How does JATP pass the Kent test? Flynn isn’t given a storyline outside of Julie and we actually know more about Carrie and nick’s backgrounds than we know about hers. The Kent test was created by a black woman and it also measures the proper representation of Black women. Flynn is treated like a black best friend. I don’t think her character passes the Kent test.
10/10 ask!! Academically, while it was created by a Black woman, the Kent test is typically used for representation of any femme of colour in general (and that’s what Clarkisha Kent initially published it to do afaik), so I used it for Julie in this case. But BIPOC representation is incredibly important in media, so let’s go step by step and see how many points it gets when we look ONLY at Flynn as a Black woman on the show, bc when it comes down to that you are absolutely correct and valid. I also could and should have clarified exactly how I was using and scoring each test bc there IS variation in how each test is used and it is deff irresponsible to not provide clarity. So that is my bad!!
Kent Test for Flynn
1. The character must not be a walking stereotype or trope
Flynn’s character IS stereotypical of the Sassy Black Friend trope. I do think that her character goes beyond that, and the Kent Test notes that tropes are allowed as long as their character goes beyond a trope alone. But I’d love to hear more ppl weigh in on that, so for now we’ll score this 0/1
2. The character must have her own plot/narrative arc.
See the ask above. We get 0/1 for this
3. The character must not be included in the narrative solely for the purpose of holding down a male character.
She does not hold down any male characters! She does hold down Julie - but remember that these kinds of tests measure the bare minimum of representation. We could definitely ramp up the requirements and I can do that in another post. But we’ll go off basics for this. 1/1
4. Must not be in the story to prop up a white female character.
Again, no. Our only white female character is Carrie, who would still stand as a character/bad person if you removed Flynn from the storyline. As above, we could up the requirements for this to be something like “a non-black female character”, but for now we’re just doing the basics. 1/1
5. Must not solely exists for the purpose of fetishization.
While I can definitely see fans maybe doing this, that’s not why she was included in the narrative and within the story itself she is not fetishized or sexualized. 1/1
6. Must have at least one interaction with another woman/femme of colour. Bonus point if that character is not related to them.
Since Flynn’s story-line is directly connected to Julie and Julie’s one of the few characters shes actually able to interact with, this is a pass for 2/2
7. Must not be the go-to character to “sacrifice”.
Flynn would have failed this trope if, say, she traded her soul to Caleb for the boys or something. 1/1
Our total score here is a 6/8
What does the Kent Test say about this score?
“This show contains sound representation for women of colour.”
This is a pass. Not a perfect (which Julie scores), but a pass. I hope we get more characterization for Flynn so the show hits that 8/8 for her specifically.
All your points though, Anon, are absolutely true. Just because something scores well on a minority representation test does NOT mean it’s rhe be all and end all of representation. It means it has the bare minimum. And that’s incredibly important context - comparing Flynn to Carrie and Nick really exemplifies that. Thank you for bringing it up and keeping me accountable in how I represent these things!!
If anyone wants to see the full breakdown of the Kent Test, you can access the full test through HER (who i believe originally published it after its creation by Clarkisha Kent), right here
