Just a tiny, little fantasy racism thing that's been bothering me

[DokiDokiTsuna]

You know that thing where (often in a shonen-anime-type setting) there'll be a fantasy-minority character as part of the main cast, because of course they're the character the story is gonna use to show that racism is wrong (AND that, since they are friends with MC, MC is a good person).

So they do their subplot, we all learn that racism is wrong and 'only bad people are racist' for the 8 billionth time, and after this is done, the fantasy-minority character...just goes back to following MC's lead for the rest of the series.

And it's just kinda...euuughhhh...

First I'd like to note that if you are a racial minority (especially one who's an anime fan...) you may be familiar with this feeling, where nothing explicitly wrong has been done, and the writers clearly didn't mean to do anything wrong, but something still feels very...off. Like, you're still left wondering "But why was this choice made? Why this choice, specifically...??"

(^^^This is a good example of how systemic racism actually works in society, by the way~)

Secondly, I'd like to note that in this situation, the discomfort can usually be written off because...probably ALL of MC's friends, minority or otherwise, are also following MC's lead. ^^; Because that's how the cast is set up; MC has all the important goals and inspirational moments, and the rest of the cast is really just there to support them, learn from them, and be improved by them.

...But if you want my opinion, that ain't really a great way to write your main cast to begin with. =P I think flat-arc characters come off as very disingenuous and 'artificial' when you also try to make them the 'everyman relatable MC' in this way: like, they're supposedly just one of the kids; just one member of the big happy friend group...but they're also the only one who's always morally correct and never needs to change??
It holds up because it's a trope, not because it makes sense or is actually desirable (outside of a narcissistic power fantasy...). Would you like to be in a friend group where every member basically worships the 'leader' and has minimal interactions with any other members...? Unless you ARE the 'leader', it's a pretty raw deal. =/ Sounds more like a cult...

Anyway, getting back to the actual point: which is that, in such a setup where the supporting MC's have such limited freedom, it's really hard, if not impossible to give a satisfying conclusion to the arc of the fantasy-minority character.

I mean, just the words 'limited freedom' should tell you why. ^^;;; How can you send a message like "people aren't lesser because they're different; everyone should be allowed to control their own destiny" through a character who has no life outside of supporting their 'white friend' (so to speak)??

Like...are they the exception?? Or is 'helping MC' literally all there is to this person's destiny???

Preaching isn't the only way to send a moral message; characters themselves send messages too, and this one always ends up mixed because of the disconnect between what we are told ("people like me are controlled and oppressed by the majority race, and this has to change!") and what we are shown ("my life's mission is to follow MC, a member of the majority race, because they're good and kind and pure and they've shown me the light!").

Not that members of the majority race can't be kind people despite the effects of systemic racism, or that they can't be befriended by the minorities, but when the relationship is so one-sided, it doesn't feel right!
It feels more like reinforcing the status quo: like, sure, the fantasy-minorities do deserve freedom...the freedom to choose to serve, which is apparently what they should do, if we're to take their representative cast member as an example. It's alright if they're less important, as long as they want to be...which is what they should want, if we're to take their representative cast member as an example.

The longer you think about it, the more euuughhhh it gets. ಠ﹏ಠ

So what can be done about this; how can we spare future minority YA readers the gross discomfort of these depictions?? I think one easy way is to just...recognize the depth (or lack thereof) of this kind of story.
A fictional cast where everyone loves MC and would follow them into hell isn't inherently bad, I guess, but if you're gonna write it so simplistically that the rest of the cast is more like MC's disciples than their friends, maybe...don't also try to tackle complex subjects like racism. Or classism. Or feminism.

These topics do not fit into a world where morality boils down to 'whatever the MC says', and you CANNOT make them fit. You just can't. Please stop trying. TT_TT

[TheLemmaLlama]

Hm, overly simplistic depictions of complex issues like racism bother me just as much when there isn't the whole 'everyone follows the MC' thing going on, so I personally don't find that aspect bothersome for this reason and tbh wouldn't have even connected it to racism if you didn't bring it up. But if you and many others are bothered by it, that's something we as writers should take into consideration ...

Personally, I'm more bothered by how everyone depicts racism as an individualistic issue ("only bad people are racist" or "this character is racist because if a personal experience involving minorities or something"), instead of a systematic issue. Because that'll mean sympathetic characters are influenced by it too, at least to some extent, and no-one has the guts to do that.

[WoollyPAR]

I think one fantasy story that handles a lot of this pretty well is One Piece. Luffy is a static character, and not because he's a completely flawless person who doesn't need to grow, he makes mistakes and he's flawed, it's just that he's a simple guy and his simple thinking is usually enough, so he doesn't feel like he needs to grow. When it comes to how the series handle's racism, it kinda starts out simple and goes more in depth with it as the story goes on. One Piece arcs tend to build up these really complicated and multisided discussions and Luffy comes in with his really simple perspective and he just does what he thinks is the right thing to do, and in this case he punches the oppressor despite being begged not to since it'll cause a lot of trouble. No one reading really thinks that Luffy did the wrong thing, but the story doesn't reward him for his actions. Instead his entire crew is scattered to the ends of the earth and they're split up for a really good chunk of chapters, and it especially doesn't free the fish people. It really hammers home that this is a systemic issue that can't be fixed cuz Luffy punched the bad guy and made a speech about how racism is bad. Racism IS bad, the world knows it's bad, but the people in power find it convenient for them to either look the other way or take advantage of that. No matter how strongly Luffy or anyone feels about it, it's very much integrated into the system, and opposing it comes with consequences.

