Posted on

Hey. Sending hugs to you tonight because even though I have chosen not to watch it, it’s still breaking my heart ? #kana

Thank you, anon! That genuinely means a lot. I didn’t watch either but I was following reactions and then the subsequent arguments that sprung up and have been stewing in my own anger and hurt since, so your gentle sympathy is very welcome.

There’s no point in repeating all the reasons it sucks, we all know them already, but the worst is always all those people who jump in to claim we’re overreacting and to get over it. And then we have to go back to the rest of media that’s filled with het. Usually I’m fine with that and feel so pleased and lucky every time I see new f/f, but right now, I’m the opposite, just resentful at the imbalance in quantity and quality. How we have to scrounge for every bit of subtext, make excuses for poor writing and no screentime, celebrate the tiniest things.

At least we’ve gone through it enough to know it’s just a temporary state? 

Posted on

ok. im the one that said yesterday im fine with them killing Rana… mostly bc i hate the whole show. They disappointed me since Kate seduced a guy. This whole fiasco makes it possible for me turning it off completely. TBH But that last anon.. im sorry. what a jerk. even if im ok with it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt other ppl or that i would put someone else’s feelings down about it. so rude

Ah, it’s fine. That person was quite beyond, your ask had nothing to do with that.

And another anon:

Kana are getting married and flying away to Thailand for their honeymoon to never come back, that’s my take. But really, when are they gonna understand that representation really fucking matters? And it sucks you have to deal with some rude as fuck anons lately =/

That’s the perfect end for them. Just go around adventuring and then settle down somewhere when they’re ready.

I don’t really know when people will understand. One of the more hurtful things about this was that Bhavna did do her research with the Naz and Matt Foundation and she and Faye seem to understand that this is important, just not how or why? 

They probably just see some pieces of the whole thing, that it’s valuable for people to see themselves and for others to see them, but they don’t understand how for many this is the only way see that reflection. Not just in media, not just in soaps or British TV, but in any part of their lives. From their parents to books used to learn how to read to commercials to their teachers and friends’ families and Disney movies and cartoons and YA litierature and so on. Bhavna and Faye and more importantly, the writers, can’t even comprehend the magnitude of that lack. To them this is the one story ending, but they don’t know that we have so little else to replace it.

And another anon:

I think in regards to killing Rana, it is a symptom of a larger problem. Yes, people get killed off soaps all the time but when a straight white character dies there are countless other characters to fill that void. When a queer character or a character of color is killed there is not usually another character to fill that void. Until the number of lgbtq characters come close to the number hetero characters (or at least close to the real world ratio) this will continue to be an issue.

Yeah, I kind of sighed at seeing this, not because you sent it, anon, but because I was hoping we could leave these discussions in 2016, when we had them again and again and again. We have the list of reasons why fine tuned now, first media deliberately killed us off, once it was allowed it was comedy relief or male gazey stuff, we have so few examples in real life to look to, good rep normalizes while bad rep actively harms, as you said, rep is so rare that once it goes bad nothing is there to replace it, etc.

Most professional media not written by apathetic morons has learned some kind of lesson from 2016. Those who haven’t, well, what can say about apathetic morons?

Posted on

LOL. That last anon. i agree. But dont just kill off Rana.. blow up the whole street. The worst writers to ever do a show. I fell in love with Kana when the old producer (Kate Oates) decided to have a Muslim woman fall in love w her best friend. But ever since Kate O left, the new guy has ruined the show & their storyline by having lesbian Kate seduce a guy. Haha im just happy i dont have to watch Kana anymore. i wish Faye (Kate) would leave the show too. Then they could just leave in love

Bad producer stints are just part of the deal, like long-running comic titles/characters and crappy writers. I always knew there was an expiry date on Kana, I just didn’t think it’d happen like this. 

