In which Primeval is racist
Russell T. Davies has pointed out that Primeval is too white:
'the Swansea-born writer said he deplored the lack of non-white faces on the show.
He told TV trade magazine Broadcast: "Its (lack of) ethnic casting is shameful. I've never seen such a white show in all my born days."
But he added: "Apart from that I think it's excellent... I absolutely love it." '
The fans at primeval_itv decided to respond by playing a classic game of white privilege bingo... BINGO!
spiralsheep's totally colourblind guide to Primeval
(Ok, so I lied about the "colourblind" bit but, hey, everyone else does...) This is for anyone who wants context.
Britain: about 10% of the population self-identify as non-white.
British skiffy series Primeval set in contemporary England: 6 episodes; 8 main characters + 2 more recurring characters, all white; 2 black people in speaking roles, both men.
Episode 3
The first black man I noticed in the series and definitely the first with a speaking role (a couple of lines) played an aggressive police detective who wanted to arrest a grieving white woman for her boyfriend's murder without any evidence the boyfriend had even disappeared (i.e. no body and he'd only been missing for a few hours).
spiralsheep's denial: I told myself the detective's incompetence was a result of bad writing. ::hits self with belated clue bat no.1::
Episode 5
The second black man with a minor speaking role played victim-of-the-week, a nouveau riche golfer who was unpleasant, sneered at his white middle-class golfing partner for not hiring a golf-cart, and cheated at golf. All to a loud hip-hop soundtrack (no, rly!). Then he was eaten by the monster-of-the-week. This was also the first episode in which I noticed one of the special forces operatives in the background was a black man because I saw him in a group shot.
spiralsheep's denial: I told myself that, as an individual character, the golfer could pass as an ironic stereotype. seebrirun gently and insistently pointed out that the character was racist and, even if he'd been played by a white man, also classist. ::hits self with belated cluebat no.2::
Episode 6
All the special forces operatives were killed. The black man with the non-speaking role received his only close-up... a shot of him being crunched in the secondary monster-of-the-week's jaws. And when I say it was a non-speaking role I mean he didn't even get to say, "Argh!" The role didn't make it to the status of Dead Bro Walking. It was Dead Bro. Full stop.
spiralsheep's denial: I'd seen the complete series, the full context, and realised there wasn't going to be any counter-balance to the negative racist stereotypes of black men as aggressive, unpleasant, anti-social and wrong. *denial failure* **RACISM ALERT!** ::hits self with belated cluebat no.3::
Then Russell T. Davies spoke out and the white privilege bingo started up.
'the Swansea-born writer said he deplored the lack of non-white faces on the show.
He told TV trade magazine Broadcast: "Its (lack of) ethnic casting is shameful. I've never seen such a white show in all my born days."
But he added: "Apart from that I think it's excellent... I absolutely love it." '
The fans at primeval_itv decided to respond by playing a classic game of white privilege bingo... BINGO!
spiralsheep's totally colourblind guide to Primeval
(Ok, so I lied about the "colourblind" bit but, hey, everyone else does...) This is for anyone who wants context.
Britain: about 10% of the population self-identify as non-white.
British skiffy series Primeval set in contemporary England: 6 episodes; 8 main characters + 2 more recurring characters, all white; 2 black people in speaking roles, both men.
Episode 3
The first black man I noticed in the series and definitely the first with a speaking role (a couple of lines) played an aggressive police detective who wanted to arrest a grieving white woman for her boyfriend's murder without any evidence the boyfriend had even disappeared (i.e. no body and he'd only been missing for a few hours).
spiralsheep's denial: I told myself the detective's incompetence was a result of bad writing. ::hits self with belated clue bat no.1::
Episode 5
The second black man with a minor speaking role played victim-of-the-week, a nouveau riche golfer who was unpleasant, sneered at his white middle-class golfing partner for not hiring a golf-cart, and cheated at golf. All to a loud hip-hop soundtrack (no, rly!). Then he was eaten by the monster-of-the-week. This was also the first episode in which I noticed one of the special forces operatives in the background was a black man because I saw him in a group shot.
spiralsheep's denial: I told myself that, as an individual character, the golfer could pass as an ironic stereotype. seebrirun gently and insistently pointed out that the character was racist and, even if he'd been played by a white man, also classist. ::hits self with belated cluebat no.2::
Episode 6
All the special forces operatives were killed. The black man with the non-speaking role received his only close-up... a shot of him being crunched in the secondary monster-of-the-week's jaws. And when I say it was a non-speaking role I mean he didn't even get to say, "Argh!" The role didn't make it to the status of Dead Bro Walking. It was Dead Bro. Full stop.
spiralsheep's denial: I'd seen the complete series, the full context, and realised there wasn't going to be any counter-balance to the negative racist stereotypes of black men as aggressive, unpleasant, anti-social and wrong. *denial failure* **RACISM ALERT!** ::hits self with belated cluebat no.3::
Then Russell T. Davies spoke out and the white privilege bingo started up.