I may be biting off a bit much, here, but this is a topic that could use some talking about. We live in an age where it is no longer an oddity to see a minority on television (in the US), and often even in respectable roles. This is fairly exciting after decades of Latina Maids. Of course, not everything is cheery, but we should definitely celebrate moving in the right direction.


Why is this important? Well, despite the term 'minority,' non-whites are steadily making up more of the country's populace. However, their representation has been notoriously jaded. When not ignored, they tend to be portrayed as part of a singular culture. The aforementioned Latina Maid, for example, who is generally not great at English and somewhat simple-minded. Or perhaps the Sassy Black Woman, who seems to always come across as superficial. We all recognize the Asian Prodigy, whether their forte is academics, music or martial arts. And of course, there's the ever-present Dark-Skinned Thug. We'd be kidding ourselves if we stopped there, though...there are plenty of character stereotypes for whites as well. The Drunken Irishman is fairly common, or perhaps the Vanilla Businessman who somehow has it all together no matter what happens. There's also a severe over-representation of the Ignorant Redneck or the Closet Nazi.


These hurt us in a myriad of ways. If someone's primary exposure to another culture happens through media, then they will unconsciously expect people to act that way face to face. Ask anyone who's had the pleasure of being the first _____ person someone else ever met. As our world grows smaller due to information flying about so freely, we would be doing ourselves a huge favor if we were more committed to it being accurate. That doesn't mean that no character can ever be a stereotype, rather, it means that we can't just pull a template out of a hat and call it a day. Consider the play Inherit the Wind. Most of its characters are Ignorant Religious Rednecks. It makes for rather poor theatre and, lamentably, makes no attempt at historical accuracy in order to lampoon its targets. However, despite a disclaimer saying as much, many remember the Scopes trial as being much closer to the play than reality. Thus, while there are real lessons to be learned from it, they are largely lost in the smug dismantling of shamelessly exaggerated stereotypes.


There's also the issue of role models. If a negative stereotype gains widespread exposure, chances are that an entire generation may set their sights on fitting into it. It becomes the new normal, so to speak. That doesn't mean that everyone falls prey to it, but it should not escape concern if even a few young people go down that path. Truly, it is a tragedy when an entire classroom decides that reading isn't cool or necessary.


That said, we've had our ups and downs in the gaming community as well. I daresay that we're improving at an even faster rate than television/movies. But as always, we can do better. I won't get into the commercial scene here, but it is somewhat curious that none of the default RPG Maker faces are anything but Vanilla White. There are Elves and Cat Girls, but nothing else in the over 60 provided faces. They do include a character generator with darker skin tones, though, so I don't think there's necessarily anything malicious going on...just, we need to get to a place where it actually crosses peoples minds to make diversity a reality, because it is without a doubt real.