I think PoC are in the settings to lend credence to the centralization of the main White character, almost as if they were co-signing onto it. It also lends support to the idea of it being somehow natural that the White hero be superior and the center of attention, and they can dodge the accusation of not being diverse.
But I'm at the point now where I'd just rather see an all-White cast than yet another caricature of Black folk, especially Black women in shows. Just leave my Black ass OUT of it!
Well, there is also the other issue of how the white hero may have a mentor to induct them into the culture, which usually turns out one of two ways:
1) The Hostile Mentor
The Hostile Mentor cannot accept the white man's ascension, and so, must be defeated and shown his inferiority in the end. This often is also the POC rival whom spurs the white man on to show that he can be part of the culture and learn how to be totally loved within a month.
When it comes to "interracial" movies (title only applied with white/poc pairings), the parents of the person of color almost always play this role as well.
2) The Magical Mentor
The Magical Mentor must die, pass on, and give his or her blessings to the white man to succeed beyond them. After all, we couldn't leave his whiteness in the shadow of a POC, now could we?
The real reason is simple fear, the assumed audience, and the bottom line. Filmmakers (or rather, film financiers) are always worried that non-white characters will not be watched by audiences they assume are mostly white. Is it rational? No. But it's prevalent.
It isn't an aesthetic statement and it's not a calculated tactic in any culture war. It's the natural result of ignorance and cowardice.
That doesn't mean it doesn't exist as a larger trend. Just the same way wife beaters don't gather in grand wife-beating conventions to trade techniques.
It's the natural result of being comfortable with certain kinds of prejudice and walking with a specific set of privileges. Aesthetics and beliefs reinforce one another even as they serve as critiques of each other. See Leni Reifenstahl or DW Griffith and how politics, un-examined beliefs, and virulent racism lent themselves to compelling aesthetics. If not them, check out Spike Lee and his critiques of Clint Eastwood or look to the works of Russel T. Davies and Anna Wintour.
Art tells on the creators and consumers all the time. Just because it isn't a conscious value doesn't mean it isn't a dynamic and destructive one.
The cultural colonialism is definitely the issue, but I see it as a tool along with land stealing- you can take the land but unless you want to have centuries of turf wars, you have to destroy the people's identities as well.
In the case of the heroes, they form up as signposts around which people build the myths of their cultural values- whether we're talking Jesus, Greek philosophers, American founding fathers, or Superman.
It's no accident that not only POC are allowed heroes in a limited way, but that their stories are rewritten for a convenient white narrative ("MLK was such a nice negro, he wouldn't have kept nagging us about equality!", "Bob Marley was all about peace and love!", "Pocahontas is the perfect example of someone who accepted white people with open arms..." etc.)
And so, we don't get heroes, we get roles to fulfill, boxes to fit in and rewritten histories.
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But I'm at the point now where I'd just rather see an all-White cast than yet another caricature of Black folk, especially Black women in shows. Just leave my Black ass OUT of it!
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1) The Hostile Mentor
The Hostile Mentor cannot accept the white man's ascension, and so, must be defeated and shown his inferiority in the end. This often is also the POC rival whom spurs the white man on to show that he can be part of the culture and learn how to be totally loved within a month.
When it comes to "interracial" movies (title only applied with white/poc pairings), the parents of the person of color almost always play this role as well.
2) The Magical Mentor
The Magical Mentor must die, pass on, and give his or her blessings to the white man to succeed beyond them. After all, we couldn't leave his whiteness in the shadow of a POC, now could we?
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It isn't an aesthetic statement and it's not a calculated tactic in any culture war. It's the natural result of ignorance and cowardice.
Reply
That doesn't mean it doesn't exist as a larger trend. Just the same way wife beaters don't gather in grand wife-beating conventions to trade techniques.
Reply
Art tells on the creators and consumers all the time. Just because it isn't a conscious value doesn't mean it isn't a dynamic and destructive one.
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(The comment has been removed)
In the case of the heroes, they form up as signposts around which people build the myths of their cultural values- whether we're talking Jesus, Greek philosophers, American founding fathers, or Superman.
It's no accident that not only POC are allowed heroes in a limited way, but that their stories are rewritten for a convenient white narrative ("MLK was such a nice negro, he wouldn't have kept nagging us about equality!", "Bob Marley was all about peace and love!", "Pocahontas is the perfect example of someone who accepted white people with open arms..." etc.)
And so, we don't get heroes, we get roles to fulfill, boxes to fit in and rewritten histories.
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