by AtlasHyperion » Tue Mar 13, 2018 2:57 pm
Yeah, the whole "will they, won't they (die)" thing got a little tiresome. Also, heck? Why Johann? The part that really bothered me about the villains was that I can't name a single POC who isn't or wasn't a villain.
And on that note, here's my rant about race in RTTE and HTTYD as a whole.
Let's talk about the second movie, because there were, oh right, zero non-white characters in the first. The only non-white character in the second movie was also voiced by the only black person in the cast: Drago, played by Djimon Hounsou. Yeah, he looks villain-y because scars and evil expressions, but also, he's ethnically ambiguous enough to definitely not be white and sports dark dreads uncommon to non-black people. This suggests that at one point, the "black but not too black" conversation was had. Really, people?
Now on to the show. Name one person from Berk (excluding Johann, because he's just a travelling boat dude) that isn't white. Does Heather come to mind? Probably. She doesn't look very Scandinavian. Brown hair isn't uncommon, even very dark, but her hair has the black color that is pretty much only found in brown, black, and East Asian people. She doesn't look brown or black, so let's think about East Asian. Narrow eyes, pale skin, and green eyes. Wait, green? Unlikely. Still possible, though. Some people, especially in northern Japan, can have light eyes. Most likely, though, Heather and her weird eyeliner job in ROB/DOB season 1 are just white. Suspecting that she's not is a bit too much of a stretch, especially since Dagur, though he's not pasty like she is, is definitely white.
And now, villains.
Viggo and Dagur are white. No questions there. Ryker, white. Note that Ryker was never as much a main villain as Viggo and Dagur, and while Dagur is a good guy now, Viggo was the big bad viking.
But Johann is decidedly not white. He looks to be Middle-Eastern. Makes sense: Johann is a Yiddish name, i.e. Israel, and, at that time, people there were not very pale. Why did he have to be a villain? Because it was unexpected. Okay. There are other characters that could have been villains. Savage already had his spotlight, but suddenly becoming a mastermind would have been a plot twist. And none of the characters we saw in 2 could have been villains, but that leaves people like Mildew (the grumpy old sheep guy) or Alvin. Mildew and Savage might not be strong choices, but Alvin would have been a wrench in the Riders' plans. He would have been an unexpected villain. And yeah, Johann was a good and easy choice. But really? The only non-white good guy?
Then we come upon Krogan. He was a cool villain. Awesome. Total boss. Could have been better, but eh. Never explained his bond with his Singetail, though his death did really show how super evil Drago was. I've already done my spiel on Drago, so time for Krogan. Also voiced by a black voice actor. Doesn't look white, doesn't sound Scandinavian. He's also super evil for seemingly no reason other than he's getting paid. This whole "evil because I said so" thing probably isn't intended to be racist, but it still is. Why can white characters not be evil "just because"? Viggo thirsts for knowledge. Ryker is kind of a jerk, but he wants power. Drago is just super evil. No explanation whatsoever. Johann is... tired of Stoic? Johann's either a kindergartner with those mood swings or just really evil 'cause why not. And Krogan is... greedy. These aren't looking all that good, folks.
Not to mention basically the only villain in SoD, Nikora Stormheart. Her first name sounds kind of like "Nikola", which is Russian, so okay, fine, but... she's either brown or black. And she's evil because... she's manipulative and is the only character that wears sandals instead of boots? Um? She's also in the group of "evil for the hell of it". While this is usually a sign of lazy writing or too many cooks in the kitchen, it's also a sign of total lack of faith in the villains. Dagur and Viggo get complicated backstories and reasons for everything, and they (Viggo sort of) get their reforming arcs. Yes, they're both deranged (pun intended), but the white villains always get a reason, and the non-white villains (which, let's be honest, are the only POCs in the franchise), have about as much reason as a first grader.
Honestly, it's degrading. White characters are seldom villains, and always get a reason for doing evil deeds because only Viggo gets to just BE evil. Every non-white character is a villain at one point or another, and how many of them got reasons and reforming arcs? That's right, none.
Like, I love the movies and show and all, and they're great with representing disabled people (Hiccup/Toothless, Gobber, Bucket & Mulch {Mulch has brain damage!}, Gothi {she's mute!}, and assorted others), but where's the cool characters to look up to for people of color? Where's the token black guy, at least? Nowhere? That's so far out of the ball park you'd need a satellite to find it.
In summary, heck.
atlas // they/them
if you ever need someone to talk to my dms are always open
stay safe, be kind, and have a great day!
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