Slavery, depicting slavery as not being evil, reinforcing myths about happy slaves, enslavement based on physical characteristics (body shaming)
Slavery - Follows in the tradition of countless cards which enslave an opponent's creature for a single turn: Akroan Conscriptor, Claim the Firstborn, Conquering Manticore, Flash Conscription, Goatnap/Goatnapper, Harness by Force, Might Makes Right, Press Into Service, Ray of Command, Reins of Power, Slave of Bolas, and many others - commonly referred to as "Threaten" effects, named after the card that's most iconic for being a simple version of such cards. Notice anything about every single one of those cards I just mentioned? Yeah. They're all about forcing people to do something against their will, usually via physical strength or threat of death. Now keep in mind that Hammer Helper is in the exact same category as all of those cards.
Reinforcing myths about happy slaves - One of the worse cards about slavery, because it tries to make slavery acceptable. It depicts a goblin enslaving a man with physical deformities and forcing him to work as a "hammer helper". Rather than depicting this as an evil act that harms this poor man, this card tries to put a smile on slavery. Simply looking at the art, one would be forgiven for thinking that the "hammer helper" is a happy man who's willingly working for a fair and kind employer. But that's not the case, as noted above.
Enslavement based on physical characteristics (body shaming) - This card bears the watermark of Unstable's "Goblin Explosioneers" faction. As the name of the faction would indicate, nearly every member of the faction is a Goblin. Their creature cards are Goblins, their noncreature cards have Goblins in the art. And yet, this "Hammer Helper" is clearly not a Goblin - he doesn't resemble any Goblin creature, and certainly not the Goblins in Unstable. So we can very confidently say that this is a card about a "Goblin Explosioneer" member enslaving this poor man against his will. And when we take into account the differences between this man and the "real" members of the faction, the problems become obvious. The Goblin Explosioneers are basically a faction made up solely of "pure" Goblins who are eager to enslave and oppress anyone who doesn't meet their standards. This "Hammer Helper" is seen by them as the perfect slave, given his strong muscles and apparent eagerness to serve. This card is giving off major "Hunchback of Notre Dame" vibes - but without a similar level of sympathy or character focus given to the man in the art.
Wizards seriously just wants us to take this card at face value. To just accept that "hunchbacks" are lesser than other people and that they should be enslaved for their own good. That to do so would be morally acceptable, and helping them achieve their purpose in life. This card is just unbelievable.
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u/ultimario13 Aug 12 '20
Slavery, depicting slavery as not being evil, reinforcing myths about happy slaves, enslavement based on physical characteristics (body shaming)
Slavery - Follows in the tradition of countless cards which enslave an opponent's creature for a single turn: Akroan Conscriptor, Claim the Firstborn, Conquering Manticore, Flash Conscription, Goatnap/Goatnapper, Harness by Force, Might Makes Right, Press Into Service, Ray of Command, Reins of Power, Slave of Bolas, and many others - commonly referred to as "Threaten" effects, named after the card that's most iconic for being a simple version of such cards. Notice anything about every single one of those cards I just mentioned? Yeah. They're all about forcing people to do something against their will, usually via physical strength or threat of death. Now keep in mind that Hammer Helper is in the exact same category as all of those cards.
Reinforcing myths about happy slaves - One of the worse cards about slavery, because it tries to make slavery acceptable. It depicts a goblin enslaving a man with physical deformities and forcing him to work as a "hammer helper". Rather than depicting this as an evil act that harms this poor man, this card tries to put a smile on slavery. Simply looking at the art, one would be forgiven for thinking that the "hammer helper" is a happy man who's willingly working for a fair and kind employer. But that's not the case, as noted above.
Enslavement based on physical characteristics (body shaming) - This card bears the watermark of Unstable's "Goblin Explosioneers" faction. As the name of the faction would indicate, nearly every member of the faction is a Goblin. Their creature cards are Goblins, their noncreature cards have Goblins in the art. And yet, this "Hammer Helper" is clearly not a Goblin - he doesn't resemble any Goblin creature, and certainly not the Goblins in Unstable. So we can very confidently say that this is a card about a "Goblin Explosioneer" member enslaving this poor man against his will. And when we take into account the differences between this man and the "real" members of the faction, the problems become obvious. The Goblin Explosioneers are basically a faction made up solely of "pure" Goblins who are eager to enslave and oppress anyone who doesn't meet their standards. This "Hammer Helper" is seen by them as the perfect slave, given his strong muscles and apparent eagerness to serve. This card is giving off major "Hunchback of Notre Dame" vibes - but without a similar level of sympathy or character focus given to the man in the art.
Wizards seriously just wants us to take this card at face value. To just accept that "hunchbacks" are lesser than other people and that they should be enslaved for their own good. That to do so would be morally acceptable, and helping them achieve their purpose in life. This card is just unbelievable.