Thoughts on Criticism of Chuck Hansen from Pacific Rim
Just personal musings under the cut. Read if you're interested. Feel free to ignore if not.
Today, I finally put into words WHY I can't stand criticism of any kind toward Chuck Hansen, whether it be from the fandom or even characters within a fanfiction, and it's because, let's face it, Chuck gets enough abuse within the narrative of the film that he deserves a break. Isn't he hated enough by the other characters? Isn't his unrealistic beatdown from Raleigh enough? Isn't the blatant disrespect from Marshall Pentecost enough? Isn't the obvious denial of affection and support from his own father enough? I think so.
I first experienced this phenomenon with Anders, who's a controversial character within the fandom, let alone the world of Dragon Age itself. He's hated and insulted daily, and there are people who are more than happy to harass fans at every moment. People revel in his death, and revel even more in killing him. Frankly, it all gets a little overwhelming and stressful. I just remember that day I found a handful of pro-Anders blogs and I was just overwhelmed by the amount of hate Anders got, the hate that these strong few actively refuted and fought against. It was just devastating the amount of hate a character that I love and adore so much receives on a daily base, that, eventually, I was just too sad and stressed out so I read Bagginshield fanfiction. I was so sad that I read Bagginshield fanfiction, and this was shortly after the Battle of the Five Armies released - as in, depressing as fuck post-BotFA fanfic was more cheerful than the vitriol Anders fans have to slog through on a daily basis.
Recently, I've been reading a lot of Chuck-related fanfics, Chuck lover that I am, and it just amazes me how many people enjoy just shitting on him. I am not blind to his faults (of which he has many). I recognize that he is a tactless asshole who insults and provokes people because he can. I know this, but when that's all people focus on, it gets irritating.
For example: today, I was rereading a fic -that I do enjoy, I'm not trying to criticize it cruelly, I'm just voicing my opinion on their portrayal of Chuck- where Angela Hansen and her son Charlie wake up in the PacRim universe we're familiar with. She's lived the past ten years after the death of her husband during Scissure fighting kaiju and raising her son Charlie, who's bright and understanding and calculating/etc., then suddenly she meets emotionally-stunted Herc and brash Chuck and she's hurt and shocked. At this, I was like, awesome! She's going to see that Herc's not the best dad, but Chuck's still fucking great, which she did, but not without tearing Chuck down. She's constantly comparing Chuck to Charlie, which is understandable, but it's always as if Chuck falls short. Even when she compares Chuck to someone else, he's always falling short. Like he's smart, but not as smart as X; or he's a good fighter, but could easily be bested by X; etc., and it just gets so IRRITATING, because Angela goes on and on about how Charles Hansen (no matter the universe) will always be Number One in her life, yet she doesn't see how AMAZING and BRILLIANT Chuck is. There's always something wrong, something flawed, and she doesn't yell at Herc enough for me to be mullified. Oh, sure, she yelled at him at first, but then she gets all "he's not my Herc and it hurts to be near him" so we focus on how shitty Chuck is instead, and it just KILLS ME.
Again, I KNOW Chuck is a Grade A asshole, I know this. By all means, criticize his attitude, but don't HUMILIATE HIM to do it, don't TEAR HIM DOWN. Chuck Hansen has worked his ass off since he was eleven to get to where he's at. He entered the Jaeger Academy at fifteen years old and graduated as the youngest Ranger in history, going on to be the youngest pilot in history at sixteen years old. He piloted Striker Eureka with Hercules Hansen (and you bet your ass he had to be great to pilot the Mark-5 with one of the most experienced Jaeger pilots at sixteen fucking years old, father and son or not; Herc could have probably piloted with a lot of other people, but Chuck was too good a pilot to waste). By Operation Pitfall, Striker has ten kills under its belt, and piloting is a two-person deal - Herc did not carry the team to ten kills, they did it together. On top of that, Chuck is a skilled technician and he knows Jaegers better than a lot of professional J-Tech officers do. He personally helps repair Striker Eureka. When he was upset after the Hallway Scene, he goes to make sure Striker's in top shape and not take his frustrations out on a punching bag like so many people think he does. He respects his fellow pilots and cares deeply for them. He shows respect for people that don't respect him. On top of that, his respect is something you have to earn, something you have to prove you're worthy to have, not something freely given just because you got good scores at the Academy or you used to be something great. Chuck Hansen is incredibly intelligent, skilled, and strong, and a force to be reckoned with. That people reduce him to his asshole behavior and, even worse, imply that he's anything less than fucking brilliant, that he's anything even close to mediocre is fucking insulting and those people have no fucking business writing him, especially writing scenarios where he should be seen as more sympathetic but you fucking failed.
