Having watched the first three episodes of Shadow and Bone, which I’ve otherwise really liked, the anti-Shu/anti-Asian racism Alina faces for being biracial is jarring and unnecessary. Frankly, there was no good reason to include it.
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You could argue that it’s “consistent with the setting,” whatever that means, but the book canon is already being changed for the TV show: nothing is immutable. And it’s been a hot minute since I read the books, but I’m pretty sure this level of anti-Shu language wasn’t present.
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Here’s the thing, though: in context, the racism makes no sense. There are Black Grisha, there’s a Shu training master at the Little Palace, and the many enemy we’ve seen thus far are Fjerdans, ie white dudes, which makes the racism Alina experiences feel shoehorned in.
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I think Mal also cops a slur or two for being biracial (though the show hasn’t yet told us about his identity), but again, especially when we’re seeing multicultural Ketterdam every other scene, it doesn’t feel consistent. And again: there are Black Grisha!
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If Ravka specifically was painted as a white environment with racist underpinnings, with Ketterdam to serve as a contrast, that would still be shitty, but it would at least make narrative sense. Instead, it feels like racism for racism’s sake, as though that equals realism.
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As Alina and Mal bring biracial was an invention for the show - and I applaud the idea of more diverse casting! - there’s nothing in their arcs that requires them to suffer racism, and nothing in its inclusion that enriches the narrative.
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Plenty of Asian commentators have already pointed this out, but I’ll reiterate it: if you’re going to show the racist “downside” of being biracial, at least show the positives, too. But thus far we know nothing of the Shu except that Alina is half one & they’re a nebulous Enemy -
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Replying to @Art_Li
Foz Meadows Retweeted Penny Moore
I haven't read any articles, but some twitter commentary can be found: https://twitter.com/theshenners/status/1385917214092513282 … https://twitter.com/ElloEllenOh/status/1386115817377435648 … https://twitter.com/ktzhaoauthor/status/1386074658555015171 …https://twitter.com/literarypenny/status/1385781620284825602 …
Foz Meadows added,
Penny Moore @literarypennyRecap time. Episode 1 - “rice eater” Episode 2 - “mutt” Episode 3 - “let’s start by making her eyes less Shu” aka “less Asian” Again, this is a result of the author making a creative choice to diversify the cast bc the source material is too white, eh? https://ew.com/tv/shadow-and-bone-alina-race-change-impact/ … https://twitter.com/literarypenny/status/1385753311178002432 …Show this thread1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
Foz Meadows Retweeted Sailor Mer(kaye)ry Is Updates Only
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