Shinies

[hazelk]

An article in Tuesday’s Guardian talking about how the possibility of gene therapy for various forms of congenital blindness raises issues about ‘disability’ and identity.

Do I want my sight back?

From physical to political blindness a whole series of recent posts on colour blindness and racial stereotyping in the UK and other places outside the US springing off from debates over Martha’s storyline in the most recent season of Dr. Who.

helpful hint for the colorblind: BE LESS BLIND

Racism on an international scale

In which our heroine explains to Doctor Who fans about "Mammy" in Britain

I feel rather humbled by the net effect of reading all the discussions. I understand the arguments against colour blindness not being the ultimate ideal to strive for in a world where race does matter. Intellectually I agree with them but completely missed the racial implications of Martha’s conversion to the Doctor’s devoted servant/acolyte in the last three episodes of the season. I disliked the storyline for it’s crypto-religiousity and because the Doctor seemed to have nothing to earn that worshipfulness other than know stuff about stuff and be the man to pull the big lever. I disliked it because he was a man and Martha a woman but I was blinded by her middle classness to the point of briefly thinking the story would have been more disturbing had they given it to Rose. So duh!

Meanwhile less contentious politically and having little to do with vision at any frequency peasant_’s Buffy metathon continues to generate some thought-provoking essays. Personal favourites include:

Through a glass darkly by 2maggie2 on Faith and Buffy mirroring each other.

You need to learn by peasant_ herself on Giles in season 7.

Vampires Amidst the Community by dlgood on the role of the state in dealing with the supernatural.

Are you ready to be strong? by icemink comparing Joyce and Darla as mother figures.

Comments

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link on disability and identity. My friend vescoiya has recently been posting about issues of disability in fanfic, so it is always useful to have more knowledge to bring to the table.

[aycheb.livejournal.com]

Cool. I have a feeling the journalist who wrote it used to have a column, one of those confessional sidebar things, about going blind and how it affected her life - it might be worth googling her for more.