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Black people in fiction
I've been working on a fantasy story , and I want my main character to be black. To help me get ideas I've been watching and reading stories from sci-fi to fantasy. And I've notice that there not a lot have a black character as the lead protagonist character, some just have them as support or throws characters. Does anyone know of any story that has a black lead character (that doesn't play up stereotypes)?
Views: 28
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Hey it's Melvin! on -
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Permalink Reply by Hey it's Melvin! on
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Permalink Reply by DarthDarkRage on -
Thank you
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Permalink Reply by cougar chapelle on -
I can't really think of any black leads in science fiction novels. However comic books have had a couple of good black lead characters. Spawn, Blade, and while she isn't the leading character I've always enjoyed 355 character from Y The Last Man. Unfortunatley I can't seem to recall any lead black characters from sci fi novels. I thought that Denzel played an awsome character lead in The Book of Eli but I don't think that movie was ever based off a sci fi novel. Hmm...good question.
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Permalink Reply by Jason Straub on -
He was also pretty good in Deja Vu. It's not sci-fi in the sense that most people think about the genre, but it still fits the bill in my opinion.
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Permalink Reply by Lab Rat on -
Your post has gotten me really confused and I just don’t get where you’re coming from?
How exactly would you treat an ethnic character differently that doesn’t play into stereotypes? Is there something that black people do that other races don't? What elements boil down to the fact that he or she is black? Shouldn’t you start by creating the core of your character, someone who is relateable despite race?
Why would you need to reference black characters specifically from sci-fi to develop your lead? Black people are in all types of fiction; sometimes more accurately portrayed than others. Come to think of it, there are even some in real life!
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Permalink Reply by DarthDarkRage on
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Yeah I realize not too long ago how that it's not about the race of a character, but their personal and character. And that race (depending on the story) should be only a part of physical description and that race, gender, or sexually orientation shouldn't be the sole determining factor of a character. It was kind of stupid question now that I think about it sorry about that.
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Permalink Reply by Lab Rat on
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Don’t apologise. How’s the question stupid if made you think about or learn something? I’m glad you can see the gender, race, etc. as more of the seasoning than the meat of the character.
But I would still suggest looking to real-world examples to find out more about people than using some amalgam of previously established characters.
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Permalink Reply by hal-9000 v2.0 on -
im with the lab rat make an outstanding character and then be like oh yeah he's black
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Permalink Reply by Moxie on -
Because all to often when writers attempt to tacle charaters that arent white (who have the privilege of being seen as "normal". "generic", the tablua rasa however you want to describe it) they rely on racial stereotypes rather than developing a real personality for the character. And how do you know the race of the character in Darth's story isnt a important aspect of who they are (which would make this question completely valid). That happens in real life also. Race, gender, sexual orientation , handicaps ect can be more than just physical characteristic they can shape and effect how a person behaves and who they become.
Although it seems my point may be moot since he caved so easily under your inquiries.
Now that i think about this even more, most fiction landscape is shaped by a very eurocentic view. I'd be excited to read a story written from another perspective.
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Permalink Reply by Lab Rat on
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I don’t know what part race would play in his story. I asked the questions because if they could be answered genuinely, using race is fair play. If the answer could be loosely translated as “it’s a gimmick” then a bit of rethinking would be in order.
But I still believe that to use other characters as his racial reference is an odd way to go about things. It’s like saying, “I’m writing a script about an assassin who’s Chinese. I’d better watch all the kung fu movies I can find so I get the Chineseness right.”
And since we’re on the subject, I’ve got a bit of a thought puzzle for you:
You’ve had the misfortune of seeing a picture of me so you know that I'm black. Aside from an umber skin tone and the kink of my hair, what makes me a “Black Man”? If there’s such delineation there should be some characteristics that are simply unavoidable because of my ethnicity. Are there qualities that are exclusively black that I should share with all other black people? And don’t say risk of diabetes;)
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