The moral of this: being black is not a personality trait. Litterally just their skin tone. Edit: For all you thinking I am being racist? I think it is more culture that impacts your personality, which is alot different to your actual appearance.
Ghost Tea Yeah that's what you take out of it if you're whyte and biased probably. What I take out of it. 'There needs to be more black characters (obviously their skintone matters for this), and you're probably racist if you think whyte should be the "default". Also, acknowledging race doesn't = 'skin tone is personality'
@@Scoring57 I meant it as when there are black characters in shows, some aren't written very well and it just seems like there only character trait is their skin tone. I'm sorry if I offended you but that is what I meant. I do agree that there should be better and more representation out there for the black community
@P1CKLE_R1CK Just asking to see how much detail I have to go into but do you play any games where you create your character or have any books you enjoy reading?
P1CKLE_R1CK The meaning is this: White is the majority and there are a lot of writers that are white sure, but they aren’t the default. Meaning you shouldn’t be surprised or think it’s pandering when you see a black character because other people of other races/cultures exist too
Too bad we have creators doing that right now in some cases. It both makes me rage and laugh, mostly because I DO get a bit of a chuckle out of seeing these guys act uppity as if they're the first person to make a Black character....EVER. And when they start turning on each other for what they did wrong over it.
Super Cosmic Mutant Honey Candle Squid - this is my biggest fear when writing a character I don’t personally represent. I get so worried that people will think that I’m trying to make a statement or force diversity. But that isn’t true at all. I just want to write a story that all kids can see themselves in.
Seriously. I wore an Afro all through college, and people somehow assumed that I hated White people and was all "Black Power" and whatnot. Every bald White dude is not a supremacist, and every Black person with a Fro, is not apart of the Black Panthers or something😁😁😁
this is why i always loved DJ from Total Drama. He looked like what people would expect him to be: A tall strong black man. He could've been treated as a thug or be seen as ghetto. instead they showed him as a sweet, caring, and trustworthy person. Hes the one of the only characters from Total Drama who WASNT derailed
It subvert expectation that how come some show who write a black character shouldn’t do the stereotype and trope of writing a black character but make them unique and as well when someone criticize the character they shouldn’t attack or be a jerk because they think it their race or skin color or sexuality instead they need to criticize the writing of the characters just many don’t do that because they think it bad character to have a character who skin color is different and it a easy excuse for them to be racist and a-hole
@@MrConredsX Wait... I want you to re-read your words slowly. "There's a problem when literally any character is either black or female." If I'm reading this wrong please inform me but it sounds like you want every character to be a white male.
@@slothful2039 No, what i meant is making every character in the cast only black or only female. Witch exceptions like Boondock in which the race is relevant to the story.
@@MrConredsX Dude, by that logic, no character should be white/male since it isn't relivent to the story vast majoroty of the time. She-ra does have a reason, a crappy one but one none of the less, for having a prodominate female cast in universe. So your point doesn't stand because once it's flipped it falls apart. The REAL reason is pandering and bad writing but that also gose with shows with primarily a white cast.
one of my characters is pretty much arab.... hes like a writer and historian for whatever his wife does in the storyline... although considering he runs a country it might be hard to avoid the oil sheik stereotype in all aspects
"And for Black women? Yall got like 5...and they all got the same voice"- No truer words have been spoken, but I still love Cree Summer for all of her talents.
I don't see much black girls being a protagonist or hero of a story, especially in cartoons. If anyone can give me some recommendations then that would be nice
@@pinkanime_cat1460 There aren't many shows with Black girl protagonists. From the top of my head, I can only think of The Proud Family which is a fun show and getting a reboot soon (it will be interesting to see how writers handle critiques of the show having a lot of colorism in the reboot). There's also Doc McStuffins which was a preschool show. The sassy/bossy Black girl trope is definitely a real thing and it's annoying because sassy is always portrayed as negative but if a male character acted similarly he'd be "in control and taking charge", "a leader", etc.
Exactly, the only not normal thing should be changing the characteristics of the character so it doesnt just look like a white person colored black and voila
*Step 2 1/2:* Give them some depth, development, and personality. *Step 3:* It doesn't matter what skin color, race, or any kind of human characteristics as long as they are well-written.
@@retrogamer6403 I'm not really happy with how they're marketing Captain Marvel, and I'm downright disgusted with her portrayal in the comics but I HOPE that she's more than just some feminist prop when the movie comes out.
How to write a black character 1. Write them as any other character Optional: use stereotypes. Not all comedy uses them How to write a character 1. Write them as any other character Optional: Sometimes be stereotypical. Not all comedy uses it Conclusion: know your audience when writing any character
As a kid I really didn’t think about Craig being black for Craig of the creek I just thought Hmm how the fuck did they manage to get a couch in that tree stump hideout
Why is there even an argument about "this character is only black for the sake of being black"? Are they implying that by default all characters need to be white unless characterised by stereotypical "blackness"?
Or you know what? Just write CHARACTERS. Thats all you need to do, make their story, their Personality, think of their looks after. Just write characters. Thats all you need to do.
Yyyeah... But this will happen when we got more black characters as protagonist and are well written and not for diversity quota same for other POC, especially native. As for the white characters thing? Nobody refers to them like that BECAUSE they're the majority, that's it
Exactly. And If you want to dive into the racial divide or experiences then do so but your not forced to simply because the character your writing is black.
Except black folks have a culture outside of White America. And when that culture is ignored it is basically ignoring the main element that make black people... Well people.
that's only ever a problem in mediums where its the norm for all characters to be like that, usually shoddy, middle quality sitcoms. (scrubs, how I met your mother, new girl, Kimmy schmidt.) And obviously the problem isn't the taglines, its just the general oversimplified characters that sitcoms thrive on.
I'm the whitest white person you'll ever find and for the longest time I was scared to make any POC characters because I didn't know how to draw them, and I felt like I didn't understand enough about their culture and their heritage to do them justice. Only a year or two ago I realized we need to represent POC, and do our research. I then started characters that were black. Not because "I need much black characters for inclusivity" but because I had a character idea, and it would be even better if they were black. Now for the other POC groups that don't get a lot of representation :")
"People feel like Craig being black is for no reason." ....you need a reason to be a race? *I'm so glad you made a strong rebuttal to that stupid idea.
I never understood the Mentality that a character needs a reason to be any race. Once I was drawing one of my characters and she was black just because when I designed her I thought that skin tone looked pretty on her specifically. People kept asking me why she was black and I was so confused. She was black because black people are exist.
I agree. Unless your character is a stereotype, you shouldn’t need any specific reason to give them a certain race/gender/sexuality as long as that’s not their only trait.
@@theydevil.designs So basically 'don't make them about their race in a good way but go ahead make them about their race in a bad way'? Why is it more of a problem to have a character who's only quality is their race in a positive way versus a character who's only quality is their race in a negative way (aka a "stereotype")?
Scoring57 That’s not what I was talking about. A character’s race shouldn’t affect their personality in any way because it’s just a skin tone. If being a specific race is a character’s only “trait”, then they’re useless and are (usually) only shoved into whatever series they’re in for diversity points.
I want to see Black , Asian, Indigenous, Hispanic, Spanish and overall people of color. Of any gender and sexuality being represented the right way and not just stereotypes because we're people too. I also want to see also mixed people being represented too : ) I want everyone to see that no matter what gender, race and etc because we all can get along and we all have personality.
My grandma asked me why I was drawing one of my characters dark skinned when I could draw them light skinned, (she’s dark skinned, Mexican, and was always mistreated by her family members who were lighter for being brown). I told her that it’s because there are dark skinned people, like her, and that it would be weird not to draw them ever as if they didn’t exist.
that makes me so sad from my heart. your g-ma saying that to you means that she held on to that mistreatment and it turned into self hate...which really brings racism into perspective. god bless you for that response though, coming from someone who used to deal with the same self hatred.
I feel like whenever a show has people of color, or lgbtq people, or any other different culture then people think it’s just for the characters to be “quirky”...no. There just humans being humans!
Too be fair, there are quite a few people that put way too much emphasis on the race, and way too little in character, when writing characters in the more recent years. Like Disney with their noticeably lazier forms work, the comic book industry abandoning what not only drew in an audience, but also kept an audience, writers being hired for race rather than talent, TV channels such as the CW with their shows like Supergirl and Batwoman, and more common people that get the idea to "fix" the designs of drawn characters. Then again, the last example is made up of the people you expect to find on Twitter. And it doesn't help that when they're given valid criticisms and advice, they tend to take everything as a personal attack and doom themselves into becoming default examples on what not to do in terms of writing and making characters. Though they're showing a little progress, I'm not going to put my hopes up due to the fear that they'll stomp on said hope again.
I hate the writers who started these types of things because it blocks me from writing a diverse cast in my stories. People will hate on me and say I just made them that way just to make them look "unique" but no. They maybe different in some aspects, yes, but they're still normal and regular people which you can relate with. Don't get me wrong, other writers are amazing at writing a diverse cast, it's just some out there that... let's just say they're not that open minded...
And the people who claim there are only the 2 are the same that claim to fight for the opressed and marginalized while simultaneously demonizing people who don't care.
the problem really is only when the black character have no flaws, because black people must be perfect you know, that is why i like samuel L jackson characters, they are all bad characters, even when they are the good guys, they are all different and their color only matters when they should, like in Django , nick fury is not black nor is white, he is just nick fury, actually i can remember a black character in marvel that suffers from this problem
at least what I hate is when black is no longer a character design and instead a character trait as onec a character becomes identified simply by their race is when it becomes some tool for a political agenda. This goes for homosexuals as-well because alot of these characters aren't just characters who happen to be gay but are gay characters and thus get defined by their gayness. Really my problem though is this argument that black kids need a black character to look up to as that argument is completely supports that different races are a real thing, thus continuing the cycle of racism. I mean why can a kid with dark color skin not be able to look up to Peter Parker or why can a kid with fair skin not look up to Miles Morales. Why is it that skin color stops you from being able to relate to that character. (now sure a kid living in poor conditions/a ghetto won't be able to relate to a super wealthy character but he still wouldn't be able to relate as much to a extremely wealthy black character
@Koriander Yander well east asians in general seem to be pretty xenophobic especially towards black people. They didn't like Jayden Smith kissing a Chinese girl in that karate kid remake and they altered the force awakens poster by making John boyega appear way smaller than in other promotional material
that last line about people seeing white as a default, and then the montage of black characters was so spot on. especially with the music. this was such a well put together video, you completely voiced out my thoughts, especially as a black person who grew up head over heels in love with animation. we are just everyday people, who deserve to be represented in an everyday, normal way.
@@pj.g They are depicted orange, have been otherwise racist and could still be pandering. Mumiens are less controversial (by being Scandinavian, I think I have a problem).
@@superiorpanda6449 that's only relevant if the fiction work is set outside of the US. If it's set in China, Chinese demographics are all that matter. If it's set in Sub-saharan africa, Sub-saharan demographics are all that matter, if it's set in the Middle East and North Africa, North African and Middle-eastern demographics are all that matter, and if it's set on the US, like almost all of these animations in the video are, only US demographics matter.
there was a joke a comedian whos name i cant remember said and it went something like, a white dude can say to me "my nigga you funny" and i wont get offended, but if he say "you are a funny nigga" then i might say something, has a similar feel to how you phrased it in a sense that it the main point doesnt have to be skin color
@@khosusdiclor5291 Keep on the right path my brother, keep writting shit about those damn commies and all those mothefuckers from E-Asia, except from those from thailand, those are cool, real homies
This is seriously one of the best written and articulated breakdowns of African-Americans in popular media, particularly animated media. you illustrated points I’ve always thought but never been able to put into words. Excellent work!
Real talk... over a year ago I was in a rabbit hole of alt right content and I truly believed anyone that was different from me in a movie or show was considered pandering. I’m not even white. This video really got me out of that rabbit hole and I unsubscribed from the channels that gave me such a negative mindset. I will not name them but some of them talk about entertain like Star Wars and make it political when it’s not that deep. I’m glad I watched this video. My views changed when he said “ because you think being white is the default. “
I’m not even black and I came to that conclusion. There was no substance to the writing, and it felt like they expected the show’s joke mileage to extend purely on “i’m black,” rather than actual jokes.
