Non-English superhero names (and other help) requested.

[SMJB]

It is hard to give the guy the benefit of the doubt when he elsewhere writes how badly he wants to use racist slurs among his buddies.

Hey, retard, go back to the thread and actually read it before responding, because in it you called me a racist and then said a bunch of things that agreed with the things I was actually saying 100%. So either you have zero reading comprehension, you didn't bother to read, or you don't actually think racism is all that bad.

First off, why do you want to include characters that are ethnical?

Well excuse me for wanting some fucking diversity in my product rather than "Mighty Whitey Saves the World Story #357,897,542".

But you know what, you're right. It would be much more PC to pretend that non-Whites and non-Americans don't exist.

Does this character being from India have any reason besides "including a character from India"? What do you know about life in India?

Because heaven forbid I should try to challenge myself as a writer, right? And going a forum full of writers for help with it is totally illogical!

Next time you find yourself wondering why every action hero in every action movie ever is straight, white, male, and American, go look in a mirror.

No, just no. Villainous muslim extremists are an overused cliche and if you're using him being a muslim extremist as a shortcut to create cheap audience-antipathy then you've failed doubly as a writer.

See my response to the only person in the last day to actually offer some constructive ideas. Depending on how I end up using his suggestions about the character and how much I want to torture the audience this character might ironically enough end up being one of the most fleshed out villains in the entire set.

Incidentally, not every character in the rogues' gallery is going to get a fucking 100-page bio.

As mentioned above, Taliban fanatics already ellicit the sort of audience revulsion that will make killing him in cold blood not look like any sort of moral dilemma although it always should be!

I intend to write him in a way in which does.

Heroes do not murder defenseless foes.

Except when they do. Incidentally, this has nothing at all to do with racism at this point, does it?

So, they're no white gay men? [/heavy sarcasm]

Yeah, because that's obviously what I'm saying. Fucking Christ, how many retards am I surrounded by?

Without harping on the obvious elephant in the room; I do thing several good points have been brought up in that you really do need to do a bit of research with regards to these minorities you are utilizing in your story. I am not sure (unless you were EXTREMELY TALENTED) that you could sell your audience on a secular Indian (from India). Equally it would do good to follow Mr. Beans' advice regarding the Taliban bloake and research different aspects of how a youth (or adult) from that area finds their way into that group. It would seem there are parallels that run close to Gang activity here in the US.

What about my response to him made you think I didn't intend to?

Damn, I was just about to tell SMJB that I liked his Peruvian badass. You called me out even before I posted...I love me some Michelle Rodriguez...is that a bad thing?

Well thank you for that, at least. And for behaving in a civilized manner.

As an addendum, let's talk about a hypothetical, villainous Taliban character:

<snip>

Done earlier, better, and less patronizingly by Mr. Bean. What is with you and not reading threads before you respond to them?

Liking this character is not a bad thing. It's just that writing such a character without going "Vasquez with a different name" is hard. Vasquez was of course not played by Rodriguez but is arguably the archetype her characters tend to follow.

While it is not an absolute imperative to avoid cliches at all costs, there's also no achievement in just retreading old ground. Why not make a chinese/japanese woman the tough, muscular, gun-toting one (without also giving her super martial-arts prowess. That's just another worn-out cliche)? I can't think of many characters in that vein.

Right, he can like the character, I just can't write it. There's some consistency for ya!

Incidentally, yes, it is a Michelle Rodriguez-type character. Her race was the most recent thing I decided about her and I made her Latina specifically so that I could fantasize about Michelle Rodriguez playing her. Got a problem with that?

[Metahive]

OK, let's give it one more try of applying good will to this.

Hey, retard, go back to the thread and actually read it before responding, because in it you called me a racist and then said a bunch of things that agreed with the things I was actually saying 100%. So either you have zero reading comprehension, you didn't bother to read, or you don't actually think racism is all that bad.

Did you really have to use an ableist slur?

Well excuse me for wanting some fucking diversity in my product rather than "Mighty Whitey Saves the World Story #357,897,542".

But you know what, you're right. It would be much more PC to pretend that non-Whites and non-Americans don't exist.

Did I say you should never use an ethnical character? No. Just that you should not include ethnical characters "just because". Also, you didn't answer even one of my questions. Why are you using an indian character? Is it because you're fascinated with indian culture? Have you friends or acquaintances from that place? Have you read up on it? Do you find its history intriguing? So many ways to bring order into your thoughts.

Because heaven forbid I should try to challenge myself as a writer, right? And going a forum full of writers for help with it is totally illogical!

Next time you find yourself wondering why every action hero in every action movie ever is straight, white, male, and American, go look in a mirror.

Yeah, telling you to research foreign cultures and nations before using a character of foreign descend is just the same as saying that all characters should be male and white and that you shouldn't challenge yourself as a writer. I find is astonishing that you managed to take the complete opposite of what I suggested. If I were unkind I'd say that this is because you're not debating in good faith.

