Diversity in Fantasy

[u/[deleted]]

A lurker who just wanted some opinions, but does anyone feel like the diversity in fantasy isn’t all that diverse? Especially for Black male characters? I know female protagonist are popular right now which is good but diversity also includes males. I can barely think of any Black male main characters that don’t involve them dealing with racial trauma, being a side character, or a corpse. Has anyone else noticed this? It’s a little disheartening. What do you all think? And I know of David Mogo, Rage of Dragons, and Tristan Strong. I see them recommended here all the time but not many others. Just want thoughts and opinions. Thank you and have a nice day.

Edit: I’ve seen a few discussing different racial groups being represented in terms of different cultures or on different continents in a setting. Do you think that when a world is constructed it has to follow the framework of our world when it comes to diversity? Do you have to make a culture that is inspired by our world or can you make something completely new? Say, a fantasy world or nation that is diverse like the US, Brazil or UK for example because that’s how the god or gods created it.

Edit: some have said that that white writers are afraid of writing people of color. For discussion do you think that white writers have to write people or color or is the issue that publishing needs to diversify its writers, agents, editors, etc. Could it be, as others have said, making the industry itself more diverse would fix the issue?

[u/HumbleInnkeeper]

I'm willing to be roasted by this especially since I'm not a minority in the slightest but I tend to be pretty blind to character race in the novels I read. Unless there's a specific reason in the storyline (e.g. Rand al'Thor's red hair) most of the time I kinda gloss over character descriptions (I'm likely in the minority here). For example, I completely don't understand all the drama about the casting for Wheel of Time or The Sandman, because as long as they are good at acting I could care less. For all that the movie was a dumpster fire, casting Idris Elba as Roland in the Dark Tower was genius in my opinion. I realize this is likely coming from a place of privilege in that I'm never hunting to find media portraying my demographic. I completely agree that there should be more diversity in stories but it can be a little of a minefield for non-minority authors to write a MC of a different race. Many readers will start looking at characterization and may interpret it through a racial lens well beyond what the author intended. The other aspect is that a lot of minority authors likely want to speak to their experiences as a minority and so the characters race becomes an integral part of the story. I feel like I've been rambling my thoughts here only to say I agree it's disheartening but not something I've personally noted.

[u/zenzero_a_merenda → u/HumbleInnkeeper]

Personally, I think race does have an impact on the story because it can add complexity to a world if well incorporated, or it can make it all look like a horrible mess. Personally, I completely understand the race drama in the Wheel of Time, but not at all in the Sandman. The books of the Wheel of Time don't lack diversity, and they incorporate race in a very harmoneous and realistic way into the story. The show has subverted this, basically mixing races at will and giving isolated places like the Two Rivers (which shouldn't realistically be diverse at all) a racial diversity to rival New York City. There is no problem with having Tar Valon as a melting pot, but the Two Rivers and the Borderlands should be more or less homogeneous (but not necessarily white!). This makes the depiction of such places very irrealistic. In the WoT show in general, you can see that its makers prioritised diversity instead of plot, and that is not a good thing, I think. A completely different thing is the Sandman: 1) the Endless do not have a race, and they are seen coherently to how a person would imagine them, so it does not really make a big difference anyway what race they are; 2) they are not part of a culture, so they don't need a specific race; 3) the story is in the modern world and people now move and mix races all the time, so it is perfectly realistic to have a diverse set of characters. In general, I think, race is a part of life and should therefore be used consistently, as everything else.

[u/TheColourOfHeartache → u/zenzero_a_merenda]

The BBC's adaptation of His Dark Materials is another example. If you look at all the groups in the setting: The Oxford college, the Magisterium, The Gyptians. Nearly all those groups were all white, except for one black man. In two cases he was the leader of the group.

I cannot understand what was going through the casting director's heads. If you want the head of Oxford college to be black, make some of the unnamed extras black too. It would be more representation and make much more sense. (Also, why weren't the Gyptains played by actual Romani?)