also DUDES, MY DUDES
please stop with the “Making an IDIOT Disney’s first gay character is SO OFFENSIVE!” It’s obviously not being said in relation to the character being a (minor) villain but in relation to him being of perceived low intelligence, and – having a low IQ isn’t a bad thing, guys, you know this.
They are not saying this about a character with low intelligence, they are saying this about a character that is called The Fool who is designed for the audience to look down on for his complete lack of dignity. Their choice of words may be ableist, but you must appreciate this is an archetype in storytelling.
I know that/this post sounds like I’m being terribly holier-than-thou, but – considering the archetypal idea of the fool is also rooted in ableism (hell, in a way, a grown person behaving with a lack of dignity and this being bad, even that has roots in ableism I think…)
…..people could probably have handled it better. Just that aspect of it. They were awfully quick to bring up the word ‘idiot’ and…. there’s just this feeling I get, people are so keen to denounce the concept of intelligence and how it’s presented, yet when a wider issue of representation comes up it’s always the first thing to be used as a battering ram. How dare you associate X with a lack of intelligence? You know…. ? It seems to happen so much these days.