And another anon:

Corrie killing off Rana doesn’t bother me like it might on some other show. Probably bc that show killing off ppl all the time & it’s just drama most of the time, hardly any soft sweet love stuff. i get that ppl want a good lesbian story but if you trying to find it on Corrie, you dumb. Even the hetero stories suck. Just my opinion

Whoever they kill off, it’s something else to kill off a Muslim lesbian. She’s not just a wlw character, though that’d be bad enough, given that even their high number of four at one point is certainly not close to parity, but she’s one of the only characters like this in the entire world. So many characters in fictional media existing in the world right now, hell, to ever existed, and she’s one of just a handful. You could say the only one to get this kind of development and screentime. 

I don’t hold with your second point either. People wanting a good lesbian story did actually find that on Corrie, for a full year. It had its ups and downs but it was there, that’s why people got into them? 

I’m no longer in a place where I allow f/f fans to blame themselves for when things go inevitably wrong. It’s not our fault we think every new writer trying their hand won’t be somehow both cruel AND tedious in doing the same old thing. That’s on them for being so ignorant and boring.

And another anon:

That last ask. Wow. Wooooooow. Imagine thinking it’s not a big deal that they kill off a queer Muslim woman. In this economy. It’s bad enough when they kill off lesbians/queer women in media Bc of the trope, but to kill off a WOC to top it off?? QWOC always get killed/written off and we are never replaced at the same rate as new white gay stories. And coming onto your page to share that take. Wow. Anyways if I don’t watch it it didn’t happen and Rana is alive & well.

Well, the last three asks actually, lol. Thank you, anon, for this ask, I was like, how are there three different people who not only think that but think I’m the person to share that with? Am the one who’s overreacting here? I’m not here to validate every single opinion, I’m literally just a fan. 

Heh, you have the right idea! Gonna just before the wedding episode and consider that the end of the story.

And another anon:

Hi, different anon than the one before. In terms of the death of kana or what they should do with her character, having lived through the last couple years of representation I fully understand how some people believe that if you are going to get rid of a character, killing them is the worst way due to burying your gays, however I also understand how that anon feels avoiding any deaths isnt the best policy also. There is no great way to write off a character that some people will not agree with

I get what you’re saying but I didn’t even bother entertaining that ask because that’s an entirely different conversation that we weren’t having. I’m not talking about no LGBT character ever dying, I’m talking about this character, in this way. A Muslim lesbian who just recently came out and who has fought every step of the way to get here, dying on the day of her wedding to a woman? How can the damage there not be apparent?

Posted on

ok. Rana’s story is confusing me bc i remember they talked about her dying but now there has been new spoilers with her running away and leaving Kate at the altar. so i dont know what to think, but with the last episode there were moments that i was like what? like the phone call with Zee & her response . (im actually one that’d rather have her die then breakup -tbh i’d rather have them both leave the show together bc Corrie sucks.. the storylines r crap.

I’m not entirely sure but I believe the last minute doubts spoilers are mostly to throw people off the scent and make them think she’s not the person who dies, since that’s supposed to be a big mystery for this event. 

I’ve not been following things too closely, though, and I’d love to be wrong. Well, not with her running away necessarily, but remaining alive. But you’d rather the opposite and prefer for her to die? I can’t agree with that, sorry. If she’d broken up with Kate, especially if it’d been over something understandable like the ridiculous forced baby drama, at least there was a hope for something more. At least we’d know that there was this Muslim lesbian character out there living her life, perhaps getting to enjoy the adventures she’d dreamed of, mending a broken heart or waiting for Kate or whatever. That hope would have meant so much. But it’s going to crumble into nothing now. No hope, no future.

Posted on

I think it was also bhavna who actually suggested her character to be killed off, not the showrunner

So I caught up on the recent Kana today and wanted to answer this.

I’m still so angry and torn between being happy at the good moments and remembering what’s going to happen and being bitter all over again. But very little of that has to do with Bhavna’s suggestion. There is a part of me that’s sad at that, yes, because it seems to speak to a lack of understanding of what this rep means to us and what a death does to it, but it’s been made incredibly clear how much trouble non-wlw have understanding that. And I get what her actual reasoning would have been, that this would seal what a once-in-a-lifetime soulmate kind of love Kana had, that only death could separate them. If circumstances had been different, she might even have been right, but the circumstances aren’t different and we have a very specific history linked to this.

