Okay, so I'm about as white as it gets (Seriously, if I was any more white I'd be transparent...), but I try really, really hard not to be a blinded-by-privilege white person. So I had wondered if I was being closed-minded for not liking what I saw on the commercials for David Alan Grier's new show. Thank you for telling me I wasn't just being closed-minded. I pretty much looked at it and thought, "Wow, that seems so wrong..."
I have almost no interest in True Blood (can we please stop with the vampire obsession now?), so I have little to no idea what you're talking about, but it sounds like it totally sucks.
Um, most of the PoCs that come to my mind are from canceled shows, which means most of them haven't been on TV in a while, which sucks. But most are on DVD, so they're still out there somewhere. Someone already pointed out Lt. Van Buren (who was made of awesome), and other than Zoe from Firefly I'm kind of blanking on other non-stereotyped black women (I wish I wish I wish I could say Teyla from SGA, but unfortunately the writers failed her potential big-time). Um, for an Asian man, I would like to point out Det. Danny Woo from Witchblade, who was human; great partner, great cop, good husband, but was also allowed to get angry, get scared, get stressed out, be concerned, be smart, be a little slow, be condescending to the rookie they were training, and be a good mentor. Danny was made of awesome. As for a good black male character, I would like to point out Mickey Stone from Hustle, which is a BBC show. Mickey is the leader of a group of con artists (all of whom besides him are white). He is cool, calm, intelligent, extremely good at the con, is a great leader and is very much a sympathetic charming rogue archetype. He also loses his temper, makes mistakes (not many, since he's the hero), and is occasionally the butt of a well-meaning prank from his mentor. Unfortunately, I think Adrian Lester kind of got tired of the role, because he's only in 18 of the 24 episodes, which also explains why I haven't been watching it lately...
...and damn it, I should be able to do better than this. There's also Det. Green from L&O, played beautifully by Jesse L. Martin. In that same vein: ADA Carver from L&O:CI, ooh! Doctor Eric Foreman from House. Malcolm in the Middle turned the stereotyped racial-social order thing on it's head by having the low-class white family contrasted with the upper-class black family.
Completely agree with you on everything political. Nothing relevant to add there, except that woman really honestly scares me. At this point, if I hear anyone say anything positive about her, I will lose all respect for them.
I have a question, and it's something that I've been wondering for a while. (I'm trying to phrase this carefully, and I apologize if I stick my foot in my mouth...) My question is this: does it bother you when white people point out racist stuff? I mean, obviously the fact that it was noticed is probably a good thing, but at the same time do you feel kind of like, "Sit down, I can speak for myself?" Or is it just a kind of mixed blessing when the blinders of white privilege are taken off for a few moments? I've always wondered, because I'd like to add my voice to a fight for social change, but, as I said, I'm about as white as it gets and I kind of feel like it's not really my place to fight, sort of like I'm just butting in where I don't belong/am not wanted?
I read somewhere (though I can't remember well enough to site my source) that the sad fact is that the problems in our society, often involving "minorities", are not really listened to until someone in the "majority" begins to talk about it and point out said problems as well. And it does cause change, but it also rightfully causes resentment in the form of, "I've been shouting my lungs out about this for years, and just because Rich White Guy over there says it, now you pay attention?"
I guess I'm mostly just wondering what you feel about it.
P.S. Holy crap, sorry for the long-winded comment...
Sorry, long response...
I have almost no interest in True Blood (can we please stop with the vampire obsession now?), so I have little to no idea what you're talking about, but it sounds like it totally sucks.
Um, most of the PoCs that come to my mind are from canceled shows, which means most of them haven't been on TV in a while, which sucks. But most are on DVD, so they're still out there somewhere. Someone already pointed out Lt. Van Buren (who was made of awesome), and other than Zoe from Firefly I'm kind of blanking on other non-stereotyped black women (I wish I wish I wish I could say Teyla from SGA, but unfortunately the writers failed her potential big-time). Um, for an Asian man, I would like to point out Det. Danny Woo from Witchblade, who was human; great partner, great cop, good husband, but was also allowed to get angry, get scared, get stressed out, be concerned, be smart, be a little slow, be condescending to the rookie they were training, and be a good mentor. Danny was made of awesome. As for a good black male character, I would like to point out Mickey Stone from Hustle, which is a BBC show. Mickey is the leader of a group of con artists (all of whom besides him are white). He is cool, calm, intelligent, extremely good at the con, is a great leader and is very much a sympathetic charming rogue archetype. He also loses his temper, makes mistakes (not many, since he's the hero), and is occasionally the butt of a well-meaning prank from his mentor. Unfortunately, I think Adrian Lester kind of got tired of the role, because he's only in 18 of the 24 episodes, which also explains why I haven't been watching it lately...
...and damn it, I should be able to do better than this. There's also Det. Green from L&O, played beautifully by Jesse L. Martin. In that same vein: ADA Carver from L&O:CI, ooh! Doctor Eric Foreman from House. Malcolm in the Middle turned the stereotyped racial-social order thing on it's head by having the low-class white family contrasted with the upper-class black family.
Completely agree with you on everything political. Nothing relevant to add there, except that woman really honestly scares me. At this point, if I hear anyone say anything positive about her, I will lose all respect for them.
I have a question, and it's something that I've been wondering for a while. (I'm trying to phrase this carefully, and I apologize if I stick my foot in my mouth...) My question is this: does it bother you when white people point out racist stuff? I mean, obviously the fact that it was noticed is probably a good thing, but at the same time do you feel kind of like, "Sit down, I can speak for myself?" Or is it just a kind of mixed blessing when the blinders of white privilege are taken off for a few moments? I've always wondered, because I'd like to add my voice to a fight for social change, but, as I said, I'm about as white as it gets and I kind of feel like it's not really my place to fight, sort of like I'm just butting in where I don't belong/am not wanted?
I read somewhere (though I can't remember well enough to site my source) that the sad fact is that the problems in our society, often involving "minorities", are not really listened to until someone in the "majority" begins to talk about it and point out said problems as well. And it does cause change, but it also rightfully causes resentment in the form of, "I've been shouting my lungs out about this for years, and just because Rich White Guy over there says it, now you pay attention?"
I guess I'm mostly just wondering what you feel about it.
P.S. Holy crap, sorry for the long-winded comment...