Gotham’s Penguin, Thin Privilege, and Fat-Shaming

Gotham has had numerous issues in the past. To start off, its pilot wasn’t very good. Selina threatened someone with a false rape accusation. Barbara, our resident bisexual, fits just about all the harmful bisexual stereotypes out there: she cheats and is indecisive. And of course, we have yet another cishet white male lead. This is all rather frustrating, but surprisingly, I still love this show.

Gotham might have some problems, but it’s not all bad. And unlike other versions of Batman, it seems that the writers actually have a grasp on what mental disabilities and illnesses are and are not. So Gotham has some good things going for it as well, and discussing its treatment of mental disabilities is a post I plan for after the season is over. But while Gotham seems to be doing all right for representation on one front, it is still failing marvelously at others. For the most part, I like what the show has done with Penguin, but I question a few of the decisions behind his character design. That is to say, by making this incarnation of Penguin thin, while also making him sympathetic, the show unfortunately perpetuates a damaging mindset about body weight.

The Good, the Bad, and the Pilot: Gotham

Well, it’s finally here: the Gotham TV series. And being the huge Batman fan that I am, I enjoyed every minute of it. Despite my love, though, I will concede that this pilot was not the best thing I’ve ever seen.

Trailer Tuesdays: The Gotham TV Series

I recently—finally—finished Arkham Origins, just watched Batman: Assault on Arkham, and have been reading Batman fics non-stop for the past two weeks. Needless to say, I’ve been a little obsessed. I can’t get enough of the Dark Knight. Unfortunately, Gotham doesn’t premiere until the 22^nd, and that’s still like a whole week away.

A whole week.