#representation: black

[representativecharacters]

Character(s): Sage Solara, Vega, Leona, Tessa, Gemma, and Adora

From: Star Darlings

Representation: Indian (Sage), Asian (Vega), Black (Leona, Tessa, Gemma, and Adora)

Their Importance: Star Darlings was a rather obscure and short-lasting Disney franchise starting as a book series before becoming a web cartoon. It focused on Sage Solara, Leona, Libby Rose, Vega, Scarlet Maroon, Cassie, Piper Dream Soule, Astra Torch, Clover Molensa, Tessa, Gemma, and Adora, 12 teenage girls from the planet Starland, and their missions to grant wishes on Earth. Most people don't notice, but many of them are POC. Sage, who is the main character (at least in the cartoon), is Indian (as revealed in one of the books, her mom is named Indira), which is very rare, as even other POC main characters are usually from other places. Sage is bright and hopeful, always looking forward to spreading as much good luck and granting as many wishes as possible. Leona is an aspiring pop star and the lead singer of her own band. Vega is practical and tends to think about things before doing them, and is revealed to be Asian from her Earth disguise. Tessa is an aspiring cook, and her younger sister Gemma is a supportive sister with dreams of also being a great wish granter. Adora is a combination of a nerd and girly girl, being into both science and fashion.

Issues: While in the books, each girl gets an equal time to shine, the cartoon only focuses on Sage, Leona, and Vega (as well as Scarlet and Libby) while all the other girls, including S=Tessa, Gemma, and Adora, are practically left behind except for them getting one 2 minute short each and the finale episode. They don't even get real focus in the pilot.

Thanks to @thedisneytardblr for the write-up!

[representativecharacters]

Character(s): Aja Leith, Shana Elmsford, Carmen "Raya" Alonso, Rio Pacheco, Phyllis "Pizzazz" Gabor, and Roxanne "Roxy" Pellegrini

From: Jem and the Holograms

Representation: Chinese-Japanese (Aja), Black (Shana), Mexican (Raya), Brazilian (Rio), Hungarian Jewish (Pizzazz), disability (illiterate, Roxy, who is also Korean-Italian in the live-action film)

Their Importance: Jem was an extremely popular cartoon and though I didn't grow up in the 80s, it's now a cult show. One thing I noticed was how many minorities this series featured as main characters. (characters like Ba Nee, Regine Cesaire, and Krissie were not included on here or the list would get waaay too big). Aja is a logical woman and has great mechanic, leadership, and deciphering skills. Shana is a rare example of a feminine black girl, being a fashion designer and loving the colour purple, but is shy and can snap at people a lot due to insecurities about people judging her or thinking her designs are ugly. Raya is a very shy and girly Mexican woman who later becomes the drummer of the Holograms, replacing Shana. and is loyal to her friends. Rio is Jem/Jerrica's boyfriend but is severely unlikeable in terms of his rudeness and he is fairly toxic to Jerrica and hates deception but can't tell Jem is a hologram of his girlfriend. Pizzazz is the lead singer of the rival band, the Misfits, and while she was mean for most of the series, she started to mellow out in season 3 after falling in love with Riot of the Stingers, and later helps Jem rescue Ba Nee from danger and they all make up. Roxy is a stereotypical "passionate, tough Italian-American" and hates Jetta with absolute fury. The episode "Roxy Rumbles" shows us a more sympathetic side of Roxy where we eventually learn she's illiterate, and by the end of the episode, she learns to read.

Thanks to @thedisneytardblr for the write-up!

[representativecharacters]

Character(s): The cast of Angels in America (Belize, Louis Ironson, Hannah Pitt, Harper Pitt, Joe Pitt, and Prior Walter)

From: Angels in America

Representation: Belize (Black, Gay), Louis (Jewish, Gay), Hannah (Religion: Mormon), Harper (Religion: Mormon, Disorder: Agoraphobia, Addiction: Pills), Joe (Religion: Mormon, Gay), Prior (Gay, HIV+/AIDS)

Their Importance: One of the first major dramatic works to address the ongoing AIDS crisis, the play was notable for it's sympathetic portrayal of gay men and people living with AIDS at a time when legal discrimination against both groups was actively harming people and halting progress on dealing with the AIDS epidemic. 

The cast of characters are all well-developed to ensure that they are not defined solely by their representation. Everyone is shown to be realistically flawed which also helps to keep the story grounded when more fantastical elements enter the picture. 

 The play goes to great lengths to show the diversity of gay men's lived experiences and how complex factors such as race and religion intersect with those experiences. For instance, Prior and Belize are openly gay, Louis is openly gay except to his Jewish family, and Joe comes out as gay over the course of the play while constantly struggling to reconcile his homosexuality with his Mormon religion. Every way of living is shown to have it's own set of hardships and the play never states what is the right path, only that it's important to do what's best for each individual.

Issues: The play does include racial slurs said by bigoted characters directed at Black and Jewish people in addition to depictions and discussions of homophobia. 

