Bonnie Bennett: How Racism Ruined the Arc of a Remarkable Character
OPINIONS NO ONE CARES ABOUT: EPISODE 5
racism : the belief that some races of people are better than others; unfair ways of treating people of different races
Racism is a large problem affecting society and in turn mainstream media. Actors and artists have been subjected to unjust treatment simply because of their race, many people not even trying to hide it.
Bonnie Bennett is an articulate example of this phenomenon.
Where do we start?
First of all, we must acknowledge that the proportion of white to non-white characters in the show is astonishingly high. That in itself is not a big problem, the problem is how said non-white, especially black characters have been treated.
These characters are used more as props than people. They are supposed to show up, do their job, and disappear into the shadows. Bonnie is treated in a similar fashion, which explains her absence in many episodes and pivotal moments from the show.
Why wasn't she there?
Simply because they didn't need her.
Bonnie is often viewed as the mystical solution to everything rather than a character to be explored. Her powers are not explained properly, the history of witchcraft and her family is shown in incomplete glimpses, like it's just for show and not for actually understanding the Bennett family.
The Bennett Family (Latin: Benedictus; English: Benedict; translates as "blessed" or "one who is blessed") is one of the main families in Th
Bonnie was always shown to be selfless beyond measure, she would always try to help her friends, be there for them, support, care, love them and even die for them. But the same cannot be said for the reciprocity of that selflessness. Her friends hardly ever return the efforts, they're shown to be inconsiderate towards her to the point of neglect, and somehow, that's portrayed as unproblematic.
Bonnie is seen sacrificing herself with no complaints, which is an admirable trait but to the extent that she uses herself as a meatshield for the people around her is not right. There have been so many instances where she has literally died and resurrected one way or another. But how many characters have died for Bonnie?
Bonnie is arguably the strongest character of the show. She's an experienced, intelligent, powerful witch whose powers are vast and endless. But despite being like this, she's not arrogant, proud or cruel unlike many other powerful characters in the show. She's kind, helpful, caring and always wants to use her powers for good.
A character like this deserves respect, right?
Well, Bonnie hardly ever got that.
There have been many instances in the show, where characters have manipulated, charmed or threatened each other to fulfill their own needs and use others selfishly. Bonnie, despite all of her kindness, is fearsome. So one could think that the right way to convince her to do something would be by charming her or manipulating her. But no, Bonnie is threatened on most of the occasions, she's blackmailed, forced and made to comply by violent means. It just doesn't make sense.
Bonnie is mistreated, dismissed, looked down upon, not given enough importance on multiple ocassions. Her problems are hardly ever taken seriously, most of the time her problems are not even shown on-screen, as her character development. It happens entirely off-screen, and her job on screen is to just be a tool for the main characters to use.
Another point to put forward here is that Bonnie is not seen as a viable love interest, unlike other main female characters like Elena and Caroline. Of course, female characters don't need a love interest to be validated and reverred, but when all other female main characters have many, deep, significant storylines with love and romance, it begs the question why Bonnie doesn't have the same.
Her significant romances include Jeremy Gilbert, Elena's 'baby brother'. Bonnie dies to bring him back to life. She loves him, and he loves her too. It's not that she and Jeremy had nothing good in their relationship, they were good for each other and loved each other, but we must not forget that at a certain point, Jeremy literally prefers a ghost (Anna) over Bonnie, a living human being.
Bonnie's epic romance was however with Enzo St. John, them being one of the TVD fandom's favourite couples. They are indeed wholesome, and it was heartwarming to finally see Bonnie get the love, affection, care and importance that she deserved.
However, there were many instances in the show where romantic plotlines for Bonnie could have been developed. For example, characters like Kai, Kol and even Damon could have been Bonnie's significant other in different instances. But the potential relationships were ignored, and none of the characters mentioned above ever developed a romantic relationship with Bonnie, despite having potential.
In fact, we can find many interviews where the idea of BonniexDamon was publicly shut down and the producers told the audience that it was absurd and far-fetched.
Kat Graham had even pitched to the showmakers a few romantic ideas for Bonnie, but they seemed to have been ignored altogether.
Then there are the issues faced by Kat Graham off-screen. Kat faced racism at a large extent, she was mistreated and neglected simply because of the colour of her skin. She is also seen to be ignored in interviews and not given as much importance as the other characters have been.
In fact, it's been speculated that Bonnie was going to die permanently and Kat was going to be forced out of the show because of the same, but Ian Somerhalder took the matters in his own hands and threatened to leave the show if Kat was forced out because of this. So, they had to keep Bonnie alive in the show so that Damon's character would still stay.
Kudos to Ian for staying by Kat's side!
In conclusion, we can all agree that though Bonnie was shown to be powerful, she was hardly ever shown to develop as a character. She was treated as a tool more than a person and was severely undervalued. She's treated as a powerful object, not a powerful character.
Thanks for reading!