@Non-novelist are you aware that those tropes (at least the ones in the players handbook) are not from Asian sources? D&D has largely sourced it's inspiration over the years from fairly shallow stereotypes. There's literally a whole podcast (Asians Represent )dedicated to deconstructing Asian tropes, and they've been pretty clear about this sort of thing.
user530439
@AncientSwordRage We were talking about gun fu which has roots in HK cinema, scroll back up to read, sorry it might be hard to grasp the context from a day later. (I concede that some may not know where gun fu is from and just think it was a silly pun, or worse think that the matrix invented it)
On reflection you were perhaps confusing our references to the western genre (19th-century American plains expansionism, cowboys, etc) with invocations of western ideology; that would explain a lot because otherwise you appear to have been telling me I was doing the exact thing I was cautioning against.
Nobody here was projecting "western morality" onto Asian culture; rather, I was pointing out that D&D did a terrible job of respectfully depicting Asian martial arts. Which seems like it would have been in line with your points.
user530439
@BESW I think we already talked about this during the conversation?
user530439
@BESW No, specifically having an American person tell people from different cultures that their morality is wrong and explaining to them how they should feel is cultural imperialism in this case. The correct way to handle the situation is to platform those from the affected culture instead of presuming to speak for them despite having no experience or context in the subject.
You mean Hodes? Whose "different cultures" are you saying he's lecturing? Because... what, are you thinking he's telling Asian cultures how to depict themselves? He's not.
Really really clearly not.
user530439
He's American mate, he's not Japanese, not Chinese, not mainlander, even if we use the broadest brushes possible he's outside the area he's claiming to be an expert in.
user530439
If he was writing as if he was an expert commentator platforming relevant voices, totally cool
but asking me if I've read the essay is a conversation stopper just as much as neglecting to offer yourself the same grace of being mistaken that you offered me was last time. Ta.
I have two reading lists. A short list that I clear every two weeks or so and a long list that is just stuff I lie to myself about getting to eventually.
Yup, that's the one. I generally recommend his essays; Hodes is really good at talking to people from colonizer/settler backgrounds about how to engage with tough subjects responsibly and safely at the table. His essay on harm-reduction in game design is a touchstone for me.
@AncientSwordRage I once wrote a comment on the /r/dndnext subreddit basically breaking down every single 5e monk class feature and subclass in terms of how they were basically all an incoherent mishmash based on stereotypes and pop culture (and very little on actual Asian cultural elements or martial arts). Let me find it...
