Comments on: Race http://saveheroes.wordpress.com A Collaborative Fan Effort To Save A Great Show Sat, 08 Dec 2007 02:35:04 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Sinanju http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-55 Sinanju Sat, 08 Dec 2007 02:35:04 +0000 http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-55 A couple of quibbles: 1. Since Charles Devereaux was black, it's not surprising that Simone--his daughter--was also black regardless of what happened to her. 2. It's my impression (I have no textual support, admittedly, but it's my perception nonetheless) that the Haitian has no name by his choice. He concealed his ability to speak from everyone for years; I think he chooses not to reveal his name (or to erase it if discovered) as a constant reminder of his power. People call him "The Haitian" because it's the only name he lets them remember. Niki's husband and the black cheerleader? No arguments. Black gangster in Ireland? There _was_ a black gangster in Ireland? I honestly don't remember. But then, that whole storyline brought the suck. A couple of quibbles:

1. Since Charles Devereaux was black, it’s not surprising that Simone–his daughter–was also black regardless of what happened to her.

2. It’s my impression (I have no textual support, admittedly, but it’s my perception nonetheless) that the Haitian has no name by his choice. He concealed his ability to speak from everyone for years; I think he chooses not to reveal his name (or to erase it if discovered) as a constant reminder of his power. People call him “The Haitian” because it’s the only name he lets them remember.

Niki’s husband and the black cheerleader? No arguments.

Black gangster in Ireland? There _was_ a black gangster in Ireland? I honestly don’t remember. But then, that whole storyline brought the suck.

]]> By: Laura Shapiro http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-54 Laura Shapiro Fri, 07 Dec 2007 18:28:09 +0000 http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-54 Having seen the end of S2, I am appalled at the treatment of people of color this year, and the eternal central importance of the white guys. More dead men of color (DL [again!], Alejandro), and a kickass black woman (Monica) reduced to an object to be rescued so that a white woman can die heroically. Meanwhile, Ando's reduced to waiting around for Hiro to show up. Hiro, Micah, and Mohinder are the only foregrounded people of color on the show who have any narrative impact at all. And The Haitian still doesn't have a name. I am not impressed. Having seen the end of S2, I am appalled at the treatment of people of color this year, and the eternal central importance of the white guys. More dead men of color (DL [again!], Alejandro), and a kickass black woman (Monica) reduced to an object to be rescued so that a white woman can die heroically. Meanwhile, Ando’s reduced to waiting around for Hiro to show up. Hiro, Micah, and Mohinder are the only foregrounded people of color on the show who have any narrative impact at all.

And The Haitian still doesn’t have a name.

I am not impressed.

]]> By: Brandon http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-49 Brandon Sun, 02 Dec 2007 10:48:25 +0000 http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-49 I just some more episodes and apparently ANY and ALL white people are able to tell 'ol step-n-fetch "Haitian" what to do. The man has to be at least 40, but even the psychotic 24yr old girl is his superior and gives him orders. I mean...cmon... I just some more episodes and apparently ANY and ALL white people are able to tell ‘ol step-n-fetch “Haitian” what to do. The man has to be at least 40, but even the psychotic 24yr old girl is his superior and gives him orders. I mean…cmon…

]]> By: Brandon http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-48 Brandon Sun, 02 Dec 2007 04:22:13 +0000 http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-48 I have noticed that “certain people” never seem to notice racism even when it is pretty blatant. There aren’t many black people in any major network program, so that isn’t really the complaint. The fact that there aren’t many of them just makes the stereotyping all the more obvious. Here is a quick walkthrough of ALL of the black people that I have seen so far on “Heroes”… (1)Old Guy in Wheelchair from Season 1: Character of little/no consequence. Killed off early in the season. (2)The Haitian: Mute black man taking orders from white superiors. If he’s not taking orders from Claire’s dad.. Then in the future(5 Years Gone) he’s taking orders from the idiot Cop. (3)Peter & The Psychic Painter’s “Girlfriend”: Black woman. The only licentious character on the show. Killed off, but not before dating the junkie and then sleeping with Peter. Again.. not a hero and not a particularly likable character. (4)Nikki’s Husband: Black convict. Flawed hero. Neither prominent nor important. Sure, his wife is a hero, but she’s also a stripper/prostitute(?) His most prominent moment in the show is when he “loyally” takes bullet for Niki. (6) Black Cheerleader: An extra. Bad Guy. One of the evil cheerleaders. Non-character; just prominently placed in the cheerleader scene of season 2 episode one to be seen and despised. (7)Black Thug in Ireland: Non-hero. Bad guy. Beats up Peter. Again non-speaking black man taking orders from white superiors. See also Haitian supra. (8)Nikki’s Biracial Son: No problems with him. He’s the exception that proves the rule. There aren’t many blacks that have been in the show at all and these are their roles. Only 1 out of the only 8 black characters in twenty-four episodes I’ve seen seems to be respectable. I have noticed that “certain people” never seem to notice racism even when it is pretty blatant. There aren’t many black people in any major network program, so that isn’t really the complaint. The fact that there aren’t many of them just makes the stereotyping all the more obvious. Here is a quick walkthrough of ALL of the black people that I have seen so far on “Heroes”…

(1)Old Guy in Wheelchair from Season 1: Character of little/no consequence. Killed off early in the season.

