(no subject)

[the_rck]

Cordelia and I exchanged telling glances at dinner. It wasn't politics. It was her 18 year old male cousin trying to convince us that Rey from The Force Awakens was a terrible character, an unprecedented Mary Sue. He also tried to convince one of his grandmothers that she'd love Game of Thrones and Westworld. She hates watching violence, so... Um.

But the thing about Rey upset Cordelia a bit because he was basically telling us that it was bad to have a female character with the same traits that he likes in Luke Skywalker.

Comments

[jerusha]

I HATE THAT. Anytime someone says, "So and so is a Mary Sue," it nearly always means, "She's cool the way the guys I like are cool." I mean, I've read some books where the main male character is definitely a Gary Stu, but that never gets brought up in these discussions.

[the_rck]

I considered trying to talk to him about not being an asshole about things other people might like that he doesn't (or not like that he does), but I probably would have shocked everyone if I was blunt enough to get through. And he's 18. He thinks all his opinions are new and never thought of before.

I might have Scott, who is the Cool Uncle, talk to the boy privately about the not being an asshole part. I think Scott's more likely to get through.

[alexseanchai]

Yuuuup

[the_rck]

I'm trying to decide whether or not he will grow out of it without getting smacked to make him think. White cis het male 18 year olds are pretty universally terrible, and I want him not to stay like that.

[fred_mouse]

As a parent of two of those, my experience is that they really need repeated smackdowns. Mind you, one of mine is possibly autism spectrum and some of the kinds of things I have to point out to them are ones that most privileged teenagers have worked out for themselves despite being toads. But, oh, [for example] had they taken on the societal message that small blond females are low in intelligence, and did it take a while to get through that a) that wasn't a rule and b) people of low intelligence are worth listening to *anyway*.

[evalerie]

Fred Mouse, I don't know you, but I like you. :)

[fred_mouse]

Thank you! Raising worthwhile human beings is so much harder than just keeping them alive!

[retsuko]

You raised that kid right!

[the_rck]

I was afraid she'd think he was right just because he's older and in college. I wanted to make sure that she knew that I thought he was being pompous and ridiculous. I don't want him to spoil her joy in Rey.

[lunabee34]

My brother tried to tell me that he hates when people shoehorn women into their stories just to check off a ticky box and I asked for examples and then he changed the subject.

[the_rck]

I just kept reminding myself that he still might grow out of it.

He also thinks that Thor: Ragnarok was pointless and badly written and told us so up until Scott commented that he liked the movie. Then the kid dropped the subject like a hot rock.

[lunabee34]

Lol