Race – The Final Frontier: Understanding Discussions of Race in Fantasy and Science Fiction Broadcast Media 

Amira Benjamin 

December 2022

When I was 16, Black Panther had just released in theatres around the world, right as the Marvel Cinematic Universe was proving its success and growth. I had seen the film three separate times, twice with my family, and each time I was fascinated. I had never seen such compelling characters or a vibrant setting in film before, and especially not with a cast and crew who looked like me.  Black Panther was not just a turning point in Hollywood, for showcasing a Black-led film on a global basis full of action and unique culture, but also for me. It made me realize that I could critically observe and analyze media in a way that could make more films like Black Panther: fantastical, high-budget, and full of cultural pride. 

Drawing on research conducted through the methods of participant observation and semi-structured interviews, I argue that the ways in which these media establish their understandings about race outlines the nature of the conversations regarding these fictional worlds.; the digital users participating in these conversations about race within these stories adhere to the standards established within the confines of these fictional worlds. This is especially the case for online conversations where plenty of discourse and interpretations can be expressed simultaneously in any temporal setting. My argument is supported through my analysis of discussions across three different social media platforms. A unique atmosphere has been cultivated on each respective platform based upon the perspective of the userbase and the features granted to the users. The atmospheres of these social media platforms play a critical role in shaping the dynamics of any conversations of media, not exclusive to this research topic. 

Defining race, specifically in this context of fantastical or hyper-futuristic settings, is difficult, but also the goal of my research. The Merriam-Webster dictionary has multiple entries for the first definition of the term ‘race’. The most cohesive definition says, “any one of the groups that humans are often divided into based on physical traits regarded as common among people of shared ancestry” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). However, by the conclusion of this research essay, I would like to further my understanding and potentially re-define race as it is discussed and analyzed through the lens of these fictional worlds. 

Methods

To develop my arguments and support my conceptualization, I conducted participant observation on three different social media platforms, Tumblr, Reddit, and Twitter. I chose these platforms because they are regarded for hosting different communities and media types across the internet; Tumblr is known as a “fandom” site where users who are fans of a particular piece of media (such as Doctor Who) can engage with each other in significant capacity. Twitter is regarded as a highly conversational site with pockets of communities that exist, but also Twitter is relevant due to many users “live-tweeting” their media; live-tweeting refers to the minute-by-minute updates of an event, such as a journalist live-tweeting a press conference or a user watching a new show. Reddit users can engage and discuss their interests with like-minded individuals through “subreddits”, where users must join these compartmentalized communities and customize their home feed. I also chose these websites because of the capacities of their political natures. Tumblr has been known to host “social justice warriors”, which refers to people who are overly enthusiastic about their progressive politics and corrections of injustices (particularly online). This is a sharp contrast to Twitter, in which the users are constantly in debate with one another, especially regarding politics; it provides the image of an arena for ideologies. Reddit, however, has been rejecting its negative image due to have been previously hosting misogynist subreddits r/incel.  

This observation is echoed by one of my interview subjects, Chase Webster, who said that people use different platforms (or a mix of both) based on what aspects of the platforms appeal to them, such as average user age or level of dedication different people have towards the media they are discussing. 

[On] Reddit, you're gonna get more – I don't know how to phrase it – like an intense conversation. Just because not a lot of…because it's like a specific Subreddit [you’re talking on] and not a lot of people who are kind of casual are going to seek that out. Rather than Twitter, people can just [tweet], " Oh I like the show", and like that's an engagement.

Alex, who enjoys fantasy and science fiction media like the Percy Jackson series, agreed with the respective functionalities of Twitter. Alex uses a private Twitter and Instagram account to discuss their opinions and ideas about the media they’re interested at the moment with a handful of friends; despite the fact that they rarely talk with people outside of their close circle, they prefer Twitter more because they enjoy using the ‘quote tweet’ function to engage with Tweets that may interest them. 

I like to use the quote retweet feature a lot. I definitely use Twitter more than Instagram because of that. It's just nice, like on Instagram, you always have to add some kind of photo or something to your story and then you kind of make the best of it. I mean, you only have the base of your screen to fit everything in and sometimes there's like a lot I want to say. So the cool retweet feature is really nice. And I like how you can make really long threads to kind of get all that in.

