in this essay I will discuss the disparity of white characters in heroic fiction compared to black characters. I would also like to mention that I also acknowledge that characters of other ethnic demographics are also poorly represented and for the same reasons as black (of African origin and resemblance including bi-racial) characters, they are treated as non-white. I am specifically talking about heroic fiction as it is literature based on the fantasy of characters a reader would wish to live through fantastic characters. It is literature that teaches or reinforces the moral code of the society we live in and the hero would strive, unswervingly to restore order, fight for justice, save the defenceless and drive out evil. But it does seem that a non-white character is a bit of a stretch of the imagination to believe.
Lack of non-white powerful characters in heroic fiction. Why is there only one black person on a cast or a team? http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TokenMinority 02/01/2013
The first to die http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BlackDudeDiesFirst 02/01/2013
Can non-white heroes be trusted with great power and the responsibility? http://ebonstorm.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/928/ 27/12/2013
Non-whites do not have real power in real life, so is power unbelievable in fiction?
The Avengers (Marvel Studios,2012) had a lack of non-white characters but it did cast one main non-powered character as actor Samuel. L. Jackson, an African-American and it did this for a number of reasons:
- In 2000, Marvel Comics created a new Marvel Universe (MU) called Ultimate Marvel (UM) with a separate continuity to their original characters. All the characters and their origins have been adapted to reflect the modern world. For example the Hulk instead of ‘being caught in the heart of a gamma bomb explosion’ as his origin ion the 1960s, a more plausible origin in the UM was Bruce Banner was employed to recreate Captain America’s Super Soldier Serum but he created a serum for himself and inadvertently created the Hulk. http://marvel.wikia.com/Hulk_(Robert_Bruce_Banner) 31/12/2012)
- Marvels fictional secret super government agency S.H.I.E.L.D (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Department) was also updated in th UM universe and General Nick Fury who is the boss of the organisation was originally a white character but was replaced with a black one, who incidentally was written and drawn to be like a typical Samuel. L. Jackson character. The actor then went on to play him in the Marvel films and was a linking character to all the recent Marvel film adaptations.
- Marvel’s new universe were attempting to show a more diverse roster of major characters.
This courted controversy by changing a popular character, it was a very sensitive issue with fans and gained as many negative responses as it did positive. Comments on blogs were as contrasted as ” ” from ”
But ultimately, UM still has a low range of multicultural diverse characters. Maybe it can only introduce one every few years so as not to appear to to be alienating the predominantly white readers to please ethnic minorities or that they are doing it for superficial publicity. Marvel Comics and DC comics are major distributors and flagship competitiors in the comic book industry and whatever they represent has a direct effect on the market including smaller independent pubications and web comics.
But it does not appear to reflect on screen as well as it does in print. The movie franchises and TV series based on comic book adaptations have been lacking in representing the diversity of non-whites. Reisman, http://www.vulture.com/2013/10/marvel-diversity-problem-avengers-shield-comics.html, 31/12/2013)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a series that tried to represent women. and racial diveristy
Ultimate Marvel tr
What is the cause of poor representation?
Racial representation in super hero fiction (main body) In Western Society, which is a Caucasian population and patriarchal structure, the heroes and main characters of a story have been created and defined for the mainstream readers to identify with: a white male. Ethnic inhabitants growing up in a Western nation have grown up with all the main characters (if not all characters) as representatives of a white background. The broad spectrum of cartoon, comic and live action fiction e.g. Doctor Who showed until recently very little cultural diversity.
Stereotyping, Covert Racial Stereotyping.
A story involving an interaction with a person from an ethnic minority would have to be significant to the plot.
In an episode of popular cartoon series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (Episode 31, 1983) ‘A Tale of 2 Cities’, He-Man loses his memories and is caught in a dispute between two kingdoms,: Operon, a city governed by a White King and his daughter, the princess Raya. And the city of Targa, a city governed by a cruel queen Balina of West African appearance and her equally malicious wizard, of a more East African appearance. The characters have strong accents and poor English and low morality. A 3rd main character, the warrior Garn, with the appearance of a tall West African is almost as strong as He-Man and more than capable of escaping his dungeon, lacks the spirit and intelligence to overcome his captivity. The amnesiac He-Man defeats Garn in an arena and spares him. In the end the grateful Garn helps He-Man to save the city from the destruction and the evil rule of the queen and her wizard. He-Man is then given credit for awakening Garn’s capacity for humanity and courage. The Garn character could have been as courageous as He-Man but overcome by sorcery and could have been a positive role for a black audience. But the point of his lacklustre character was for He-Man to spare him, free him, make him grateful and teach him the civilised ways of a superior built in morality of the race that Her-Man represents. Interestingly, in one of the 15 page mini-comics that came free with Masters of the Universe action figures, this story was condensed and renamed ‘Slave City’ (1984, series 3), heman.org, 27/12/2013) and in this version the characters of both cities were native American Indian in appearance. What would be the purpose of this race change and does that make it a more positive or negative difference? If He-Man were interfering in a feud between two white kingdoms would it be too rude for him to interfere? Also, would he have the right to have a say in who is king new king of the now deposed city of Targa? The He-Man cartoon does not seek to be a platform for racial dominance of whites over blacks or try to be offensive in any other way, but however inadvertently, it does reinforce the image of white mastery over non-whites in a way that reinforces older tales and sinks into the subconscious of a young developing minds of the children watching it.
The Imperialist ideology presuppositions that “all cultures can be ranked to an European norm” (Kant, 1764,cited in Pagden, 2002) which was discussed in Pagden’s passage regarding Imperialist culture and referenced Immanuel Kant’s anthropological view of superiority and “natural characteristics” of Europeans over other races he went o to write, “The inhabitant of the temperate parts of the world,. above all the central part, has a more beautiful body, works harder, is more jocular, more controlled in his passions, more intelligent than any other race of people in the world. That is why all at all points in time these peoples have educated others and controlled them with weapons. The Romans, Greeks, the ancient Nordic peoples, Genghis Khan, the Turks, Tamurlaire, the Europeans after Columbus’ discoveries, they have all amazed southern lands with their arts and weapons.” ‘. (Kant, 1764, cited in Waugh,p371-372, 2006)
Then Waugh goes on to describe ‘scientific racism’ and the distorted view that Imperial Europeans developed over the conquered peoples whose countries they colonised.
From the eighteenth century the scholars were looking for scientific reasons to explain their superiority over the darker-skinned races and went on to reinforce the ideal that the European, for every reason, is better.
The ancient empires of Rome and Egypt and other hugely successful empires would have shared a very similar view in that they were born to rule although before the age of Enlightenment they believed they were in the seat of power as being chosen by or even indeed a relative to the Gods.
White Privilege
Black Superhumans
This portrayal of the relationship to make sure that all inhabitants, white and black, understood and believed that the man is superior in every way. Why Are All the great superheroes white? The Western Society is based on Europeans ans governed by Caucasians, so doesn’t this reflect reality? Are non-white characters with great power, intellect and status too unbelievable? How do ethnic groups in the West see themselves? Can they believe in non white patriarchal heroes? Black authors, white characters http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1281100-black-authors-white-characters Is the change in diversity slowed by marketing or cultural belief? Is there any real progress to change by the companies that can? http://analogaddiction.org/2013/06/08/what-is-mighty-avengers/
http://old.he-man.org/primary_sects/comics/html/mini_comics/motu/comic_pages/00074750/00cover.shtml 27/12/13 Slave City mini comic ref
Afrofuturism: The other end of the scale in that the world of sci-fi and technology with the black race in focus.
mengistu_etim/illustration 