Rick Riordan was planning to semi-retire after finishing The Tower of Nero, the last book in the Trial of Apollo series and the sequel series to Heroes of Olympus. He was going back to school to get a Ph.D. in Celtic mythology at Harvard at the time, when Disney called to pitch an idea: adapting the Percy Jackson series for Disney+.
The Harry Potter author has faced blowback for her transphobic comments from actors who worked on her franchise, and now from fans on SNL.
JK Rowling voiced her very strong opinions about the transgender community back in June, and received a lot of backlash.
Regardless of some people’s denial, diversity is everywhere. It surrounds us as we experience it day in and day out. Today, in a world brimming with openness, it has become difficult not to experience it in a normalized setting. On Disney Channel, however, diversity, especially concerning the LGBTQ+ community, has been practically nonexistent. Up to this point, Dinsey has been passive when it comes to showcasing diversity on their channel. With the introduction of Luz Noceda, it seems like Disney is finally giving some of its viewers the LGBTQ+ characters they have been waiting for.
Luz Noceda, a fourteen-year-old Dominican-American girl who identifies as bisexual, will be debuting on our television screens in The Owl House. The show encompasses Luz’s journey to becoming a witch after falling through a portal to another realm. The kicker is, Luz does not have any magical abilities of her own, but that does not stop her from trying to apprentice under the rebellious witch named Eda.
Luz is, surprisingly, not Disney’s first LGBTQ+ character. Greg from the Pixar short film Out took the claim of Disney’s first LGBTQ+ character, but he only received that title a few short months ago.
With that said, it seems like 2020 is finally the year Disney shows the world that they, too, can create inclusive characters. Still, despite the barriers Disney is finally breaking, not everyone on the team was supportive of Luz coming out to the world. The Owl House creator Dana Terrance revealed in a tweet that Disney leadership said they could not support any bi of gay relationships on the channel when Terrance proposed Luz’s character. Terrance, who is very persuasive, convinced Disney to keep the television series’ original premise the same and show queer relationships on Disney Channel. Terrance, who is bisexual herself, is proud to say that Disney is now 100% supportive of Luz and her coming out story on Disney Channel.
More now than ever before, it is essential for today’s youth to witness diversity displayed in a positive light, especially on their television screen. The media influences every aspect of a child’s life. If they are not exposed to diversity regularly and positively, they might view the world negatively. Disney is one of the biggest companies in the world, and by them finally supporting the LGBTQ+ community with characters like Luz and Greg shows they are finally ready to support all their fans and acknowledge that there are all kinds of people in this world.
Featured image via Twitter
Despite how you feel about 'The Legend of Korra', you can't ignore how it shifted the culture and ultimately how we tell stories. Let's look at this impact and it's importance.