Chuck Hansen is vilified in the canon. He has no support system and everyone hates him at least a little bit. He gets his ass kicked by someone who, realistically, had no chance, only to die later drifting with someone who told him he was worthless not even an hour ago. If you want people to hate on Chuck unfairly, go watch the fucking movie, don't waste everyone's time hating on him in places that are supposed to be Chuck-positive.
And you know what else I realized? Because Chuck's a cis white boy who, judging by the writer and even the actor, is most likely straight, and I really shouldn't be defending him when WOC Princess Mako Mori exists. I realized that Chuck is so hated in canon and everyone is treated like special fucking snowflakes, that, sometimes, I just want Chuck to be treated like a special fucking snowflake. I want fics where people stop and realize that Chuck is actually really fucking smart. That he can build a Jaeger with his eyes closed. That he graduated top of his class at the Jaeger Academy and it wasn't just because he's good at beating the shit out of stuff but because he's actually an intelligent human being. That just because he has a temper doesn't mean he can't be calm and calculating every once in a while. I want people to realize that Chuck's actually fucking amazing and all he needs is a FUCKING SUPPORT SYSTEM THAT ISN'T A DOG OR AN EMOTIONALLY-DISTANT FATHER.
Sorry if this makes no sense, I just have A LOT of feelings about Chuck Hansen. I hope I spewed this out in a way that's somewhat logical.
Today, I finally put into words WHY I can't stand criticism of any kind toward Chuck Hansen, whether it be from the fandom or even characters within a fanfiction, and it's because, let's face it, Chuck gets enough abuse within the narrative of the film that he deserves a break. Isn't he hated enough by the other characters? Isn't his unrealistic beatdown from Raleigh enough? Isn't the blatant disrespect from Marshall Pentecost enough? Isn't the obvious denial of affection and support from his own father enough? I think so.
I first experienced this phenomenon with Anders, who's a controversial character within the fandom, let alone the world of Dragon Age itself. He's hated and insulted daily, and there are people who are more than happy to harass fans at every moment. People revel in his death, and revel even more in killing him. Frankly, it all gets a little overwhelming and stressful. I just remember that day I found a handful of pro-Anders blogs and I was just overwhelmed by the amount of hate Anders got, the hate that these strong few actively refuted and fought against. It was just devastating the amount of hate a character that I love and adore so much receives on a daily base, that, eventually, I was just too sad and stressed out so I read Bagginshield fanfiction. I was so sad that I read Bagginshield fanfiction, and this was shortly after the Battle of the Five Armies released - as in, depressing as fuck post-BotFA fanfic was more cheerful than the vitriol Anders fans have to slog through on a daily basis.
Recently, I've been reading a lot of Chuck-related fanfics, Chuck lover that I am, and it just amazes me how many people enjoy just shitting on him. I am not blind to his faults (of which he has many). I recognize that he is a tactless asshole who insults and provokes people because he can. I know this, but when that's all people focus on, it gets irritating.