(2)The Haitian: Mute black man taking orders from white superiors. If he’s not taking orders from Claire’s dad.. Then in the future(5 Years Gone) he’s taking orders from the idiot Cop.

(3)Peter & The Psychic Painter’s “Girlfriend”: Black woman. The only licentious character on the show. Killed off, but not before dating the junkie and then sleeping with Peter. Again.. not a hero and not a particularly likable character.

(4)Nikki’s Husband: Black convict. Flawed hero. Neither prominent nor important. Sure, his wife is a hero, but she’s also a stripper/prostitute(?) His most prominent moment in the show is when he “loyally” takes bullet for Niki.

(6) Black Cheerleader: An extra. Bad Guy. One of the evil cheerleaders. Non-character; just prominently placed in the cheerleader scene of season 2 episode one to be seen and despised.

(7)Black Thug in Ireland: Non-hero. Bad guy. Beats up Peter. Again non-speaking black man taking orders from white superiors. See also Haitian supra.

(8)Nikki’s Biracial Son: No problems with him. He’s the exception that proves the rule.

There aren’t many blacks that have been in the show at all and these are their roles. Only 1 out of the only 8 black characters in twenty-four episodes I’ve seen seems to be respectable.

]]> By: hw http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-47 hw Thu, 29 Nov 2007 05:51:35 +0000 http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-47 Your right therem. Places outside of "White America" have been shown in a bad light. Even in a black neighborhood your own cousin will steal from you. I was going to say that Clair's suburb was the only safe place they have shown, but then remembered that she was almost raped and would have died had it not been for her power. But for the most part, the writers have had a stereotypical view of world culture. That seems to be they're problem in every category of this forum. They fit race and gender and plot into their traditional comic book parameters. These have been problems in the comics for many decades. When Heroes began I said "Finally, a show where real multi-cultural situations will happen along with super heroes. But no, I see the same old thing. DL's storyline bothers me the most. My comment from The Angry Black Woman: "The issue that most bothered me was the portrayal of DL. Yes, he saved Nikki from a bullet and became a fireman (before he died), but what about when he was BEGGING her to “escape jail” because he couldn’t make it in the world. Started out being a wanted criminal. Not a good image of a black man. And here was a guy that was using his power before almost everybody else, but couldn’t react fast enough to save himself and Nikki together." http://theangryblackwoman.wordpress.com/2007/11/21/save-heroes/#comment-25022 Your right therem. Places outside of “White America” have been shown in a bad light. Even in a black neighborhood your own cousin will steal from you. I was going to say that Clair’s suburb was the only safe place they have shown, but then remembered that she was almost raped and would have died had it not been for her power. But for the most part, the writers have had a stereotypical view of world culture. That seems to be they’re problem in every category of this forum. They fit race and gender and plot into their traditional comic book parameters. These have been problems in the comics for many decades. When Heroes began I said “Finally, a show where real multi-cultural situations will happen along with super heroes. But no, I see the same old thing. DL’s storyline bothers me the most. My comment from The Angry Black Woman:

“The issue that most bothered me was the portrayal of DL. Yes, he saved Nikki from a bullet and became a fireman (before he died), but what about when he was BEGGING her to “escape jail” because he couldn’t make it in the world. Started out being a wanted criminal. Not a good image of a black man. And here was a guy that was using his power before almost everybody else, but couldn’t react fast enough to save himself and Nikki together.”

http://theangryblackwoman.wordpress.com/2007/11/21/save-heroes/#comment-25022

]]> By: DaisyDeadhead http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-46 DaisyDeadhead Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:18:29 +0000 http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-46 I initially liked the Catholic touch of Maya causing eyes to "bleed" as some paintings and statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary were said to have cried actual blood-tears. But in Catholic tradition, this is a sign of holiness and redemption, not death. I don't like it that this legend has been perverted into something EVIL and WICKED and I consider it subtly anti-Catholic, as well as blatantly anti-immigrant and anti-Mexican. Immigrants bringing forth DISEASE, huh? And where have we heard that one before? Maya as in Mayans? Or Maya as in the Hindu deity? The Buddhist concept of illusion? Do they even know, or did they just pick a cool name out of abyss? Do they do these things deliberately or what? I initially liked the Catholic touch of Maya causing eyes to “bleed” as some paintings and statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary were said to have cried actual blood-tears. But in Catholic tradition, this is a sign of holiness and redemption, not death. I don’t like it that this legend has been perverted into something EVIL and WICKED and I consider it subtly anti-Catholic, as well as blatantly anti-immigrant and anti-Mexican.

Immigrants bringing forth DISEASE, huh? And where have we heard that one before?

