Doctor Who accused of racism

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by Candlelight, May 26, 2013.

  1. Green Lantern

    Green Lantern Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Here here.
    The RTD era made a lot of people look like idiots, not just black people.

    And there have been smart blacks in Dr. Who since the RTD era.

    Although Mickey started off as a bumbling fool in the first series and a lot of the second, the later series Mickey and his parallel universe counterpart were quite smart and were tough and brave people. Martha Jones was far from an idiot, she's a doctor and brave. Tish and (what was it, Leo?) were a bit dumb, but Francine (Martha's mum) seemed quite smart and her dad was average intelligence. I seem to remember a black person from the 1940s dalek story for some reason, I think he was just average intelligence. Um lets see who else I remember.....ah, that man in the end of time with that "immortality gate". Okay he was quite stupid, same with his daughter, but they did manage to find the Master, even though it was probably actually the military who did all the work. :P
     
  2. Green Lantern

    Green Lantern Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    *Gasp, that's racist!* :P

    I know right. All races are meant to be equal, which includes white people. Plus when the English are anti Scottish for example, that's considered racist, but when the Scottish are anti English, oh no, that's not racist. Here in England, in some places you're not allowed to put up the flag because it might offend some people. WHAT THE FUCK??? But if we say that same about I don't know, arabland's flag, oh no, that's racist, you can't do that. It works both ways for christs sake and as soon as people realise that, the sooner we can focus on more important issues like the economy.

    I've always fancied having a oriental companion. If I ever got on the show, I'd have a Japanese companion for sure at some point.
     
  3. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    The Asian Child from the movie doesn't count?

    Slugboy, when your lovers safe word is "Exterminate" don't assume that they have a jolly sense of humour.

    No one thought that Ace and Shou Yuing were going to hook up in Battlefield?
     
  4. Konata Izumi

    Konata Izumi Commander Red Shirt

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    Our public broadcasting company made a tv movie about our most famous war general. It was some crazy producer's idea, and was shot entirely in Kenya on a budget of 20000€ with a black actor as the Finnish war general. It seemed to piss off people to no end.

    How's that for racist?! :lol:
     
  5. Brefugee

    Brefugee No longer living the Irish dream. Premium Member

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    Good god, you're young.
     
  6. Konata Izumi

    Konata Izumi Commander Red Shirt

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  7. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Considering that Doctor who routinely pretends that the universe is older than 6000 years old, it's the Christians who should be sharpening their pitchforks.
     
  8. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Out pitchforks are always sharp.
     
  9. sj4iy

    sj4iy Commander Red Shirt

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    ^This x 1000. It's not racism to cast a white guy. Just as it isn't affirmative action to cast someone who is a different race or gender. Can we just get over ourselves already and stop throwing out the racist card? They'll cast whomever they think will fit their storyline the best (or impresses them the most). Everyone is complaining before we even know who it will be. Just like they judged every other Doctor that has come before.

    I hope we get someone for four seasons this time, though. It would be nice.
     
  10. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    I think the real shame of crap like this, is that if the next Doctor is black, or asian, or a woman, then so many people will say they were just hired for their colour/gender etc, and that will be a shame.
     
  11. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

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    Now in Journey to the Center, we see Matt Smith look a bit uneasy in dealing with the folks who stole the Tardis. That made me a bit uneasy. If they had been rednecks--like me--it would have been better.
     
  12. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I don't think that the deliberate negative stereotyping of rednecks would have been less offensive than the incidental, unintentional casting of black people as thieves. That is just the epitomy of white guilt.
     
  13. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

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    Yes but someone with overalls would have been funny

    overalls are cool...
     
  14. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I'd say that people from the deep south of America suffer far worse representation than black people in the media. One of my favourite things about The War Games is its positive representation of such people, as opposed to the usual standard.
     
  15. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    What about black people from the deep south?
     
  16. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Black woman from the deep south for Doctor 12!
     
  17. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

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    An American Doctor? Now you're really asking for trouble! ;)
     
  18. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Hat in hand, he knock's on Miss Brown's door and says "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
     
  19. Ubik

    Ubik Commodore Commodore

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    No, it is not racism to cast a white guy. Not even if you do it over and over again for 60 years. It is not racism to have an all-white male cast on a television show. As a professor of literature, I am not being racist if all 7 novels, or all 30 or so short stories that I teach in any given semester are all written by white males. Or, if I teach a literature class 3 times every semester for five years, and never, in all that time, teach a short story or novel by anyone who isn't white. It is not racism if I never even introduce to my students the possibility that excellent, compelling, masterful literature has ever even been written by anyone but a white male (with, perhaps, just to be politically correct, a white female or two, just to shut up the people who complain.)

    No, you're right, it is not racism per say to do that. But is it good? Is it honest? Is it thoughtful? Am I improving the world I live in, by teaching the class I described? Am I presenting for my non-white students the hope that someone just like them might have a voice in history, might have an experience that differs from the majority white male experience? Or am I teaching them, rather, that they are not of central importance in history or the world? That they are Other, the alternative, and I am not interested in discussing Other, but only the most important stuff, ie white male experience? As a role model at a school, as a teacher of literature and the study of human thought and experience, is it my job, my moral responsibility, to give a voice to those who don't as often get one? And, as a television production company, one of the most important in the western world, does the BBC have the moral responsibility to do the same? Should BBC use its massive influence and wide viewership to try to fight the status quo, as Paramount did when it cast Avery Brooks as the lead on a Star Trek show, or should it pretend there is no problem of equal voice and representation in popular media, as many on this thread are doing, and just continue the status quo?

    Look - there is a serious, serious lack of positive, three-dimensional non-white characters in popular media. That is not something, I hope, that any of you could argue with. We live in a world where, even in a huge movie like, say Transformers, the only black characters are there to be laughed at. The vast majority of working black actors have to spend their whole careers playing rapists, convicts, and gang bangers. The role models for black audience members are extremely slim pickings. This problem, by the way, is also true of women of all colours, particularly in science fiction. There is a massive lack of positive three-dimensional female characters in science fiction (which makes no sense, considering they're half the population.)

    So, given the existence of these issues, and given the in-world excuse Doctor Who has to recast their lead role every few years, why WOULDN'T Doctor Who go out of its way to prove they're not as ignorant of these problems as so many other producers are?

    I'm being serious - I do not believe it is racism to just keep casting white guys as the leads in everything. But it certainly isn't very helpful or healthy or contemporary or forward-thinking. What it would do is just confirm that Doctor Who really is the mindless, old-fashioned, inessential, empty-of-content television show that it does, in fact, regularly advertise itself as.
     
    Last edited: Jun 5, 2013
  20. Konata Izumi

    Konata Izumi Commander Red Shirt

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    Indirect racism!