Today at science fiction convention WisCon, a panel of fans and critics asked why science fiction, fantasy and horror are so damn white. What can fans do to get creators to wake up and realize the world is full of people of color who aren't criminals, aliens, or simple natives?
WisCon is the largest feminist science fiction convention in the United States, held in Madison, Wisconsin every year on Memorial Day weekend. Unlike typical SF cons, WisCon invites fans to do more than gush about their favorite character on Heroes, or complain about Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood. Here, smart geeks tackle the social questions that underlie entertaining stories, asking what kinds of ethics and values are are conveyed along with the bang-pow. Gender roles are a big topic here, but so are racial representations, religion, politics, and even young adult fiction.
On the "Why Is This Universe So White?" panel, Naamen Tilahun said he'd had to stop watching Buffy spinoff Angel because black character Gunn was so outrageously stereotypical. "First, he was this criminal figure, and then he had to be reprogrammed with magic in order to become smart," he said, referring to the way the character had to undergo a brain "upgrade" to become a lawyer in the show's last season. The message seemed to be that black men couldn't be smart unless they received magical intervention.
Audience members commented that white characters are presented as the norm in science fiction, and talked about how dissapointing it is that creators at major studios believe white audiences can't identify with black characters -- even though blacks are asked to identify with white protagonists all the time.
"Fans need to get involved online and tell creators that we'll put something bad on YouTube about them unless they start giving us good people of color in movies or on the covers of books," joked panelist K. Tempest Bradford, who runs the blog The Angry Black Woman. But there was a serious note in what she said. "Why is it that one of the only black characters on Heroes is known only as The Haitian and never gets a name?" She added that there's a whole LiveJournal group devoted to discussing this problem. It's called Bob the Haitian.
All the panelists recommended that creators and fans read Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward's book Writing the Other, which is about how to create believable characters who aren't of your own race or gender. Then talk turned to people of color on *Star Trek: Voyager, *as well as the alarming absence of same on Stargate: Atlantis.
Of course it's not all social criticism and no play at WisCon. Fans also make silly costumes and drink lots of beer. I'll be blogging here all weekend, bringing you news from a future where black women run the blogosphere and men talk excitedly about reading young adult fantasy novels with their daughters. I love this alternate universe.
