Just Once, I'd Like not to Have to Choose

[capri0mni]

... between narrative ethical messages in pop culture ...

Rented How to Train Your Dragon through YouTube Thanksgiving night as a treat:

Bechtel Test: Fail

Animal Rights: Fail (beautiful, intelligent, complex, wild creatures make the coolest pets!)

Disability Culture: Massive, Surprising Win: this is the first story outside my own head where the protagonist ends up with a permanent disability, that's seen as a happy ending - proof of having survived a real challenge and proof of a character's maturity.

If only if could have been a trifecta ...

Comments

[pebblerocker]

If only! I may have to watch it to see that first-ever win.

I have often heard that I should read Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan books. This week I found myself without reading material and discovered one. Totally enjoyable so far! I wish I remember what I've heard about these books so I know whether to expect awesome or ghastly.

(The descriptions of Miles make him sound more attractive-to-me than the general run of heroes. I am not one to conflate tallness with attractiveness.)

[pebblerocker]

Awesome or ghastly in terms of disability protagonist fail/non-fail, I mean.

[capri0mni]

Oh, I'd say it's a pretty clear Awesome -- at least in terms of trope correction. From my point of view, th only people who never earn the privilege of disability are those who die too soon.

[raze]

I felt about the same when it came to HTTYD. I will say they explore the relationships between people and their dragons more in the television spin-off, and it sometimes does a surprisingly good job of exploring how complicated it gets to have dragons integrated into their society, and how the characters struggle with balancing the dragons' needs with their own. It has more of a 'living with dragons' instead of 'owning dragons' feel to it.

[capri0mni]

Cool-- did not know there's a spin-off.

Two things I noted: the dragon book was written in runes, and Hiccup was a smith's apprentice -- which puts him firmly in the Lame Smith traditon.

[spiralsheep]

The film is a spin-off from the series of books. :-)

[capri0mni]

Oh!