Something interesting I have learned in the past year are the subjects of whiteness and colourism; specifically how these words have helped me expand my vocabulary and articulate my feelings around race.
The subject that has captured my mind the most has been whiteness, because it is the ways in which people of colour (like myself) have been told how some of the things white people do, then becomes the standard of greatness.
Like how I made sure I spoke English in this overly enunciated manner so that when white/coloured people regularly told me, "You speak so well", I felt so proud; even when I was saying nothing of importance. This is interesting because no one usually says that of white people.
Like how I ended up wanting to go to one high school because it was seen as the classier school where the white kids went, instead of a closer school that most of the coloured and black kids went.
Like how I would expect my parents (then eventually a single parent mother) to provide me with the things that some of my white friends had, when what I had was already the luxury that they could provide.
Like how growing up on Ricoffy, turned out to be fake coffee because my lower middle class family could never afford filter coffee, and only in high school did I learn that there was this thing called filter coffee.
Like how the media kept pushing this notion of “white beauty” on me to such a degree that it has subconsciously shaped my first instinctive preferences in guys, and beyond that they way my imagination often visualises fictitious characters.
I would stop reading a book when it repeatedly pointed out how “half-Asian” or “dark skinned” a character was, as those character traits would disrupt this image of a white character in my head.
I have had to become aware of all these things and in some cases needed to unlearn these habits, while in other cases I’ve needed to make peace with how I was socialized throughout life.
Colourism is another part of this, as it is something which relates to racism and classism on those within your own racial class. An example being the snide/derogatory comments made about people from a poorer social group when you have exactly the same skin tone.
The only interaction with this I had was when I would judge people of colour for how they would speak English; never mind the fact that English would be their second or third language. As if their manner of speaking English would be a judgement on their intellect.
I haven’t dealt with colourism as much, but learning about this issue, and becoming aware of whiteness (specifically mine) has been a very enlightening part of this year.
The process of learning about these things have been extremely difficult and uncomfortable for myself but by learning more about this, I had found that it has made me more open to learning about the people around me instead of judging them first.
I know that I am still learning, but I am proud of myself for what I have become aware of thus far.
I recently completed watching a show called “Sense 8” which is from the Wachowski siblings who brought us “Matrix”, “Jupiter Ascending”, and “Cloud Atlas” to name a few. They are type of directors who don’t just want to reproduce the same old thing for people to consume and come up with an inventive and imaginative way to tell a story.
Their work doesn’t always connect with some people though, which is why the siblings have recently taken the route that many blockbuster directors who have had recent bombs do –go to TV.
It worked very well for M. Night Shyamalan who after bombing with After Earth turned to TV and struck gold with his TV show “Wayward Pines” (which I strongly recommend you binge watch because the story is just so compelling).
Getting back on track, basically the Wachowskis realised that the movie format wasn’t working for them and so they went to Netflix to try telling their imaginative stories.
In my opinion, this was a damn brilliant decision.
Sense 8, which the Wachowski siblings executive produce alongside J.Michael Straczynski, telling the stories of 8 strangers from across the globe who become connected to each other.
As viewer, you embark on a 12 episode journey with these characters and each of their narratives as they help, console and teach each other. They have to learn how to cope with being able to have access to the knowledge, emotions, feelings and senses of 7 other people.
I have compiled a list of reasons why more people should be watching Sense 8. I am not going to lie that if you want something that will give you all the answers from episode one then you might struggle watching the show. The show takes the first half of the season building the relationships with each of the characters and establishing their own lives (which is no small feat). By the time the action gets rolling, you really feel connected to their story and your investment is rewarded.
Stereotypical Race Representation
The show delivers characters who you have seen across a few TV shows but never in one show, never mind them even interacting with each other. The show includes characters from America, Korea, Iceland, India, Mexico, Kenya and Germany. The cast varies in nationality, skin colour and language. The show tries, and succeeds to break down the stereotypes of characters that we usually see. You have a representation of Nairobi (Kenya) that depicts not only how gang dominated the country is, but also how complicated the characters that live there are.
They aren’t just stereotypes that we see on screen but rather people living complicated lives. The same goes for the Korean character, Sun. Sun is working in a pharmaceutical firm run by her father and brother. You see that she smokes and she is not scared to beat someone’s ass, but yet, she sacrifices her freedom to protect her brother. Their narratives are something we would never typically see in an American produced TV show, never mind the fact that these characters even interact with each other.
