Or is that everything BUT the "Y"?
Spoilers Y The Last Man
- Thread starter Skipper
- Start date
With half the population dead in the story, the story is by default already limited. It's the parameters of the story. With only 2 living men in the whole story, almost every take on any minority male born is left out, for example. No matter how you play those two males in the story. It's just how it is.
Unless they do flashbacks. Then they can represent everyone!
Thankfully the writers don’t seem to be as limited in their imagination.
...which opens the door wide to questions like "what even is a man?", "what is male?", "what is the distinction?", "how do our gender identities and biological sex define us?", "what about these concepts are beneficial?", "what about them are detrimental?"
Representation isn't just about sticking a minority person or two in as second tier characters, checking a box and calling it a day. It's about showing and exploring underrepresented points of view. It's about giving a voice to those who often go unheard, and about giving the audience a window into the plurality of the human experience beyond what they might be used to...which like it or not, recognise it or not, in this society has largely been almost entirely provided by and catered to; cis gendered heterosexual white men. And speaking as a cis gendered heterosexual white man I'm sick to death of being catered and pandered to. Indeed the older I get the more I resent it, and the more I want to here what other people have to say about their experiences for a change.
So yes, the parameters of this story are perfectly poised to give a window into something new for a change, and if the makers of this show have any sense they'll take full advantage of that opportunity.
Truly, I don't mean any disrespect, I honestly ask... how? There's only 1 male lead. That's the premise. No matter how you cast, you're automatically excluding everything else.
Actually, in global terms, white people are a minority - and not even close to a plurality.
On the one hand, sure, the adaptation should include some degree of representation of men without Y chromosomes, beyond what the comics did. On the other hand, obviously, "Y: The Last Man, Except for Hundreds of Thousands of Cisgender XX Males, and Trans Men, and Some Intersex Persons, However They Choose to Self-Identify, Maybe" doesn't quite have the same visceral narrative punch to it. And, in a fictional world in which New Amazons torch fertility clinics, it's fair to guess that many trans men come to unfortunate ends.
Uhmmm... Y: The Last Biological Man with a Y Chromosome who identify himself as a....Actually, in global terms, white people are a minority - and not even close to a plurality.
On the one hand, sure, the adaptation should include some degree of representation of men without Y chromosomes, beyond what the comics did. On the other hand, obviously, "Y: The Last Man, Except for Hundreds of Thousands of Cisgender XX Males, and Trans Men, and Some Intersex Persons, However They Choose to Self-Identify, Maybe" doesn't quite have the same visceral narrative punch to it. And, in a fictional world in which New Amazons torch fertility clinics, it's fair to guess that many trans men come to unfortunate ends.
No you are right...
Oof, that was a bit rough.
I fully expected there would be some significant changes, especially since Diane Lane (Jennifer Brown) is a cast member (...and top billing!) while Diana Bang (Allison Mann) is inexplicitly just a guest star (for now). But damn, they've made some major changes to the plot.
I'm trying not to be a stickler about the adaptation (that path leads to madness), but some of the changes don't sit well with me, nor do I particularly care for any of the newly created characters with the exception of Sam (which might be a problem for a different reason considering Hero's storyline).
I have zero interest in political partisan bickering and I rolled my eyes as soon as I figured out who Regina was going to be before the reveal, which unfortunately reminded me of all of the crap in Designated Survivor, the same crap that quickly drove me away from that show. So I really, really hope the show doesn't dig into that stuff, but I don't have much faith considering Amber Tamblyn is also a cast member.
Doesn't help any that Yorick feels like a guest in his own show. I'm sure that's going to change since he and 355 are now on the move to seek out Allison, but there's still a lot of dead weight left behind with the presidency...and whatever is going on with Marin Ireland's storyline.
All that said, I'll stick with the show for now, but I worry it's going to follow the same path as Designated Survivor, i.e. more worried about dumb political scheming and conspiracy nonsense than dealing with the actually interesting elements of the post-disaster situation (which is far greater here). Hopefully I'm wrong on that count.
I fully expected there would be some significant changes, especially since Diane Lane (Jennifer Brown) is a cast member (...and top billing!) while Diana Bang (Allison Mann) is inexplicitly just a guest star (for now). But damn, they've made some major changes to the plot.
I'm trying not to be a stickler about the adaptation (that path leads to madness), but some of the changes don't sit well with me, nor do I particularly care for any of the newly created characters with the exception of Sam (which might be a problem for a different reason considering Hero's storyline).
I have zero interest in political partisan bickering and I rolled my eyes as soon as I figured out who Regina was going to be before the reveal, which unfortunately reminded me of all of the crap in Designated Survivor, the same crap that quickly drove me away from that show. So I really, really hope the show doesn't dig into that stuff, but I don't have much faith considering Amber Tamblyn is also a cast member.
Doesn't help any that Yorick feels like a guest in his own show. I'm sure that's going to change since he and 355 are now on the move to seek out Allison, but there's still a lot of dead weight left behind with the presidency...and whatever is going on with Marin Ireland's storyline.
Obviously not a big deal, but I was a bit put off that Beth wasn't already in Australia and there was no way she would've been able to get there in time after ditching Yorick's sorry ass considering that was the night before the Event. However, I was less thrilled about how they left things between them. If I recall correctly, Yorick was about to propose to her over the phone while she was in Australia when he lost his Internet connection, so things were still good between them.
