The Problem with Fantastical Racism

When is an orc truly just an orc? Sponsored by Incogni: https://incogni.com/princessweekes

Fantastical racism is when a prejudice against a non-human group serves the purpose of being an examination of real-world discrimination or bigotry. Either as an expansion of existing prejudice or by putting a mirror to audiences to explore their own biases in fiction. This has been used across a number of works of sci-fi and fantasy in novels, comics, and television shows.

On a surface level, this makes a lot of sense. There are figures and creatures in mythology based on stereotypes and racism—even some not originally rooted in those stereotypes can, due to how some of those elements have blended, end up transforming the original into something else.

Because of this, people have been primed to look at demons that are very clear in their role as an antagonistic, morally corrupt “race” and, rather than accept that piece of the world, to interrogate that to mean something deeper.

?? General Disclaimer: This video only covers a narrow part of this topic and not an exhaustive look into the topic. Anything left out was either cut for brevity/subject matter or simply did not come up in my research. I encourage anyone to fill in any gaps I may have missed with their own content or in the comments. ??
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Sources:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/victorianstudies.53.1.65

https://www.jstor.org/stable/25746408

https://www.twomorrows.com/kirby/articles/22danzig.html

https://www.thedailybeast.com/stan-lees-biggest-enemy-was-racists-the-only-way-to-destroy-them-is-to-expose-them/

https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/important-x-men-locations-explained-list

Douglas Wolk by All of the Marvels

“WHY IS THE ONLY GOOD ORC A DEAD ORC? THE DARK FACE OF RACISM EXAMINED IN TOLKIEN'S WORLD” by Anderson Rearick III

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