I'm looking for what you call it when in a TV show/movie/book the main cast members are all white, but there's a black person in a minor part that's a respected position of authority (the rarely-seen boss, the Judge, the Doctor, the local police officer) so that the producers can claim positive racial diversity without having to actually spend time writing plot and characterization for someone who's not white.
I can't be the first one to notice this, so I know there's an easy snappy name for it.
(This isn't for a project, I just saw a movie where they did this and it was really obvious and it has me trying think of the name for it.)
ETA: No, Token's not the word I'm thinking of. There's no importance on what role is played by the character when you use that term. (I also hate that term because too damned many people use it to bash John Stewart.) I'm thinking of when the only person who's not white only appears in one or two scenes and they are specifically in a position of authority. None of the plot can center on them. They aren't even necessarily helpful. They just show up and function as the authority figure for the main character's plot.
ETA #2: Thanks, Matter-Eater Lad. Black Lieutenant Syndrome
And Notintheface? I blame you for my being on Youtube instead of collecting WFA links tonight.
*Ahem* HAMMMMMMEEERRRRR!!!!!!
I can't be the first one to notice this, so I know there's an easy snappy name for it.
(This isn't for a project, I just saw a movie where they did this and it was really obvious and it has me trying think of the name for it.)
ETA: No, Token's not the word I'm thinking of. There's no importance on what role is played by the character when you use that term. (I also hate that term because too damned many people use it to bash John Stewart.) I'm thinking of when the only person who's not white only appears in one or two scenes and they are specifically in a position of authority. None of the plot can center on them. They aren't even necessarily helpful. They just show up and function as the authority figure for the main character's plot.
ETA #2: Thanks, Matter-Eater Lad. Black Lieutenant Syndrome
And Notintheface? I blame you for my being on Youtube instead of collecting WFA links tonight.
*Ahem* HAMMMMMMEEERRRRR!!!!!!
I believe the term you are looking for is "token". Tv and movies love to use it. Hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteNo, token is when the person is the only member of the cast in any position.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking when its a person who is specifically in a position of authority.
Liker, in Legally Blonde there's tons of student and professor characters. Had the only character in the movie who wasn't white been just another student, that would be a token.
Instead, the only black person in the movie is the judge in the big trial. Specifically a position of authority, and it is so common it looks like they do this in an attempt to make up for there only being one person in the cast who's not white.
I've seen the phrase "Magic Negroe" for the wise minority advisor roles that Morgan Freeman often gets. But I can't recall ever seeing a term for the role your describing. I can think of examples, but not an actual term for it...
ReplyDeleteLW -- See, the character type I'm thinking of isn't always helpful. Sometimes they are, but they tend to be neutral forces of society. I'm thinking specifically of the judge when the plot goes to Court, which is a character that's often black when no other characters are, or the doctor, or the cop who shows up for a few minutes.
ReplyDeleteI've seen "Black Captain Syndrome", from the way that the rarely-seen senior officer in US cop shows always seems to be the only African-American character.
ReplyDeleteThe Black Wizard of Oz! :O
ReplyDeleteDid you try tvtropes.org to figure it out? They probably have it on there somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI scanned the usual spots on tvtropes and I don't see what you're looking for - the closest they get is "Token", but you're right - this specific thing happens so often that it seems like there should be a name for it. Under "The Judge" on the TVTropes site they say: "If the part of a judge is a small role, it is generally filled by stern African-American women (with hair pulled tightly back) or gruff older white men." That's not quite true - there are a couple of black actors I can think of who seem to almost specialize in playing judges as well.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember when it dawned on me that all of the judges in the New York of TVLand were stern black guys/gals, but I remember commenting on it in the mid 90s to a friend, and I'm pretty sure I can think of examples from shows back in the early 80s where this type of casting shows up. But I don't know what you might call it.
I think it's "Black Boss Syndrome."
ReplyDeleteI've also heard "The Magic Negro" (think Will Smith in Bagger Vance), but it never stuck.
ReplyDeleteGiven your specific example and the fact I'm a certain age... why not call it "Here Come Da Judge"?
I think I've heard it called "Black Captain Syndrome" or "Black Boss Syndrome" too. They did this on *Forever Knight* - the vampires and detectives were all white, and over three seasons the police captain role was filled by a Native Canadian man, an Asian woman, and then a Black American man.
ReplyDelete"Magic Negro" is another pretty specific reference and one that doesn't fit. The Magic Negro (and its gay version, the Fairy Godfather) usually doesn't get a plot of his own, instead function to serve the main, white character's plot and to help the white character(s) become better people. The stereotype extends to Asians and Latinos, though I haven't heard a term used there.
ReplyDeleteSlightly OT: apparently, the reverse of that is "Nice White Lady" syndrome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVF-nirSq5s
I couldn't find it listed in TVtropes. You might scan their suggestion area and see if it's listed there, and/or suggest it yourself, since it's a pretty valid one.
ReplyDeleteI can't read this without thinking of the police captain from "Sledge Hammer."
ReplyDeleteI remember hearing a Fresh Air interview with the creator of The Sheild. He noted the cop-show trope, then said "What if we take that minority captain character and make him a real sonofabitch?" And that's how Captain Aceveda was born.
ReplyDeleteI've heard this referred to as the "Black Lieutenant Syndrome."
ReplyDeleteAnd here's an article about it:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,286109,00.html
The other example that comes to my mind is Keith David as the police captain in "Crash", where he persuades Ryan Philippe into citing "uncontrollable flatulence" (Philippe's) as the reason for no longer riding with fellow officer Matt Dillon.
ReplyDeleteW/ apologies/respect to Matter-Eater Lad, the proper term seems to be "Sop" as in "Let's throw a sop to the blacks and the feminists; we'll only cast one black, but we'll make her a judge."
ReplyDelete