For the past two years, the internet has been filled with so much criticism whenever a character in some form of media is meant to be a black person. This happened with the 2016 release of Mafia 3 and recently it has happened with Cartoon Network's "Craig of The Creek." Both feature protagonists that are black and for some reason (we all know exactly why) certain people (we all know exactly who) can't stand it. They think that every character in every superhero movie or cartoon needs to be white because they think that's the default. I think they're wrong.
I think it is important for there to be more black characters out there in the media, especially ones that do not fit a certain stereotype.
When black people constantly get stereotyped, it dehumanizes us. It makes us look like dumb caricatures and people start to believe dumb things like we all eat KFC and watermelon and have no fathers. When we don't get viewed as people we get treated inhumanely. That is why I appreciate a movie like "Black Panther." It avoids the typical African stereotype of being some feral, uncivilized savage and even pokes fun at it. The film's antagonist Killmonger is the only African American character in it but he also avoids being a negative stereotype by acting as a symbol of what being a victim of oppression and racism can push someone to do.
When black people see a character as relatable as Killmonger is, it makes them feel normal. Another example of this can be found in "Craig of the Creek." Protagonist Craig and his family may be black but they are completely normal people. Craig is just a regular kid that plays with his friends, visits his grandparents, and goes to school. Yes, he's black for diversity but he's also black because it's normal. For so long now white people have been the default characters in all of the media to the point where people will throw a temper tantrum if a movie, show, or video game comes out with a black protagonist or a few black characters. Being black is not some awful sickness or condition. There are millions of us out there living and acting like normal people. It's about time that the movies and shows we watch start reflecting that.
