Heroes: Stereotypically Heroic
Racialicious has recently started doing weekly TV series recaps, particularly of shows that have a diverse cast, like Heroes. Heroes has had much acclaim for its effort in dynamic portrayals of various ethnic groups, including from Racialicious writers. But a couple weeks ago, a guest contributor critiqued the new Heroes online promo. Apparently there are four categories to choose from in creating a hero, including appearance. “The female icon for “exotic” is a decidedly “Oriental” eye behind a fan and some flowers. The male counterpart is the ornately tattooed face of some tribal-type.” So much for combating stereotypes. It’s sad to see such a positive show have such a negative fallback. Racialicious writers don’t want to hear such things about a show of which they are loyal fans, but it’s duly noted that they didn’t allow their entertainment bias to get in the way of the blog’s watchdog methods. That’s the point of the recaps I guess, to see how the shows are progressing, in plot and in portrayal of Asian Americans. That’s part of their role, being impressed with positive representation and disappointed with the stereotypes. It’s a neverending battle.
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