Total Drama had it's number of black characters, and just about all of them had different personalities. I can't name all of them, but the ones I do name are all completely different from one-another... Leshawna: The sassy black girl, kinda like Zuri from Disney Channel's Jessie. She isn't scared of anyone and she isn't ashamed of her body. DJ: A kind-hearted, soft and friendly guy who's scared of almost everything. I guess you would probably expect something like this considering the fact the show was on Cartoon Network. Lightning: The big buff jock who thinks he's better than everyone. He seeks attention and isn't afraid to do whatever it takes to win. Cameron: The exact opposite of Lightning. He's the small scrawny nerd who gets picked on by almost everyone. Cameron's kind of like A.J from The Fairly Odd Parents when it comes to being smart and using his brain more than most other characters.
while this is true and they did have different personalities, I feel like Leshawna was still one of those characters who was written as BLACK, before she was written as a character. She had the stereotype of the loud, ghetto, and sassy black woman.
Definitely agree with you with Craig of the Creek, but not so much about a Wrinkle in Time. Kinda found it to be a little bland in some areas, mostly concerning how there was an actual, tangible source of the dark parts of humanity, and how the little kid immediately trusted a complete stranger within the darkness despite knowing where he was and witnessing a taste of what's wrong with said darkness.
I completely love Craig of the Creek but I really hated watching the Wrinkle in Time movie as I read and analyzed the book. I watched the movie with the book fresh in my mind and watched it carefully to see how it would compare. This really ruined the movie for me, especially the ending as I was so excited to see how they would show some characters
Sofia Oliveira What's "normal"? Everyone has a cultural context. I hope you don't mean make them white characters that just look black. If you mean treat them like human beings than yes, they should do that. That doesn't exclude culture though
You're not alone. I'm surprised this isn't a top comment. Did your parents say you weren't allowed to watch that as a kid too? Mine weren't about it and I've heard the same from a bunch of friends.
@@BetweentheBeans My granddad thought it was incredibly stupid and shamed me for voluntarily letting my brain melt, but he never made me change the channel. I just did it so he'd relax lol
Fillmore is a genius cartoon, he’s just a solid character, and wasn’t created just TO BE black, he was just a great character that HAPPENED to be black, and that is truly the best black characters
@@Therookefortuncookie i mean...yeah. in America thats not the case but in places with more poc they are the default just like in places like Russia, where white is definitely the default. In America however white is not the default.
Lacey Legrone fam we only 13% of the population in America expecting any more than 13% of a black population in any white dominated field is kinda crazy lol
@astralips i get the same thing, I'm black and people say i have a "white" voice.. It gets really annoying like how the hell am i 'supposed' to sound??
In some cases it maybe, but personally I think that ppl in the US/other melting pots shouldn't complain about it, because it's the whole point of the melting pot: to be diverce but united
@@alexejnovak8693 While I agree with your statement, referring to countries as "melting pots" could be considered harmful to some degree. The point of a melting pot is to create a homogeneous mixture within, meaning that the desired outcome is for everything within to be the exact same. Try referring to them as quilt countries! Quilts are designed to be different and- quite literally- patchy, but hold together just as well as other blankets. Quilts also exist in many different cultures all over the world, so it's a great way to say that while people come from different backgrounds and retain that, we can all work together to achieve our goals.
@@death_paint , as a migrant myself I don't actually see any adequate benefits of multiculturalism at least in Europe. Retaining your background can be harmful to the local culture (e.g. islam and its values), so the only thing that's going on is ghettoisation, but the picture of it is colourful, bright and optimistic, while country is being literally divided and there is no common goals (Retain society before and propagating islamic (as an example) values are different goals which don't make country united. So melting pot with graduate erasing cultural differences is much better, imho
@Dunkelwelpling They wanted a black Jedi, I loved Samuel L. Jackson. The rest of the Jedi were soft lookin conpared to him. Mace windu and Quigon jen and Yoda were practically the only truly threatening Jedi. Btw, they wanted Tupac, who I think would've been revolutionary.
I’m a white comic artist binge watching these types of videos to learn what not to do. I’ve never implemented an African American character into a big story of mine because I’ve been nervous about it. This really encouraged me and was super funny too. Thanks man.
It would be best if you had talked about Anime because many black anime fans get attacked by weeaboos just because they give opinions on Black characters in Anime or draw a black character for fan art series.
I think that'd be a great separate video! :) I love hearing video essays like this, and the racism in anime is very stark a lot of the time. I really like hearing opinions and thoughts on it, rather than pretending it isn't there. I like anime, and have several black friends who also like anime, but I'm not in the anime subculture so to hear about this type of toxicity was so shocking, I was totally ignorant of it. Thanks for bringing it up here! Definitely needs to get brought up in the zeitgeist and talked about imo.
And when they aren't even white, they are Asian, at least most anime characters are. Like, I love when people shift the skin tone in fanart Because they either are a darker skin tone/ want to be more diverse than the source material.
I feel the same could be made about any minority character in the media ''why is she a girl'' ''why are they LGBTQ+'' because they exist, because they live lives just like everyone else and deserve to be on tv just like everyone else
And I absolutely agree with you in that regard, but there are quite a few people that have lazy uses of said characterizations and how certain audiences respond to certain characters in the more recent years. They're showing signs of improvement, but I'm not going to too surprised if I see people paying for a 2 millionth oppressed black guy, woman with no notable weaknesses, gay person being promoted as something special before being revealed to be a very minor background character/untouched B plot, or just any character, mainly guys that are either soft spoken or have a rival, that are assumed to gay solely for having respect for someone of the same sex.
Right, it's like G why is he a white male. They answer with *Because the writer is white* Me: So, doesn't mean all the characters he makes have to be. Him: ............
I'm in my last year of character design and animation in college and you'd be surprised how many times I've had to rationalize making a character not white by simply stating that I wanted them to be a different race. They were normal every day people that I saw as Asian or black or whatever, and professors and peers ask for a backstory like it's going to explain why they are not white. It's weird and it seems small to some people but it's important to see characters that aren't defined by their race or sexual orientation or gender and just make them a dynamic person; especially if that trait in the past has been the only characterization shown for that group. When I see it done corrrectly I really admire and appreciate it, and I'm a white girl from Alberta!
Instead of being mad when people ask for backstory be happy it means that the fact that they aren't white characters people are even more intrigued you peaked and interest without even doing anything
Agent Smith I don’t see it as a problem. Believing that she should only stick to certain race is probably why we are so misrepresented in the first place. Let her get to know our beauty passed being a carbon copy of a white character
Agent Smith True but if a person wants to draw or animate or create someone who isn't white or typical.. why can't they? It's still just as interesting and when done well it's great bc you can include certain cultural references or designs - or not to that to show that not everyone of x race or x ethnicity is the same.
Agent Smith That i agree with. When i think of special or unique i think of quirks they may have, certain ambitious or goals, their talents or maybe even powers, and the actual theme. Not... "hey black girls are super niche especially if they are nerdy right?" actually gross lol.
@Agent Smith Nice strawman. First of all the reason we're being misrepresented hasn't been nor is it "pandering", it's racism and established stereotypes. And that bigotted attitude you have does no race any favors. Yes, a character isn't original just because it's black. Yes nobody should celebrate some bullshit no quality character just because of the shade of their skin. Yes the belief anything non-white is automatically good or bad is stupid and unfortunately quite popular amongst people. But after watching this video, how could you be so incapable of comprehending what was said? That's not the agenda being pushed here. What is being pushed is that black people are people, so unless you're saying we're more like exotic creatures than normal homo sapiens, there's no problem with a white person trying their hands at crafting a black character, so long as they don't just force the "black personality" or just copy and paste typical black stuff for no reason. And as stated by the video, if you're going to try and elaborate on the "black experience", things like racism, music, culture, difficulty getting a job, gangs, Black power, slavery, police brutality etc., like with everything that has serious meaning to the persons involved, get personally involved and do your fucking homework before publishing it. That's all. As long as black people continue to see in black and white and not understand nuance, context and logical consistency (as a whole group), we'll never acquire the knowledge or the tools to craft a better niche in society for ourselves.
“For no other reason than being black.” I mean? Are people usually black for a reason? Do these people just run up to a black person on the street and ask “why are you black?”
Broken Music Box He is talking about the reason why people implement black characters into their show. Some do it to make sure there is diversity in their show, some do it to tell a story specifically about their race whether it be in a good way or a bad way, and some do it as simply by randomly assigning a race.
@Flávia And I remembered the Mean Girls scene of "But,if you're from Africa,why are you white?" and "Oh my god,Karen,you can't just ask people why they're white!"
I'm a black women. I want to be a voice actor, and for once, I just want to play characters that don't have a political statement behind it. Lemme just be the nerdy girl that I am bruh.
Virginia Vass Nothing wrong with "political statements" when they're needed. Also I wouldn't even consider most of these "political statement". Sometimes it's just stating the truth. Also, they probably should get black voice actors to voice black people instead of white people doing imitations of black people. I doubt they'd allow black people to do legit voice acting while imitating white people. Maybe as a joke or something but not without anyone's knowledge.
@@Scoring57 Yeah that's true, we definitely need to state the truth about what's going on in our lives and culture. It would be nice to see more black cartoon characters without them having a reason for being black though. Heck, it would be nice to see more black characters, period. I mean, why can't we be Steven Universe or Finn the Human? Also, what I like about voice acting as opposed to stage or film acting is that there is more freedom in the parts you can play. Anything is possible. Can't wait to get started!
Bro as a black 16 year old girl… this video still means a lot. Like I’m basically the YOU of my school where I can go one very long rants about obscure or v popular cartoons that nobody bothered to finish, and cartoons are literally my favorite pastime, my favorite thing to write about, and the literal biggest factor in who I am today. However I literally know like 4 black girls from those cartoons… suzie, numbah 5, doc mcstuffins, and penny proud.
I'm 14 now, and I remember seeing this video when I was about 11 or 12. Started my love for character and media analysis. Blew my mind how he voiced so many of the things I subconscious noticed all the time but was never able to articulate or even think to talk about. Still one of my fav videos on RUclips
My dad is a black Dominican. My mom is a white latina. On my 15th birthday he hugged me and he looked at us in the mirror. And as I was staring at our reflection he told me that I look nothing like him, and that made him happy. I looked at him, and he told me he was happy that I was born white, that being black was really hard and dangerous, and he wouldn't want that for me. I went upstairs and cried. I want nothing but to look more like my father.
I can relate in way, my dads skin is this beautiful light tan that darkens in the sun...he never burns. I turn into a lobster though. But he always told me to love myself and love the people around me because hate creates more hate. Learn to love yourself and continue to love your father who cares very much for you, and your mother.
I’m a creative writing major in college, and I’ve tried multiple times writing characters that were black, lgbtq+, women or other types of people that don’t come from the same background or lifestyle than I am. If I may be honest, it’s so much more difficult than writing characters like myself. It’s been said, “write what you know,” and while yes that is the easiest way to get the best story possible, but attempting to write other types of people’s perspectives makes you a better writer and helps you grow in empathy and understanding about other peoples feelings and experiences. Also, we know how much white people dominate Hollywood and the art we see today. It’s definitely grown toward other people, with movies like moonlight and get out, but white people still dominate both the starring roles and the executives. We want to see more people of different backgrounds than ‘white dude fresh out of Cali film school’ in our movies and tv and making them, but to say that only women can write women, or blacks can only write blacks is asking the industry to white wash what little we have now. We want representation, and I think the best way to do that is to be open to people attempting to write outside their own perspective and help them see how to write it better. We all want to represent other people in the best way, but oftentimes it won’t look great the first time around. Black people are still people, we should write them that way. Great video.
@@Galaxylion_omega I know two series creators sort of did that: 1) Matt Braly createda female-led series called Amphibia, and he called three women to serve as writers, and the writing team is of four writers. 2) Dana Terrace, creator of Disney's The Owl House, made the lead character Afro-Latina after her friend Luz Batiste, who works as consultant and story artist in the show and is Afro-Latina herself, asked her to do so in exchange of letting Terrace using her name for the lead character, even througth Terrace is white. And if she asked her friend to do such big thing, she must have known she would do it right.