Then there's the whole situation with Jennifer. Her character arc was pretty short in the graphic novel and I don't mind that changing here, but like I said before, I have zero interesting in the political bickering (it's not even intrigue). The bigger issue was how 355 and Yorick went straight to her instead of continuing on their own (and I'm pretty sure 355 was sent to find him but I could be recalling incorrectly) (EDIT: I just looked it up in Wikipedia, I forgot that Yorick did reunite with his mom in DC, so that goes to show how good my memory is). Since they're finally on their way, that's not a big deal except for the delaying of that journey (EDIT: Wrong again!)...and that inane sequence with Marla chasing after Yorick in the corridors. Just another added layer to a plotline I have no interest in. Yes, rumors of Yorick's existence quickly spring up as he and 355 traveled, but here it's utilized purely as potential political weapon to use against Jennifer. Ugh.
Lastly, and perhaps the most worrying change is Hero's initial storyline. As I said before, Sam is the one new character I like, but I worry about his presence if the show follows Hero's path in becoming brainwashed by the Amazons. Where does Sam fit in with that? I certainly hope they don't kill him off as a catalyst for Hero to become an Amazon, which would be repeating the horrific trope of killing off trans characters. That doesn't seem like the thing this show is going to do considering Sam's inclusion and deliberately addressing of transgender men as part of this story. Which leaves the question of how the Amazon story plays out...if at all.
There's also the other change to Hero's storyline. If I recall correctly, while she was involved with her paramedic partner, I'm pretty sure he died at the same time as all of the other men while they were on the job and not because of some stupid accident from a dumb fight between them. I get why they made that change but I didn't like it at all.
Considering there hasn't been any casting news for Alter, I'm assuming we're not going to see her season, but at least there have already been some references to Israel...if only because of the Regina situation. I'm pretty sure she showed up early on in the story, but if Allison is merely a guest star this season, I guess there isn't any room for her. Not while there's all of this new stuff added in...
EDIT: Alter was in the first story arc because she's the one who destroys Allison's lab after Yorick and 355 get there soooo...
Then there's the whole situation with Jennifer. Her character arc was pretty short in the graphic novel and I don't mind that changing here, but like I said before, I have zero interesting in the political bickering (it's not even intrigue). The bigger issue was how 355 and Yorick went straight to her instead of continuing on their own (and I'm pretty sure 355 was sent to find him but I could be recalling incorrectly) (EDIT: I just looked it up in Wikipedia, I forgot that Yorick did reunite with his mom in DC, so that goes to show how good my memory is). Since they're finally on their way, that's not a big deal except for the delaying of that journey (EDIT: Wrong again!)...and that inane sequence with Marla chasing after Yorick in the corridors. Just another added layer to a plotline I have no interest in. Yes, rumors of Yorick's existence quickly spring up as he and 355 traveled, but here it's utilized purely as potential political weapon to use against Jennifer. Ugh.
Lastly, and perhaps the most worrying change is Hero's initial storyline. As I said before, Sam is the one new character I like, but I worry about his presence if the show follows Hero's path in becoming brainwashed by the Amazons. Where does Sam fit in with that? I certainly hope they don't kill him off as a catalyst for Hero to become an Amazon, which would be repeating the horrific trope of killing off trans characters. That doesn't seem like the thing this show is going to do considering Sam's inclusion and deliberately addressing of transgender men as part of this story. Which leaves the question of how the Amazon story plays out...if at all.
There's also the other change to Hero's storyline. If I recall correctly, while she was involved with her paramedic partner, I'm pretty sure he died at the same time as all of the other men while they were on the job and not because of some stupid accident from a dumb fight between them. I get why they made that change but I didn't like it at all.
Considering there hasn't been any casting news for Alter, I'm assuming we're not going to see her season, but at least there have already been some references to Israel...if only because of the Regina situation. I'm pretty sure she showed up early on in the story, but if Allison is merely a guest star this season, I guess there isn't any room for her. Not while there's all of this new stuff added in...
EDIT: Alter was in the first story arc because she's the one who destroys Allison's lab after Yorick and 355 get there soooo...
All that said, I'll stick with the show for now, but I worry it's going to follow the same path as Designated Survivor, i.e. more worried about dumb political scheming and conspiracy nonsense than dealing with the actually interesting elements of the post-disaster situation (which is far greater here). Hopefully I'm wrong on that count.
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Diane Lane.
Excellent question!
Well...maybe.
It depends on what you're hoping to get out of it. I might be overreacting to some of it, despite my restraint on loyalty to the source material, but I really do have an issue with the partisan politics that arose in the first three episodes. It's so completely unnecessary even on its own and I really hope the show doesn't stay focused on that element. There's also a storyline that's completely separated from the rest of the narrative that's new to the show and I have no idea where it's going.
Plus, it's only been three episodes so far. I saw a brief summary that said things improve over six episodes (presumably the number of episodes professional reviewers were allowed to watch) so we'll see.
Wasn't the political thing (US politics by the way) barely mentioned in the comic?
Yup pretty much. And...
...disappears completely after Jennifer is assassinated. I don't remember when that happened but it was early on.
