Lit Ignorance is Bias: The Diversity Manifesto

What, after this? I'm not even speaking to you now.

 

But you love me too much. And aren't I fulfilling some kind of diversity need here?

I'm no good to you dead.

 

Live body, dead body, diversity score's still the same.

 

So I read something I found funny on the internet today. Essentially, someone was denying that casting Billy Dee Williams in a prominent role in such a huge film was in anyway a big deal. This came out of a conversation where it was asserted that Star Wars doesn't need more diversity, because it has aliens (ugh). Someone rightfully brought up that yes, Star Wars does need diversity and that it most certainly didn't have it before Lando, because you can take one look at the Rebel Alliance from ANH and see they're all white guys. The defense slayed me: "I doubt that was intentional. They were probably all just right for their parts."

Riiight. Every single background character with no line or action was specifically chosen based on how they simply embodied their characters. Unfortunately, no black guy happened to fit any of those deeply specific roles.

 

Dude, Jan Dodonna's whiteness is CRUCIAL. The narrative would fall apart if he was, say, a Klingon.

 

And the tenth guy from the right, nine rows back?
Definitely has to be a white guy. Nobody else could do that standing there like that.

 

Dude, that's a woman.









Ha, I'm just kidding--there are no women in the movie either.

 

Something of interest?
http://www.lastwordonnothing.com/2013/12/18/one-weird-old-trick/

 

Nice.

 

Has this thread ever discussed Jan Ors, as depicted in Jedi Knight vis-à-vis Outcast and Equals and Opposites?

She seems a bit more Caucasian in the latter two to me or are the graphics/artwork sufficiently ambiguous enough?

 

I've always wondered if Jan Ors was Asian but I've never really had the courage to ask in fear of appearing racist.

Furthermore, I've been trying to find a way to make a character Asian in a fanfic I'm writing but every time I do it comes off as horribly racist. Any tips on how to fix that? I mean, it's easy to call someone dark-skinned but when you say someone is yellow skinned it just reads awfully.

 

Light-skinned characters are always hard to nail down, but in Jan's case she's portrayed by an Asian actress so that makes it a pretty safe assumption.

Windu--we've actually discussed that a handful of times. Best advice I can give you is to search this thread for the word "yellow".

 

Angela Harry, the actress who played her, is half English half Korean. So she is at least part Asian.

 

Yeah, I definitely remember Jan being Asian. It would be nice to say there were two Asian main characters in a single work, but one of them was Epicanthix.

 

I am not even sure Yun's actor was of East Asian descent.

But no thoughts on Jan's subsequent depictions?

 

Uh you are aware that Yun was played by this guy? http://edition.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/weigel.rafer.html

 

Ha. Yeah, I didn't know how a term like "Epicanthix" could be seen as offensive until I was explaining the Epic Tale of Kyle Katarn to an Asian friend of mine and she had a double take when I said it.

 

Are you directing that to me?

 

No, no was for instant, you just posted right at the same time as I did.

 

She remained voiced by Angela Harry; I think that settles the matter of intent. Whether they did a crappy job of keeping her appearance consistent is a different question.

Edit: wait, I could be wrong. Did she do Outcast too?

 

I have a habit of assuming every dark-haired human in Star Wars is not White unless proven otherwise.
Ania Solo included.

 

She was voiced by Vanessa Marshall in Jedi Outcast.

 

Eh, still looks Asian to me. I could see E&O being a problem if that was her only appearance, but it's hardly the first time an artist has had trouble depicting an Asian woman.

 

Well, that's what I mean by ambiguous.

 

I don't get what you're asking.