When I was younger I was told I looked like numbuh 5, princess tiana, doc mcstuffins, and the girl from the polar express. I don’t think any of them look particularly alike it’s just that they were the only black female cartoon characters that other children were exposed too. It’s also an issue in literature. I loved to read growing up but I didn’t see myself in the characters often. I would reread the hunger games so I could read rue’s lines out loud back before the movie came out. I loved American girl and the only doll I could relate to at the time was Addy who was an escaped slave. In all of my time being obsessed with American girl I have only seen 3 black dolls in their historical line up. One was a slave, one was from New Orleans and was taken out of the line up years ago, and the last one was a civil rights activist. People really feel that characters can only be black if it’s their entire story and personality. That has an effect on the children who never see themselves unless they’re struggling or being called out on their skin.
Omfg so true and annoying. My roommate is black and he has dreads and so many people have said he looked like Richard Sherman, or insert other black dude with dreads here, and even ask to touch his hair! To me that is ignorance and racism. He looks nothing like those people. Having to compare someone to a character or someone else solely on their skin color is messed up. P.s. I also loved American girl and remember there never being many POC dolls
because when you live in an 70%+ white country it's more likely that white people are creating the shows that can relate to other white people... go to China and see how man Black/White people there are on their television or movies.
As a Mexican who often notices that Hispanics don’t get a lot of shows and movies I also agree with a hispanic version of the leading statement you made in the “cuz he black” section. I love Encanto because the characters are hispanic and it makes me feel represented and it feels nice to be able to relate to them more than a white character.
I love the fact that Craig's race seemingly has zero to do with anything. He just happens to be a black kid. The "default" mentality is an excellent point, and great way to end this video. And I had no idea Johnny 2x4 is black until I saw this video. Lol
@@terrenceharris-hughes4436 Let's be real, color meant jack shit in Ed Edd 'n Eddy. Ed was Pink and Edd was yellow, for god's sake. (And i don't mean asian). I just can't see Johnny as black, he's just some weird kid.
7:03 Shout out to Cree Summer, she really does a lot of the voices for Black female characters, & characters in general. Susie, Numbuh 5, Cleo from _Clifford_ , Miranda from _As Told by Ginger_ , Foxxy Love, this woman's a legend honestly.
Good video, you worded perfectly why I think cartoons from 1995-2008 era did such a good job with this. Cyborg, Jarold, AJ, they were all just good characters who happened to be black. I'd also like to throw in Green Lantern from Justice League.
because nowadays we have this random need to be diverse so they have to create black characters instead of characters who are black. It goes the same with every race, if a character becomes simply their race then it is a bad character that is obviously pandering to a certain group. Alot of this though is actually the marketing teams fault and not the creators but most of us get our initial view of something with its marketing and so that becomes the basis of our viewing as humans.
A-DrewG - Need to create? John Stewart/Green Lantern is in DC comics. The JL/U character is based off a previous established character who yes was also in the armed forces in the comics.
Not gonna lie, the Green Lantern from the Justice League is the only version of the Green Lantern I actually enjoyed (and the first one I saw). I felt he was a nicely nuanced character and actually brought something to the table other than being another super hero with snarky one liners. Also Static Shock is pretty much my favorite DC super hero and was pissed when his cartoon got cancelled.
You're crazy smart how you broke this all down. Now imagine being Native American, the people who have lived on this land before everybody else. We get little to no representation.
@Courageous Badger Hey, i agree. I am mixed but mostly "black". I am currently learning Cheokee, Cree and Navojo! And i know that there are many native cultures that are as different from each other as the English are from the Chinese. I also strongly believe that there there were two types of natives in the Americas the "Asian" looking type and natives who had dark skin with thicker hair. I most American blacks are decended from dark skinned natives and Africans.
But how would you know? If a character's race isn't identified, a character you assume is white, or some other race, could be Native American. The problem here is that as soon as you identify the character as a particular race, then that becomes the focus of the character. Then that character becomes the spokesman for all [insert race], and you inevitably end up with accusations of stereotyping.
"Because you think being white is the default" is the perfect summary. Also, being male, this shit drives me insane with the 'older generations' like sure, some things are there just trying to cash in on "Look at all the female leads" ( ghost busters reboot, I'm looking at you ) " look how progressive we are" thing, but I've had relatives get upset over the increase in black and female movies leads because ' They gotta be in everything now ' and ironically, this relative isn't even white, he's half native american. I think some of his issue is because there is rarely native representation, but he still defaults to white.
@@sarahperkins6421 Yeah, I guess because of things being overwhelmingly white for so long, its kind of ingrained in peoples minds that that is the standard. Which is obviously shitty for anyone thats not white, but also kinda sucks for white people, I mean they are thought of as the base model, like a honda civic with no V-tech and all plastic interior. lol
@@Ox-Plays there's tons of white people in shows normally because whites make up the majority of the population in America same with every other place. Like China, normally Chinese leading roles and Russia same with Africa and so on.
I'm not particularly upset over black people or females being roles, it's normally the people behind them who mess up I have such a problem with. I'm so used to seeing them politicized, it leaves a bad taste in peoples mouth so people expect it to be a political or something which is disappointing.
I feel like Miles is a character that everyone can relate to. I grew up in the suburbs with very little diversity (I’m white), but I can relate to his struggle with his parents and the way he couldn’t really make friends. He is honestly just a really good character from a really good movie.
Miles will always have a special place in my heart. Into the Spiderverse was the last film my dad and I saw in the cinema together. But thats not the only reason I love him. He's a great character who is hello relatable
Im glad you put in Miles within your video. He’s a great character that I relate to a lot when it comes to struggle in life. Like in the beginning of Spiderverse where they show case his struggle fitting in to his new school and keeping up with the schools curriculums, trying to study and failed his test. I was in college when I saw that in theater and dude I shed tiers when seeing miles going through all these corses because that’s how I experienced going through college at the time. I struggle to be a good student but it didn’t always cut out. Plus he’s an artist like me. He draws in his spare time at his desk like me with no worries. I didn’t care if he doesn’t have the same skin color as me,(even though we’re both Latinos)I care because we both struggle with our daily lives. So yeah I’m glad you featured miles within your video.
Skinny white boy here. I absolutely hate the argument that "your character needs a reason to be black". The same argument is used often with LGBT and disabled characters. Here's a reason for you: I wanted to! _I_ wanted this character to be black, _I_ wanted this character to be gay, _I_ wanted to put this character in a wheelchair. You do not need a reason for making your character black. Insisting that you need a specific reason for your character being black is borderline racist, insisting that black people need a "reason" to exist. When really, the only "reason" we need for making our characters this way is that they DO exist and need to be represented in media without invoking harmful stereotypes or being a selling point for a project.
White boy... This was the comment for you to make. Honestly you should've just let a black person say it. I understand your energy and goal but this shouldn't have come from you.
I aM Fuck off. Why can’t he say it? It’s got the same heart coming from him as any black person. Any person of any race, gender, or sexuality is allowed to hold opinions.
I agree. That should be the motivation behind it. "I want this character to be black". It should not be "I need to cover all the bases and make a black character for the sake of having one". You should also make this character have some nuance. You mentioned LGBT and disabled characters. The problem some people have with these characters is that they sometimes seem to be shoehorned in to appease a specific group of people, not by the passion of the creator. One of my favorite characters of all time is Johnny Joestar from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, and he is crippled. The introduction of a character belonging to a minority should stem from passion of the creator and not for political clout. Most of the time it's plain to see which motivation drove the decision. Characters stemming from passion typically are more interesting, likable, and are well-developed. Characters shoehorned into a series typically are flat, uninspired, and add nothing to the story.
This is seriously one of the best videos I’ve ever seen. The amount of time, thought, and effort that went into this is beyond impressive. You are so insightful, articulate, and engaging; I could listen to you all day and would love to hear your thoughts on any topic.
@@tamalemuncher789 SJW is a pejorative created by right leaning social circles to de-legitimize the voices and concerns of minorities including but not limited to people of color and the LGBTQ+ communities. It's not a productive or wise term to throw around.
@@elijahdavila3684 no, its to prove the majority wrong, and to show that they need to stop popularizing or degrading everything they touch just to fulfill thier desires to be an effective member of society
It's crazy how innocent we are as kids. I never once thought of the racial implications when watching Static Shock or Little Bill. I just enjoyed the characters for who they are. Now you telling me people watched those shows and asked why they were a certain race? That's surprising as fuck to me
I feel exaclty the same. Since Im from a small german town where there are like 5 black people, cartoons/characters like Fillmore never were "different" or had any racial implications. They just looked the way they looked and I dont think any of us kinds thought anything of it. Kinda feel like kids growing up today only see "color" and differences. :/
It's super weird. Nothing is just a show, everything is a political statement even when it isnt, and it's gotten so out of hand it goes full circle back to whatever -ist is being targeted.
@Belletaina Just the after effect of America's past. The lack of care when presenting black people is clear. It's obvious why people now are making sure they aren't being duped now in the present moment. Cartoons sadly have been about race for a long time though. If you aren't black you probably wouldn't have noticed at all how much race was in cartoons. Think of Disney's propaganda films. It's actually WAY better now then it's ever been before. And it's because we can take it seriously. Being a cartoon doesn't negate that it can't be taken seriously. Real people make it.
How to Black Character. Treat them like a normal character, like a person. With their own goals, ideals, backstory, motivations, culture, experiences, hobbies, quirks, mindsets and perspectives to make them beliviable. The audience doesn’t have to agree with the character on what they think or what they do. They just have get it, the audience just have to understand the character to make them beliviable. And if you’re writing a character that has experienced something (for example racism), if you’ve experienced the same thing, you can make it seem more realistic by including details, thoughts and feelings about Said experience to make it seem more realistic and immersive to the Audience. It’s not impossible to write about something that you have no experience with, but it’s definentally harder. And this can be tied in with with black characters who’ve experienced some form of racism or are descendents of victims of racism or are a part of a community who experiences racism. But if you’re writing a black character who’ve never or barely experienced any for of racism (Maybe if they’re in a different world or something idk) then just write them like any other character. Because in the end, race doesn’t truly matter, but i may do if irl representation of black people is important to you as a writer or to the story you’re telling. But otherwise, just treat black characters as every other character. Because all characters deserve to be beliviable and understood. A good *character* doesn’t necessarily have to be a *good* character, And a bad *character* doesn’t necessarily have to be a *bad* character. You get the idea, now go make some good as character.
I'm Latin American, and I just re-watched this video only to realize that it really changed my view and preconceived notions about a lot of things. I don't mean to take attention away from the focus of the video, which is black characters, but I've as well never truly felt identified by characters in media until recently, and this has inspired me to become a better writer, to make everyone feel included at least a little bit in the things I create. Thank you for that
It's hard to draw fades with vector colors, as someone who rocks a fade I figured that out when I was learning vector art. This is why the sharp cut is so popular in animation, it's a substitute for a fade. You know, when they have a buzz cut on the sides than it just changes to long hair instantly. Like Kai from Legend of Korra.
I have a black friend and am myself mixed, and he told me I dance like a white person. Even now I don't know what to think of that and how I should've replied to that.
How to write a black character: Write a character who's personality is unique but their culture is black. (Or their culture doesn't have to be black. Just them being a character but having black skin is perfect) How NOT to write a black character: Write a black character but who's personality is them being black. There's just constant in your face moments of them being black.
>Or their culture doesn't have to be black. Just them being a character but having black skin is perfect This is important! Not all black people have a connection to "black culture!" (I know this because I'm one, and if you think that's a problem, congratulations you've adopted a fascist talking point)
"If you question a characters race then you think being white is the default." That was really well put and I think that's pretty true. I think that stems from early media pretty much being white washed and misrepresenting other ethnicity's. Also Hermes was my favorite character on Futurama.
I went to highschool with this girl who was really quiet but super nice and bubbly when you talked to her. I remember complimenting her hair because it was big and curly and she put flowers in it. I snapped a pic for the year book and when she walked away the person I was with said "You know that's a weave right?" I didn't but wtf would it matter? That girl is now a huge black cosplayer, she blew up on instagram and moved to LA @kieraplease if yall wanna check her out. She inspires me as a black girl to be my weird self. I'm biracial and I struggled with being "black enough" or "too black" but it's girls like this, characters like Penny, that made me feel normal in the world. I can were a weave and like anime dammit. Edit: I didn’t expect this many likes y’all! Feel free to stop by and say hi, I make music and covers and a natural hair tutorial once. 😁
I love kieraplease! And her hair is beautiful. Im pretty certain that's her actual hair though, but whether it is or isn't shouldn't have even made that big a deal
Way2Clutch39 well yeah lol but to the point of this video, there aren’t many relatable characters for black people, she mostly cosplays black characters.