As a result, not only does your personal profile and posts represent your online character, but which platform you use as well. Predominantly using Twitter means that you want people to hear what you want to say, whether you’re private or not, and the different features successfully reflect that.  

I also conducted four semi-structured interviews one-on-one with different volunteers. I chose my volunteers based their frequent social media use, particularly about the discussion of general media. Some volunteers have dedicated side blogs or separate social media accounts dedicated to discussing these media, or specific topics in media; an example of this is Alicia Dreaming, who is a moderator for the Tumblr blogs @fandomshatepeopleofcolor and @fandomshatewomen. These are blogs that are dedicated to discussing racism and misogyny in online fan communities or “fandoms” in different media. Frequent social media use or the use of multiple social media accounts would definitively establish the volunteer’s familiarity with at least one platform, thus deeming them qualified to talk about the nature of platforms. 

Discussion

Rings of Power 

The Lord of the Rings franchise is one of the most culturally dominant in popular culture and fantasy media. Beginning with The Hobbit in 1930, J.R. Tolkien was pivotal in establishing the landscape for epic fantasy media. The nearly century-old body of work as adapted as a film franchise nearly 20 years ago, and sparked more recent public interest with the premiere of a new television installment, Rings of Power. Serving as a prequel to both The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings¸ the series’ narrative follows original material and a wide array of new and old characters (IMDb, 2022). 

Rings of Power had garnered significant media attention for two primary reasons. First, there was speculation that the planned 5 seasons of the Amazon Prime original series would cost approximately $1 billion USD (Breznican & Anderson, 2022). Although Amazon has not yet commented on the rumours, Rings of Power is one of the most expensive television series of all time. Second, one of the new original characters created for the series, the elf Arondir, was a main character of colour. Played by the Puerto Rican actor, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Arondir, among other characters, became the brunt of racist online attacks. While there is no concrete evidence, it is suggested that angry fans of the original Lord of the Rings series had review bombed the television show (Tassi, 2022). The actors have taken this hurricane of attention in stride, with Cruz saying that he’s grateful that they are the ones “who are able to recalibrate, break form, reshape and make history” (Vivarelli, 2022).   

To discuss race in this context, I examine what Tolkien had previously categorized as ‘race’ in his books, and what differentiated one from another. Then, we can apply these standards to the newly developed Rings of Power series. Upon creating the vast world that Lord of the Rings inhabits, Tolkien put significant detail into developing the array of races that are featured in the franchise. Chism argues that there are two viewpoints that can be cultivated because of the comprehensive work Tolkien put in:  

The first treats Middle-earth as an autonomous diagetic space and asks how each race or ethnicity functions within its total cosmography. The second treats Tolkien’s works as literary inventions through which he investigated issues important to him creativity, morality, friend-ship, heroism, art, history, language, and death and asks what questions his use of invented races allows him to explore.

(Chism, 2007)

Tolkien can be interpreted as having conceptualized races as ‘species’, taking a biological perspective to categorize Orcs and Elves differently based on biological features and capabilities. I note that, on the platforms Twitter and Tumblr, users discussing Rings of Powers rejected the multimedia functions granted to them; upon searching “rings of power racism” on the two platforms, there were no enchanting gifs from the series or golden conceptual art. It was all talk.

This switch in format from carefully edited screen captures and devoted fan art to blocks of text and Twitter screenshots represent an idea that a serious topic such as racism must only include words in the dialogue – even on a writing-specific platform like Twitter. Words convey what pictures cannot. Based on Alex’s reasoning behind preferring Twitter, perhaps therefore Twitter is a perfect breeding ground for discourse on every subject; features such as the multi-tweet threads and ‘quote retweet’ allow users to read, write, and engage with others in a significant capacity that not all platforms permit. 

