"I love this show, but I don't like how all of the black guys are villians."
My mom and I watch a lot of TV together. We're both big fans of Supernatural (SPN). Recently we were re-watching some old episodes, and my mother said something very interesting;
"I love this show, but I don't like how all of the black guys are villians."
This surprised me. I disagreed. "No way, I said. That's not true."
But then I thought about it. Has being a rabid fan of this show deemed me blind to its flaws? Was Supernatural... racist? And if so, could it be proven?
I decided to look into it for myself.
So, to determine an answer, the first question I had to answer was this: where all the black guys villains on this show?
First I had to decide what I defined as a "villain" in the context of the show. What traits do villains usually possess, and did the black characters in this show fit the bill? According to our friend the Dictionary a villain is simply defined as
noun
1. a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel.
2. a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot.
Well, these are problematic. Let's discuss these definitions for a moment.
1.) But in Supernatural, a show that explores the gray areas, villains are not as easily defined, are they? For example, Sam and Dean fight crime but do it through criminal means, at the same being the heroes of the story.
2.) Then we're left with agency of evil in the plot. Do these black characters meet this description? Does their villainy, or evilness, contribute to or move the plot along?
I believe that in the context of SPN, villains are characters that attempt to thwart Sam and Dean in some way, or to hurt them. Some characters are obviously villains, while others I'm not so sure. This is the definition I will use with this meta.
For one, we have to mention the obvious: black men are disproportionally portrayed as criminals in mainstream television. Many scholars and writers have commented on the limited roles black men are offered in Hollywood, and the stereotypes they - when cast - are forced to play. Do I even need to cite examples of this? Think about it.
I figured I had to look at every single black character in Supernatural (that I could recall, anyway.)
Here we have 'em. Let's grade them based on how fairly they are represented.
Gordon Walker, the insane homicidal hunter who gets gets arrested and sent to jail who takes pleasure in killing.
Grade: D-. Gorden is portrayed as merciless, bloodthirsty and sadistic.
Uriel, an Angel and co-worker of Casitel who is eventually killed by Anna in order to save Castiel. Uriel is then punished by Micheal for aiding Anna in her quest to kill the brother's parents to prevent their birth.
Grade: D. A purist, with no regard for human life, Uriel is portrayed as aggressive.
Rufus Turner, retired hunter, ally to Sam and Sean and estranged ex-friend of Bobby Singer's
Grade: A-. But you know...he dies. So that's that.
Then, the smaller characters: the (black) man possessed by the demon in "Time Is On My Side." The guy in "Croatian."
Thoughts? Are black men disproportionately portrayed as criminals or villains in this show? Is SPN rascist?
"I love this show, but I don't like how all of the black guys are villians."
This surprised me. I disagreed. "No way, I said. That's not true."
But then I thought about it. Has being a rabid fan of this show deemed me blind to its flaws? Was Supernatural... racist? And if so, could it be proven?
I decided to look into it for myself.
So, to determine an answer, the first question I had to answer was this: where all the black guys villains on this show?
First I had to decide what I defined as a "villain" in the context of the show. What traits do villains usually possess, and did the black characters in this show fit the bill? According to our friend the Dictionary a villain is simply defined as
noun
1. a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel.
2. a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot.
Well, these are problematic. Let's discuss these definitions for a moment.
1.) But in Supernatural, a show that explores the gray areas, villains are not as easily defined, are they? For example, Sam and Dean fight crime but do it through criminal means, at the same being the heroes of the story.
2.) Then we're left with agency of evil in the plot. Do these black characters meet this description? Does their villainy, or evilness, contribute to or move the plot along?
I believe that in the context of SPN, villains are characters that attempt to thwart Sam and Dean in some way, or to hurt them. Some characters are obviously villains, while others I'm not so sure. This is the definition I will use with this meta.
For one, we have to mention the obvious: black men are disproportionally portrayed as criminals in mainstream television. Many scholars and writers have commented on the limited roles black men are offered in Hollywood, and the stereotypes they - when cast - are forced to play. Do I even need to cite examples of this? Think about it.
I figured I had to look at every single black character in Supernatural (that I could recall, anyway.)
Here we have 'em. Let's grade them based on how fairly they are represented.
Gordon Walker, the insane homicidal hunter who gets gets arrested and sent to jail who takes pleasure in killing.
Grade: D-. Gorden is portrayed as merciless, bloodthirsty and sadistic.
Uriel, an Angel and co-worker of Casitel who is eventually killed by Anna in order to save Castiel. Uriel is then punished by Micheal for aiding Anna in her quest to kill the brother's parents to prevent their birth.
Grade: D. A purist, with no regard for human life, Uriel is portrayed as aggressive.
Rufus Turner, retired hunter, ally to Sam and Sean and estranged ex-friend of Bobby Singer's
Grade: A-. But you know...he dies. So that's that.
Then, the smaller characters: the (black) man possessed by the demon in "Time Is On My Side." The guy in "Croatian."
Thoughts? Are black men disproportionately portrayed as criminals or villains in this show? Is SPN rascist?