And the whole story is like this. The world government of One Piece is a really negative force, and not just because the main characters are law-breaking pirate. They represent a real threat to the world at large, and their endorsement of systemic racism is only meant to highlight that. But they aren't just painted as a faceless enemy of pure evil either, there are characters we know and love who are part of the World Government, some of which we even want to root for. No part of this is simple, but Luffy has a way of making it a lot easier to digest, with his attitude toward the people he likes on the other side being "I'm not a fan of the system you represent and we'll probably have to fight because of that, but I like you as a person ".

It's honestly great, he's a prime example of a simple protagonist done well. Because Luffy has a heart of gold, but it's not the solution to everything, least of all racism. His heart literally lead him and his crew of like 7 people to declare war against the entire fucking world, so the story isn't really saying you should aspire to be Luffy. However, you understand what makes people want to follow him and call him a friend. And of course the character we see face racism in that arc has a life outside of supporting Luffy, but to be fair, he's not part of the main cast.

As far as I've read, the only character in the main cast who faced any kind of racism was Chopper, and he's really just a kid so I don't see a problem with him not having much outside of being part of the crew. But he, like every other character in the story, gets time to shine all on his own in almost every arc.

I realize now that I just really wanted to talk about One Piece and I wanna start reading it again

But anyway, I feel like racism or other such heavy topics in fantasy should take a note from One Piece, which manages to build a complex, realistic political drama, but keep it as a simple escapist fantasy through Luffy's POV and having him do stupid, but morally justified, things that keep the story moving along without making his role in the story feel icky with the context of the heavy subject matter.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Personally, I'm more bothered by how everyone depicts racism as an individualistic issue ("only bad people are racist" or "this character is racist because if a personal experience involving minorities or something"), instead of a systematic issue. Because that'll mean sympathetic characters are influenced by it too, at least to some extent, and no-one has the guts to do that.

Oh yes, this...I only very lightly, almost imperceptibly touched on that, because it's really worth its own topic. ^^;

Although, I think, not only is it uncomfortable to write about systemic racism, it's actually kind of hard?? ^^; Especially in stories most famous for the 'fantasy-racism subplot', which are usually adventure stories where the writers want clear enemies to fight...where do you fit in things like microaggressions and implicit biases? How do you show the protagonists unlearning these behaviors without the writing devolving into 'very special lessons' (which more often than not, end up depending on the emotional labor of the minority characters involved...which is another thing that's probably worth its own topic)??

And besides...a lot of people probably don't even know what racism as a systemic issue even means...? ^^; Based just on what I've seen, I don't feel like it's widely understood yet...certainly not enough to where I'd expect the average writer to portray it correctly, unless they've been directly affected by it...which is yet another thing that's probably worth its own topic. :T

[Zhengo]

Following cause I'm pretty interested where this topic will go. I plan to put something similar in my comic sometime in the future, not exactly racism but another type of systemic discrimination. I do plan to have some of my main characters be influenced in some part by it, given they're exposed to these biases since birth, and it'll inevitably cause some friction between some of my characters, though I do plan for them to reconcile some way afterwards. I know it's risky and tough to pull off and will probably make some people uncomfortable, but I'm really against using characters as just mouthpieces for the writer or audience's own views to the point that it causes the story to portray a simplistic version of a real life issue

My opinion of fantasy racism is that for the most part it really simplifies that racism (and other forms of discrimination) is a good people bad people thing, when in reality is a lot more nuance than that, and prevents readers from actually thinking critically of applying this issue in reality and actually being introspective of themselves and their own friends and family of their own biases.

[TheLemmaLlama]

And besides...a lot of people probably don't even know what racism as a systemic issue even means...? ^^; Based just on what I've seen, I don't feel like it's widely understood yet...certainly not enough to where I'd expect the average writer to portray it correctly, unless they've been directly affected by it...which is yet another thing that's probably worth its own topic. :T

You're not wrong! I'm not confident I'm understanding correctly how it works myself

Especially in stories most famous for the 'fantasy-racism subplot', which are usually adventure stories where the writers want clear enemies to fight...where do you fit in things like microaggressions and implicit biases?

We need more slice-of-life fantasy!

[N1ghtm4r3]

possibly some of the reasosn for the simplifications of racism in media is its one of thsoe dirty realities no one really wants to talk about, because its not just a pure black and white issue,there are layers to it, ,thought the simplification does make the matter more digestable to your average person

[river121693]

I think it really comes down to how mainstream media, by definition, caters to dominant groups-- White, cis, men, wealthy etc. Privilege makes these groups think that the system we have is fine, instead of absolutely "broken," which is the reality for a lot of marginalized groups. When media criticize systems, dominant groups can't understand why, refuse to digest it, or even get angry over their reality being questioned (which is how you get ppl go apeshit over, say, Black James Bond).

I agree that the issue is complex, but 99% of mainstream media actually uphold broken systems rather than criticize it. You can find plenty of great critique of our systems and beautiful reimagining of system in indie spaces because it's where a lot of disenfranchised artists can create work.

[Pony_wearing_a_hat]

I'm sorry I don't have anything meaningful to add to this conversation, but I just realized that this is what Sao Abridged was parodying and my head is exploding.

But while I'm here, I feel like it would be better if the surrounding cast actually had the realization that they were taught to believe these things and the harm it does and how the systems they are a part of perpetuate it instead of... well, just doing as our golden god the main character does because that surely must be the right thing. I mean, no one person can be the ideal standard all the time, we have to take accountability for our own actions and motivations.

[N1ghtm4r3]

oh the whole system itself is broken beyond repair, though if they care only about money they are missing out

[system]

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