"Diverse" works that aren't woke - when diversity does not fuck a movie/game/book/show up

[Big Fat Frog]

Hotwheels: Highway 35/Acceleracers, Gears of War and Dishonored 2.

 

[Neet Tokusatsu]

Not sure if it's been already mentioned, but would Power Rangers count? since the first season it always had a diverse cast of characters and nobody made fuss back then, since most characters were treated as people and not as walking stereotypes, granted the last season i've ever watched was Ninja Storm and things might have changed in the last few years.

 

[Useful_Mistake]

Dishonored 2.

Dude, Dishonored 2 goes out of its fucking way to make sure you know that capitalism is bad, and it reminds you of that every fucking time you use the heart item, because all of its lines are essentially "capitalism bad, we needs socialism".

 

[Big Fat Frog]

Dude, Dishonored 2 goes out of its fucking way to make sure you know that capitalism is bad, and it reminds you of that every fucking time you use the heart item, because all of its lines are essentially "capitalism bad, we needs socialism".

What are you talking about? I’ve played the game over 3 fucking times and have never even heard that lmao

 

[Useful_Mistake]

What are you talking about? I’ve played the game over 3 fucking times and have never even heard that lmao

Around 33% of the quoes (ignoring target quotes, and ones specifically relating to your chaos level) are some variation of "capitalism bad, rich are abusing the poor". I remember playing the game, and I would hear it near constantly

https://dishonored.fandom.com/wiki/The_Heart/Quotes_(Dishonored_2)

 

[Reticulan Joe]

1999's Alpha Centauri. Diverse cast, which was further broadened with the Alien Crossfire expansion. Of course, the game itself was about conflicting ideologies, so it's not wholly surprising that issues of race or gender would take a backseat.

 

[A Beached Whale]

This is going to sound absurd, but Hogwarts Legacy is actually kind of...refreshing?

Because memes about Sirona Ryan aside, she's actually a sweet side character. Her being trans is only hinted at once, aside from her obvious voice. She was a Ravenclaw Quidditch player who reached out to Professor Garlick when they were kids, and their friendship is genuinely sweet.

Natty's details about her life in Africa are more interesting than not, and her and Poppy have great conviction in their storylines, rather than being centered on because they're girls.

Ominis is blind and has a lot of cool background details about it, but it's never really spoken of. His character is all about trying to be Sebastian's morality chain.

Amit gets next to no development, but none of it has to do with his ethnicity. He's just a dorky lil studious guy who doesn't like to fight.

And this isn't even going into other side characters and teachers. It's not perfect, I just find it funny that the EVIL WIZARDING GAME ended up including a various divetse array of cast that feels way less forced than anything shoved into HP before.

 

[starborn427614]

This is going to sound absurd, but Hogwarts Legacy is actually kind of...refreshing?

Because memes about Sirona Ryan aside, she's actually a sweet side character. Her being trans is only hinted at once, aside from her obvious voice. She was a Ravenclaw Quidditch player who reached out to Professor Garlick when they were kids, and their friendship is genuinely sweet.

Natty's details about her life in Africa are more interesting than not, and her and Poppy have great conviction in their storylines, rather than being centered on because they're girls.

Ominis is blind and has a lot of cool background details about it, but it's never really spoken of. His character is all about trying to be Sebastian's morality chain.

Amit gets next to no development, but none of it has to do with his ethnicity. He's just a dorky lil studious guy who doesn't like to fight.

And this isn't even going into other side characters and teachers. It's not perfect, I just find it funny that the EVIL WIZARDING GAME ended up including a various divetse array of cast that feels way less forced than anything shoved into HP before.

It's only really jarring when you compare it to the HP movies which are whiter than freshly laid snow.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

It's only really jarring when you compare it to the HP movies which are whiter than freshly laid snow.

It wasn't complete white, it just worked on the actual UK statistics, not the ones projected to 2050

 

[starborn427614]

It wasn't complete white, it just worked on the actual UK statistics, not the ones projected to 2050

The amount of black students was about the same, if I remember back to being a young 'un.

 

[Hongourable Madisha]

Hey Arnold was pretty good. It was about a load of working-class kids from all different backgrounds, races and family structures, and the people in Arnold's grandparents' boarding house were likeable and flawed, complex characters. Mr Hyunh the Vietnamese guy is a bit of a stereotype, but he's the star of several episodes that really flesh him out and look at Vietnamese and American culture and his and his family's backstory and how they integrate. It's more interesting than trying to get diversity points and it tells a good story.

Early Simpsons too, Apu and Dr Hibbert and Akira et al are certainly stereotypical but they're also full characters in their own right, and have good storylines and adventures, and aren't always perfect. Sometimes they give the lesson of the episode, like Apu telling Lisa about tolerance with her mad militant vegetarianism and his veganism, and sometimes they're clearly imperfect and wrong, like when he cheats on his wife. They're people, with good and bad sides to them, but always consistent characters. Until the later series where it all went to shit, of course.

ETA: the John Wick series is a pretty good current day example. There's assassins from all over the world and in all different factions all fighting or helping each other, so you get men and women of all ethnicities. The latest one even has disabled people like Donnie Yen as a blind guy who does all kinds of cool tricks to fight people like turning the lights out to make everyone blind, or setting up noisy traps so he knows where to shoot. The men and women fight in different ways too, I wouldn't say it's realistic by any stretch of the imagination, but the women use more weapons and tools, agility, psychological tricks etc to make up for the size and strength difference versus men. It's not like most action shit nowadays where you have a skinny weedy rail of an actress throwing around some very accommodating enormous stuntmen, it's believable in the context of the bizarre fantasy world it inhabits.

