Official City of Bones Film Synopsis

Okay, Cassandra Clare fans, I know that you have been chomping at the bit to learn more about the upcoming City of Bones film.  The official movie synopsis has been released.

'CLARY FRAY (Lily Collins) is an ordinary Brooklyn teenager until the night she meets the mysteriously tattooed JACE, who turns out to be a half-angel warrior known as a Shadowhunter. When Clary finds out her mother JOCELYN has been abducted, she desperately hopes Jace will be able to help. After a whirling golden portal transports her across time and space in a heartbeat, Clary realizes she too has the powers of the Shadowhunters. But can she harness them in time to save her mother?

Clary, Jace and their fellow Shadowhunters endure one breathtaking battle after another against vampire, warlocks and demons—only to discover Jocelyn hid a terrible secret from the fiercest warrior of all: VALENTINE. Cast out from the world of Shadowhunters, Valentine abducted Jocelyn believing she had a powerful tool known as the Mortal Cup. Using her newfound gifts, Clary finds the Cup, only to be brutally betrayed and forced to relinquish it.

Still reeling from this setback and racing to save Jocelyn before it’s too late, Clary finds herself caught in a battle between forces she barely understands. Based on the best-selling series by Cassandra Clare, THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES is a magnificent urban fantasy rich in detail and suspense, about a girl’s journey to the darkest corners of the underworld to save those she loves.' (source)

Cassandra Clare proves that all Inclusion isn't Good

There are two problems we see a lot in looking at Urban Fantasy from a social justice mindset. One is the defenders of books and series rushing in to decry any criticism of their precious - and I can understand that. We fanpoodle in Kevin Hearne’s name after all. But when fanpoodles deny that there are problematic and prejudiced elements in their favourite works, they diminish and demean the damage these portrayals can cause and internalise them without thinking

The second is the repeated acceptance of token characters - even high problematic token characters - as being proof of inclusivity. Just having a POC/GBLT/Disabled/Female character is proof that the book/programme is inclusive and wonderful. Would that it were true, but as we’ve discussed before sometimes erasure is better than some inclusion.

Which brings us to Cassandra Clare’s novels that are repeatedly hailed for their gay inclusion and any questioning of the portrayals has been vehemently opposed. And as we did with similar sentiments expressed about Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake, we have to speak on this. Because this inclusion? This is not all good.

Alec exists to serve the straight people around him. Despite being older, he has far less kills than Issy or Jace (and Clary mocks him about this as a sign of him being weaker) and it is said this is because he exists to protect them - gay people existing to protect and serve straight people is no less problematic than gay people being weaker than straight people. There are at least 2 occasions in the books where he severely risks his own life to protect Jace. On top of that, Alec being gay is used as a reason for him to fawn after Jace - be jealous of Clary and desperate for Jace's attention - the gay man pining pathetically after a straight guy is an old trope and it’s a dull one that needs to end.

While Alec is portrayed as self-effacing, whiny and weak - especially compared to Jace and Issy, Magnus embodies different tropes. For a start, if Magnus were portrayed as any more flamboyant he’d wear rainbows and shoot unicorns. And, like Alec, he is there to serve. We are told repeatedly that Magnus is an extremely powerful being but. when the straight people call (Jace and Clary) he is quick to not only respond to their requests, but comply obediently. Like Alec, he exists to serve the straight people even though he normally charges a considerable amount for his services. The only time he is portrayed as dominant is when he is juxtaposed to Alec, thus making fulfilling the endless trope of having him the top and Alec the bottom.

Thoughts on “The City of Bones”

This week, I read the first book in The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare.  In The City of Bones Cassandra Clare has created a truly fascinating world.  To be honest, I love books that involve more than one supernatural.  The cast of characters includes: vampires, werewolves, warlocks, demons, fae (who we have yet to meet) and nephlim called shadow warriors)  It seems that these shadow warriors  police the other super natural beings but one whose name is Valentine wants more.  He wants to eliminate everyone who who isn’t human or a shadow warrior from the earth.

Some of the elements of the story are extremely predictable, and this is a shame, because  even as the book is building to a crescendo, the reader is well aware of what is going to happen.  The writing itself is at times repetitive and overly descriptive.  I quite sure she could have shaved a few pages off of this book, just by elimination of the redundancy. There is also a bit of teen angst, but I can honestly say that it is much less than other teen based urban fantasy that I have read in the past (TWILIGHT) and so it never does rise to the level of irritation.

This is once again an all White world which is ridiculous, because it is set in New York city, one of the most multi-cultural places on the planet.  I don’t know how the author justifies this complete erasure of people of colour.  We know that that people of colour exist, because Lucien hides out is in China Town, and they occasionally deliver Chinese food to people (Anyone see a problem with that?).  So I suppose there are at least Asians in Clare’s New York City, but they apparently don’t count enough to be a character.  We also learn in the book that everything that we have been told is true, and this for instance means that the Hindu Gods do indeed exist, as well as several folklore tales from countries of colour, but once again, Clare couldn’t not be arsed to weave them into her story.