In addition, racism was a topic tends to be grounded in reality – there were very few mentions of conflicts because of fictional racism (such as prejudice against an Orc or Elf) that I encountered. It appears that, while fictional racism in Lord of the Rings exists, the concept of racism as an issue itself disrupts the fantastical aspect unless neatly done. The inclusion of opinion pieces from publications like The Washington Post and The Atlantic further emphasize how race itself is an external discussion, one that is constantly murmuring about with no end in sight, and with words rather than pictures, videos, or GIFs. From this, it appears that talking about racism that affects those parts of the show is a distraction from escaping into the fantasy world of the show.  

Star Trek 

Star Trek, like Lord of the Rings, is a long-standing franchise that began with the initial television series in 1966; from its inception, Star Trek was determined to make political statements and carry viewers to a future world of vast new planets and alien races with unique cultures. The series premiered during the height of ongoing socio-political tensions within American society; the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam war were occurring alongside the ongoing Space Race. With racial tensions escalating and space travel becoming seemingly possible, the perfect foundation for Star Trek was granted. “Every part of American society contributed to the war effort, but to enjoy the boons that victory held out meant coming to terms with vast social change, voyaging into uncharted realms. As global empires collapsed, the racial theories that created and supported them shredded.” (Pounds, 1999, p. 34) 

Despite not being an immediate network success, the franchise has achieved cult-like status in its cultural and societal relevance. The series meant a lot to a variety of American demographics – including Alicia Dreaming, who is Latin-American. Although a fan of fantasy as well, Dreaming found herself more represented in characters like B’Elanna Torres (whom she interpreted as Latina) and Chakotay from Star Trek: Voyager as a teenager.

And not to say there aren't problems with [the characters] because, again, Lieutenant Torres was supposed to be half-Klingon, so she had the different species type of thing with the [wrinkled] forehead and she was ultra-aggressive, and it was very much falling into the ‘spicy Latina’ role. But I still loved her. I didn’t care.

Some viewers, such as Dreaming, can be very appreciative of the main characters they may culturally identify with, even if said character succumbs to stereotypes typically at a younger age.  

Similar to my observations for Rings of Power, the main popular posts on the r/StarTrek subreddit were a mix of visual (memes, YouTube video links) and written posts. However, unlike Twitter and Tumblr, the majority of these posts were still written text posts. The nature of them was casual, with emphasis onj people’s opinions of different characters and which one they wanted to be as a child. Upon searching “race” in the subreddit, there were plenty of posts asking about the vast in-universe array of races (such as Klingon and Vulcans). Users asked each other which races they felt were underutilized in the franchise or which race was the coolest. Observing these headlines, Star Trek fans have cultivated a different meaning towards the term ‘race’. Instead of skin colour or geographic origin, ‘race’ has come to be synonymous with ‘species’ and is categorized by culture, living environment, and biological features; this is similar to Tolkien’s definition of ‘race’ in his franchise as well. According to fan-operated Wikipedia page, ‘race’ refers to lifeform with common characteristics and an assigned name. Races can have similar biological functions, such as needing to metabolize energy, but they are separated by their geographic location (Memory Alpha, n.d.). In addition, you cannot find this page if you search “race” – instead, it redirects you to “species”.  

On the subreddit, ‘race’ in regard to human differentiation is scarcely mentioned; there are post supporting and celebrating the racial diversity of the series and its cast, but there is also a post mentioning the actress, Nichelle Nichols, who had her fan-mail withheld from her. In the article linked in the post, it highlights Nichols’ impact as a woman of colour in the spotlight and Martin Luther King Jr.’s encouragement to continue with her role in the series. This article mirrors some of the initial backlash that the actors of Rings of Power experienced, although in different time periods. Although the r/StarTrek moderators debate the credibility of the article, many user replies on the post are criticizing the racist nature of Hollywood and praise Nichols as an actress. “Which is why it my blood boils whenever people say, “I don’t care if the person is ‘insert minority/disadvantaged group here', I just want the movie/show to be good”. Its like do you know how the world works.” One user replied.

