By not including people of color in major roles, George R.R. Martin is creating a whiter medieval world than our own ever was.
Game of Thrones, HBO’s massively popular fantasy series, is catching flak again. Despite the addition of supporting cast members over the past few seasons, actor David Oyelowo recently criticized the show’s lack of diverse main characters, saying there was “no excuse” for it. “Even if for whatever reason,” he continued, “it’s a world in which people of color in those stories are subservient, or they are more in a helper role, that doesn’t mean they can’t have prominent storylines.”
I agree with Oyelowo, and as a medievalist, I’d go further in saying that, by not including people of color in major roles, author George R.R. Martin is creating a whiter medieval world than our own ever was.
Though medieval ideas about race differ from modern definitions, medieval European history and literature are full of what we would today call people of color. Sometimes they play supporting roles, but other times, they’re the main characters. In medieval European religious literature and belief, both St. Maurice and Balthazar were depicted as black Africans. Maurice was eventually named the patron saint of the Holy Roman Empire; medieval churches and cathedrals across Germany, Switzerland, and France were dedicated to him, and wealthy lords lavished funds on paintings of Balthazar in scenes of the Adoration of the Magi.
Reminder: Game of Thrones is a 100% fictional, made-up Fantasy series. Every casting choice and every spoken line is created by human beings today, on purpose, and with purpose.
If Game of Thrones was in any way “Historically Accurate”, it would be more racially diverse, not less. The problems in the show reflect modern problems and ideas, not those of an imagined past.