My thoughts exactly! (No pun intended. Okay, maybe a little.) I always loved how The Proud Family used its fantastical animated format to its advantage because they got that lesson across a lot better than most live action sitcoms, honestly.
Once a full moon, Disney shows balls and does something that could potentially garner complaints. Complaints from the right people to receive complaints from, of course, but complaints nonetheless.
Cykä Blyät - Mizore it’s weird because a lot of times the CREATORS of the show make a big deal about having black characters. So if that’s a big deal that the characters are black it’s perfectly valid to question the characters skin color and what that means for the story And for some of the reductionist If someone makes a story with no Black Characters and they get people made about not having black people, then yes 100% inclusion of future black characters is literally pandering to make these people shut up
Steven Lawson it’s a huge problem, people act like you can’t have an all (insert skin color/race/ethnicity) cast anymore. It doesn’t mean there racist it may fit the theme of the story and where it’s located. It’s honestly stupid.
@@cykablyat5738 yeah, if a cast is all-black, that isn't diverse, it's all-black. That's not a bad thing at all but you get situations like people bitching about Friends, twenty years later, or complaining because the original Avengers are all-white when they were just modeled after the comics.
@@sui11106 the problem with fades is that cartoons usually revolve around simple line work and a fade juxtaposes that. It's certainly doable but in certain art styles it can look weird, hence the reliance on other styles.
pssh hehe, little does Toon know that i'm actually of Puerto Rican descent.........👀 IM GONNA SAY THE N-WORD!
I’ve been bamboozled, y’all.
I can’t keep repairing the White House guys smh
You a black puertorican
Thetas racist you can’t say the N word
I'm both so i approve this message
The moral of this: being black is not a personality trait. Litterally just their skin tone.
Edit: For all you thinking I am being racist? I think it is more culture that impacts your personality, which is alot different to your actual appearance.
Ghost Tea It isn’t a skin tone or race. ‘Black’ is a corporate designation, so called black people are copper coloured if anything.
Ghost Tea
Yeah that's what you take out of it if you're whyte and biased probably. What I take out of it. 'There needs to be more black characters (obviously their skintone matters for this), and you're probably racist if you think whyte should be the "default".
Also, acknowledging race doesn't = 'skin tone is personality'
and the ability to cook, dance, have cool hair etc
I just love it when people say I act white
@@Scoring57 I meant it as when there are black characters in shows, some aren't written very well and it just seems like there only character trait is their skin tone. I'm sorry if I offended you but that is what I meant. I do agree that there should be better and more representation out there for the black community
"White is not the default" a lot of people don't understand what that means and I think that speaks to the issue more than anything.
Green is the default
Yeah, that ending line of this video was very powerful when placed at the end of this video and what it represents.
@P1CKLE_R1CK I don't think you really understand the statement. I'm sure you understood the words but not the meaning behind them.
@P1CKLE_R1CK Just asking to see how much detail I have to go into but do you play any games where you create your character or have any books you enjoy reading?
P1CKLE_R1CK The meaning is this: White is the majority and there are a lot of writers that are white sure, but they aren’t the default. Meaning you shouldn’t be surprised or think it’s pandering when you see a black character because other people of other races/cultures exist too
Everyones asking why is he black
But not how is he black 😔
we live in a society bruh
True dat
M E L A N I N
Damn boy that's DEEP
where is he black?
The fact that anyone think Craig of the creek pandering cause it has black main character is probably the literal most dumbest thing I've ever heard .
@Shin Shaman I respectfully disagree.
@@ratchetxtreme6591 Ignore him, he’s a racist who thinks black characters are trash.
@@thecraplordsell4575 or he's just a troll who gets his jollies off on getting a reaction out of people?😆 Those exist too you know!
@@izzieb.2926 That too lol
Ik this reply sounds very stupid but what does pandering mean?
“Not every character with brown skin has to be a political statement.”
Very well put.
Too bad we have creators doing that right now in some cases.
It both makes me rage and laugh, mostly because I DO get a bit of a chuckle out of seeing these guys act uppity as if they're the first person to make a Black character....EVER. And when they start turning on each other for what they did wrong over it.
kyoyameganebereznoff
J.K Rowling: *visually sweating*
Super Cosmic Mutant Honey Candle Squid - this is my biggest fear when writing a character I don’t personally represent. I get so worried that people will think that I’m trying to make a statement or force diversity. But that isn’t true at all. I just want to write a story that all kids can see themselves in.
Seriously. I wore an Afro all through college, and people somehow assumed that I hated White people and was all "Black Power" and whatnot. Every bald White dude is not a supremacist, and every Black person with a Fro, is not apart of the Black Panthers or something😁😁😁
@@montychristo3745 All through college? So you didnt wear it in the workplace?
this is why i always loved DJ from Total Drama. He looked like what people would expect him to be: A tall strong black man. He could've been treated as a thug or be seen as ghetto. instead they showed him as a sweet, caring, and trustworthy person. Hes the one of the only characters from Total Drama who WASNT derailed
It subvert expectation that how come some show who write a black character shouldn’t do the stereotype and trope of writing a black character but make them unique and as well when someone criticize the character they shouldn’t attack or be a jerk because they think it their race or skin color or sexuality instead they need to criticize the writing of the characters just many don’t do that because they think it bad character to have a character who skin color is different and it a easy excuse for them to be racist and a-hole
Yeah, too bad they metaphorically kicked Cj in the balls during World tour.
EXACTLY!
He got worse in world tour he only cared about a stupid curse and it messed up Lindsey when she was getting far in the game
Same.
There is a reason why the main character is black. It is to demonstrate that some people happen to be black.
MrConredsX So by that logic then it’s wrong for a character to be black?
@@MrConredsX Wait... I want you to re-read your words slowly.
"There's a problem when literally any character is either black or female."
If I'm reading this wrong please inform me but it sounds like you want every character to be a white male.
@@slothful2039 No, what i meant is making every character in the cast only black or only female. Witch exceptions like Boondock in which the race is relevant to the story.
@@MrConredsX Oh that makes more sense lol. The correct word would be every instead of any then.
@@MrConredsX
Dude, by that logic, no character should be white/male since it isn't relivent to the story vast majoroty of the time.
She-ra does have a reason, a crappy one but one none of the less, for having a prodominate female cast in universe.
So your point doesn't stand because once it's flipped it falls apart.
The REAL reason is pandering and bad writing but that also gose with shows with primarily a white cast.
*I still hate the fact that some cartoonist still think being black is a personality*
"Aizawa'a Trash Waifu" LMAFO ACCURATE
@Shin Shaman Man you shut up.
Same bro
@Shin Shaman “need weebao” is something I want to hear pronounced out loud
one of my characters is pretty much arab.... hes like a writer and historian for whatever his wife does in the storyline... although considering he runs a country it might be hard to avoid the oil sheik stereotype in all aspects
"And for Black women? Yall got like 5...and they all got the same voice"- No truer words have been spoken, but I still love Cree Summer for all of her talents.
The rugrats had one of my favorite black female characters of all time. Susie Carmichael was like the older sister we all wanted.
Layla/Aisha from winx club was my favorite growing up
I don't see much black girls being a protagonist or hero of a story, especially in cartoons. If anyone can give me some recommendations then that would be nice
I also see black girls being protrayed as sassy or aggressive. I'm not like that at all though. Is it just me that notices this?
@@pinkanime_cat1460 There aren't many shows with Black girl protagonists. From the top of my head, I can only think of The Proud Family which is a fun show and getting a reboot soon (it will be interesting to see how writers handle critiques of the show having a lot of colorism in the reboot). There's also Doc McStuffins which was a preschool show. The sassy/bossy Black girl trope is definitely a real thing and it's annoying because sassy is always portrayed as negative but if a male character acted similarly he'd be "in control and taking charge", "a leader", etc.
Here’s how to write a black character:
Step 1: Write a character
Step 2: You’re done
NO WAY!!!!!!!! :OOO
Exactly, the only not normal thing should be changing the characteristics of the character so it doesnt just look like a white person colored black and voila
*Step 2 1/2:* Give them some depth, development, and personality.
*Step 3:* It doesn't matter what skin color, race, or any kind of human characteristics as long as they are well-written.
What? No wayyyy
Step 3 : Enjoy
I don't think a black person being in a cartoon or any form of media becomes pandering until them being black is a selling point for the show.
Exactly, that's the main reason everyone went to see Black Panther.
Retro Gamer No. Just no.
@@retrogamer6403 the movie wasn't as cringey as the marketing.
@@cerulee Exactly, and it look like their doing the same thing with Captain Marvel because she's a woman. Where was all this for into the spiderverse?
@@retrogamer6403 I'm not really happy with how they're marketing Captain Marvel, and I'm downright disgusted with her portrayal in the comics but I HOPE that she's more than just some feminist prop when the movie comes out.
How to write a black character
1. Write them as any other character
Optional: use stereotypes. Not all comedy uses them
How to write a character
1. Write them as any other character
Optional: Sometimes be stereotypical. Not all comedy uses it
Conclusion: know your audience when writing any character
As a kid I really didn’t think about Craig being black for Craig of the creek
I just thought
Hmm how the fuck did they manage to get a couch in that tree stump hideout
@@jaredsabatelli2459 exactly how long did that take tho
Good question
@@jaredsabatelli2459 I bet 5 dollars on 3 hours
ruclips.net/video/QcQmMr_p9es/видео.html
Why is there even an argument about "this character is only black for the sake of being black"? Are they implying that by default all characters need to be white unless characterised by stereotypical "blackness"?
@Viz shut the fuck up racist
Yeah, that’s exactly what he was saying at 18:29
@@wvdk7911 can you give an example for the second reason please?
yea its like people of all races exist in the real world so whys it different on tv
White is default skin.
Yep, exactly. Don't write a BLACK character, write a black CHARACTER :)
👌👌👌
Or you know what?
Just write CHARACTERS. Thats all you need to do, make their story, their Personality, think of their looks after. Just write characters. Thats all you need to do.
On point and legit nailed it
Sebastian Feuerstein r/Im_fourteen_and_this_is_deep
@@cjz4915 😂👍🏼
Don’t write a black character, write a character that just so happens to be black
Yes
Yes, write black CHARACTERS. Not BLACK characters
This is how I feel about anime female characters. I want Characters that happen to be female instead of the being female is their entire character.
no whites are racist
@@africanlogic2613 not all of them are -_-
Black character
And a character
can be the same thing.
Nobody calls Indiana Jones a “white character”, he’s just a character.
Yyyeah... But this will happen when we got more black characters as protagonist and are well written and not for diversity quota same for other POC, especially native.
As for the white characters thing? Nobody refers to them like that BECAUSE they're the majority, that's it
@@wrestlinganime4life288 Well put.
How to write a black character
1: Write a character
2: By the way, they're black.
Exactly. And If you want to dive into the racial divide or experiences then do so but your not forced to simply because the character your writing is black.
Preach! Black isn't a god damn personality trait!
That's why I like Spider-Verse so much
Except black folks have a culture outside of White America. And when that culture is ignored it is basically ignoring the main element that make black people... Well people.
how to write gay characters too
It’s only an issue if being black, LGBT, etc is their whole “personality.” Just let them be people that contribute to the plot/story.
You should see Kipo. The point of the black character being LGBT is only brought up when its relevant. I think they did it great
that's only ever a problem in mediums where its the norm for all characters to be like that, usually shoddy, middle quality sitcoms. (scrubs, how I met your mother, new girl, Kimmy schmidt.) And obviously the problem isn't the taglines, its just the general oversimplified characters that sitcoms thrive on.
Bullshit. People with still call it sjw pandering and you're dumbas if you think otherwise
@@KhayJayArt People will call it that but its bullshit nonetheless. 🙄
TimeLordWarrior that show on Netflix? Is it good
Moral of the story: SKIN PIGMENTATION DOESN'T DETERMINE YOUR PERSONALITY
AliboLink_ 07 underrated comment
@@socky2cocky Thank you
AliboLink_ 07 you’re welcome B)
Indeed
Your spiting facts
I'm the whitest white person you'll ever find and for the longest time I was scared to make any POC characters because I didn't know how to draw them, and I felt like I didn't understand enough about their culture and their heritage to do them justice.
Only a year or two ago I realized we need to represent POC, and do our research. I then started characters that were black. Not because "I need much black characters for inclusivity" but because I had a character idea, and it would be even better if they were black. Now for the other POC groups that don't get a lot of representation :")
please make a character from Central America 🧡
Don't you ever create a character from Central America, my G. At least from El Salvador. Put your white hands where I can see them. Lol For real.