Separately from her, though, my god, the show didn’t have to listen to her, they didn’t have to include Adam plot and then kill her off, what, the day of her wedding? Every terrible choice they could have made, they did. This is on them. My rate is definitely reserved for them.

And another anon:

Ouf man I can only imagine what you went through with Rana. Juliantina was super loving and even then watching them on tv was HARD sometimes. The kidnapping, the tears, Juls kissing that guy (my brain just. Refuse to remember his name) and all the homophobia when all they wanted be together and make each other laugh. I wish writers could understand how hard we latch on wlw stories to process our own experiences and how important they are to us.

Sorry for answering so late! Thank you for the kind thoughts, anon. It really did and does suck and the hardest part is realizing how little the writers care about the effect this will have. It’s easier to tolerate mistakes than detachment, at least for me. 

I think often writers do realize how important these stories are to us, but sometimes it’s too late or they just don’t care. Those that pay attention and try to do well by us are the ones I like the most, and I guess that’s why I ended up being as okay with Juliantina as I was. Too many writers will accept the praise but stop listening to the criticism and some will make mistakes so major, there’s no way back from them. At least here, it was a mostly recoverable situation and it was all done when they had no feedback. Hopefully they’ll get a chance to apply what they learned.

Posted on

Wait, wasnt there another lesbian couple on coronation street that ended up with one of them dying on their wedding day? What the fuck? I started watching kana awhile back but stopped for some reason and now I’m glad :/

No, that wedding was stopped before it happened because of cheating and then leaving at the altar. It was a different lesbian who was killed off at another point.

I don’t know if I wished I’d never watched or had stopped earlier, but I’m still too angry to watch right now. I understand that this death doesn’t negate all that came before, especially since it’s happening under a different showrunner, but I’m not so good at compartmentalizing I can put it aside. It’s such a loss. And the way it’ll happen, on a wedding day. That’s just cruel.

I hope I’ll be able to go back to appreciate the good things in time but a major part of Rana’s story has been struggling to live freely and happily, so how can you go back to watch as she fights her confusion and guilt and her parents and not feel bitter at what’s to come? Her father telling her he wished she’d never been born and mother’s “your funeral” at her engagement to a woman? If you think Maca had to cry a lot as Val, triple that and maybe you’ll get a typical month for Rana. :p

I dunno, I think, as good an experience as Kana was at its best, some ships you can revisit and some you can’t, and as we get more there’s less of a need to.

Posted on

why do i feel like i’ve just been broken up with by the love of my life? this weird melancholy of being happy juliantina existed but sad it’s over is the weirdest feeling i’ve never experienced with any other show before. it’s a break-up of something that was amazing and now I can’t contact them anymore or know what’s going on in their life lol

Awww, anon. Yeah, most of our…breakups are a lot more traumatic, either because a character died or they fizzle away into ignominy because of too many bad tropes and too little screentime. We got something that was pretty great and it’s done and that’s that. It was quick, too! I don’t know about you guys but just two months for me. And it was only four months from start to finish anyway. It’s wild what an effect it’s had in such a short time.

Like, first, let’s not ignore the fact that there’s still, surprisingly, a strong possibility of a spinoff, so it’s not as if it’s all over just yet. But putting that aside, there’s no way this experience will just stop now. The fandom’s going to linger, there are still the awards coming up and little tidbits that’ll be shared.

And believe me, it’s a lot better to end it like this in other ways. Clexa is the obvious comparison but we’re not done with those yet. Those of you who followed me for Juliantina won’t know but I loved Kana on the British soap Coronation Street but a while back it was spoiled that one half, the British Pakistani Muslim lesbian half, was going to be killed off. And we’ve just gotten the news that all but confirms it’s going to be on her wedding day. So…not to be all, count your blessings, it could be worse, but, count your blessings, it could be worse. 😛