Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

TV adaptations with built-in fanbases are a double-edged sword.

The joy of escapism is almost universal. Certainly, it accounts for the popularity of Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, and Action Adventure genres in books and gaming. Yet, most of us who enjoy taking a break from the real world are hard-pressed to find ourselves reflected in our choice of escape. Only recently have TV and Films begun to add some color to adaptations of beloved stories.

While authors who created the original content appear to be supportive when the look of some of the characters diverges from descriptions, a minority comprised of “canonists” are losing their damn minds. There is a hew and cry against representation in adaptations of treasured literature to reflect the audiences that enjoy it. These so-called “fans” try to discredit and kill adaptions that the rest of us are eager to see.

Might it be time to turn to original content that already integrates a multicultural cast? However, before that can happen, the gatekeepers in publishing and film must be willing to accept Black characters in commercial fiction where their existence is not predicated on pain. Readers should not be denied the chance to imagine black characters in magical and adventurous romantic realms. In fact, now, there exists a great opportunity to normalize the presence of Black characters apart from social trauma.

There exists a deep desire to escape into narratives that do not center on the racial oppression and torture of Black ancestors…

It is important to know one’s history and to understand the roots of the struggle we face today. However, when our trauma is the only form of entertainment that Blacks are allowed to participate in, the grief and anger can become overwhelming. We, as much as anyone else, would like relief from unpleasant realities, to find escape in worlds full of magic and possibility — even to find ourselves the hero of such stories.

TV and Film have begun to redress the paucity of representation on screen. Showrunners have taken note of the diversity of audiences that enjoy fantasy, sci-fi, and all the escapist fare that does not capitalize on black pain. I see this a lot in the film adaptations of literature and video games where characters are imagined with brown and black skin.

Many fantasy writers, like Tolkien, embody outmoded attitudes toward race. The genre can be disturbingly racist, building Eurocentric worlds with bigoted narratives. Here I will cite Tolkien again because the imagery in his books depicts sub-humans as having “swarthy complexions” and slanted eyes, something Victorian anthropology linked to the mental qualities of non-whites. It has not gone unnoticed that orcs are somewhat like caricatures of non-Europeans, while the “good” races — races — elves, dwarves, and humans — have Euro-centric qualities.

At best, fantasy is Euro-centric because of the author’s lack of imagination, such as in the Witcher series, where Andrzej Sapkowski depicts the population of characters based solely on Polish demographics. George R.R. Martin, who did not know or care to know that black populations existed in medieval Europe, excused his failure to include black characters in his Game of Thrones series — even though in Fantasy worldbuilding, anything could easily be imagined.

Authors who created the original content appear to be supportive of diversity in the film adaptations…

Speaking of The Witcher again, Andrzej Sapkowski admitted that the world in that series isn’t based on real geographical locations. Indeed he approved of the diversity in the adaptions. He never intended his fantasy world to be made up entirely of Polish demographics.

Nevertheless, the so-called “fans” have called the Netflix adaptation a mockery of the source material. They insist that diversity is forced — whatever that means. Okay, that’s dismissive. What the racist fans of The Witcher mean by that is that the difference in skin color is ignored by characters. And they find this unrealistic or against canon.

When Blood Origens, a bad-ass and wonderfully playful 4 episode prequel to The Witcher series, was released, racist fans organized. A few people with multiple accounts and an ax to grind posted so many negative user reviews online that the show tanked on Rotten Tomatoes and other sites. Race invariably comes up on the message boards as a reason they hate the series so strongly.

Amazon’s Rings of Power met with racist outcry when showrunners sought to correct the outmoded Victorian morays and make Tolkien accessible to all audiences. Racist fans can imagine orcs and elves and dwarves, but have a black actor portrays an elf or dwarf (the “good races”), they lose their minds because it is not realistic. Suddenly, an entertaining story becomes controversial.

Why not adapt commercial fiction where Black characters exist?

There are Black authors waiting to be published or they have gone the independent publishing route in an effort to change the fantasy genre to feature more Black characters that matter to the story. They are creating Black characters whose existences are not predicated on pain.

However, unless they are socially relevant (i.e. centering on black struggle), these commercial novels are not picked up by publishers. According to the NY Times, “of the 512 books published by Random House between 1984 and 1990, just two were written by Black authors.”

Lynda Mubarak, writing for the Forth Worth Report, found that books by Black, Indigenous, and people of color account for less than 8% of books written in 2020 compared to 5.8% in 2018. And Books about Black, Indigenous, and people of color account for nearly 13% of literature published in 2020 compared to 11% in 2018.

If publishers are not producing original content that provides representation, then showrunners a left to add diversity to existing works, which courts controversy and targeted campaigns from racist so-called fans of the source material. I do support the effort to adapt works that reflect the audiences enjoying the story. However, there is a greater benefit to be had by all if TV and film drew from the original content of black authors and all works that already reflect our multicultural society.

I have my list of great Novels ripe for adaptation. What multicultural Fantasy, Sci-fi, or Romance would you like to see adapted?

African Immortals by Tananarive Due

Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

Earth Abides by George R. Stewart

Vampire Huntress Legend series by L. A. Banks

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

N.K. Jemisin

Inheritance Trilogy

The Broken Earth Trilogy

Octavia Butler

Dawn

Parable series

Xenogenesis series

Kindred (Doubleday, 1979)

Fledgling