The comments above me are contradicting eachother
@@PotatoNuggetConsumer ikr? I'm dying 💀
@@Y20XTongvaLand honey, as an Salvadorian I inform you saying that we are part of Central America so... 👁️👄👁️
"that means that you feel like being white is the default" wow very true
It is.
Not Sure are you ok?
Super facts
@@evandomingo176 Yup.
Its definitely the majority in a lot of western countries but that in no way makes it the default.
"People feel like Craig being black is for no reason."
....you need a reason to be a race?
*I'm so glad you made a strong rebuttal to that stupid idea.
Then what's the reason for being white
Phong Huynh your parents are white
@@_phong.huynh_ do you need a reason to be a race it's just how you are
@@koolkideric3631 I'm Asian
Phong Huynh you asked for the reason to why someone’s white and i gave you the answer
I never understood the Mentality that a character needs a reason to be any race. Once I was drawing one of my characters and she was black just because when I designed her I thought that skin tone looked pretty on her specifically. People kept asking me why she was black and I was so confused. She was black because black people are exist.
I agree. Unless your character is a stereotype, you shouldn’t need any specific reason to give them a certain race/gender/sexuality as long as that’s not their only trait.
I usually make character a race based on the character design. Nothing else
The question come out. *Does black people are exist?!*
@@theydevil.designs
So basically 'don't make them about their race in a good way but go ahead make them about their race in a bad way'? Why is it more of a problem to have a character who's only quality is their race in a positive way versus a character who's only quality is their race in a negative way (aka a "stereotype")?
Scoring57 That’s not what I was talking about. A character’s race shouldn’t affect their personality in any way because it’s just a skin tone. If being a specific race is a character’s only “trait”, then they’re useless and are (usually) only shoved into whatever series they’re in for diversity points.
I want to see Black , Asian, Indigenous, Hispanic, Spanish and overall people of color. Of any gender and sexuality being represented the right way and not just stereotypes because we're people too. I also want to see also mixed people being represented too : ) I want everyone to see that no matter what gender, race and etc because we all can get along and we all have personality.
Dont worry just wait like 20 or 30 more years cuz i will be making a show for all well for all of those poeple that u said u just wait and see
Cartoon show*
good point but spanish people(spainards) are european/white
Technically speaking, Spanish people are white. Are you sure that you meant Latino/Latina?
thats why shera was such an important show for kids to see
No black characters:
Society: this is a lack of diversity
Black characters:
Society: this is pandering
Alex alexander oh sry I thought ur comment meant something else. Sorry for the misunderstanding!
exactlyyyy
I’ve been obsessed with Bojack Horseman, and I know Bojack is a horse and not a human being, but isn’t he technically black?
Two different groups of people.
@@ravenn2631 Uhhh no? Wtf
My grandma asked me why I was drawing one of my characters dark skinned when I could draw them light skinned, (she’s dark skinned, Mexican, and was always mistreated by her family members who were lighter for being brown). I told her that it’s because there are dark skinned people, like her, and that it would be weird not to draw them ever as if they didn’t exist.
that makes me so sad from my heart. your g-ma saying that to you means that she held on to that mistreatment and it turned into self hate...which really brings racism into perspective. god bless you for that response though, coming from someone who used to deal with the same self hatred.
I’m sure she did
Multi-fandom B43N my mom is Salvadorian and she always says how she hates her dark skin :(
WickedMoonWitch that’s really sad. Try to tell her as often as possible that she’s beautiful.
Shut up
“That’s because you feel like being white is the default”
*man what a mic drop!*
I KNOW RIGHT. I think he's totally on the money with that. Grrat video, great points. Im sharing this with everyone I can.
Don't drop Mic, he's precious
sarcasm?
@@Pironesia sarcasm?
@@thefordlord9893 Negative
I feel like whenever a show has people of color, or lgbtq people, or any other different culture then people think it’s just for the characters to be “quirky”...no. There just humans being humans!
Ikr like why can't characters just exist without people saying that they are only there to be "woke" or something
Too be fair, there are quite a few people that put way too much emphasis on the race, and way too little in character, when writing characters in the more recent years. Like Disney with their noticeably lazier forms work, the comic book industry abandoning what not only drew in an audience, but also kept an audience, writers being hired for race rather than talent, TV channels such as the CW with their shows like Supergirl and Batwoman, and more common people that get the idea to "fix" the designs of drawn characters. Then again, the last example is made up of the people you expect to find on Twitter.
And it doesn't help that when they're given valid criticisms and advice, they tend to take everything as a personal attack and doom themselves into becoming default examples on what not to do in terms of writing and making characters. Though they're showing a little progress, I'm not going to put my hopes up due to the fear that they'll stomp on said hope again.
@@sapientbirb7350 exactly.
yes, weird, yes
I hate the writers who started these types of things because it blocks me from writing a diverse cast in my stories. People will hate on me and say I just made them that way just to make them look "unique" but no. They maybe different in some aspects, yes, but they're still normal and regular people which you can relate with. Don't get me wrong, other writers are amazing at writing a diverse cast, it's just some out there that... let's just say they're not that open minded...
It sucks that people think there are 2 races still, white and "political"
Well said
Thats actually a very good way to put it. There ARE just those two. I'm gonna use that.
And the people who claim there are only the 2 are the same that claim to fight for the opressed and marginalized while simultaneously demonizing people who don't care.
omk573 I thought there was only one race, nascar,
@@realspartan5206 _VROOOOM_ _VROOOOM_
Whenever someone says:”Wow, a black character for no reasons, SJW much?”
I always think:”You need a reason to be black?”
the problem really is only when the black character have no flaws, because black people must be perfect you know, that is why i like samuel L jackson characters, they are all bad characters, even when they are the good guys, they are all different and their color only matters when they should, like in Django , nick fury is not black nor is white, he is just nick fury, actually i can remember a black character in marvel that suffers from this problem
Tiagorpg mendes Nick Fury was my favorite character in Django
@@tiagodarkpeasant Remember when Django assembled the Avengers
at least what I hate is when black is no longer a character design and instead a character trait as onec a character becomes identified simply by their race is when it becomes some tool for a political agenda. This goes for homosexuals as-well because alot of these characters aren't just characters who happen to be gay but are gay characters and thus get defined by their gayness. Really my problem though is this argument that black kids need a black character to look up to as that argument is completely supports that different races are a real thing, thus continuing the cycle of racism. I mean why can a kid with dark color skin not be able to look up to Peter Parker or why can a kid with fair skin not look up to Miles Morales. Why is it that skin color stops you from being able to relate to that character. (now sure a kid living in poor conditions/a ghetto won't be able to relate to a super wealthy character but he still wouldn't be able to relate as much to a extremely wealthy black character
Yeah that’s a problem with the more extreme anti-SJW movement.
Thank you.
THE HAIR THING ESPECIALLY!
😂✊🏾
I’ll make sure to take that into account next black character I end up drawing.
No wonder this was in my recommended😂😂
@Koriander Yander well east asians in general seem to be pretty xenophobic especially towards black people. They didn't like Jayden Smith kissing a Chinese girl in that karate kid remake and they altered the force awakens poster by making John boyega appear way smaller than in other promotional material
Especially in video games.
that last line about people seeing white as a default, and then the montage of black characters was so spot on. especially with the music. this was such a well put together video, you completely voiced out my thoughts, especially as a black person who grew up head over heels in love with animation. we are just everyday people, who deserve to be represented in an everyday, normal way.
Anyone: "Why is he black?"
Me: "Would you prefer that I made him purple?"
ColdCoal TV just make them all oompa loompa
@@pj.g
They are depicted orange, have been otherwise racist and could still be pandering.
Mumiens are less controversial (by being Scandinavian, I think I have a problem).
ColdCoal TV that's funny because the bullies in the proud family are blue
@reeeboi
The implications may have been South American in both movies but neither would be a surprise.
@reeeboi
Making it no less racist and therefore inappropriate for casual mention, let alone positive display towards children.
Did anyone else just find out that Johnny from Ed Edd and Eddy is black? I had no idea
ruclips.net/video/-56cGM8QSMw/видео.html
Same
@@ToonrificTariq I'm one of the smart ones - yay.
Barney was black too
Yea never noticed as a kid
What do you call a black guy in space?
An astronaut.
Nordin Reecendo I thought you were gonna say a afronaut
This is an extremely wholesome anti-joke that I really didn't expect I would find in the cesspool of RUclips comments lol
Fire
What if he's a cosmonaut though?
@@nevaehlheaven no stop it😂😂
"That means that you think that being white is the default"
Holy crap man, you hit it on the nail 👏🏾
It is.
@@melofiloxd1429 It’s clearly not
@@superiorpanda6449 70% of the US population is white.
@@melofiloxd1429 uhm you do realize the US population isn’t that of the entire world right?
@@superiorpanda6449 that's only relevant if the fiction work is set outside of the US. If it's set in China, Chinese demographics are all that matter. If it's set in Sub-saharan africa, Sub-saharan demographics are all that matter, if it's set in the Middle East and North Africa, North African and Middle-eastern demographics are all that matter, and if it's set on the US, like almost all of these animations in the video are, only US demographics matter.
Good: black *CHARACTER*
Bad: *BLACK* character
Mumbler Ogre that’s such a good way of putting it!
there was a joke a comedian whos name i cant remember said and it went something like, a white dude can say to me "my nigga you funny" and i wont get offended, but if he say "you are a funny nigga" then i might say something, has a similar feel to how you phrased it in a sense that it the main point doesnt have to be skin color
@@TubbyTubMeister if anyone said that I'd be annoyed as well, "you a funny dude" for some reason makes me feel like you said "you a clown"
@@TubbyTubMeister my nigga thats true.
x TealStories My anime lovers y’all got a virus
Asking why a character has the skin tone they have is like asking why they have the hair colour they have.
THANK YOU!
most of my villains in my stories are communists eastern bloc and east asian men tbh...
@@khosusdiclor5291 seems like you had some internalised racism
@@SieMiezekatze not necessarily jshss
@@khosusdiclor5291 Keep on the right path my brother, keep writting shit about those damn commies and all those mothefuckers from E-Asia, except from those from thailand, those are cool, real homies
This is seriously one of the best written and articulated breakdowns of African-Americans in popular media, particularly animated media. you illustrated points I’ve always thought but never been able to put into words. Excellent work!
Real talk... over a year ago I was in a rabbit hole of alt right content and I truly believed anyone that was different from me in a movie or show was considered pandering. I’m not even white. This video really got me out of that rabbit hole and I unsubscribed from the channels that gave me such a negative mindset. I will not name them but some of them talk about entertain like Star Wars and make it political when it’s not that deep. I’m glad I watched this video. My views changed when he said “ because you think being white is the default. “
"Black for no other reason than being black"
So for what reason are characters white? You don't need a reason for *skin*
bc most cartoon characters are white
@@pushog5781 so what ?
Moodle because there is little to no diversity in shows and even if there is the black person always acts like the black stereotype
@@avocadosfrommexico6234 yes, but why should it be like this ?
Moodle idk that’s just society tbh
Explained why I don't like the cleveland show, perfectly.
Thank you, man.
I guess it’ll probably be a bit awkward if I gush about how much I love your work right now, huh?
You wouldn't be the only one to. Both you guys do amazing work.
Hey Rap Critic
I’m not even black and I came to that conclusion. There was no substance to the writing, and it felt like they expected the show’s joke mileage to extend purely on “i’m black,” rather than actual jokes.
OHMIGODITSRAPCRITIC
Total Drama had it's number of black characters, and just about all of them had different personalities. I can't name all of them, but the ones I do name are all completely different from one-another...
Leshawna: The sassy black girl, kinda like Zuri from Disney Channel's Jessie. She isn't scared of anyone and she isn't ashamed of her body.
DJ: A kind-hearted, soft and friendly guy who's scared of almost everything. I guess you would probably expect something like this considering the fact the show was on Cartoon Network.
Lightning: The big buff jock who thinks he's better than everyone. He seeks attention and isn't afraid to do whatever it takes to win.
Cameron: The exact opposite of Lightning. He's the small scrawny nerd who gets picked on by almost everyone. Cameron's kind of like A.J from The Fairly Odd Parents when it comes to being smart and using his brain more than most other characters.
while this is true and they did have different personalities, I feel like Leshawna was still one of those characters who was written as BLACK, before she was written as a character. She had the stereotype of the loud, ghetto, and sassy black woman.