There is also a fairly important lead character, Roy Cohn, who is a Jewish man who has sex with other men (he specifically rejects the label "gay") and is living with AIDS. I did not include him in the representation as a) the vast majority of the bigoted remarks come from him and b) he is based on a real life person of the same name who held similar opinions. The play does not endorse his actions and he is ultimately the closest person to an actual villain in the story.

Thanks to @silver-stargazing for the write-up!

[representativecharacters]

Character: Gwen Vere

From: The Manifold Worlds series (An Accident of Stars and A Tyranny of Queens)

Representation: Black, Aromantic, Polyamorous, WLW

Their Importance: While the past decade has provided many new opportunities for aromantic and polyamorous representation in literature, many of these aro and polyam characters are often young and still coming to terms with their identity. While these stories are undoubtedly very important to tell, it can seem limiting to the scope of what aro and polyam stories can be about. 

It's refreshing, then, that Gwen is in her mid-50s and has been comfortable with her identity for decades. While the series does address her past struggles as a queer black woman in 1980's London, the story constantly emphasizes how content she is currently as an aromantic allosexual in a polyam marriage. Stories like Gwen's are important because they help to communicate and normalize an ideal future for both younger and elder aro and polyam people where they can feel happy and safe with their identities.

Thanks to @silver-stargazing for the write-up!

[representativecharacters]

Character: Claudette Morel

From: Dead by Daylight

Representation: Neurodivergent, Black

Their Importance: Black Neurodivergent women are hard enough to come by, but Claudette was a launch character being in the game from its initial release. This is important because it means it wasn’t a band aid on a lack of representation but instead representation for its own sake. Also, her neurodivergence is worked into her character greatly with her three perks (Botany Knowledge, Empathy and Self Care) all stemming from her special interest. Another thing is she’s not infantilized. She’s shown to be a mature bookish woman, if a bit shy and bad with people.

Issues: Because the part of the game that confirms her neurodivergency is completely optional many players missed out on seeing the story. Also because all survivors play the same, her unique characteristics are often lost. Also while isn’t really a complaint about her, she does have a bad reputation within the community because of how players tend to play as her.

Thanks to @the-real-tea13 for the write-up!

[representativecharacters]

Character: Molly Blyndeff

From: Epithet Erased 

Representation: Biracial (half-Black), Disorder (misophonia)

Their Importance: She's quite smart and capable for her age, in addition to being kind. While her home life is pretty bad, the first arc of the series has her form a genuine friendship with Giovanni and even help defeat the villain by creative use of her weakening/power negation Epithet.

Said Epithet (power) also helps her handle her misophonia, which is explicitly stated and when she's triggered by loud sounds, she can form a bubble around herself to get away from the trigger. It's also implied she has panic attacks, since she shuts down when attacked with fire and only calms down once the danger is over.

Issues: Both of the canonically LGBT+ important characters in the series were only confirmed LGBT+ on Tumblr, which I wouldn't consider very meaningful representation. There is also a gay character who is an one-off joke, and a villain who many viewers felt was written in a fatphobic way. 

Thanks to anon for the write up!

[representativecharacters]

Character: Ben

From: Living Dead Series Night of the Living Dead(1968) 

Representation: Black

Their Importance: The original Night of the Living Dead is a landmark in cinema on multiple fronts. One of these is the protagonist, Ben. Simply having a black protagonist in an American film during the sixties is incredibly notable.  It initially seems that the protagonist is going to be the white Barbra before Ben unexpectedly arrives at the house. While most of the survivors panic and fight each other Ben endeavours to fortify the house (though this does turn out to be a tragically misguided idea), becoming the leader of the group and resisting antagonism and even physical defending himself when one of the other survivors strikes him (a scene that caused an uproar when the film debuted in the South). While George Romero famously denied that the movie and Duane Jones’s casting had any political meaning many doubt this.

Issues: Infamously the film ends with his death, being shot by a group of zombie hunters, apparently in a case of mistaken identity, though as many fans and academics have pointed out it’s easy to read it as a commentary on racist violence.  Notably Duane Jones himself suggested this tragic ending to make a stronger emotional impact.

Thanks to anon for the write-up!

[representativecharacters]

Character: Peter Washington

From: Living Dead Series --  Dawn of the Dead(1978)

Representation: Black

Their Importance: The film’s predecessor this one was one of the earliest mainstream films to feature a strong black hero Dawn continues the trend with the added milestone of having the black hero gets to survive the ending. In his introduction Peter kills his racist commander for using the growing zombie threat as an excuse to kill innocent black bystanders and flees alongside his friend Roger.  They meet up with two other survivors and eventually fortify themselves in an abandoned mall. Peter is the leader of the group, coming up with a lot of the fortification and defences that keep the protagonists alive for so long. There are also several sweet bonding moments with Roger as part of the film’s surprisingly deep characterisation of the protagonists and he completely avoids stereotyping. He also gives the genre-defining “When the dead walk the earth” speech. By the end he’s one of a small number of named characters to survive, escaping the besieged mall for an ambiguous future.

Issues: On top of all the brutal things you’d expect from one of the progenitors of the modern zombie genre there’s also a load of in-universe racism from the murderous cop in the beginning and the invading bikers at the climax. 

Thanks to anon for the write-up!