Thu, Jan 24, 2013
Historian Darren R Reid considers the portrayal of race in the superhero comics of the Golden Age, such as Captain America and Superman, in this short video:
Racism in Golden Age Comic Books (Superman, Captain America, The Spirit, and More) from Darren Reid on Vimeo.
Joe - who has written 8201 posts on The Forbidden Planet International Blog.
A professional bookseller for over 20 years and lifelong reader and reviewer, especially of comics and science fiction works, Joe is the editor of the Forbidden Planet blog, which he set up in 2005.
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January 24th, 2013 at 11:49 am
What is the point being made here? That racism existed in comics – well, that’s hardly news. OF COURSE racism existed – this was a society where the first all-talkie movie featured Al Jolson singing in blackface, and the most popular radio show was Amos ‘n’ Andy. Being a popular medium, comics reflected the attitudes of the times in which they were created. A time when racism was part of life, and most people, if they thought about the prevailing attitudes at all, would have either approved, or just accepted it as the way things were.
The people who fought against racism, challenged prevailing attitudes and helped shape the way society thinks today were yet to make their mark. But that struggle has taken place and society HAS changed. Despite the issue-specific racism evident today’s politics on both sides of the Atlantic, most people would consider themselves as not being racist, and behave in a racist manner inadvertantly rather than deliberately. Modern comic superheroes reflect this. To use Dr. Reid’s example, the original Superman was held up as the all-American ideal. In the latest movie version (judging by the trailer), the same character is portrayed as an outsider, unable to find his place or purpose in a world that isn’t his. Interesting, and certainly a more mature concept, but you couldn’t have sold a comic like that in the golden age.
January 24th, 2013 at 1:12 pm
I’m not really sure I understand your point, Nick. You seem to be saying that racism existed in the bad old days and yes, it was reflected in the comics of that time, but it’s all over now and we’ve moved on, so let’s never speak of it again. To be frank, I’m sick of that excuse ‘reflected the attitudes of the time’- it is used to cover such a mulititude of sin. People had brains then and they have them now, and anyone with a brain can recognise to think of someone as inferior or superior based on the colour of their skin or where they come from is ignorant.
As for your assertion that society has changed and people are no longer delibertaely racist, well, I would laugh if it didn’t make me so sad and tired. Trust me, racism exists. Inherently and aggressively and very much prevalent. If you mean that modern comics reflect that change in that they now contain the odd token BME character, I concede you that point. It’s important to discuss these issues because they existed and continue to exist and by talking about them, we aim to understand them better- how they happen, why they happen, in the hope that one day this understanding and education will help to overcome their existence.
January 24th, 2013 at 3:43 pm
How… slow… can… you… go?
This video could have been 1 minute and gotten the same point across.
January 26th, 2013 at 7:26 am
Zainab I spent a long time composing a reply to your comment. I defended myself admirably and answered all the points you made. It was well-crafted and beautifully written, but then there was a technical difficulty with the CAPTCHA code system, the comment was lost, and now nobody will ever see it.
I’m sorry if I upset you. It was not my intention, but I myself was upset by your reaction. As a person who has fought actively against racism all his life, has suffered directly from violent racism and is currently being directly affected by the British govenment’s racist immigration policies, I was mortified at your implication that I was being unconsciously racist myself, or even just naive on the subject.
If as you say you don’t really understand my point, please read my original post again. You will see that I didn’t make any of the points you think I made.