@@euphoria3301 I love Bakugou with black hair. 10/10
CheerySoup YOU HAVE TASTE 💕💕💕
@@euphoria3301 thank you!
@@euphoria3301 I think it meant to fill in a reality TV stereotype of a strong sassy woman because total drama meant to be a parody
Craig of the creek is a cute children’s show with a kid that likes adventures with his friends
I saw a wrinkle in time and it was incredible
I think I also say a wrinkle in time
Don’t remember it sadly
Definitely agree with you with Craig of the Creek, but not so much about a Wrinkle in Time. Kinda found it to be a little bland in some areas, mostly concerning how there was an actual, tangible source of the dark parts of humanity, and how the little kid immediately trusted a complete stranger within the darkness despite knowing where he was and witnessing a taste of what's wrong with said darkness.
I completely love Craig of the Creek but I really hated watching the Wrinkle in Time movie as I read and analyzed the book. I watched the movie with the book fresh in my mind and watched it carefully to see how it would compare. This really ruined the movie for me, especially the ending as I was so excited to see how they would show some characters
How to make black characters:
Treat them like normall characters
Sofia Oliveira
What's "normal"? Everyone has a cultural context. I hope you don't mean make them white characters that just look black. If you mean treat them like human beings than yes, they should do that. That doesn't exclude culture though
@@Scoring57
No no! I meant treat them like humans and stuff, sorry if i made it sound bad ^^"
If it's looks then yeah, there's differences.
@@Scoring57 heres a question
what comes first story or culture? and why?
im in the camp where you need to preface these statements with "I don't support Tokenization"
Black people in cartoons were so powerful they brought ToonrificTariq out of retirement.
Maaaaaaaan. 😂😂😂
ToonrificTariq on ya ass!! Lmaooo
My man Vergil/Static was the main man when it came to black heroes as I grew up.
"No wait thats a real one call the cop's"
Your 1000th like, not gonna say “No need to say thank you” because it could’ve been anyone
i was today years old when i found out Johnny from Ed, Edd, and Eddy was black
Mylo A. I always thought he was latino.
You're not alone. I'm surprised this isn't a top comment.
Did your parents say you weren't allowed to watch that as a kid too? Mine weren't about it and I've heard the same from a bunch of friends.
Between the Beans they actually did let me watch it, they never saw any problem on doing it.
@@BetweentheBeans My granddad thought it was incredibly stupid and shamed me for voluntarily letting my brain melt, but he never made me change the channel. I just did it so he'd relax lol
Mylo A. Me too sis
Fillmore is a genius cartoon, he’s just a solid character, and wasn’t created just TO BE black, he was just a great character that HAPPENED to be black, and that is truly the best black characters
He's right about all black girls being voiced by Cree Summer, she's everywhere
db20193 on one hand i agree but on the other hand can you really blame her for being a great voice actor
@@kbscheme She is a great voice actor. I was just saying she does voice most of the black girl characters
@@db20193 Well, I wanna ask how many black VAs have worked to reach her level of universal presence?
I think she also did voice work in the original Fallout games. Oh, and she WAS FOXY LOVE YA'LL! HEY HEY HEY! Fucking amazing voice actress
And all Asian women being Lauren Tom
"That means that you feel like being white is the default"
The whole video could be summed up with this single line. Great video!
M33ble no
@@Therookefortuncookie i mean...yeah. in America thats not the case but in places with more poc they are the default just like in places like Russia, where white is definitely the default. In America however white is not the default.
caleviwin no
Lacey Legrone fam we only 13% of the population in America expecting any more than 13% of a black population in any white dominated field is kinda crazy lol
Isnt white the default in the US? Since they make up the biggest part of the population there?
"And for black women--they all have the same damn voice!" BRUHHHHHH BIG FACTS!!! Lol
Big facts
I lost it! Cree Summer is a queen but women of color need way more representation in cartoons and the animation industry.
I wouldn't say it's the same voice but the same accent. It's always like an old louisiana accent
Seann Borba well it’s mostly a joke about Cree Summer voicing majority of black female cartoon characters. Lol
@astralips i get the same thing, I'm black and people say i have a "white" voice.. It gets really annoying like how the hell am i 'supposed' to sound??
Black person: *Exists*
Conservatives: "It'S fOrCeD rEpReSeNtAtIoN"
In some cases it maybe, but personally I think that ppl in the US/other melting pots shouldn't complain about it, because it's the whole point of the melting pot: to be diverce but united
@@alexejnovak8693 While I agree with your statement, referring to countries as "melting pots" could be considered harmful to some degree. The point of a melting pot is to create a homogeneous mixture within, meaning that the desired outcome is for everything within to be the exact same. Try referring to them as quilt countries! Quilts are designed to be different and- quite literally- patchy, but hold together just as well as other blankets. Quilts also exist in many different cultures all over the world, so it's a great way to say that while people come from different backgrounds and retain that, we can all work together to achieve our goals.
@@death_paint , as a migrant myself I don't actually see any adequate benefits of multiculturalism at least in Europe. Retaining your background can be harmful to the local culture (e.g. islam and its values), so the only thing that's going on is ghettoisation, but the picture of it is colourful, bright and optimistic, while country is being literally divided and there is no common goals (Retain society before and propagating islamic (as an example) values are different goals which don't make country united. So melting pot with graduate erasing cultural differences is much better, imho
Tanooki Boy: You do realize humanity isn't hive-minded?
@@MetaKnight964 You're right, I should have said "Dumbasses" instead of "Everyone". I don't mean to sound sarcastic, you raised a valid point
Don't make a "Black" character. Make a character that's black.
Dont even make a character black. Make a character who happens to be black
Dam..... That's wise
@@clorobec2625 😂😂
Or, make a black character if you want, not because you think it will make people like the show.
@Dunkelwelpling They wanted a black Jedi, I loved Samuel L. Jackson. The rest of the Jedi were soft lookin conpared to him. Mace windu and Quigon jen and Yoda were practically the only truly threatening Jedi. Btw, they wanted Tupac, who I think would've been revolutionary.
I’m a white comic artist binge watching these types of videos to learn what not to do. I’ve never implemented an African American character into a big story of mine because I’ve been nervous about it. This really encouraged me and was super funny too. Thanks man.
Good luck with your work!
Don’t forget the fade foreal
Yeet Street thanks
@@furrybastard27 no probs
Furry Trash the movie we appreciate u
It would be best if you had talked about Anime because many black anime fans get attacked by weeaboos just because they give opinions on Black characters in Anime or draw a black character for fan art series.
BYRON NOBLE
They's just racists, mostly whyte racists. They'll attack black characters in any medium, they don't have to be "weeaboos".
I think that'd be a great separate video! :) I love hearing video essays like this, and the racism in anime is very stark a lot of the time. I really like hearing opinions and thoughts on it, rather than pretending it isn't there. I like anime, and have several black friends who also like anime, but I'm not in the anime subculture so to hear about this type of toxicity was so shocking, I was totally ignorant of it. Thanks for bringing it up here! Definitely needs to get brought up in the zeitgeist and talked about imo.
@@Scoring57 True.
@@m.s.flores Well long as you understand the problem.
And when they aren't even white, they are Asian, at least most anime characters are. Like, I love when people shift the skin tone in fanart Because they either are a darker skin tone/ want to be more diverse than the source material.
I feel the same could be made about any minority character in the media ''why is she a girl'' ''why are they LGBTQ+'' because they exist, because they live lives just like everyone else and deserve to be on tv just like everyone else
And I absolutely agree with you in that regard, but there are quite a few people that have lazy uses of said characterizations and how certain audiences respond to certain characters in the more recent years. They're showing signs of improvement, but I'm not going to too surprised if I see people paying for a 2 millionth oppressed black guy, woman with no notable weaknesses, gay person being promoted as something special before being revealed to be a very minor background character/untouched B plot, or just any character, mainly guys that are either soft spoken or have a rival, that are assumed to gay solely for having respect for someone of the same sex.
@@sapientbirb7350 yea, thats also true, there's a large chance that these characters could be done wrong or just be boring in general
Right, it's like G why is he a white male. They answer with *Because the writer is white*
Me: So, doesn't mean all the characters he makes have to be.
Him: ............
Wait do people actually ask “why is she a girl?” That’s dumb to say and I’m lucky I’ve never heard of it
white people man😂😂😂😂🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
I'm in my last year of character design and animation in college and you'd be surprised how many times I've had to rationalize making a character not white by simply stating that I wanted them to be a different race. They were normal every day people that I saw as Asian or black or whatever, and professors and peers ask for a backstory like it's going to explain why they are not white. It's weird and it seems small to some people but it's important to see characters that aren't defined by their race or sexual orientation or gender and just make them a dynamic person; especially if that trait in the past has been the only characterization shown for that group. When I see it done corrrectly I really admire and appreciate it, and I'm a white girl from Alberta!
Instead of being mad when people ask for backstory be happy it means that the fact that they aren't white characters people are even more intrigued you peaked and interest without even doing anything
Agent Smith I don’t see it as a problem. Believing that she should only stick to certain race is probably why we are so misrepresented in the first place. Let her get to know our beauty passed being a carbon copy of a white character
Agent Smith True but if a person wants to draw or animate or create someone who isn't white or typical.. why can't they? It's still just as interesting and when done well it's great bc you can include certain cultural references or designs - or not to that to show that not everyone of x race or x ethnicity is the same.
Agent Smith That i agree with. When i think of special or unique i think of quirks they may have, certain ambitious or goals, their talents or maybe even powers, and the actual theme. Not... "hey black girls are super niche especially if they are nerdy right?" actually gross lol.
@Agent Smith Nice strawman.
First of all the reason we're being misrepresented hasn't been nor is it "pandering", it's racism and established stereotypes.
And that bigotted attitude you have does no race any favors.
Yes, a character isn't original just because it's black.
Yes nobody should celebrate some bullshit no quality character just because of the shade of their skin.
Yes the belief anything non-white is automatically good or bad is stupid and unfortunately quite popular amongst people.
But after watching this video, how could you be so incapable of comprehending what was said?
That's not the agenda being pushed here. What is being pushed is that black people are people, so unless you're saying we're more like exotic creatures than normal homo sapiens, there's no problem with a white person trying their hands at crafting a black character, so long as they don't just force the "black personality" or just copy and paste typical black stuff for no reason.
And as stated by the video, if you're going to try and elaborate on the "black experience", things like racism, music, culture, difficulty getting a job, gangs, Black power, slavery, police brutality etc., like with everything that has serious meaning to the persons involved, get personally involved and do your fucking homework before publishing it. That's all.
As long as black people continue to see in black and white and not understand nuance, context and logical consistency (as a whole group), we'll never acquire the knowledge or the tools to craft a better niche in society for ourselves.
“For no other reason than being black.” I mean? Are people usually black for a reason? Do these people just run up to a black person on the street and ask “why are you black?”
Broken Music Box He is talking about the reason why people implement black characters into their show. Some do it to make sure there is diversity in their show, some do it to tell a story specifically about their race whether it be in a good way or a bad way, and some do it as simply by randomly assigning a race.
This reminds me of that video with the news reporter asking the other guy "why are u gay?" Lol
Broken Music Box they did,in the 20th Century
To talk discrimination yo
@Flávia And I remembered the Mean Girls scene of "But,if you're from Africa,why are you white?" and "Oh my god,Karen,you can't just ask people why they're white!"
I'm a black women. I want to be a voice actor, and for once, I just want to play characters that don't have a political statement behind it. Lemme just be the nerdy girl that I am bruh.
i really hope you get that opportunity. the cartoon world desperately needs more black female characters that aren’t political tokens.
me too! i want to be a voice actress really bad. we seriously need the representation
Virginia Vass
Nothing wrong with "political statements" when they're needed. Also I wouldn't even consider most of these "political statement". Sometimes it's just stating the truth.
Also, they probably should get black voice actors to voice black people instead of white people doing imitations of black people. I doubt they'd allow black people to do legit voice acting while imitating white people. Maybe as a joke or something but not without anyone's knowledge.
