Animorphs and Discrimination

[blue_rampion]

Before we get into the minor character discussions, there is a topic I've been wanting to bring up here - discrimination and how they are dealt with and portrayed in the books. We see examples of racism, speciesism, sexism, and discrimination against the disabled, but they're all examined to different degrees and in different ways

Comments

[sunshinenorcas]

I'll respond more when I actually feel intelligent, but I did notice less emphasis on gender and race- Cassie's skintone is very rarely mentioned, to the point where when I was a kid I didn't even /realize/ she was african american for a long time. Marco's is even less implied, I think at one point he mentions knowing a little Spanish from his mother, but you would think it'd be a more of a point? And if even if his dad rejected all things Spanish for a long time to cope with Eva being gone... I'd expect Marco to at least have hints of it, like sneaking tacos when Dad's not around or something. Maybe KA was afraid of parents coming down on her? It sounds ridiculous when you look at all the violence in the novels, but America/people are so silly about being PC that I could see parents getting upset over someone being racist to Cassie or Marco being 'overtly Mexican' and not you know, limbs being cut off and grown back and evil little brain slugs.

[blue_rampion]

The Spanish thing comes from Marco's grandmother, who is stated to speak only Spanish. And Eva's stated to be an immigrant - though overall, I get the impression that Marco doesn't connect much with his hispanic heritage.

But, considering that he's stated to look like Eva, he probably at least looks Hispanic, and thus would have had to deal with the assumptions other people have because of that.

And I could be remembering wrong, but mostly Cassie's race seems to come up the most in books like the Megamorphs, where they're...not actually in modern American society.

[taira602]

Also, another question - is Marco (half) hispanic or Mexican or latino? I've wondered this before and meant to post it to the community at some point; has it ever been stated in the books exactly which country his mother came from? By which I mean, let's not assume he's necessarily hispanic, if that's not the case (unless I missed it somewhere.)

[blue_rampion]

I don't think it's mentioned? The only certain thing is that she comes from a country where they speak Spanish.

(Hispanic is the more general term, yes? Mexican and latino both come under that banner? Or am I getting mixed up?)

[lisacharly]

For a series that put a lot of emphasis on discrimination, it sure seems to relegate racism to the past. The racism we see either happens in MM3, or is so subtle that child readers wouldn't even pick up on it (the racial profiling thing in #30). Cassie mentions in MM3 that it's a word she's been called before, though, but it really is a non-issue in the modern-time series. Kind of upsettingly so. At least KA addressed it (or tried to, in the latter case) in Everworld and Remnants.

I HAVE MORE ON THIS POST THAT ISNT ABOUT MARCO WHEN I'M NOT MULTITASKING, I PROMISE.

[blue_rampion]

I got that impression too - reading it as a kid, it did kinda reinforce that notion that "racism is in the past!". Though, with Animorphs you can argue that racism is explored more through speciesism instead.

[sylverlining]

Oh hell yeah, speciesism is nothing if not a metaphor for racism. It's not even a metaphor really, it just IS. I think it's pretty clear what KA's feelings on the subject are.

[sylverlining]

... Though it's also a pretty big cop-out.
I'm gonna go with the theory that they just weren't allowed to talk really openly about racism/other kinds of discrimination in childrens' lit.

[anijen21]

I think sexism is dealt with a little bit in The Hork-Bajir Chronicles and maybe #38--I mean, we're doing racism through the fake alien filter, so let's handle gender the same way

[blue_rampion]

You can see some interesting stuff with the Yeerks in regards to gender as well - they don't appear to have one, biologically, but they often seem to acquire a gender from their hosts (or at the very least, other people refer to them as having a gender)

...maybe "Animorphs and the performance of gender" should be another topic dear god why did I not get back into this series until after I finished studying English and Literature IT IS A GOLDMINE DAMMIT

And memory's a funny thing - there are studies that show how people can remember stuff that never actually happened. Why not with fiction?

[anijen21]

omg I could write a BOOK about Yeerk gender I love that whole issue.

And I guess my point was more, why did I IMPOSE those memories on the series when it was usually pretty uncharged and ungendered? and why were the women always objectifying the men? lol idk

[blue_rampion]

You know if you cobbled together all of the discussions on this community, we probably WOULD have a book :P

Who knows, maybe you felt that women had been objectified so much that the men deserved some as well? XD But speaking seriously, notions about gender and how people should act are pretty ingrained into us. Even when we are aware of them, it's hard to step out of that viewpoint.

[cxrdevil]

I would've been interested to see more gay stuff, too. I think KAA mentioned that in an interview

[anijen21]

eesh, that is kind of a nasty detail about james. Good point, I never thought of it that way before.

[cxrdevil]

yeah also kind of eeh that they knew he wasn't born that way, he had an injury - like all the auxiliaries had already chosen him as leader but the car-crash factor would definitely add a level of "he has a higher chance of being able to walk someday"/dances with wolves that sort of thing. idk idk it's just so weird what was applegrant really thinking of the matter in their outlines if he couldn't be leader, morph, and still have to go back to a wheelchair like the others...or that the animorphs wouldn't respect him enough if he weren't like them...or that ax wouldn't get over his culture shock enough to work with him, everything just seems strange the way james played out

[lisacharly]

The other two kids who got healed also became James' sub-lieutenants, for just another factor of "hmmmm, interesting how THAT played out".

I wish we'd gotten to see more of the auxiliaries beyond #50. #50 was like "holy crap interesting social/philosophical questions!" and then they NEVER got brought up again, even in the context of the auxiliaries.

[iapetusneume]

As it often is for me with Science Fiction and Fantasy, I see other species as being an analogy for how us humans see race

[blue_rampion]

I did very much get the impression that while all of the characters had all these notions about the different species and what sets them apart...when you look at the actual members of each species, and their actions and thoughts, they aren't actually that different from each other. People often talk about how really all humans are the same, and yet in a way the message is in fact the same - all sentient creatures are, at core, the same. Some are good, some are bad, most of them are in that grey bit in the middle, and all of them think and feel and hurt.

[iapetusneume]

Exactly. I think that this is my very favorite thing about Animorphs, and that's saying something because I totally love so much about this series.