Sun (from Korea) interacts not only with Capheus (from Kenya) but also Kala (India), Lito (Mexico) and Riley (Iceland). This is just how one character interacts with characters from across the globe within the show. Each character gets to “visit” (as the show calls it) the others sometime throughout the span of the 12 episodes, and as a viewer it is a joy to witness. Interactions between characters of colour or interactions with characters of different nationalities (that you would never typically see happen) occur frequently on Sense 8. This show doesn’t just do it to be a gimmick, but does it to tell a story, with exciting outcomes. As a viewer of colour from South Africa, I appreciate seeing someone like Capheus and his best friend interacting on screen because while I might not be from Kenya, there are some bits of their story that I as an African can relate to.
Sense 8 succeeds for me because it deals with how interconnected we are. We all want to believe that there is someone out there in the world that can relate to us, be it romantically or just another person.
Sense 8 takes that ideal and transcends it. Two of the characters sometimes are dealing with the same emotion in a different way but the show puts them together and when you witness how they learn from each other and are talking about their various challenges it is becomes captivating.
Sometimes someone close to you could be going through something that you went through already, and since you might know exactly how they feel, you can still relate to them. Sense 8 excels in this regard.
One of my favourite sequence’s comes from episode 4 where the Sense 8’s are singing“What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes. They all share the experiences but in a very different way. Some happy, some sad, and one being drunk, but it just works in depicting how interconnected they are to each other.
There is some dialogue that Kala says in episode 7 that I just love because of how it describes their connection:
“If I was trying to describe this feeling - the sensation of experiencing the warmth of the sun, the smell of jasmine and marigold; while at the same time being soaked by a downpour at an outdoor cafe. Taste of strong coffee still in my mouth...I would say the word miracle sounds particularly appropriate. Wouldn’t you?”
The show also impresses me for how it fearlessly tackles LGBT themes, which I adore. Lito is a closeted telenova star living with his boyfriend Hernando. Nomi is a transgendered woman who has been with her girlfriend for a long time. Sense 8 doesn’t just have one LGBT character to fill some type of quota, but rather it has two whose stories are depicted equally as those of the heterosexual characters on the show. Sense 8 shows that LGBT live lives full of love, struggle and heartache. It is a complex depiction of the lives of those with the LGBT community that don’t fit into any particular mould.
Sexuality is EXTREMELY apparent in this show. We see the transgendered woman making love to her girlfriend within the first episode of the show, but it is really in episode 6 where this particular aspect of the show takes off because it does this to show how connected the Sense 8’s are. When two of the Sense 8’s simultaneously happen to be having sex, and another is feeling horny, it ended up having a ripple effect which the show handles by showing some of the Sense8’s engaged in not an orgy. But an orgy that is simultaneously taking place in Germany, Mexico and USA, all while none of them are in the same place. It is less trippy than what it sounds. They feel each other’s pleasure to such an extent, one of the Sense 8’s who is in America orgasms while working out but another Sense 8 in Mexico exclaims that “I just had one the best orgasms of my life.” It is really just a spectacle to watch, and it is really enjoyable to watch because you understand their connection to each other in a way that you may not have before.
The show does not shy away from show religion either. Kala in India is shown to be a scientist who is also a devout Hindu. We are often shown scenes in which Kala prays to the Ganesha (a Hindu god) to help her with a particular problem that she is seeking clarification on. It is refreshing and as someone who knows very little about the Hindu religion, it is extremely exciting and engaging to watch.
In episode 7 she says:
“My love for science doesn’t preclude my faith. For me, science is another language we use to talk about the same miracle that faith talks about.”
Also with the whole idea of 8 people being connected, the show deals with how it has an impact on science. The Sense 8’s are suggested to be another form of homosapien, and it goes onto much further elaboration than I will here. The show isn’t pitting these two sectors against each other but rather, allowing them to work in cohesion with one another as it pushes the seasonal arc forward.
Romances
The show has the longstanding relation between Nomi/Amanita at the start, and the reason why their relationship is engaging because you see a gay woman of colour in a long term relationship with a white transgendered woman; Lito and his boyfriend Hernando are the two Mexican gay men also committed to each other. The show then has the romance of Riley (the DJ from Iceland) and Will (the police officer from USA), in the fore front driving the story following their newfound connection. Their story has major consequences for the plot and is lovely to watch.