Maya as in Mayans? Or Maya as in the Hindu deity? The Buddhist concept of illusion? Do they even know, or did they just pick a cool name out of abyss?

Do they do these things deliberately or what?

]]> By: therem http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-43 therem Wed, 28 Nov 2007 03:14:38 +0000 http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-43 This week's episode (#10, "Truth & Consequences") really bothered me on the racial front because I realized that we've hardly ever seen people outside the heroes, their friends, their nemeses ("nemesis-es", as Warren from Buffy said) or immediate kin affect the plot line. An exception this time was the anonymous neighborhood gang in New Orleans who stole Micha's backpack and kidnapped Monica. Interestingly enough, they were all black. And that made me remember a similar crowd of anonymous criminals in Mexico... On this show, "criminals" (at least of the anonymous, lower than scrum variety, not the Lucky Charms type from Ireland) are seemingly all PoC. What the hell is that all about? I'm not taking issue with the statistics of representation in New Orleans or Mexico -- I'm just wondering why crime has to be a part of the story in those places, when, for example, New York City seems to be pretty free of it in this show. This week’s episode (#10, “Truth & Consequences”) really bothered me on the racial front because I realized that we’ve hardly ever seen people outside the heroes, their friends, their nemeses (“nemesis-es”, as Warren from Buffy said) or immediate kin affect the plot line. An exception this time was the anonymous neighborhood gang in New Orleans who stole Micha’s backpack and kidnapped Monica. Interestingly enough, they were all black. And that made me remember a similar crowd of anonymous criminals in Mexico… On this show, “criminals” (at least of the anonymous, lower than scrum variety, not the Lucky Charms type from Ireland) are seemingly all PoC. What the hell is that all about?

I’m not taking issue with the statistics of representation in New Orleans or Mexico — I’m just wondering why crime has to be a part of the story in those places, when, for example, New York City seems to be pretty free of it in this show.

]]> By: S. A. Bonasi http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-39 S. A. Bonasi Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:48:28 +0000 http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-39 I wrote a post on the Twelve and how their powers are represented, as there's a trend with white male members of the Twelve having clearly defined powers while the other members of the Twelve have either ambiguously defined powers or powers that haven't been established. I am posting this to both the race and gender section as it applies equally to each. http://sabonasi.livejournal.com/383640.html I wrote a post on the Twelve and how their powers are represented, as there’s a trend with white male members of the Twelve having clearly defined powers while the other members of the Twelve have either ambiguously defined powers or powers that haven’t been established. I am posting this to both the race and gender section as it applies equally to each.

http://sabonasi.livejournal.com/383640.html

]]> By: Marabout http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-37 Marabout Tue, 27 Nov 2007 02:19:44 +0000 http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-37 The only issue. You got like two black guys in the show among a ton of caucasians. Why you got to kill off the one prominent black male hero?(The haitian was originally a villain-like character) And sorry, his bi-racial son doesn't count. I know a lot of people have died on this show, but when you got like one black guy, why not preserve him rather than whack him the first chance you get.(okay, maybe it was like the third or fourth) The only issue. You got like two black guys in the show among a ton of caucasians. Why you got to kill off the one prominent black male hero?(The haitian was originally a villain-like character) And sorry, his bi-racial son doesn’t count. I know a lot of people have died on this show, but when you got like one black guy, why not preserve him rather than whack him the first chance you get.(okay, maybe it was like the third or fourth)

]]> By: therealpotato http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-36 therealpotato Mon, 26 Nov 2007 22:20:36 +0000 http://saveheroes.wordpress.com/race/#comment-36 I just have to add that Mohinder's 'Indian' accent is terrible. It's more of a vaguely-British lilt than anything resembling a Tamil accent (and, by the way, how come everyone in Chennai writes in Hindi?). Mohinder himself has at least had more to do this season, as opposed to last season where he seemed to be doing nothing but voiceovers, but I still feel like I don't know him very well. His character has only been developed enough to participate in the plot; other than that, who is this guy? Does he have a sense of humor? Sexuality? Any interests outside of his father, his sister and now Molly? I'm excited that he's there, and I think it bucks the 'South Asian nerd' stereotype a little in that he is put out there as one of the hunky guys of the show (and how-- yum!). But he'd win over a lot more viewers if he had a personality. I just have to add that Mohinder’s ‘Indian’ accent is terrible. It’s more of a vaguely-British lilt than anything resembling a Tamil accent (and, by the way, how come everyone in Chennai writes in Hindi?). Mohinder himself has at least had more to do this season, as opposed to last season where he seemed to be doing nothing but voiceovers, but I still feel like I don’t know him very well. His character has only been developed enough to participate in the plot; other than that, who is this guy? Does he have a sense of humor? Sexuality? Any interests outside of his father, his sister and now Molly? I’m excited that he’s there, and I think it bucks the ‘South Asian nerd’ stereotype a little in that he is put out there as one of the hunky guys of the show (and how– yum!). But he’d win over a lot more viewers if he had a personality.

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