is the denial of race recorded characters due to racism? | #stevenuniverse #cartoon  — Transcript

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1. 0:00Is the denial of race-coded characters
2. 0:01based in racism? Let's talk about
3. 0:03ethnicity. Now, a lot of people feel
4. 0:04like the denial of race-coded
5. 0:05characters' existence is based in racism
6. 0:07primarily because it implies that
7. 0:08marginalized groups need proof of their
8. 0:09existence in order to actually be
9. 0:11validated in media. Now, if you don't
10. 0:12know, race coding is the practice of
11. 0:13giving a non-human character cultural
12. 0:15traits, speech patterns, or mannerisms
13. 0:17that all connect with real-world ethnic
14. 0:19or racial groups, the likes of which is
15. 0:20depicted without it being explicitly
16. 0:22stated. So, a lot of people argue that
17. 0:23racial coding doesn't exist because they
18. 0:24confuse literal and explicit text with
19. 0:26subtext and visual shorthand. When a
20. 0:28character's race is not explicitly
21. 0:29stated people work under the assumption
22. 0:31that they simply don't have a race,
23. 0:32rather than recognizing intentional
24. 0:34cultural markers that may or may not
25. 0:35have been depicted by the author. Garnet
26. 0:36is an alien that has the physical form,
27. 0:38mannerisms, and voice that one would
28. 0:40attribute to a black person. Despite
29. 0:41that, canonically she's non-human.
30. 0:42Another example is Piccolo. He's another
31. 0:44alien that a lot of people consider to
32. 0:45be black-coded primarily because of his
33. 0:47deep voice, serious demeanor, and
34. 0:48character archetype that mirrors the
35. 0:49traditional black father. If we're being
36. 0:51honest, the most iconic Spanish-coded
37. 0:52character in fiction is Puss in Boots,
38. 0:54you know, with cats. But, because
39. 0:55skeptics often operate under a literal
40. 0:56level, they often believe that if a
41. 0:57character doesn't explicitly state that
42. 0:59they're black or Latino, any subtextual
43. 1:00coding is simply fan theory. This
44. 1:02frustration is also applicable to sexual
45. 1:03orientation. The primary reason this
46. 1:05argument even exists is as a result of
47. 1:07people's failure to understand that
48. 1:08voice acting, speech pattern, and hair
49. 1:09texture can all play major contributing
50. 1:11factors as to the coding of a character.
51. 1:12These are signals to a character's
52. 1:13ethnicity without explicitly stating it.
53. 1:15Nevertheless, representation and
54. 1:16diversity in media can be depicted even
55. 1:18if the cast don't consist of humans. And
56. 1:20often times, the refusal to accept or
57. 1:21acknowledge that some characters can
58. 1:22simply be coded or depicted in a certain
59. 1:24manner blinds you of greater narrative
60. 1:26implications if you did factor that
61. 1:27nuance in mind.