- Joined
- Jul 18, 2017
I want to talk about this promotional picture making the rounds for a second because it sums this shit show up perfectly. Let me explain in autistic and pedantic detail why I hate it and you should too.
Let's just start with the elephant in the room. Teela is front and Center while Prince Adam is in the back. Probably the first thing you notice and basically says what clownfish rumored a year ago. This is the Teela show.
Next let's talk about the set up. Everyone in this picture is carrying Arms. In the case of beastman his arms are literally his Arms. All are striking powerful combat stances with their weapons. Except for one person. Prince Adam. This means that not only is Prince Adam not the focus of the show, the show wants you to know that he is actually a weakling in need of protection.
Now let's talk about the design of the characters themselves. For the claims that people hate this because it has a strong female lead are wrong. Whatever is front and center in this picture is most decidedly NOT a woman. You can tell your brain it is all day long, but your subconscious will never believe you.
Starting with the shoulders and muscle design, Teela and Beastman have very similar lines. Very broad, well defined with a boxy layer. You can tell that for the first penciling of this frame the Artist used the exact same template for Beastman and Teela. The lines of the shoulder and arms are identical. The beastman lining is just slightly longer to make him appear taller then Teela. Functionally when you juxtapose the two your brain sees a big man and a slightly smaller man.
No effort is made to break this as the next thing your eyes will do will be to try and verify first glance. If Teela does have secondary female characteristics (boobs) they are hidden by her pose and in every other picture I've seen of her are very understated. The hips are no help either, especially standing next to beastman. Remember the artist used the same template outline for both characters and you can see Beastmans waist taper in a very similar manner to Teelas. Made all the worst by the overlapping sword belts which break the flow of her design and prevent your brain from just editing in the missing hourglass shape of a woman.
It all just adds to the image that Teela is in fact a man. The showrunners can argue that He is not but the simple fact is they drew a slightly smaller version of Beastman, and gave him less fur and a female voice actress. I am sure if I ever watch this abortion hearing a woman's voice coming out of what my brain is clearly categorizing as a man will cause an immediate dive into the uncanny Valley.
Now let's talk about Prince Adam. Whoever drew the first sketch of this very clearly used a female body template to start with as you have all the standard design of symmetry between the head and legs, with the tapered waist and hips in between. It is slightly less Pronounced then it could be, but it's helped by the fact that his vest is cut for female fashion with the plunging V shape designed to support and show off the inside curves of a woman's breasts. Additionally the belt is not located at the typical place for men, on the hips but rather slightly higher above the hips. Again, a facet of female fashion designed to emphasize the apex of the torso curve. Unlike Teelas very masculine sword belts, Prince Adam's belt is designed to draw your eye along the curve of his body in order to emphasize his feminine attributes.
I imagine hearing a boys voice coming out of a woman's body will also cause a plunge straight down into uncanny Valley. Your brain will see all of this in half a second and immediately issue you the predator warning or disgust reaction.
It's all in all a VERY disturbing picture. And remember, someone spent hours drawing this. Every line is deliberately placed. These things are deliberately done. When we talk about subversion it's not just in the story telling.
