One of the biggest problems I have with stereotypical characters is not that they don't exist, but the fact that we are always relegated to these characters. As such, it enables people who rarely interact with black people to base their view of the entire race on these stereotypical characters. One of the areas black people are practically overlooked is fantasy and science fiction (SciFi), but a revolution seems to be happening in this area as of late, especially when it comes to superheroes. Today, I want to stick to other forms of fantasy and SciFi.

Monday, I watched The Cloverfield Paradox. I love sci-fi movies, and I'm a fan of Gugu Mbatha-Raw's acting, so when my friend saw a trailer for the recently released film on Netflix, it was a no brainer that he should recommend it to me. The cast of the movie is notably diverse, not just racially, but ethnically as well. The premise of the movie actually requires the cast to be diverse, as they are an elite crew of scientists tasked with saving the world. This ensures that the characters are from various countries around the world who have come together in a time of crisis. While the white male characters do have strong personalities, neither are the main character or even the commander of the crew. The main character of the movie is actually a black woman.

Without giving away too much of the story, I was pleasantly surprised to see that:

I enjoyed the movie from start to finish. Apparently, other people did not. The move was just released Sunday night, and by the time I finished watching it Monday morning, critics were already slamming the movie. It seems any time movies diverge from the standard of white main characters with minorities simply there to support the main character, critics don't like it.[1][2][3][4]

As a SciFi fan, I feel competent in being objective about whether the movie sucks and not being biased to the fact that the lead is a black female. After all, I agree with critics that Will and Jaden Smith's After Earth was pretty dry (great special effects though). However, I'm not surprised that the critics felt that way. Most movies are either made exclusively for a minority audience or for the mainstream (re: white) audience. Movies and shows made for minority audiences usually cast people from that race in majority of the roles, whereas those targeting a mainstream audience generally stick with white main characters and place minorities in supporting roles. Most movies meant for a mainstream audience that don't follow this formula catch a lot of flack.

It turns out, there were a significant number of white people who didn't like watching movies that star a black person as the main character.[9][10] Back when IMDB had a discussion board for each movie/TV show, the boards for these types of movies were plastered with messages containing slurs and derogatory comments. We saw this when Amandla Steinberg was cast to play Rue in The Hunger Games.[11]

If the audience is unable to connect to the character, the movie will never succeed. That's a simple fact. The issue isn't that black actors are less capable, but that white audiences still view minorities, specifically black people, as "other." It is telling that during the controversy about Rue, one of the people complaining that she was cast as black child thought something as irrelevant as the color of her skin made her death "less sad."[11]

The last time a movie starring a black actor (or actress) as the main character won the Saturn Award, an an award for the best Science Fiction film, was 1996. The movie was Independence Day starring Will Smith. In 1997, Men in Black, which also stars Will Smith, but features him playing second fiddle to Tommy Lee Jones, won as well. It's sequel, Men in Black II, was nominated in 2002, but did not win.[22] In 2000, Pitch Black starring the racially ambiguous Vin Diesel[21] was nominated but did not win. A sequel to this movie Riddick was also nominated but denied the win in 2013. In 2004, I, Robot, starring Will Smith as the lead actor, was nominated but lost. In 2009, The Book of Eli, starring Denzel Washington as the lead, was nominated but also lost. Cloverfield, which features Jessica Lucas as a major character (but not the main character), won in 2007. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which features John Boyega as a stormtrooper (but still not the main character), won in 2015.[22] With 6 movies nominated for each year, this means in the 10 years since a film staring a black person won the award, 10% of the nominated films have a black character (that is recognizably black) in a prominent role, but only 1.6% (5% if you include Vin Diesel) featured a black lead.

When you think of SciFi and Fantasy, you think of Star Wars, you think of Lord of the Rings, you think of Avatar... These movies are defining movies of our lifetime, and yet, they all have interesting commentary when it comes to race.

I'm going to admit, I'm not a Star Wars fan, so unlike the other movies I've mentioned, I've only heard about Star Wars. What I do know is that in 2015, the addition of a black actor to the main cast caused an uproar among fans,[19] much like the casting of Rue in The Hunger Games. A thesis written on Star Wars identifies discusses several racial problems within the original series.[20]

Avatar wasn't a new story by any means. It follows the same plot as Pocahontas (the fictional version, at least), Fern Gully, and Battle for Terra. These movies all have the leading white male, who is a member of the superior race/nation and is there to colonize or "fix" the savage natives. Said white male always falls in love with the beautiful "savage" princess and double crosses his own people. This is basically the other side of the coin of the white savior trope.

The issue I'm about to broach isn't just offensive to black people—it really is primarily an offense to the people who were native to the Americas. As from Pocahontas, None of the movies I mentioned show indigenous or black characters—the people are white. In Avatar, however, the voices of the Na'avi—who take on the role of "savages" and seem to follow customs similar to animism and nature worship, both of which are found in African and Native American cultures—are those of actors and actresses of color.

The leading lady (aka "the beautiful savage princess") is voiced by Zoe Saldana, who is a black Latina.[12] Her mother is voiced by Guyanese American actress CCH Pounder.[13] Her father is voiced by Cherokee actor Wes Studi,[14] and the voice of her betrothed suitor is provided by Afro-Cuban actor, Laz Alonso.[15]

Generally speaking, we can tell the race and/or culture of a person based on the sound of their voice. While there are definitely exceptions, the rhythm, cadence, and accents of our speech are usually cultural. To use all minority voices for the alien characters and cast white actors and actresses as the humans, the movie furthers the subconscious divide between human races based on speech.

So tell me, what's your favorite SciFi/Fantasy movie and how does it portray black people?