The quality of diverse characters and storylines is an issue from fans that I came across on a sister Star Trek subreddit. Using r/Star_Trek (not to be confused with r/StarTrek, which does not outwardly encourage debates or ‘free thinking’ as the former), the most popular post at the time was a user-written rant about television writers attempting to meet “checklists” for character and narrative diversity at the cost of quality writing. This post was not out of anger or conspiracy like some of the previous tweets I encountered that their beloved franchise was becoming “woke” – Star Trek is over 50 years old anyways – but rather love and frustration from a dedicated fan of an important television series. Something important about this post was that it was an exceptionally long text post, well over 500 words. A discussion like this could only occur on Reddit because of the 40,000-character limit that allows users to write as much as they wish in the ‘text’ post format and replies (Sresmut & PercentageDazzling, 2020).  

This reinforces Chase’s observation about the ‘intense’ discussion-aspect of Reddit as a prominent reason for someone to favour this platform as well. The reply format and voting system to each post and reply additionally helps with supporting other user’s ideas by increasing engagement with them so they are more likely to be seen and interacted with by other users. This technical aspect, as well as the subreddit’s encouragement of debates, fosters the perfect environment for a post such as this. Twitter discussions like this are much more fragmented due to the 280-character limit, which is supplemented by the thread-function to allow users to continue writing about a specific topic (Twitter Developer, n.d.). Tumblr discussions, while no character limit is known, tend to occur through reblogs or post replies, but an engaged conversation is less likely; Tumblr users appear to favour posting with little post engagement.

Behind the Scenes

It is important to examine not only examine who is participating in these conversations about media, but who is creating the media that we talk about? It is writers, producers, and actors, trying to represent the diverse neighbourhoods where we work and live, in a whimsical setting and compelling characters. But not all outcomes are optimistic or beneficial – network executives, executive producers, and production company leaders maintain the most power in regards of showing audiences what they think they will enjoy and how. Representation has been a difficult feat since the inception of Hollywood and modern film bureaucracies. “Broadly speaking, the media exist in a very close, sympathetic relation-ship to power and established values. They favour a consensus view of any problem: they reflect overwhelmingly middle- class attitudes and experi-ence.” (Hall et al., 1974, p. 51).   

In the early 1960s, the Hollywood chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) fought diligently against different Hollywood organizations – from the Writers’ Guild of America to several chapters of the International Alliance of Theatre and Stage Employees (IASTE) – to ensure the integration of Black people in the production spaces of film and television. Through threats of public demonstrations and written statements encouraging backstage integration, the NAACP gained the support of Hollywood actors such as Marlon Brando and the ire of IASTE Locals for greater civil liberties. “Johnny Otis, chairman of the association’s television-radio committee and bandleader-drummer, blasted the industry for appreciating the existence and economic importance of the African-American market, while simultaneously practicing ‘systematic exclusion’ of minorities when it came to jobs.” (Pounds, 1999, p.25) 

Actors make up one facet of the much larger film industry. Film and television do not just present stunning visual effects or heartbreaking stories – they take stances on matters. They present stories and ideas, many that are reflected in the society in which they are based. Science fiction and fantasy genres, specifically, represent a sense of escape from the hardships of modern life. Carrying your imagination to a technologically advanced alien society or a magical village of elves provides solace for each of us. But that does not mean that respect or diligence of other people should be erased – in fact, these are the genres where harm can be reinforced the most. But those with influence and power over can provide the capacity for greater diversity and nuance in their films and programs. A key example of this occurred at the CBS network, where a new diversity initiative mandated that reality shows must have 50 per cent of their cast Black, Indigenous, or another racial minority. This initiative has also been expanded to behind the camera, with an ambition of have 50% of their writing rooms also consisting of Black, Indigenous, or other racial minorities (Whitten, 2020). 

Chase, who brought this initiative to my attention and is a significant fan of reality shows like Survivor, says that this change has made his viewing experience more enjoyable.

I would say [it’s a positive change] just because it shows me how, like, I can see how other people kind of like interact. Like there were like a couple of seasons ago, there are these two girls and they really bonded over like, you know, living in a predominantly white community growing up and how they were like the only like Black girls there. And it was such an interesting perspective to see, just because like I obviously don't have that kind of perspective, and I never will. But it was interesting to see like how other people do.

