kborsden
Has a few recurring issues
Kind Benefactor
Poetry Book Collaborator
Super Member
Registered
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2006
- Messages
- 5,973
- Reaction score
- 1,312
The last few months, there's been quite a bit of noise in the media about the next James Bond being played by a black actor (Idris Elba has been suggested but hasn't been confirmed). There's also been discussion about a black Doctor Who, and there's also this about a black actress playing Hermione Granger in the stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. When it comes to the Doctor, it's a well known fact that he regenerates and that these new incarnations vary in age, height, eye colour, and the rest, and some Time Lords have even been known to change sex! We're aware of black Time Lords, so it wouldn't be unthinkable that their species would be non-race specific (indeed followers of the series will have seen it happen that a black female Time Lord regenerated into a middle-aged white male). With Hermione, I fail similarly to see anything about the character that would race-lock her portrayal, and as for James Bond, well, the man's a spy--who's to say 'James Bond' isn't a code name? I'd prefer that so we can drop the throw-back 60's misogynist. At the same time, there are cases where we can't simply change a character's race--cases where racial identity are core to the character's personality or motivations. Major/Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell for example.
I guess my question is (and forgive me if this comes out stupid, I've been trying to phrase it in a way that doesn't make me sound like an idiot), how do we, as writers, decide the importance of race with regards to our characters? Is it always only with regards to back story, or motivated progression? When creating a character, is it equally important that the character could have any other skin colour?
I guess my question is (and forgive me if this comes out stupid, I've been trying to phrase it in a way that doesn't make me sound like an idiot), how do we, as writers, decide the importance of race with regards to our characters? Is it always only with regards to back story, or motivated progression? When creating a character, is it equally important that the character could have any other skin colour?
Last edited: