It did not escape my notice that, of the two Black male characters in Project Hail Mary, one was in a pseudo-antagonistic role [if only briefly], and the other didn't have a speaking role at all and died.
The only Black woman that I'd noticed had maybe 3 lines, if I'm being generous.
Like, imagine if Grace was cast as a Black character.
The beloved middle school teacher that goes above and beyond in teaching his students, and his students reciprocate his love in turn.
He's dorky, awkward, can't make it two steps without stumbling over something. So earnest about everything he does and considers, but still finds this divide between himself and others that he doesn't know how to cross.
Him being signed on to the project, with them making it just as clear that he's expendable. They want him for his knowledge and will take as much from him as they can, up to and including his own life.
"For the good of humanity". Grace, who declines the opportunity to go into space because he may be socially isolated, but he still wants to live.
And is then forced to go anyway. A one-way trip orchestrated by someone he thought was his friend, who betrayed him- who is willingly sending him off to his death.
Like, this one change and suddenly we're talking about medical racism and the ownership of Black bodies and how they're used and discarded afterwards.
The film could have Meant something more. It just feels like a wasted opportunity to me, especially with the ending. Grace could be more.
#the fact that he's shunned from the scientific community not bc his theory is so outlandish
#but because he said one offhanded / rude comment abt a white scientist higher up on the ladder than him#he loses his job for it. he becomes a teacher making minimum wage taking a bike to school bc he cant afford anything else
#it took him years of dealing w racism in school and labs to get a fucking MASTERS degree
#only for it all to come crashing down bc he challenged the authority of one white person above him#bc he made a snide comment abt them / their research
#if he were a white man people would eat it up
#STEM ppl love drama and seeing someone with not only a wild theory but also who's willing to challenge authority? theyd love that
#but a Black man doing that? challenging the racial heirarchy?
#clearly he's just delusional and aggressive and a problem#but yeah i feel like Grace being a Black man fits the character SO well
#because he is disposable. he is shunned. he is a means to an end to the white people in charge of the project
#love how well you went into this @synchlora Your tags made my Day, I love this so much <3 Like yes!! With everything in academia being up to how well you 'play the game', so to speak. Networking, forming interpersonal connections [that make it harder for you to get suddenly Ousted or fired], how well you pay lip service to your 'betters' and try your best to keep the waters calm. For his ONE 'mistake' being to challenge someone else- something that's wholeheartedly approved of if it results in furthering one's research- reads to me as his department finally finding the single thing to get him with. Whether or not they realize their racism's played a huge part in this, that was the incident that they could point at as a reason to dismiss him. Discrediting his work and describing him as uppity for daring to have the confidence to not only support his own thesis, but point out the issues with another's research area? It's as you said. This simply won't do. @gaudebo