@@Scoring57 Yeah that's true, we definitely need to state the truth about what's going on in our lives and culture. It would be nice to see more black cartoon characters without them having a reason for being black though. Heck, it would be nice to see more black characters, period. I mean, why can't we be Steven Universe or Finn the Human? Also, what I like about voice acting as opposed to stage or film acting is that there is more freedom in the parts you can play. Anything is possible. Can't wait to get started!
@@virginiavass1597 If you want BLACK characters then go back to AFRICA. There's so much black there people are starving to death in the streets.
Bro as a black 16 year old girl… this video still means a lot. Like I’m basically the YOU of my school where I can go one very long rants about obscure or v popular cartoons that nobody bothered to finish, and cartoons are literally my favorite pastime, my favorite thing to write about, and the literal biggest factor in who I am today. However I literally know like 4 black girls from those cartoons… suzie, numbah 5, doc mcstuffins, and penny proud.
I'm 14 now, and I remember seeing this video when I was about 11 or 12. Started my love for character and media analysis. Blew my mind how he voiced so many of the things I subconscious noticed all the time but was never able to articulate or even think to talk about.
Still one of my fav videos on RUclips
*Person 1 adds brown character.*
_Person 2:_ But, why would you do that?
_Person 1:_ Why not?
_Person 2:_ But, why though?
_Person 1:_ Why not?
_Person 2:_ Why?
_Person 1:_ Why not?
Lol
A better response would be “why shouldn’t I?”
My dad is a black Dominican. My mom is a white latina.
On my 15th birthday he hugged me and he looked at us in the mirror. And as I was staring at our reflection he told me that I look nothing like him, and that made him happy. I looked at him, and he told me he was happy that I was born white, that being black was really hard and dangerous, and he wouldn't want that for me.
I went upstairs and cried. I want nothing but to look more like my father.
Keep ya head up
I hope you are feeling better
I can relate
I can relate in way, my dads skin is this beautiful light tan that darkens in the sun...he never burns. I turn into a lobster though.
But he always told me to love myself and love the people around me because hate creates more hate. Learn to love yourself and continue to love your father who cares very much for you, and your mother.
It's sad but knowing history you would know why your father thinks like this
Wait, Johnny from Ed Edd n' Eddy was black?!
Yes
Yeah I didn’t know either
I love ed edd n eddy because you got every color there is lol
WeegeeSlayer I thought he was either Spanish or white or something
Seems more like a hispanic skin color to me
I’m a creative writing major in college, and I’ve tried multiple times writing characters that were black, lgbtq+, women or other types of people that don’t come from the same background or lifestyle than I am. If I may be honest, it’s so much more difficult than writing characters like myself. It’s been said, “write what you know,” and while yes that is the easiest way to get the best story possible, but attempting to write other types of people’s perspectives makes you a better writer and helps you grow in empathy and understanding about other peoples feelings and experiences. Also, we know how much white people dominate Hollywood and the art we see today. It’s definitely grown toward other people, with movies like moonlight and get out, but white people still dominate both the starring roles and the executives. We want to see more people of different backgrounds than ‘white dude fresh out of Cali film school’ in our movies and tv and making them, but to say that only women can write women, or blacks can only write blacks is asking the industry to white wash what little we have now. We want representation, and I think the best way to do that is to be open to people attempting to write outside their own perspective and help them see how to write it better. We all want to represent other people in the best way, but oftentimes it won’t look great the first time around. Black people are still people, we should write them that way. Great video.
My advice if you have any poc ask them about there culture and life being a poc than go from therw
@@Galaxylion_omega I know two series creators sort of did that:
1) Matt Braly createda female-led series called Amphibia, and he called three women to serve as writers, and the writing team is of four writers.
2) Dana Terrace, creator of Disney's The Owl House, made the lead character Afro-Latina after her friend Luz Batiste, who works as consultant and story artist in the show and is Afro-Latina herself, asked her to do so in exchange of letting Terrace using her name for the lead character, even througth Terrace is white. And if she asked her friend to do such big thing, she must have known she would do it right.
When I was younger I was told I looked like numbuh 5, princess tiana, doc mcstuffins, and the girl from the polar express. I don’t think any of them look particularly alike it’s just that they were the only black female cartoon characters that other children were exposed too. It’s also an issue in literature. I loved to read growing up but I didn’t see myself in the characters often. I would reread the hunger games so I could read rue’s lines out loud back before the movie came out. I loved American girl and the only doll I could relate to at the time was Addy who was an escaped slave. In all of my time being obsessed with American girl I have only seen 3 black dolls in their historical line up. One was a slave, one was from New Orleans and was taken out of the line up years ago, and the last one was a civil rights activist. People really feel that characters can only be black if it’s their entire story and personality. That has an effect on the children who never see themselves unless they’re struggling or being called out on their skin.
Omfg so true and annoying. My roommate is black and he has dreads and so many people have said he looked like Richard Sherman, or insert other black dude with dreads here, and even ask to touch his hair!
To me that is ignorance and racism. He looks nothing like those people. Having to compare someone to a character or someone else solely on their skin color is messed up.
P.s. I also loved American girl and remember there never being many POC dolls
yes so true lol i got kaya bc her skin was dark and i didn't know who native americans were
@@pinkpugginz they did. they had Kaya, Josfina, Addy, Julie's friend...but it was few
Hold up. There's a slave american girl doll? Tf?
@@alext3480 ivy Ling. That was Julie's friend. And the girl from New Orleans name was cécile.
"that means that you feel like being white is the default" BAM!!
It is the default
rendiggietydog that was such a good way to put it tbh
because when you live in an 70%+ white country it's more likely that white people are creating the shows that can relate to other white people... go to China and see how man Black/White people there are on their television or movies.
Juan Diaz China being shit at it doesn’t give others the excuse to suck at it.
Legit got chills when he delivered that bomb. With the jazz piano riff? Fucking genius.
"That character is black just for the sake of being black."
Yes.
As a Mexican who often notices that Hispanics don’t get a lot of shows and movies I also agree with a hispanic version of the leading statement you made in the “cuz he black” section. I love Encanto because the characters are hispanic and it makes me feel represented and it feels nice to be able to relate to them more than a white character.
I love the fact that Craig's race seemingly has zero to do with anything. He just happens to be a black kid. The "default" mentality is an excellent point, and great way to end this video.
And I had no idea Johnny 2x4 is black until I saw this video. Lol
Johnny 2x4 was Mexican I believe. I haven't watched the program in years so I could be completely wrong though.
Was Johnny black? I just thought that's just how they drew him like how Ed was yellow
@@Shorteagle Mexican isn't a race. A black person, a native person and even a white person can be Mexican.
Oh thank God, someone brought it up so I didn't have too.
@@terrenceharris-hughes4436 Let's be real, color meant jack shit in Ed Edd 'n Eddy. Ed was Pink and Edd was yellow, for god's sake. (And i don't mean asian). I just can't see Johnny as black, he's just some weird kid.
7:03 Shout out to Cree Summer, she really does a lot of the voices for Black female characters, & characters in general. Susie, Numbuh 5, Cleo from _Clifford_ , Miranda from _As Told by Ginger_ , Foxxy Love, this woman's a legend honestly.
Medusa in the new Kid Icarus game from a few years back...
Foxxy love
Mad love for this lady
Voice of a god damn angel!
Good video, you worded perfectly why I think cartoons from 1995-2008 era did such a good job with this. Cyborg, Jarold, AJ, they were all just good characters who happened to be black. I'd also like to throw in Green Lantern from Justice League.
because nowadays we have this random need to be diverse so they have to create black characters instead of characters who are black. It goes the same with every race, if a character becomes simply their race then it is a bad character that is obviously pandering to a certain group. Alot of this though is actually the marketing teams fault and not the creators but most of us get our initial view of something with its marketing and so that becomes the basis of our viewing as humans.
I was like "Uh where's John Stewart?".
A-DrewG - Need to create? John Stewart/Green Lantern is in DC comics. The JL/U character is based off a previous established character who yes was also in the armed forces in the comics.
Not gonna lie, the Green Lantern from the Justice League is the only version of the Green Lantern I actually enjoyed (and the first one I saw). I felt he was a nicely nuanced character and actually brought something to the table other than being another super hero with snarky one liners.
Also Static Shock is pretty much my favorite DC super hero and was pissed when his cartoon got cancelled.
Don't sleep on aqualad from young justice.
amazing video
“Black people don’t actually exist”
-The people who think Craig of the Creek is pandering
@Shin Shaman i mean fair enough if that’s your opinion, i’ve never watched it
@Shin Shaman kindly go fuck yourself
@Shin Shaman this is a yikes if I've ever seen one
I saw someone say once that having black people in anime takes you out of the show because it's unrealistic 😂😂😂
@Shin Shaman nah it’s a pretty good show it’s better than anything else on Cartoon Network right now
You're crazy smart how you broke this all down. Now imagine being Native American, the people who have lived on this land before everybody else. We get little to no representation.
@Courageous Badger Hey, i agree. I am mixed but mostly "black". I am currently learning Cheokee, Cree and Navojo! And i know that there are many native cultures that are as different from each other as the English are from the Chinese. I also strongly believe that there there were two types of natives in the Americas the "Asian" looking type and natives who had dark skin with thicker hair. I most American blacks are decended from dark skinned natives and Africans.
Nigga u said it, ty brotha
But how would you know? If a character's race isn't identified, a character you assume is white, or some other race, could be Native American. The problem here is that as soon as you identify the character as a particular race, then that becomes the focus of the character. Then that character becomes the spokesman for all [insert race], and you inevitably end up with accusations of stereotyping.
NATIVE PRIDE
@Courageous Badger wow good job that is one of the most professionally handled arguments I've seen on the internet👏👏👏
i failed my drivers test. but this put a smile back on my face
Aye man. They just ain’t ready for you. 💪🏾
You mean 🅱️LACK on my face......... Just kill me.
It's okay buddy I failed it my first time too, you'll get an next time !👍👍👍
when in doubt, go take it at another dmv ;)
I failed 4 times before I got it. Keep trying! Don't give up!
This dude just dunked on everyone who has ever said “It is just for tokenism” by saying “So you think white is the factory setting
"Because you think being white is the default" is the perfect summary.
Also, being male, this shit drives me insane with the 'older generations' like sure, some things are there just trying to cash in on "Look at all the female leads" ( ghost busters reboot, I'm looking at you ) " look how progressive we are" thing, but I've had relatives get upset over the increase in black and female movies leads because ' They gotta be in everything now ' and ironically, this relative isn't even white, he's half native american. I think some of his issue is because there is rarely native representation, but he still defaults to white.
Conga line of shows with an all white cast:
One black character is introduced: _They gotta be in everything now._
@@sarahperkins6421 Yeah, I guess because of things being overwhelmingly white for so long, its kind of ingrained in peoples minds that that is the standard.
Which is obviously shitty for anyone thats not white, but also kinda sucks for white people, I mean they are thought of as the base model, like a honda civic with no V-tech and all plastic interior. lol
Well from my point of view it seems very forced and the characters are written to be the character they are stereotyping
@@Ox-Plays there's tons of white people in shows normally because whites make up the majority of the population in America same with every other place. Like China, normally Chinese leading roles and Russia same with Africa and so on.
I'm not particularly upset over black people or females being roles, it's normally the people behind them who mess up I have such a problem with.
I'm so used to seeing them politicized, it leaves a bad taste in peoples mouth so people expect it to be a political or something which is disappointing.
How to black: Write any character you like then paint it black.
There, i saved you 20 minutes of your life.
I fucking love this comment so much.
Why would you say something so controversial, yet so brave?
PauloVitorHMK thank you !
Yeah, its a much faster way to get out of the "how do black people act/talk" creative phase people used to have.
I mean it’s not really that hard
This is too true like I'm telling you there is no character I have related more to than miles morales
I feel like Miles is a character that everyone can relate to. I grew up in the suburbs with very little diversity (I’m white), but I can relate to his struggle with his parents and the way he couldn’t really make friends. He is honestly just a really good character from a really good movie.
Yeah like I still love him but hes way more modern relatable than Peter
Miles will always have a special place in my heart. Into the Spiderverse was the last film my dad and I saw in the cinema together. But thats not the only reason I love him. He's a great character who is hello relatable
@@channel-re5uq You're not just wrong, you're stupid too
Im glad you put in Miles within your video. He’s a great character that I relate to a lot when it comes to struggle in life. Like in the beginning of Spiderverse where they show case his struggle fitting in to his new school and keeping up with the schools curriculums, trying to study and failed his test. I was in college when I saw that in theater and dude I shed tiers when seeing miles going through all these corses because that’s how I experienced going through college at the time. I struggle to be a good student but it didn’t always cut out. Plus he’s an artist like me. He draws in his spare time at his desk like me with no worries. I didn’t care if he doesn’t have the same skin color as me,(even though we’re both Latinos)I care because we both struggle with our daily lives. So yeah I’m glad you featured miles within your video.
