From a black Square to statements from industry giants to newly formed hashtags called Black pound day.
The Black Lives Matter has been a tour de force that has swept across the entire world. Various industries are re-examining their privilege and how to be more culturally aware moving forward. Quaker Oats is taking the Aunt Jemima logo off their maple syrup. Several publishing houses are reviewing certain books and the inaccurate content or harmful stereotypes they perpetuate. Councils are removing statues of problematic historical figures or having them removed by well-meaning Samaritans.
The very first Black Pound Day was held on the 27 June 2020
When it comes to the entertainment industry a lot of action has been taken. Primarily several high-profile resignations; that is, of course, white people giving up their jobs and/or positions.
This topic branches into quite a few industries which have their own similarities and differences when compared to each other, nevertheless they are very much their own micro societal system. So I wanted to be clear that I would try to voice my opinion on a case by case basis. Every industry and sector is different. The reasons behind actions that seem the same can be vastly different. A solution or idea that works for one industry may not work for another.
Covering this topic took me down a rabbit hole where the more I got to know, the less I knew. Because at first glance it’s a ‘simple gesture’ I say that with quotation marks because I know giving up your lively hood isn’t normally a simple decision you come to and being accompanied by a simple yet profound explanation like: “stepping down for an ethnic minority who is disproportionally under-represented in my industry to take my place”.
It seems like a drastic and phenomenal act and it is.
The benefits of this are that it can give those on the bottom of the corporate ladder or any ladder for that matter an ideal to strive towards, you know seeing is truly believing BUT at the same time is it really addressing the crux of the issue because it feels like they are the changing the face of the system rather than the internal organs of said system.
My first example is a long-standing white voice actor on The Simpsons. Hank Azaria. Back in January this year he stepped down from voicing Apu from the Simpsons. Apu has been a controversial character for a long time. This was especially apparent in 2017 when Indian-American comic, Hari Kondabolu released a documentary called: ‘the problem with Apu’. The documentary explored encounters with negative stereotypes, racial microaggressions, and slurs against people of Indian and South Asian heritage disseminated through the character. One could argue that The Simpsons stereotypes every troupe: from the stupid husband, the nagging wife, the spiteful sister and mothers-in-law, the list goes on.
Simpsons actor Hank Azaria says he will no longer voice Apu
The main difference is in how the character is portrayed and written.
Apu is very 1 dimensional, his story only consists of his race being portrayed as stereotypically as possible. The corner shop where he tries his best to cut as many corners as possible – (Homer and Apu – S5 E13) or its how his immigration status is in jeopardy – (Much Apu About Nothing – S7 E23) or the fact he needs to change his name in order to be commercial when he joins a barbershop quarter – (Homer’s Barbershop Quartet – S5 E1). Even when they tried to address it in the episode Much Apu About Something – S27 E12. at the end of the episode, nothing has really changed. The Simpson writer’s justification for Apu is that we caricature everyone. This may well be true but when it comes to a character such as Apu the only prominent Indian character in The Simpsons then he becomes the blueprint of how Indian’s behave.
My next example comes from a popular show on Netflix; Big Mouth, white voice actor Jenny Slate voices Missy Foreman-Greenwald who is mixed race: her mum is white Jewish and her father is black according to the Big Mouth wiki. Jenny Slate stepped down with the full support of the producers on the show. I have never personally watched Big Mouth, so for fans of the show please take what I am going to say with a grain of salt. I didn’t see the issue with her voicing that character; I mean what exactly is a black voice or white voice or a mixed-race half Jewish half black voice. The reason why the Big Mouth is different from Abu’s character in The Simpson’s is that the character itself was problematic, he was a stereotype in the worst way possible that harmed the image of Indian -American’s and Indians. Missy Foreman-Greenwald’s character is not, in fact, a character that reinforces harmful stereotypes.
Jenny Slate Will No Longer Voice Black Character on 'Big Mouth'
What I have described are two similar examples, with both voice actor/actress have decided on the same outcome but are having different effects I say this because of two reasons. Firstly, though this looks good on the paper, will it help? Will it facility actual and effective change? Or does this look like lip service and surrendering until this PR Storm is over and things can get back to the way things were.
Secondly; it sets a dangerous precedent of only black people can play black fictional characters, which isn’t right, especially in the voice acting industry where some of my favourite characters are not voiced by ethic or even their gender counterpart. E.g. Regina King voices Huey and Riley Freeman in the Boondocks. Kratos from God of War is currently voiced by Christopher Judge. Phil Lamar who voices Static Shock my all-time favourite super-hero also voices samurai Jack. Kevin Michael Richardson did the voice for Captain Gnatu from Lilo and stitch to also doing the joker in 06s the Batman animated series
If I may state something that I believe is detrimental; it’s the whole rhetoric of ‘sounding black’. If there is one thing I hate with a passion is being told: ‘you don’t sound black’ simply because I am articulate and have a varied lexical choice. There is no such thing as a ‘black voice’, which is explored in the movie BlacKKKlansman.
Phil LaMarr - The Voice of 'Samurai Jack'
Let me be clear these are fictional characters, as in, people who were made up in a writer’s mind – not a historical figure. So yes there is a problem when a white woman plays Cleopatra. Characters like James Bond written by Ian Fleming can be played by any race because he is Fictional (We are waiting on you, Idris Elba).
Marvel Comics, in general, have a plethora of stories that explore different identities which vary from racial identities like Luke Cage to religious identities like Kamala Khan, but on the big screen even they also suffer from the same lack of diversity. Marvel has made 23 blockbuster films (The infinity saga) and almost every single one of those movies, all the film crew have been predominantly white. Was Marvel Studios content with only producing Black panther, and I love Black Panther, as a token, a way to tick their diversity quota. As Anthony Mackie who plays The Falcon in the Marvels movies, stated, it always jarred him being on set and being surrounded by all white people. The hiring system in place when it comes to the actual production crew needs to change to reflect all the audiences who go to enjoy Marvel movies.
To summarise, I am proud of the Black Lives Matter movement for facilitating some of these changes that are taking place – from the entertainment industry to the law itself. Change is finally coming. It is desperately needed to ensure that the organs which drive this status quo are destroyed and replaced. The only parameter that this change needs to abide by is making sure that the change seeps into every aspect to revamp the broken system, if not then you will get a lot of movement with no purpose. Personally, I am not one to leave an article on a negative note, to be clear I am still hopeful for whatever change will come from this, after all history is on our side.
Till next time MG squad
Principal researcher & Co-founder of Melanin Gamers.
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