Do I agree that we should stop "black-washing" characters in the Entertainment industry?
The inception of this article came about when I was researching a topic for an upcoming Melanin Gamers Panel, the topics were: racism and sexism in video games, anime and cosplay. As anyone will attest to, research on these matters is as much a science as it is an art. With that in mind, I allowed myself to wander in and around the topic, I researched for a more holistic picture. In this case, it lead me to some interesting discussions both on forums and videos concerning racial identity. Its old news in every way but I feel that now that I have a better understanding I can comfortably give my opinion without sounding ignorant (I hope).
Do I agree that we should stop "black-washing" characters in the Entertainment industry?
If I can be so audacious as to state the argument in a nutshell: is it right to push diversity in our faces when it comes to established characters and should we be comfortable with “Sloppy seconds” so that the big organisations can simply say: “Look, we are being diverse so get off our back”. This would mean to maintain the status quo covertly by providing lip service and false promises essentially without changing the industry truly.
As a point of reference, I am a Black British African, I have spent my entire life living in North West London. I identify as a British as much as my genetic heritage as Ghanaian. Back to the point of the issue; In short I think more stories from different cultures need to be explored. I believe that more stories and folklore from regions like Asia and Africa need to be explored more, not just token films either. I am talking about a Disney-sized budget change. For example, Journey to the west and romance of the three kingdoms which are very iconic and popular stories in eastern culture or The half-moon prince and Anansi the spider (I know he’s technically in the marvel universe) which are stories native to sub-Saharan Africa have not been given the light of day. They are renegaded to side characters. As the questions goes, I think it would be very interesting and beneficial if these stories were fully explored instead of being a side characters arcs to a greater plot.
Anansi the spider - an Akan folktale character
As we explore these other folklore tales, actual diversity will naturally be more organic and commonplace instead of 'being shoved into our face'.
As for “Black-washing” characters, I think during the inception of most of these fictional characters like Iron man or Captain Marvel (Shazam), the “default” race for them was white. With that being said it gave them a chance to explore other personality traits and characteristics such as Captain Marvel (shazam) and Batman being orphans, or Green Arrow’s sidekick Speedy dealing with substance abuse, even Iron man was an alcoholic at one point in the comics. Most of these characters racial identity was an afterthought so the other more prevalent identities that these superheroes identify as (being an addict, being an orphan or generally having an identity which could alienate you from a wider community) could shine through quite often on a particular social issue and this most often transcends race, whereas when you look at Miss Marvel (Kamala Khan) or Black Panther their racial identity often plays a part in their story. For example Killmonger from the recent Black Panther film.
His race plays a part because the colour of his skin affected the circumstances he was raised in and this, in turn, influenced his decisions and was ultimately why he decided to wage war.
Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger
From a practical standpoint, I think the majority of media are still not ready to see past race as the be all end all identity of a character.
Ashley Walters who has produced and starred in Top boy said that: pitching Bulletproof was a lot more difficult than pitching Top Boy because white casting directors didn’t see the appeal of black cops in their audience. During his talk that I attended he spoke about how he needed to amass a certain level of fame and success before he could pitch ideas that didn’t fit the ‘typical’ narrative, a black actor could play. So the ideas he put forward were not judged based on merit but rather his reputation.
Bulletproof - a British television drama series
I believe it’s best if we can show that characters that are typically played by white actors can perform just as well if they are being played by black actors like Noma Dumezweni being cast as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter: The Cursed Child play or Idris Elba playing bond (Still holding out on hope).
Noma Dumezweni being cast as Hermione Granger
That’s just my two pence on the situation I feel like this is the space to throw opinions and have them contested. I understand not everyone will agree with me and that’s okay. I welcome others opinion, it means that I can sharpen my ideas and beliefs so that is more likely to accommodate everyone and realise true inclusion.
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Principal researcher & Co-founder of Melanin Gamers.
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