quote:I'd hate to see the only non-white character on the show turn out to be a villain.
The statement intrigues me. I think because it assumes that if a non-white character is portrayed as 'evil,' prejudice against people of that race will necessarily be strengthened.
It's an interesting phenomenon that occurs rather frequently within speculative fiction. I'm trying to think of a non-Caucasian bad guy (even a henchman) from any of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy series, and I can't really think of any. Maybe I'm not as well read as I thought I was...
(There was a short story in Asimov's November 2005 issue... 'Cruel Sistah' by Nisi Shawl. A black girl is murdered by her sister, and comes back to haunt the family.)
In any case, I think we're overcompensating as artists. Dealing with racism means dealing with the other races as humans-- and imagining, or advertising, that evil belongs to one color alone doesn't really make for true storytelling.
Is there any reason why bad guys can't be black? Or asian?
Are we compensating for the pro-war propaganda of the First and Second World Wars?
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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quote:It's an interesting phenomenon that occurs rather frequently within speculative fiction. I'm trying to think of a non-Caucasian bad guy (even a henchman) from any of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy series
Firefly/Serenity: Early and The Operative were both black.
But I agree, it shouldn't matter. Or rather, it should be irrelevent or unnoticable.
However, if every character on the show is white except the "bad guy" (although I strongly doubt that this character's antagonism will last, many "pilot" antagonists turn out to be good guys) then it perhaps could be seen by someone with a certain mindset as sending a message.
I think were I watching the show without having read this, I probably wouldn't have even noticed that 'the only non-white guy on the show is the bad guy'. My world only becomes a place like that when it is pointed out to me.
Without having seen the episode, I share the reviewers reservations about how to develop such a show. I think that if it focuses on the ramifications of the apocalypse, rather than the "family drama" aspect, it will do fine.
Personally, if I were asked to develop an apocalyse show I wouldn't like to chain the show to the "small town" mentality (mayor, cop, school etc.) and limit the people or action that could take place. By all means, use a small town, but I would lean towards allowing as much variety in plot as possible- instead of having loads of people crying and dying. A more dynamic line is required, I think. I think a writer needs to think BIG.
EDIT: But, then, this reviewer gave Dr. Who half a star out of 4 which strongly makes me back away from his other reviews and ask, "Where is he coming from?" (But that's another story).
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I think it's all a matter of context. If the only non-white character in a group of characters is the sole "bad-guy" it's much more difficult to avoid looking like you're pandering to negative stereotypes. It's sort of a no-win situation since if race is pertinent in his being the bad guy, it's hard to avoid cries of racism, and if it's irrelevant, then why make that particular character non-white?
I agree that the simple fact of this type of casting doesn't really mean a lot, but we live in an age where impression, if not everything, is certainly extremely important.
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What if the only bad guy had an English accent? I thought all English people were villains - what's this about nonwhite people? Aren't they supposed to be the ones who get killed first in horror movies? Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
Karl, good point. I think your answer ties into Scott Card's response about the n* word being taken out of Ender's Game-- basically, that if it distracts so much from the story that readers can't focus on anything but that minor aspect, it should be removed.
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What if the only bad guy had an English accent? I thought all English people were villains - what's this about nonwhite people? Aren't they supposed to be the ones who get killed first in horror movies?
I thought the first to get killed in horror movies was the girl with nothing better to do on a Friday night than babysit or stay home alone watching TV. . .
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quote:I thought the first to get killed in horror movies was the girl with nothing better to do on a Friday night than babysit or stay home alone watching TV. . .
posted
I've now scene the Pilot of 'Jericho' and I'd have to say that it's much worse, in my opinion, than the reviewer made out.
It is a show that does not acknowledge the 'disaster' fiction that precedes it. Right from The War of the Worlds to The Day of the Triffids, to all the modern things, this is ground that has been trod many times before.
I don't think a wealthy background should hinder a good television show (in fact, I think that it should strengthen it), but this bring very little (new or not) to this ground at all. The characters seem unintelligent and generally stereotypical, the plot is slow, the dialogue stilted and cheesy, the music even cheesier.
The title sequence is, er, exactly like Lost's.
Most oddly, the disaster almost unimportant. The main character suffers a car crash while watching the Denver mushroom cloud, as does a School Bus and a Prison Bus. Yes, it would be shocking and distracting, but to cause everyone to drive off the road?
Those incidents typify a kind of irrelevance that the disaster takes on. There's nothing that makes me believe that there really has been a widespread nuclear attack upon the united states, and that Jericho, and other outlying towns like it, are the Only Ones Left. There's no sense of danger or horror or distruction caused by the disaster. There's no depth to the show and it promises no depth in the future.
I cannot believe that the reviewer gave this 2.5 stars and Dr. Who only .5.
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