can i just talk about how casually NON-racist elementary is??
i mean obviously we’re all pretty familiar with casual racism, we see it in media everyday with the supposed “colorblind casting” that really just ends up with a 98% cast with the remaining 2% of non-white charcters just there to fulfill a stereotype; we see it in how the white characters are always fleshed out and given personality quirks and little facets of their character that makes them feel more like a person and less like a trope while any focus on a non-white character is just there to support the trope; we see it in how people seem to think poc should be “happy with what they get” when what they get is a very much racist and stereotypical and inaccurate portrayal of their race.
and elementary just feels like the completely does the opposite and turns it on its head. it manages to get that beautiful balance between making a character stereotypical and making a character without any culture. because it’s not about showing a non-white character the same way they show a white character, it’s about giving a non-white character the same TREATMENT. culture is a part of who we are! i loved joan in this episode and her casual mention of chinese herbal tea because it doesn’t end up being the butt of the joke. shows often take someone’s culture and make it into something we should laugh at, haha joan has weird asian stuff she drinks lol poor sherlock joan’s so weird and alien.
ELEMENTARY. DOESN’T. DO. THAT. SHIT.
the fact that joan’s mother made her chinese herbal tea is a part of her culture and her character and sherlock appreciates that, and the characters appreciate that, and in the end the VIEWERS appreciate that. casual non-racism, boom.
and the non-white characters of elementary get just as much development and focus and facets and reaching BEYOND the basic trope and stereotype that white characters do! this might just be a great job in character development on the part of the writers in general, but it really is refreshing to see them being given equal amounts of attention. from joan’s adorable giddiness about baseball and the relationship between her nerves and ponytail to detective bell’s adorably childish competitions with sherlock (WHY DIDN’T YOU ASK ME SHERLOCK. WHYYYY. I WANTED YOU TO ASK. NYEHH.) and sporadic but hilarious pop culture references, elementary just develops every character really, really well. they branch out of joan’s first appearance as “strict and caring friend,” they flesh out bell’s first impression of a “sarcastic and hard-pressing cop.”
and it’s not just in the personality of the characters! no one ever explicity talks about racism but the issue isn’t ignored or pushed off to the side. alfredo even made a joke about it—“think it’s because i’m quiet.” joan grins because she gets it, too. they acknowledge that racism is there and they acknowledge that it’s a problem and it might seem like that’s so inconsequential—honestly, it might seem like all this is really inconsequential—but the fact that a popular tv show on a popular network about a popular work of fiction is this casually non-racist? it really does make a difference. it makes a difference to people who just want to see non-white characters act like PEOPLE, to see shows explore them beyond the stereotype, for them to get the same treatment as the white characters do.
and i know that elementary does have its own problems and isn’t a perfect show by a longshot, but their casual non-racism never ceases to make me feel happy fulfilled and really, really satisfied.
TL;DR: ELEMENTARY IS GR9 BECAUSE THE NON-WHITE CHARACTERS ACTUallY HAVE PERSONALITIES AND ALSO RETAIN THEIR CULTURES PLUS THE SHOW DOESN’T IGNORE RACISM YAAAAY GO ELEMENTARY
They even have racially diverse extras; like they can be walking down the street and it doesn’t look like the all-white New York that only exists in shows like Friends.
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beeftony: colinspants: can i just talk about how casually NON-racist elementary is?? i mean...
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