Skinny white boy here. I absolutely hate the argument that "your character needs a reason to be black". The same argument is used often with LGBT and disabled characters. Here's a reason for you: I wanted to! _I_ wanted this character to be black, _I_ wanted this character to be gay, _I_ wanted to put this character in a wheelchair.
You do not need a reason for making your character black. Insisting that you need a specific reason for your character being black is borderline racist, insisting that black people need a "reason" to exist. When really, the only "reason" we need for making our characters this way is that they DO exist and need to be represented in media without invoking harmful stereotypes or being a selling point for a project.
👏👏👏👏
White boy... This was the comment for you to make. Honestly you should've just let a black person say it. I understand your energy and goal but this shouldn't have come from you.
I aM Fuck off. Why can’t he say it? It’s got the same heart coming from him as any black person. Any person of any race, gender, or sexuality is allowed to hold opinions.
I agree. That should be the motivation behind it. "I want this character to be black". It should not be "I need to cover all the bases and make a black character for the sake of having one". You should also make this character have some nuance. You mentioned LGBT and disabled characters. The problem some people have with these characters is that they sometimes seem to be shoehorned in to appease a specific group of people, not by the passion of the creator. One of my favorite characters of all time is Johnny Joestar from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, and he is crippled.
The introduction of a character belonging to a minority should stem from passion of the creator and not for political clout. Most of the time it's plain to see which motivation drove the decision. Characters stemming from passion typically are more interesting, likable, and are well-developed. Characters shoehorned into a series typically are flat, uninspired, and add nothing to the story.
@@IaMSpeaks damn thats some low-key racist shit, you should just let a white person say it. Right?
This is seriously one of the best videos I’ve ever seen. The amount of time, thought, and effort that went into this is beyond impressive. You are so insightful, articulate, and engaging; I could listen to you all day and would love to hear your thoughts on any topic.
I honestly couldn't agree more. Instantly liked and followed his page
You must not watch a lot of videos. This guy is alright but there are much better channels that do analysis videos out there.
@@EpicthedogYT Cool.
@@myinternetsucks24 .....
This popped up in my recommended and I couldn't be happier, this is one of the best RUclips videos I've ever watched. Subbed 😄
Society: *demands more diversity*
Society when they actually get diverse characters: tHaT'S pAnDeRiNg!!
Society is defined by its loudest members.
Of course. One group is SJW, and the other is anti SJW
@@tamalemuncher789 SJW is a pejorative created by right leaning social circles to de-legitimize the voices and concerns of minorities including but not limited to people of color and the LGBTQ+ communities. It's not a productive or wise term to throw around.
@@elijahdavila3684 no, its to prove the majority wrong, and to show that they need to stop popularizing or degrading everything they touch just to fulfill thier desires to be an effective member of society
@Ryan Kruse just like every other word, and re-done definition.
When I was younger I didn’t really care to notice the sexuality’s and skin of the characters I just watched the show
Me neither, but seeing them in my shows helped humanize them for me.
It’s still for me now. Unless if I’m with family.. Then I gotta watch out for one of them
It's crazy how innocent we are as kids. I never once thought of the racial implications when watching Static Shock or Little Bill. I just enjoyed the characters for who they are. Now you telling me people watched those shows and asked why they were a certain race? That's surprising as fuck to me
Sometimes people take things at face value, More times then needed now adays. Everyone forgets its not about who, Its about what.
I feel exaclty the same. Since Im from a small german town where there are like 5 black people, cartoons/characters like Fillmore never were "different" or had any racial implications. They just looked the way they looked and I dont think any of us kinds thought anything of it. Kinda feel like kids growing up today only see "color" and differences. :/
Yeah. I don't know what else to say.
It's super weird. Nothing is just a show, everything is a political statement even when it isnt, and it's gotten so out of hand it goes full circle back to whatever -ist is being targeted.
@Belletaina Just the after effect of America's past. The lack of care when presenting black people is clear. It's obvious why people now are making sure they aren't being duped now in the present moment.
Cartoons sadly have been about race for a long time though. If you aren't black you probably wouldn't have noticed at all how much race was in cartoons.
Think of Disney's propaganda films. It's actually WAY better now then it's ever been before. And it's because we can take it seriously. Being a cartoon doesn't negate that it can't be taken seriously. Real people make it.
Didn’t even know buddy from Ed edd and eddy was black 🙃
Same here
You didn't just refer to Johnny as Buddy.
HolyBiscuit 😂😂😂 I forgot his name. I didn’t wanna just address plank that’d be rude 😬
Me neither. Must be one light skinned dude.
Right fam!
How to Black Character.
Treat them like a normal character, like a person.
With their own goals, ideals, backstory, motivations, culture, experiences, hobbies, quirks, mindsets and perspectives to make them beliviable. The audience doesn’t have to agree with the character on what they think or what they do. They just have get it, the audience just have to understand the character to make them beliviable.
And if you’re writing a character that has experienced something (for example racism), if you’ve experienced the same thing, you can make it seem more realistic by including details, thoughts and feelings about Said experience to make it seem more realistic and immersive to the Audience.
It’s not impossible to write about something that you have no experience with, but it’s definentally harder. And this can be tied in with with black characters who’ve experienced some form of racism or are descendents of victims of racism or are a part of a community who experiences racism.
But if you’re writing a black character who’ve never or barely experienced any for of racism (Maybe if they’re in a different world or something idk) then just write them like any other character.
Because in the end, race doesn’t truly matter, but i may do if irl representation of black people is important to you as a writer or to the story you’re telling.
But otherwise, just treat black characters as every other character.
Because all characters deserve to be beliviable and understood.
A good *character* doesn’t necessarily have to be a *good* character,
And a bad *character* doesn’t necessarily have to be a *bad* character.
You get the idea, now go make some good as character.
Facts
that actually makes a lot of sense, Well said
Black people don't have any of those characteristics that's liberal propaganda
@@bigbawlzlebowski8886 bruh, alright xD
I'm Latin American, and I just re-watched this video only to realize that it really changed my view and preconceived notions about a lot of things. I don't mean to take attention away from the focus of the video, which is black characters, but I've as well never truly felt identified by characters in media until recently, and this has inspired me to become a better writer, to make everyone feel included at least a little bit in the things I create. Thank you for that
"No white cartoonist knows how to draw a fade." 😂💀
It's hard to draw fades with vector colors, as someone who rocks a fade I figured that out when I was learning vector art.
This is why the sharp cut is so popular in animation, it's a substitute for a fade. You know, when they have a buzz cut on the sides than it just changes to long hair instantly.
Like Kai from Legend of Korra.
Racism
Pixie Panda Plush couldn’t you pull off an animated fade if you treated that layer as an always static object...like what they did in Chowder.
No animator aint got time to spend on drawing detailed hairstyles for every character when it's not important. A main character yeah.
@@MrSirFluffy it's not hard
My friend always tells me that I don't act black. And in my head I was like, what is that suppose to mean.
Just sing"Oooooooh I'm black yo!"
I have a black friend and am myself mixed, and he told me I dance like a white person. Even now I don't know what to think of that and how I should've replied to that.
kawaiianimallover 123
You don’t act like the black stereotype? That’s pretty obvious man. Still racist and insensitive, though.
Just ask him, what sound does a color make.
So you act white?
How to write a black character: Write a character who's personality is unique but their culture is black. (Or their culture doesn't have to be black. Just them being a character but having black skin is perfect)
How NOT to write a black character: Write a black character but who's personality is them being black. There's just constant in your face moments of them being black.
Honestly I think you got it right the first time there.
So make him the opposite of Cleveland Brown
@@_Koyomi_ To be fair, Cleveland was a normal character before the new seasons and Cleveland Show flanderized his personality
@@monadoboy8009 That's true. Nowadays he's just "the black friend", which they even say verbatim
>Or their culture doesn't have to be black. Just them being a character but having black skin is perfect
This is important! Not all black people have a connection to "black culture!" (I know this because I'm one, and if you think that's a problem, congratulations you've adopted a fascist talking point)
"If you question a characters race then you think being white is the default." That was really well put and I think that's pretty true. I think that stems from early media pretty much being white washed and misrepresenting other ethnicity's.
Also Hermes was my favorite character on Futurama.
I went to highschool with this girl who was really quiet but super nice and bubbly when you talked to her. I remember complimenting her hair because it was big and curly and she put flowers in it. I snapped a pic for the year book and when she walked away the person I was with said "You know that's a weave right?" I didn't but wtf would it matter?
That girl is now a huge black cosplayer, she blew up on instagram and moved to LA @kieraplease if yall wanna check her out. She inspires me as a black girl to be my weird self. I'm biracial and I struggled with being "black enough" or "too black" but it's girls like this, characters like Penny, that made me feel normal in the world. I can were a weave and like anime dammit.
Edit: I didn’t expect this many likes y’all! Feel free to stop by and say hi, I make music and covers and a natural hair tutorial once. 😁
I love kieraplease! And her hair is beautiful. Im pretty certain that's her actual hair though, but whether it is or isn't shouldn't have even made that big a deal
Victoria Brown yeah she’s awesome. And that’s the cool thing about black hair OPTIONS, I’m a chameleon lol
Omg I follow her!!!!
Could've just said she was a huge cosplayer, didn't have to add the black part lmao. But I get you though lol.
Way2Clutch39 well yeah lol but to the point of this video, there aren’t many relatable characters for black people, she mostly cosplays black characters.
I had forgotten how poignant the segregation episode of proud family was. It still baffles me that Disney had it.
My thoughts exactly! (No pun intended. Okay, maybe a little.)
I always loved how The Proud Family used its fantastical animated format to its advantage because they got that lesson across a lot better than most live action sitcoms, honestly.
ToonrificTariq Yeah. Proud Family was one of those gems that was more head of the curve than we remember.
I'm more baffled that it had an actual plot structure
Once a full moon, Disney shows balls and does something that could potentially garner complaints. Complaints from the right people to receive complaints from, of course, but complaints nonetheless.
Why should the day of absent across schools in America be tolerated in this day and age? Thats also racist.
I find it weird that some people can’t just accept that a characters black, it’s wierd, the characters just black leave it at that.
Cykä Blyät - Mizore it’s weird because a lot of times the CREATORS of the show make a big deal about having black characters.
So if that’s a big deal that the characters are black it’s perfectly valid to question the characters skin color and what that means for the story
And for some of the reductionist
If someone makes a story with no Black Characters and they get people made about not having black people, then yes 100% inclusion of future black characters is literally pandering to make these people shut up
Steven Lawson it’s a huge problem, people act like you can’t have an all (insert skin color/race/ethnicity) cast anymore. It doesn’t mean there racist it may fit the theme of the story and where it’s located. It’s honestly stupid.
dead chicken yeah that’s the thing that gets me not everything is political
@@cykablyat5738 yeah, if a cast is all-black, that isn't diverse, it's all-black. That's not a bad thing at all but you get situations like people bitching about Friends, twenty years later, or complaining because the original Avengers are all-white when they were just modeled after the comics.
The Lukanator that’s true and that’s also a stigma that needs to change
The Dragon Prince and Total Drama did *AMAZING* with the representation
"Because you think being White is the default."
That was a poigniant line.
I don't know anyone who thinks that.
@@MetaKnight964 yes you do, you're just not aware of it.
@Shin Shaman why do u keep replying to stuff man do you have nothing to do
Amazing point.
Aren’t most people Asian so aren’t Asians default?
Thank you.
Really, as a black woman in her mid-20's, thank you so much.
White cartoonist don’t know about the fades 😭😭😭😭😭
I t is impossible to successfully draw a Fade lol , they try :P
@@sui11106 the problem with fades is that cartoons usually revolve around simple line work and a fade juxtaposes that. It's certainly doable but in certain art styles it can look weird, hence the reliance on other styles.
*cartoonists
My friend said I should get a fade but I figured that hairstyle wouldn't suit me well cause I'm pale
@@apples4me14 nah, id say it'd still suit u. Here in Ireland nearly all white and black lads have skin fades