Kala’s romance saga proved to be equally exciting for me as you have an Indian woman who is about to get married to a guy who is perfect for her, but can’t help falling in love with the German diamond thief (who enjoys being naked) but also has a heart of gold. I loved becoming engrossed in their love story because they represent two people who couldn’t be more different from each, yet can’t help taking a liking to each other.
Flaws
Of course like any show, Sense 8 is not without its flaws. Sometimes throughout the show the 12 episodes does feels like a limit given that if the show had more time, they may have been able to flesh out the connections a bit more. There’s also one or two times when Sense 8’s who have never met, take to meeting each other without much fanfare, and like it’s no big deal.
Maybe the show could be saying that some of the Sense 8 took to their newfound connection to strangers with ease, but that seems like a stretch. Sure we do meet some people who feel like we have known them forever but sharing thoughts and feelings with them would at least be a “WTF” moment regardless of who you are.
The villain of show also needed to be more 3 dimensional and less like a guy who wants to just kill them. Hopefully the second season of the show will get into giving the villain a substantial expansion if we are to truly feel threatened for the Sense 8’s. What made him want to kill the Sense 8’s? Power? Control? Or Scientific reasons?
The show did a good job of interweaving of the stories of the Sense 8’s but they could be handled better. On occasion when watching it does feel like the show is struggling to find a way to connect the characters but for the most part, it does well.
Some people have complained about how the show excluded some of the non-white characters from the orgy scene. However this may have been a scheduling issue or logistics. The show films across the globe and as a result, they may not have had all the actors present and available at all times. Perhaps not everyone was available to shoot the orgy scene, or opted out of being the scene for personal reasons but this seems like a minor flaw given how the show is doing more for representation of non-white heterosexual characters than almost half the TV shows from America these days.
Despite its flaws, Sense 8 is a show the likes of which is hardly if ever seen. I finally get to see complex characters of colour and sexuality and not just the typical white characters that are so often fed to us from Hollywood.
I strongly encourage each and everyone to give the first 6 episodes a watch. If after that you aren’t feeling the show, then at least you tried.
As for me, I will impatiently wait for season 2 to find out more of the story about these interesting and never before seen 8 characters.
I hope that Season 2 stays focused on these 8 characters and not want to introduce too much too soon. Theo Over and Out. PS - Here is the trailer to Wayward Pines if you are interested. (BUT ONLY AFTER SENSE 8 !!!!!)
Tales of white
characters who have to fight against a particular evil or endure hardships
because they are different is a story that nearly every science fiction movie is
based on.
Their narrative is often
one of angst and hardship that has to be overcome. You are meant to sympathise
with these characters and root for them as they go on a journey of
self-discovery, accepting their uniqueness and going onto killing the bad guy. Science
fiction movies have always been known for their inclusion of the other, or that
which is different, and while that may be true, the question still remains:
Where are all the black characters though?
I doubt this is the first time that someone
asked this question, or the last time it will be asked because this is a issue
that not only science fiction films struggle with, but many mainstream movies
too. The reason why I singled out science fiction movies in its struggle for
diverse racial representation is because the genre is one that is set in a
futuristic, often utopia like, world where everyone is accepting of others and
that the colour of your skin should not matter.
When researching race
in science-fiction films, it was one of the first times that I found Google to
have an inadequate answer. It gave me a constant repetition of sources that
spoke about this issue, giving their opinion, but no evidence of a concerted
effort being made. It seems like we’ve become accustomed to having
predominantly white people as the lead of science-fiction films that we don’t
really question it.
Often when watching a
sci-fi movie you never really notice such things because you get so absorbed
into the story. It is only later upon further reflection that you will notice
if there was a person of colour in the film. Just to clarify, I am aware that
those of other races are also underrepresented, but I am primarily focusing on
black and brown people because there is such a large number of us in the
world but still so few of them appear on screen.
In recent years however,
people of colour have at least been making appearances in the genre but they
are still grossly underrepresented in general. There have been a plethora of
science-fiction films that has given us great stories to engage with and but
yet somehow characters of colour are still lacking majorly; In Time, Total Recall, Cloud Atlas,
and most recently Interstellar are a
few of the movies that I can recall where we clearly see one or two people of
colour within the films. The recent release of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar which was a great movie
even had more robotic characters than it did have characters of colour.
Previous Nolan efforts such as Inception and the Dark Knight Trilogy had also
at least one token diverse cast member, which is commendable for the director
to have done but overall there needs to be more than one person of colour in
movies. In In Time with Justin
Timberlake we only see black people within the working class sector where one
black character is the girlfriend to the protagonist’s best friend, or within
the police force keeping order; when Timberlake’s character enters the upper
class sector there is no black character that can be seen. This is another issue in itself that when
black people are represented they are still shown to be within the lower classes
and slums but I digress.