For example: today, I was rereading a fic -that I do enjoy, I'm not trying to criticize it cruelly, I'm just voicing my opinion on their portrayal of Chuck- where Angela Hansen and her son Charlie wake up in the PacRim universe we're familiar with. She's lived the past ten years after the death of her husband during Scissure fighting kaiju and raising her son Charlie, who's bright and understanding and calculating/etc., then suddenly she meets emotionally-stunted Herc and brash Chuck and she's hurt and shocked. At this, I was like, awesome! She's going to see that Herc's not the best dad, but Chuck's still fucking great, which she did, but not without tearing Chuck down. She's constantly comparing Chuck to Charlie, which is understandable, but it's always as if Chuck falls short. Even when she compares Chuck to someone else, he's always falling short. Like he's smart, but not as smart as X; or he's a good fighter, but could easily be bested by X; etc., and it just gets so IRRITATING, because Angela goes on and on about how Charles Hansen (no matter the universe) will always be Number One in her life, yet she doesn't see how AMAZING and BRILLIANT Chuck is. There's always something wrong, something flawed, and she doesn't yell at Herc enough for me to be mullified. Oh, sure, she yelled at him at first, but then she gets all "he's not my Herc and it hurts to be near him" so we focus on how shitty Chuck is instead, and it just KILLS ME.
Again, I KNOW Chuck is a Grade A asshole, I know this. By all means, criticize his attitude, but don't HUMILIATE HIM to do it, don't TEAR HIM DOWN. Chuck Hansen has worked his ass off since he was eleven to get to where he's at. He entered the Jaeger Academy at fifteen years old and graduated as the youngest Ranger in history, going on to be the youngest pilot in history at sixteen years old. He piloted Striker Eureka with Hercules Hansen (and you bet your ass he had to be great to pilot the Mark-5 with one of the most experienced Jaeger pilots at sixteen fucking years old, father and son or not; Herc could have probably piloted with a lot of other people, but Chuck was too good a pilot to waste). By Operation Pitfall, Striker has ten kills under its belt, and piloting is a two-person deal - Herc did not carry the team to ten kills, they did it together. On top of that, Chuck is a skilled technician and he knows Jaegers better than a lot of professional J-Tech officers do. He personally helps repair Striker Eureka. When he was upset after the Hallway Scene, he goes to make sure Striker's in top shape and not take his frustrations out on a punching bag like so many people think he does. He respects his fellow pilots and cares deeply for them. He shows respect for people that don't respect him. On top of that, his respect is something you have to earn, something you have to prove you're worthy to have, not something freely given just because you got good scores at the Academy or you used to be something great. Chuck Hansen is incredibly intelligent, skilled, and strong, and a force to be reckoned with. That people reduce him to his asshole behavior and, even worse, imply that he's anything less than fucking brilliant, that he's anything even close to mediocre is fucking insulting and those people have no fucking business writing him, especially writing scenarios where he should be seen as more sympathetic but you fucking failed.
Chuck Hansen is vilified in the canon. He has no support system and everyone hates him at least a little bit. He gets his ass kicked by someone who, realistically, had no chance, only to die later drifting with someone who told him he was worthless not even an hour ago. If you want people to hate on Chuck unfairly, go watch the fucking movie, don't waste everyone's time hating on him in places that are supposed to be Chuck-positive.
And you know what else I realized? Because Chuck's a cis white boy who, judging by the writer and even the actor, is most likely straight, and I really shouldn't be defending him when WOC Princess Mako Mori exists. I realized that Chuck is so hated in canon and everyone is treated like special fucking snowflakes, that, sometimes, I just want Chuck to be treated like a special fucking snowflake. I want fics where people stop and realize that Chuck is actually really fucking smart. That he can build a Jaeger with his eyes closed. That he graduated top of his class at the Jaeger Academy and it wasn't just because he's good at beating the shit out of stuff but because he's actually an intelligent human being. That just because he has a temper doesn't mean he can't be calm and calculating every once in a while. I want people to realize that Chuck's actually fucking amazing and all he needs is a FUCKING SUPPORT SYSTEM THAT ISN'T A DOG OR AN EMOTIONALLY-DISTANT FATHER.
Sorry if this makes no sense, I just have A LOT of feelings about Chuck Hansen. I hope I spewed this out in a way that's somewhat logical.