Why we care about PoC characters in SFF

Why we care about POC characters in SFF - A conversation between two SFF fans

20/2/2017

Art by Greg Ruth for the cover of Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor.

You have to imagine Azzie and C. lounging on a sofa, a cup of tea in their hands, a big TV screen in a corner of the cozy room and bookshelves in another, both deep in a conversation that actually began years ago and that will probably go on for many years to come. Come on, step closer: you're welcome and there's still room on the sofa...

C.:
I am Mediterranean, with roots on both shores. But because I inherited the genes from the branch of the family that comes from Florence rather than the genes from the branch of the family that comes from Algeria, I never had to face racism.
For a long time, I wasn't actively searching for SFF with PoC characters and since there aren't that many, I didn't came across many. When I realised that, I also realised the incidences it had, and one in particular had me really wondering. PoC characters I read about were all secondary characters, mostly dying by the second chapter to give the white heroes the necessary sense of dread and urgency. What did it mean for the diverse students I teach to? Could I really imagine them as the possible heroes of their own stories, or only as "woman cleaning", "in the background" or "sat by their door step"? When your job is to have faith in their future and pushing them to succeed (and it's hard enough as it is whatever their ethnicity!), that would be a catastrophic unconscious prejudice.

Azzie:
Where to start? From the colonial history or modern day whitewashing?
Personally I've never looked for books or TV shows that had PoC characters or by PoC authors. I think it's in the last couple of years that I've began to notice the lack of both, pretty much at the same time I started to notice the role of women in sci-fi or even general fiction.
I think part of the reason was because while growing up I would read books or watch TV with mainly white characters, I had Bollywood and Indian soaps covering the visual existence of "people like me". Of course Bollywood sci-fi should be banned for good! But I feel that's the main reason I never questioned it as a child.

Fan art by Looklooklookitabook on DeviantArt for Ra.one, the Bollywood film.

C.:
I had the same experience about women in fiction. But when you notice they aren't there, it's glaring.

Azzie:
It is! Think about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: in my childhood I remember being "omg! Indian people in an English film!" A sense of pride, without really knowing what pride was at that age: it felt cool that they were in an American film... despite the fact that most were stereotypical characters e.g. villagers / bad guys! Though the main villain was easier to accept as a bad guy because he was a famous bad guy in Bollywood too!
But the point is that I now see things in a different way to what I saw as a kid. Even if I still love that film, the idea that it fullfils the white hero saving the poor PoC trope is much more obvious.

C.:
I've noticed that when you have PoC characters often the issues are more interesting to me. There's a lot of scifi and fantasy which is just adventure, adventure, adventure... I'm fine with that and I enjoy that. But with PoC characters, there's a whole range of themes that are introduced, particularly race and class issues. Class issues are something I almost never find in curent US scifi & fantasy, except when there are PoC characters.

Azzie:
Very true, though I feel there is a negative side to that. The idea that a PoC usually represents a class issue, as in they are likely to be lower class compared to their white counterpart... On one hand, it highlights a real issue, but it also confirms a stereotype. So for me it needs to be done right for it stop it falling into a trope. For example, it seems that the new companion in Doctor Who is going to be a cook in the university where the doctor will be teaching: on one hand, yes there are women of colour working as cooks, there is a difficulty for WoC when it comes to getting to Uni to this date, but it also fulfils the stereotype of a black woman working as a cook rather than being a student or even professor at the uni.

Ms Marvel by Takeshi Miyazawa.

C.:
Martha was a doctor though. But it's true that it's only two women of colour among the many other white women, who were a journalist, a scientist, a fearsome warrior...

Azzie:
I know the love story aspect of Martha spoils her for many, but what I loved about her was the fact she was a doctor, and I loved that line in "Smith and Jones" where she said it wasn't easy for her to get there. That for me summed up when it's done right: we manage to get a bit about how it was a struggle for her coming from the background she does, and yet she is who she is... A doctor!
It's a shame that we have not had more. Even in the Doctor Who books I've read so far, we have had only one Asian companion. The gossip currently is focused on when we will get a female doctor... while the show still has a lot to achieve in other regards!

C.:
There still aren't many PoC scifi main characters that make it to mainstream Western culture. Honestly, I'm not sure I could quote many: Luke Cage and Ms Marvel and errr...
All the other ones I can think of from the top of my head are from books that are often confined to scifi readership which I wouldn't qualify as mainstream Western culture!

Azzie:
We should be getting a Black panther movie soon and it's interesting on how long it's taken Marvel to do so.
But it's funny, being a PoC and also a female... It's interesting that on one hand they are finally giving a black man his own movie but have yet to give a woman her own movie. Movies and books I've noticed hardly seem to get the balance right... a bit like American politics!

C.:
Yes, that's the thing, isn't it? I mean there aren't many PoC SFF characters and when you have them, they're males. Except in novels, it's weird but I really come across more easily of novels with women of colour than men of colour. If there are men of colour, they are often background characters. It's not that I begrudge a representation that is very much needed, it's just that sometimes I wonder if for some writers it's not just a way to bundle up all their diversity need in one character: female and PoC!

Azzie:
I think it ticks the box for them. Plus I would imagine she would be the "exotic" character which a male may not fulfil!

Fan art for the Harry Potter series on http://mariannewiththesteadyhands.tumblr.com/

C.:
For you as a woman of colour, what would it mean to have an Asian female main character in scifi and fantasy?

Azzie:
Now? It would mean the world to me! I think we may make it possible one day as more writers are sitting up and taking notice that we do exist. I mean even if it's still only in the comics. Marvel have been happily promoting Kamala Khan a lot, she even managed to get into their own marvels contest game app last year. And while not scifi, having the likes of Pryanka Chopra as leads on shows like Quantico means that they may see that a female PoC is a lead that works.
While not a lead, they also have a hijabi as a character in Wolfblood. I saw a trailer and it seems she was not just a side character by the looks of the fact that she was kicking some ass and kissing too!
So while it's not at the pace the world is moving, I think it will happen one day...

C.:
I think the idea is not so weird, is it? Anyone just want to see themselves in the fiction they read or watch, don't they? Identification is the most basic form of interaction between fiction and reader. It empowers us... As long as the character is empowered or go through a journey of empowerment!

Azzie:
Yeah, identification is very important, especially for the kids growing up now, where it's become more important for them to build their own individuality than conform. So seeing, or reading someone they can relate to, someone they can see being themselves, is very powerful.
I'd like the kids to be able to read a book and not imagine all characters are white and straight unless stated like I used to, but be able to read knowing that this character could easily be black or gay... basically them.

C.:
On the other hand, it's important for adults too. I find it hard sometimes to find SFF novels for adults which are written by PoC with PoC characters. Most of the scifi & fantasy books I find written by PoC are YA novels. There's a great range of that, which is fantastic. But when it comes to adult reading? It's a difficult task as if adults didn't need identification!

Azzie:
I think I focused on kids more is because as an adult I've kind of accepted it. But you're right: I still deserve representation / identification.
I'm more critical of TV shows / films because currently my reading is on hold. I really need to get back to reading again! And definitely search for those books!