Science-fiction is
supposed to be the genre where everyone is accepted and race doesn’t matter but
more often than not, these films fail to promote true inclusivity. They deliver
the subliminal message that those who do not fit the mould of a white character
will be unable to realise their full potential or have the same success of
white characters. This creates a problem as it leaves children of colour with
the impression that there are certain things they will be unable to accomplish just
because they are not white; this is a frightening idea to pass on to younger
generations.
Representation for
people of colour has always been lacking in such a way that people are unaware
of the fact that they keep seeing the same type of character lead a science-fiction
film or even just have the character have a homogenised look. If we use Suzanne
Collin’s The Hunger Games as an example we can see that this also applies.
Recently within the adaption of the first book there was an online disagreement
that erupted with some of the readers because a character called Rue, who
heroically died in the movies, was black. More than a few people were on the
social media platform Twitter sharing their disdain at the news that the
character in the book that they had formed an emotional connection too was
portrayed by a black actor in the movie. While online
platforms like Twitter does allow for those of an ignorant nature to cause a
louder raucous, it does not dismiss the fact that people have become so
comfortable to characters within science-fiction movies being white, that they
are surprised when a character turns out to be non-white. Clearly
this shows that somewhere there is an issue with the lack of appropriate
representation of non-white characters.
Star Trek movies are
based on the TV show has a corporation that is meant to include various type of
species in the film but still the film has Uhura, Zoe Zaldana, and John Cho’s Sulu,
along with a Tyler Perry’s cameo, as the only diverse cast members in the film.
Within the Star Trek Universe, Khan Noonien Singh is known to be one of the show’s
most iconic villains. Whenever a discussion about the series is spoken about,
his name is bound to come up. His character is part of a genetically engineered
super-human group, bred to be advance in every way; they are free of the usual
human mental and physical limitations. What the series did was represent him as
a person of colour which, particular for a series in the 1960’s was still a
major coup, and they were giving the suggestion that the ultimate form of being
a human could perhaps be a person of colour with superhuman abilities. In the
2013 film reboot “Star Trek: Into Darkness” whitewashed the character as he was portrayed by Caucasian British
actor Benedict Cumberbatch. There has been a criticism for the film because
they took a character that was known to be of colour and transformed him into
another white character. Already people of colour are underrepresented but to then
still whitewash them, it is highly problematic. The film’s co-producer and
co-screenwriter did address this issue however by stating:
“Basically, as we went through the casting
process and we began honing in on the themes of the movie, it became
uncomfortable for me to support demonizing anyone of color, particularly any one
of Middle Eastern descent or anyone evoking that.”
The film does have the
female character of colour Uhura, who plays a love interest to the character of
Spock, which does show a positive representation and having another character
of colour playing the role of the villain, would have in actuality be stating
that people of colour fall into different types of categories where some are
good and some are bad. Unfortunately they still chose not to have the character
portrayed as black.
One of the most notable
science-fiction films to get the portrayal of people of colour correctly was The
Matrix Trilogy. In the start, we are
presented with Morpheus, Lawrence Fishburne, who it could be argued is actually
calling the shots; he was the one who was coaching the protagonist, Neo,
through it. He trained him and he was the one who took Neo to visit the Oracle,
who also happened to be black, to find out if he was “The One” just like he had
done with the people before whom he hoped would be the one to save their people.
Naomi, a fellow ship commander, and Link the computer technician of Morpheus’
ship are examples of a few other characters of colour were portrayed in the
films. The films’ representation of people of colour has to my knowledge not
been matched by any other science-fiction film since.
Representation of
minority racial groups and people of colour have been greatly underrepresented
within the science-fiction film genre and it is problematic that a genre which
sets out to be inclusive is not as inclusive as it should be. In the movie
business money talks, it will take the use of paying moviegoers drawing more
attention to this issue for the movie executives to take notice. Who knows
maybe in 10 years time this will be a non-issue and opinion articles like this
will fade from memory? If so, then that will be a day I gladly look forward to.
Like how I made sure I spoke English in this overly enunciated manner so that when white/coloured people regularly told me, "You speak so well", I felt so proud; even when I was saying nothing of importance. This is interesting because no one usually says that of white people.