Well, how's the research going? Do you already know the general situation of women in India and how that might influence a character's worldview? How about you actually show that you can appreciate advice?

Unless of course you think researching things is unnecessary but that's a problematic attitude in itself.

See my response to the only person in the last day to actually offer some constructive ideas. Depending on how I end up using his suggestions about the character and how much I want to torture the audience this character might ironically enough end up being one of the most fleshed out villains in the entire set.

Incidentally, not every character in the rogues' gallery is going to get a fucking 100-page bio.

You don't need a "100-page" bio for every villainous character. However, you haven't acknowledged that using a villainous Taliban is indeed loaded. If you earnestly wish to make the villainous Taliban a fully-fleshed out character, more power to you. If you go for the "Defender of the people" thing that Bean suggested then you'll also have to keep in mind that the "people" will be members of a fundamentalist, theocratic state that the Taliban wish to create. How do you plan to elicit sympathy this way as opposed to making the audience hate the character even more for fighting for, in their eyes, creating a dystopia?

Let's take another example, a Nazi antagonist. The Nazis or the Wehrmacht might fight to protect their state, in itself not a villainous goal and maybe even recommendable, it's just that the state they protect is genocidally racist. Rommel, one of the few respected Wehrmacht generals, isn't given this sympathy because he fought for the survival of Germany, it's because he was relatively honorable in how he went about it. There, just helping you to avoid a possible pratfall.

Done earlier, better, and less patronizingly by Mr. Bean. What is with you and not reading threads before you respond to them?

I read it but thought I had my own two cents to add? Mr Bean showed one way of fleshing out the character, I showed up more, plus a very easy, more generalized three-step way to achieve it "Motivations, Position, Personal Ethics". You don't have anything to say about that?

Right, he can like the character, I just can't write it. There's some consistency for ya!

Did I say you can't write it? I said you better not because it's a cliche and a worn-out one to boot. You don't have to follow my advice, but if you reject it, would it too much to ask for you to explain just why? "I very much want to use my tough-as nails latina because X, Y and Z". Writing out your thoughts can help you immensely. If it's just "because I find these gals so hot", then you probably should work on that. If there's one thing people don't tend to like it's reading some other person's wish-fulfillment fantasies*. Hence why 99% of all fanfics suck balls.

*unless it's called Twiligh,*grumble* *grumble*.

Incidentally, yes, it is a Michelle Rodriguez-type character. Her race was the most recent thing I decided about her and I made her Latina specifically so that I could fantasize about Michelle Rodriguez playing her. Got a problem with that?

Please don't tell me you actually did write that character because you actually do want to get into her pants.

[cadbrowser]

Yeah, because that's obviously what I'm saying. Fucking Christ, how many retards am I surrounded by?

Hey fuckstick, how did you NOT see the note of sarcasm I left italicized and bolded? It was a joke. Quit being a fucking martyr...sheesh!

What about my response to him made you think I didn't intend to?

For one, you haven't answered any of his questions regarding the Indian female...so I conclude you are still going to make her secular.
You think Peruvian = Hispanic...
I haven't seen anything written by you in this thread that indicates you are giving serious attention to some of the criticism given. Again, I'm not including anyone who is throwing the racism accusation around. I don't know you well enough to agree with outright calling you a racist.
I do believe that you haven't given enough attention to researching the culture and ethnicity of the races that you do want to use for your story. This is giving off the impression of racist leanings; because it doesn't really sound like you are serious about receiving constructive criticism.

"Hispanic" refers to a wide range of people of White, Black, and Native descent. Including the Quechua.

I'm afraid you are incorrect here. Hispanic is an ethnonym that inferrs an origin from Spain; sometimes ancient Hispania (Iberian Peninsula). Which when the Conquistadors took over South America they displaced the natives establishing a privliaged minority as noted before. A native Peruvian is no more Hispanic than a native American is English.

Because heaven forbid I should try to challenge myself as a writer, right?

Shit man, I ain't laughed that hard since I was a little girl...thank you.
Let me get this straight; you think you are challenging yourself as a writer by throwing a scenario that mimics the same boring steriotypical crap (evil Taliban...oooohhhhh) over and over?
How about writing a story about a Taliban member who actually somehow wins over the hearts of the US people. That would be a fucking challenge. Or, or, how about writing about ANYTHING that doesn't fall into stereotypical racial cliches as mentioned before?

Incidentally, yes, it is a Michelle Rodriguez-type character. Her race was the most recent thing I decided about her and I made her Latina specifically so that I could fantasize about Michelle Rodriguez playing her. Got a problem with that?

I do, Latina is not a race; it is an ethnic category. So, which is she? A native Peruvian, Hispanic, or Latina (self-identifies as Latina with a Peruvian mother and Hispanic father)?