Recent comments by MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry seem to indicate she thinks 'Star Wars' is racist towards African Americans, using Darth Vader as an example. This coming just a few weeks after white supremacists called for a boycott of 'The Force Awakens' for being racist.
It is a peculiar thing that a series can be considered racist towards both white and black people, or at least, that it is racist in the minds of certain folk. Unfortunately, some people simply cannot enjoy a film as a simple good vs. evil, of light vs. dark.
According to one site, Perry stated "The part where he was totally a black guy, whose name was basically James Earl Jones. . . . While he was black he was terrible and bad, awful and used to cut off white men's hand, and didn't actually claim his son. But as soon as he claims his son, goes over to the good, takes off his mask and he is white - yes, I have many feelings about that."
But the MSNBC host is mistaken. First, Darth Vader claimed Luke as his son while still in the all-black outfit. He worked to bring the family back together while still dressed in black so they could rule the galaxy together. Second, Luke and Leia are both clearly white. Very white. It's extremely unlikely their father is going to be black as well. Third, the ultimate villain in the series is Palpatine, a pasty-white male responsible for the murder of millions, if not billions of sentient life forms. Wookipedia (the Star Wars Wiki which deals in a lot of the lore) says that "Non-Humans and women were excluded from much of this New Order," referring to Palpatine's rule.
Alex Griswold of mediaite.com, has my favorite flaw with claiming that Stars Wars frames a black man as evil. "While there are only three Star Wars movies, rumor has it that George Lucas made a movie where Darth Vader is obviously white and goes around butchering children." For those not familiar, this is a reference to Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, where Anakin Skywalker (the future Darth Vader) murders all the children being trained as Jedi in the Jedi Temple. Perhaps HarrisPerry is unfamiliar with the prequels.
So, no, Vader isn't racist against black people by portraying them poorly. He's an evil, child-and-wife killing white guy.
So what do you think? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.