Dreaming, who is a vocal online advocate for diversity and anti-racism, highly favours diversity initiatives such as affirmative action, which provides opportunities to marginalized groups who may be at a systemic disadvantage, in Hollywood. “There has to be more people that get a say, and what kind of media we're watching because I think media shapes how we think.” 

It is also beneficial to analyze how constitutive appropriation factors into this research topic. Defined by Toluwalogo Odumosu, constitutive appropriation argues that “consumption and production should be seen as analytical categories that are imposed on the messiness of the observed phenomena” (Odumosu, 2017). Regarding technology and media, social media users and audiences aren’t simply taking in Tumblr posts or movie scenes. They are producing their own knowledge and arguments about the platforms and media they are experiencing. As for filmmakers and production crews, they are additionally consuming the ideologies that the films or television programs are presenting, as well as understanding from audiences what is and isn’t successful. This dialectic loop is imperative to the longevity of the film industry, constantly producing and consuming different ideas, and arguments to be presented back into an audience. This is additional for social media developers and moderators as well – using user experience data to interpret the best uses of a specific platform can improve the strength of a website and make it unique. What works for Tumblr may not work for Twitter, but the developers can understand why users prefer Twitter over Tumblr and make those features more accessible.

Media holds significant meaning to all of us. Good media is supposed to leave a substantial impact on our emotions and psyches. This notion is reinforced in fantastical settings, particularly found in science fiction or fantasy media, where audiences are encouraged to fall into a sense of escape and wonder. Even in franchises such as Lord of the Rings and Star Trek, race has a meaning that is expanded beyond our contemporary definitions; it refers to biological species and core cultural differences, rather than skin colour or geographic origins. Despite this nuanced, yet fictional, conceptualization, diversity efforts are still a significant struggle for fans of science fiction and fantasy media to comprehend. This can be felt by racialized minorities who either scarcely find themselves represented on-screen or face threats when the opportunity does occur.  

This, in tandem with the growing influence of social media platforms, holds significant value for understanding how users interact and utilize these platforms in a way that represents each user best. Focusing on how each user communicates through unique interactions with different social media platforms can highlight the social relevance of these platforms, and how people online engage with complicated and contemporary social issues in unique ways.  

These different social media platforms also foster unique environments that further impact the methods in which these conversations are carried out, such as perceptions of users and different functions available. The impact of social media platforms on certain social issues or topics is a valuable research concept that should be explored through different platforms and topics. 

Bibliography

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Chism, C. (2007). Race and Ethnicity in Tolkien’s Works. In J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia : Scholarship and Critical Assessment (pp. 555–556). 

Hall, S., Gilroy, P., & Gilmore, R. W. (2021). Selected writings on race and difference. Duke University Press. 

Memory Alpha. (n.d.). Species. Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Species?so=search 

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Race. In The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved December 12, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/race 

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Pounds, M. C. (1999). Race in space : the representation of ethnicity in Star trek and Star trek, the next generation. Scarecrow Press. 

Sresmuy, & PercentageDazzling. (2020, November 6). Word Limit. Reddit. Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://www.reddit.com/r/help/comments/jp43zh/word_limit/ 

Tassi, P. (2022, September 5). “Rings Of Power” Is Getting Review Bombed So Hard Amazon Suspended Reviews Entirely. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2022/09/05/rings-of-power-is-getting-review-bombed-so-hard-amazon-suspended-reviews-entirely/ 

Twitter Developer. (n.d.). Counting characters. Docs | Twitter Developer Platform. Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://developer.twitter.com/en/docs/counting-characters 

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Vivarelli, N. (2022, October 30). ‘The Rings of Power’ Cast Members Talk Emerging From Racist Backlash: ‘These Characters Are Undeniable. We’ve Felt a Lot of Love.’ Variety. Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://variety.com/2022/global/news/rings-of-power-racist-backlash-cynthia-addai-robinson-ismael-cruz-cordova-sophia-nomvete-1235417928/ 

Whitten, S. (2020, November 9). CBS reality shows must now have 50% non-White casts, network says. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/09/cbs-reality-shows-must-now-have-50percent-non-white-casts-network-says.html