And to repost yet again, I'm still wondering. On the season-ending show where the Battlestar Pegasus is found, Admiral Caine travels to Galactica. As her Raptor doors open, we see that she's accompanied by an impressive group of officers and security. The first to disembark are two snarling, armed guards, who scan the crowd with suspicion. I was struck that both of these bookends were Black--and bald! Again, maybe in modern times diversity for whites is no longer just about including Blacks as well. After all, Edward Olmos is Mexican, I think the dude who plays Mr. Gata is Latino, and Grace Park (who plays Sharon) is Asian. And the lady who plays the communications officer is Black. So maybe that seems diverse enough for Moore and company. There was one Black man with some screentime, the guard who ultimately helped President Rosalyn and Apollo escape, but Moore says he just wasn't a good enough fit to make a permanent character.
Maybe as a 40-ish Black man I'm holding on to old ideas, and finding insult where there is none. But still, I'm honest enough to admit that it bothers me that they can find Black men to play guards and prisoners in the background, but none for some of the more glamorous roles. And i don't like that all the non-white women are put with white dudes. Too reminiscent of all the years when that was the norm on TV. -----Original Message----- From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2005 15:24 To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: What does Sci-Fi have against Black people? i posted about this during Season one of Galactica and did a count of Blacks. I counted about three or four, incuding the comm officer and some nameless pilots (I assume) used in the background. I then found a lot of Blacks existed afterall: on the prison barge! When Apollo was sent over there to quell the riots, the place was lousy with Big Black Man, most of them dark-skinned as hell and bald... -------------- Original message -------------- --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, "DJ VIBE" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Battlestar Galactica: (New Series) Well, there's a COMMUNICATIONS > officer. . . . Apparently all of the other Black people, with the > exception of the religious leader, were killed in the bombing of > Caprica. Same with Buck Rogers - I don't recall ever seeing a dark > face on there, with the exception of the singers with three mouths - > guess all the Black folks were killed off in the cataclysm while > Buck was traveling through time. It seems that all the Black people live on Gemina (not Jemima, but too damn close) and are zealatous worshipers of the Kobol lords. Besides the communications officer, we've got the security guard who slips the president her meds, a priestess, and the leader from Gemina who was the first to bow before the Pres last episode. Wow, a race of magical negroes. You know Ron means well, but come on. Perhaps we'll have some strong characters when the Pegasus shows up. > > I think its that sci-fi in general doesn't have very many Black > folks in it at all levels - writers, producers, directors, etc. I > think that when none of the people who create something look like > Wesley Snipes, chances are they will have issues, or at least some > difficulty, seeing a Black face in that role - especially when that > role has real power and possibilities for sexual attraction. In the > new BSG, there's NO real reason why Adama couldn't have been Black, > for example, unless the racial politics on Caprica also echo our > civilization. In fact, the very concept of the series should lead to > more color-blind casting as the Roman Empire, which this > civilization is based on (or which perhaps was influenced by *this* > civilization?) didn't do ethnic-based slavery. > > A good example of what the lack of Black folks behind the scenes > does is the movie Pleasantville. This was an entire movie about > people who lived in a Black and White world. The movie makes the > point that the people there weren't alive until COLOR was > introduced - yet there were NO Black people in the movie and only a > few people of color in the beginning high school sequence in "our" > world. > > To me, being Black and all, it seems obvious that the most shocking > and obvious thing in this movie would have been the introduction of > a Black person, or a whole *bunch* of Black people. Imagine finding > out about the concept of color and then finding out that not only > things can be different colors but PEOPLE as well! But I > digress. . . . > > One of the things the original show *did* do well, IMHO, was show > diversity - not just in the casting (having Asian and Black major > characters) but the extras as well. Unlike Friends and other TV > shows which seem to exist in some mythically White world (no Black > or Hispanics in friggin NEW YORK!?!), there were people of color > there - yes they were in the background, but there were THERE. > > Anyway, I've always said we'd be much better off if, instead of > begging Whitey for inclusion, we would form companies and produce > our own media. If we really want to see Sci-Fi and other media > outlets change their views, or lack therof, of Black folk, we need > to get up off our collective duff and make them or, if lacking the > knowledge and ability to make them, make it a point to support those > who are. If films like Sankofa and Rosewood got the support we give > films like Scarface and Willie Wonka (I *think* I saw 1 Black person > in the film - not counting the Oompa Loompa guy), I don't think this > would be an issue. Thoughts? YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS Visit your group "scifinoir2" on the web. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Groups Links ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/LRMolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! 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