 

[God of Nothing]

Dude, Dishonored 2 goes out of its fucking way to make sure you know that capitalism is bad, and it reminds you of that every fucking time you use the heart item, because all of its lines are essentially "capitalism bad, we needs socialism".

Around 33% of the quoes (ignoring target quotes, and ones specifically relating to your chaos level) are some variation of "capitalism bad, rich are abusing the poor". I remember playing the game, and I would hear it near constantly

https://dishonored.fandom.com/wiki/The_Heart/Quotes_(Dishonored_2)

I didn't get socialist messages from those. Hell exists in the setting while the equivalent of heaven is nonexistence, but that's not an argument for antinatalism. The High Chaos quotes reflect more on how fucked and twisted everything is. You could've done good, like all the people the Heart talks about, but you chose otherwise. The senselessness of it all is more the focus. You literally play as royalty or a royalist.
It is way more pozzed than the first game was though.

 

[quackrock]

The Expanse. Even if it lost steam at the end there, the casting was very good and all the people got a chance to shine as people, not demographic tick boxes.

HARD disagree. Naomi was the worst fucking character with a terrible actress, also I could not ignore her huge mandible and lisp. Everything else about the show was great except for Holden's shitty squint-to-show-I'm-thinking acting.

Also, surprised no one's mentioned The Wire yet.

 

[Useful_Mistake]

I didn't get socialist messages from those.

I mean, I'm not sure what message I'm supposed to take if ~33% I use the heart item I hear some variation of "rich are bad, poor are abused". It's somewhat funny that it comes from literally the most privileged person in existence, but that's not particularly new.

The High Chaos quotes reflect more on how fucked and twisted everything is. You could've done good, like all the people the Heart talks about, but you chose otherwise. The senselessness of it all is more the focus

Of high chaos, sure, but I specifically did not include chaos in my calculation (low or high) quotes. I only included the random quotes you get all the time, regardless of your alignment, or if you are using it on a specific character.

It is way more pozzed than the first game was though.

Agreed.

 

[Big Fat Frog]

Around 33% of the quoes (ignoring target quotes, and ones specifically relating to your chaos level) are some variation of "capitalism bad, rich are abusing the poor". I remember playing the game, and I would hear it near constantly

https://dishonored.fandom.com/wiki/The_Heart/Quotes_(Dishonored_2)

Dude, you’re thinking way too into it and hearing things that aren’t there. Either that or you’re one of those people who think Capitalism can do no wrong and any slight critique against it means that it must be for Socialism. The entire setting of the game is supposed to mirror that of the Industrial Revolution, which was notorious for its labor conditions and inequality between the aristocratic and working classes. Also Karnaka is a corrupt shithole run by a hack who’s trying to one-up the legacy of his father while attempting to reap the benefits of being a Duke without actually working for it. Of course there’s problems that stem from the unchecked powers in an evolving and technologically advancing society.

 

[Krokodil Overdose]

HARD disagree. Naomi was the worst fucking character with a terrible actress, also I could not ignore her huge mandible and lisp. Everything else about the show was great except for Holden's shitty squint-to-show-I'm-thinking acting.

Also, surprised no one's mentioned The Wire yet.

I didn't have strong feelings about the actress. Basically all the unknowns we're fine but not great (Wes Chatham was the only exception) while Tom Jane, Jared Harris etc. we're good as usual.

As a character, thought Naomi was allowed to fuck up and fail. Can you imagine any MCU yas-slay-kween just not being able to adapt to the gravity? Low bar I know, but that's where entertainment is right now.

 

[quackrock]

I didn't have strong feelings about the actress. Basically all the unknowns we're fine but not great (Wes Chatham was the only exception) while Tom Jane, Jared Harris etc. we're good as usual.

Cas Anvar grew on me. Solid writing for his character also helped.

 

[Quarterback Rex Grossman]

I'm not sure things made before 2012 are fair because wokeness hadn't taken over yet. I mean you can confidently list pretty much every movie and show made in the '80s and '90s.

 

[fake farts]

Although it was tainted by the most autistic aspects of its fandom, Voltron Legendary Defender managed to do this up until it's last season, where it shoehorned in a gay wedding in the finale, and reviving a dead lesbian because people got mad. Up until then, it had a genuinely diverse cast, and a gay male character who wasn't just The Faggot. He was allowed pathos and friendships and struggles. The villains did have the boring fantastical racism bit, but there was no sex divide in their culture, and women warriors and leaders were common.

Going back to the 90s, Xena: Warrior Princess had this. It had all the things people today cry and screech about: women able to kick mens asses, black people, mystery meat Maoris and other assorted races, bisexual/lesbian content, Xena herself dating a black guy in season one, and even in an early season episode, black Cleopatra (partially retconned or ignored in season five, when Xena herself went undercover as Cleopatra). It's even regarded among the chuddies on /tv/ as good tv, partially because of their coom, but also partially because its a genuinely entertaining show that played all of these things straight, but never called attention to them. They just hired who they wanted, and no one gave a fuck.

Also, seconding The Wire. Great example of a diverse show that managed to be even-handed in its critique of all sides. David Simon has never been able to replicate its intellect. I'm thinking a large hunk of that is Ed Burns being absent from the stuff that came after.

 

[Hummingbird]

Extreme GhostBusters is debatable, but to me what saves it from being woke is that the four diverse main characters all have personalities, flaws, and make mistakes. Even Garret, who is in a wheelchair, isn't shown as invincible and there are times when he needs help. I've heard mixed stories that one of the reason they put him in one is as a fun challenge for writing the character.