’t consider Kim Possible woke despite its strong female character and feminism.

[@cherrylimeali4393]

@@matityaloran9157 It all really goes to show that a properly executed progressive message can bring people together.

[@matityaloran9157]

@@cherrylimeali4393 You can even be a Conservative and enjoy a work with a Progressive message if the message is done well

[@cherrylimeali4393]

@@matityaloran9157 I mean, I technically qualify as a progressive conservative, and my current pet project is about a diverse cast of women, so yeah.

[@shadowone01x99]

Wokeness has been part of Hollywood entertainment for over 50years and we have enjoyed a lot of it. Why? Because many of them were captivatingly brilliantly and authentic well written. The authentic referring to original and/ or legacy characters absence of force-bending/ FAKE WOKE (like racebending) and a logical setting that makes sense like Victorian era royalty did NOT have an abundance of blacks amongst the royals. Yes, wokeness includes diversity, feminism, inclusivity, etc. I agree Wokeness is NOT bad in media...its BAD WRITING that's the CRINGE not wokeness. Given today's culture wars i doubt Gene Roddenberry would have been able to create a successful Star Trek Franchise. Star trek which had a diverse cast as the main cast and had ... presumably....the FIRST (or one of the earliest) INTERRACIAL KISS ON TV between a white and black actors. Then many several episodes addressed VERY MANY social-political issues from sexism to racism to capitalism vs communism to sexuality to transhumanism to transgenderism, etc. Startrek Voyager was one of the first scifi series lead by a female lead and probably the most diverse main cast that has barely been matched (Female lead, Asian, Native American, black, etc). Then made a star trek series with the first evee black lead of a scifi series... Star trek deep space nine. Startrek Discovery/ ST-D is accused of wokeness when in fact it lacks wokeness in its plots and stories compared to the beloved 90s startrek shows.....ST-D suffers from BAD WRITING esp with some disrespect or forced changes to the Star trek lore yet haters claim its woke simply because the lead is a black female. Female boss leads do not always have to be always emotional and to always must have love interests but they can be written in a relatble way AND still be kick-ass badass like Atomic Blonde and Kill Bill. Heck, its weird how Captain Marvel and The Marvels are accussed of wokeness yet the same accussers LOVE Atomic Blonde which is technically MORE WOKE than both Captn Marvel and The Marvels😂😂😂😂 Now-a-days (or recent years), the moment folks see more than a token non-white character in the cast, they scream its woke DEI agenda. Brilliant video essay.

[@freakingannonymouspanda1766]

As some one who don't believe in the lgbt stuff, I do find queen mave a quiet interesting and likeable character.........

[@sadboi714]

I think the diversity argument got lost in translation somewhere. As you said there are actual racists but thats beside the point. The original point the conservatives were making was that the diversity push was at the cost of relatability and often used racial tokenism. It was always their opinion to have original characters rather than race swapped characters or character who took over a mantle.

[@nameandaddresswithheld1890]

Have a disclaimer that your going to talk about racism when the thumbnail already made that Abu fly clear is pretty cringe.

[@RandomSkyeRoses]

I also dont like how mean modern female protagonists are

[@thedanishsocialmonarchist7286]

Your writing a book about medivel prussia?

[@Ru6y_the_Lich008]

i like how when u say woke it is in a super deep voice

[@KraiPenKonThai]

8:59 I know you said the name of it, but how do you spell it?

[@KolkoCat]

GenZed. Allegedly there were 8 episodes but I am still hunting for them. 👀

[@josteinhenrique2779]

I find incredible how you have ESG and DEI being official, registered, existing things. You had a billionaire company *actively* financing this stuff (Blackrock, which stopped doing this because they were losing money). You have public figures like Bob Iger and Anita Sarkeesian publicly admiting they are/were putting their own political beliefs/agenda on whatever they work. Heck, very recently we had (and we're still having it) the whole Sweet Baby Inc meltdown... ... and, at the same time, you have people who keeps saying that there is no such thing as "woke stuff" ruining modern western entertainment.

[@ArbitraryOutcome]

Go outside.

[@josteinhenrique2779]

​​@@ArbitraryOutcome wow, such a solid and elaborated counter-argument... how impressive...

[@isaacriggs4656]

Not possible. Being cringe is free DLC of the woke game.

[@josteinhenrique2779]

My biggest pet peeve with progressive writing is the fact that, with rare excessions, *every* progressive story follows the same structure, even the actually good ones. Every. Single. Time: 1- It's always about the society being meanie with the main character. 2- The villain is also a very strawmanized version of a real-life group the creator don't like and blames for, supposedly, making their life super hard. As if everybody else had super duper easy peasy lives. And then, they wonder why the big audience is so "close-minded" to progressive stories. I mean, why wouldn't the audience give a standing ovation to a fiction work where the only good guys are the creator and their social bubble, and everybody else is a caricature of a bigot, unless, of course, they get "educated" by the main cast? I have no idea.

[@Drixenol86]

The tone deafness in all this progressivist crap is present.

[@rayesafan9628]

What the… I have no idea what you’re talking about. Did you see this video?

[@klonoafan2012]

Someone doesn't know what media literacy is

[@rayesafan9628]

I don’t get this comment, Do you know what media literacy is? What aspect of media literacy are you thinking about?

[@futurewario9591]

IMPOSSIBLE WOKE IS CRINGE PERIOD NO EXCEPTIONS

[@LakeofCrystalclan]

Are you 12?

[@futurewario9591]

@@LakeofCrystalclan Are you a liberal? Oh wait of course you are.

[@jorami4838]

@@futurewario9591 This better be a troll, otherwise this is sad lmao

[@futurewario9591]

@@jorami4838 You didn't say no lol

[@LakeofCrystalclan]

@@futurewario9591Ad hominem.

[@maximus4765]

Answer: Don't.

[@giantpinkcat]

Says a lot about if you if you think implementing Minorities into things is automatically "Woke" and "Cringe".