the only character with a non-WASP name is a panda named Sun Li
This reminds me of a post I read long ago about how the zebra in MLP:FIM is coded African, but all the other ponies are coded white, and that's an inconsistency given that horses actually originate in central Asia. I never watched that show so I can't comment on the details there but I think this is a problem that arises with a lot of American-produced anthro media. There is a sense that "foreign" animals should be coded accordingly, but animals we're familiar with here are WASP Americans regardless of the species' actual origins. But you know, if you're coding pandas as Chinese and zebras as African, why aren't you coding native New World species as Native American? Why doesn't your vague America analogue fantasy world reflect the diversity of actual America? I think writers would perhaps rightly be concerned that might not come off well, but I'm not sure the current status quo is any better.
no subject
This reminds me of a post I read long ago about how the zebra in MLP:FIM is coded African, but all the other ponies are coded white, and that's an inconsistency given that horses actually originate in central Asia. I never watched that show so I can't comment on the details there but I think this is a problem that arises with a lot of American-produced anthro media. There is a sense that "foreign" animals should be coded accordingly, but animals we're familiar with here are WASP Americans regardless of the species' actual origins. But you know, if you're coding pandas as Chinese and zebras as African, why aren't you coding native New World species as Native American? Why doesn't your vague America analogue fantasy world reflect the diversity of actual America? I think writers would perhaps rightly be concerned that might not come off well, but I'm not sure the current status quo is any better.