When I give public talks, I often compare having a black perspective to taking off your 3D glasses in the middle of 'Avatar'. Some things look the same; others are distorted. But who on earth is going to take off their glasses and share your perspective if it ruins their viewing experience? It's just an annoying interruption.
Film and TV itself is such a rich area for exploring how children learn insidious messages about themselves. (And remember - children pick up those negative messages pretty early. If you didn't see the 'A Child of Our Time' programme that touched on racial bias, John Siraj-Blatchford describes the research in this paper.)
As a child growing up in the 70s, I never expected to see people like me on TV - other than Derek Griffiths, a nurse from 'Angels' and the mighty Floella. I grew up in a predominantly white area, so, to be honest, that just reflected my reality! For me, that's just the way it was.
In my 20s, prompted by bell hooks (check out 'Real to Reel', it's dead cheap on Amazon at the moment), I felt brave enough to think about how black (if any) and white actors are used in film.
As a parent in my 30s, it became even more urgent to understand the ways my daughter was learning about her place in the world, through books, TV and film. I also completed a Masters in Writing for Film and TV, researching my dissertation on black fathers in film. That gave me a bit to munch on.
Meanwhile I came to adore CBeebies. Black presenters abounded and one year there was an impressive series of short films called 'Open A Door', where children living in different places in the world (Mongolian yurt, Brazilian favella etc.) opened their door and went about their business. Which usually involved playing.
Personally, I feel that CBBC has also tried hard to include presenters and children of all backgrounds, so some of their few lapses are just forgivable. (The trailer from 'The Sparticle Project' with the Caribbean/African kid acting like a gangsta is only, only just forgivable... The otherwise fab black boy in 'The Sarah Jane Adventures' has to be called 'Clyde' and have an absent father...)
And in Doctor Who, black heroes and heroines are plentiful. (Though, the scary, black father in the wardrobe was a bit of a wobble. And when Matt Smith yelled that it was 'a black day for earth!', I presume he wasn't announcing Obama's inauguration.)
But what about blockbuster fare?
Name a black child hero.
Dre Parker in the karate kid.
Okay. One that isn't played by someone related to Will Smith.
Walt Disney's Princess Tiani. I haven't seen it, but I understand that the black princess spends much of her time as a frog.
Another one...?
Well, there's a few sidekicks. Vanessa Lee Chester plays Becky (a servant) in 'A Little Princess', but turns pretty heroic in the second Jurassic Park film.
Wybie in 'Coraline'? I have a soft spot for a geek, but his lips are sewn shut in much of the main adventure.
And 'Tin Tin' in the execrable 2004 'Thunderbirds' movie. Vanessa Hudgens plays 'TinTin' - the servants' daughter. (For some reason, I believe the character is supposed to be Malaysian. Vanessa Hudgens isn't.) She is pretty heroic.
But the villains? The one black character, Mullion, a grunting, inarticulate man mountain, whose sole role is to provide muscle for villain, The Hood. Transom, is an intellectually gifted woman, who consequently must be socially inept and cartoon-ugly. (Go compare with Lady Penelope...) And The Hood, played, as one reviewer describes by Ben Kingsley, 'in a creepy, vaguely racist, Ming the Merciless mode'.
And the heroes?
The trailer will give you a clue.
'Thunderbirds' is pretty overt in the way it depicts heroes and villains. But what about the more subtle messages?
Well, there is 'Rio'...
See the next posting.
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