zaratustra wrote:Neil Gaiman's work was an important stepping stone in inclusivity in comics, but the thing about stepping stones is that you move on to the next one.
And believe me, there is only so much well-off white dudes on their late thirties can say about society.
I think all that's true, but in the context of TV, I think he's still got some use as a stepping stone. As risk-averse as comics publishers are, TV studios are much moreso. They love their Brands, their known quantities, and when they've got a couple of Brands like Sandman and Neil Gaiman, they see that as offsetting the risks of things like hiring black and queer people. (To be clear, I'm not
endorsing the notion that inclusion is risky; I think that's absurd. But I think that's still very much the way studio execs think.)
And while comics is certainly a collaborative medium, TV is, of course, moreso. Gaiman's not even the showrunner (though he apparently does have some pretty significant influence on the production), and obviously the production's going to involve a whole lot of other people in the cast and crew.
From what we've seen of the cast, at least, it looks like the show's taking diversity seriously, and I think it's probably safe to say that in terms of representation among the cast, at least, it's more reflective of 2021 than 1989. Hopefully that's the case in the writers' room and elsewhere too.
As for the final product, and how far it moves past the source material? That very much remains to be seen. I think we're seeing some positive signs so far, but I agree that there are a lot of things to be wary of, and A Doll's House is right at the top of the list.