Oh man. I’m not gonna do the WHOLE thing because that’s a book- like, literal books exist in this stuff. When we talk about the Roman Empire or we talk about Ancient Egypt etc. “race” and concepts like “black” or “white” weren’t exactly the same. What’s more- popular narratives, choices in film and such, poor or distorted histories and personal biases tend to skew peoples concepts of what these time periods looked like- even medieval Europe wasn’t the monochromatic picture movies and angry “history buffs” and racial supremacists would complain about while speaking on skyrim or whatever other “woke” fantasy property. Rave is a cultural thing. The concepts of race are rooted in a place and time. Sort of like how what is considered “rock and roll” or “soft rock” or “hard rock” or “metal” or “punk” etc can change through history and from place to place or person to person.
At some point in history “heavy metal” wasn’t a word- so before that word existed- heavy metal would be considered most likely… rock and roll right? Drum and Base, Dub Step, happy hardcore etc. country songs from 50+ years ago are often more like folk or ballads in modern terms etc. think of it another way- Irish people tend to be traditionally pale even by the standard of much of Europe. But like… did the Irish consider their European neighbors or like Italians to be “black?” Actually- sort of! The term “black Irish” was used to describe Irish with darker hair and eyes and usually darker skin- most likely those who were mixed with the Spanish- many areas of Spain are home to people with darker complexion and features. And that’s the thing- even in modern times WHO the word “black” or it’s analog refers to depend on where in the world you are. Among Asian peoples many have darker skin tones than others- even those of the same nation or island. Part can be hereditarily and part can be..
.. from geographic location. The native people of Okinawa Japan- the southern most major islands of Japan, are a different ethnic group but they also have a climate that compares to a place like Hawaii. Contrast that to places like Nagano Japan (where the Winter Olympics and a thriving snow sports economy often exist) and people who live there full time tend to be darker than many country men regardless of their exact ethnic heritage as it is a sunny tropical island.
In much of history and in many cultures through history and even today “colorism” is a thing. In Japan and Korea and China for example it has been a general case that those with lighter skin are often considered more attractive or Wealthier. In thE Philippines, in many Afro-decendent groups like African Americans there can be colorism as well- and it can go either or both ways. Darker skinned people being perceived as or claiming they have stronger ties to their culture or history or lighter skinned people being…
.. perceived as or claiming to have superior looks or genetics etc. and on either side can be people who simply dislike the “other” because they believe those people think of themselves as “better than” or because they think of the “other” as inferior.
In the Americas and in Europe light skin was once prevalently considered one of the signs of wealth and power and thus a factor in attractiveness. It meant one probably didn’t work outside in manual labor so had a “skilled” job or didn’t need to work. It meant one could travel in cover as opposed to exposed on foot or animal. Etc. When leisure travel and physical fitness started to become things that were more available to the wealthy or well off, tans from exotic vacations or time spent lounging in the outdoors vs. being cooped up in a factory or windowless office doing relatively low end work became a sign of wealth.
Being skinny was often the default in human history where survival demanded physical exertion and food was somewhat scarce vs. the modern age where automation and such made people less active and cheap food packed with calories became common and relatively abundant. So being in shape and relatively slim became a sign of wealth. People who had time and energy to exercise were seen as people with spare time and money. Because of a king complex interwoven history we won’t go deep into concerning colonization and various other factors and a need to create reasons to justify conquest and exploitation- racism of the modern sort became a thing. Because being “dark” became an almost global recipe for having fewer rights and lower social status etc. as colonizers brought their systems and philosophies around the world- some modern colorism and such can trace elements to the perceptions of this. When looking for a perspective mate in the Americas or Europe amidst the Atlantic slave trade years-
An assumption could be made that any random darker skinned person would likely have any of or combination of a lower social standing, less opportunity, less wealth, less “western” education, more complications etc. because it was more common for those things to be denied or not accessible. Exceptions existed of course- but certain context clues tend to be used to gauge people we don’t know well. if you meet a 45 year old who doesn’t own a car or a house and dresses shabbily and has bad teeth and bad hygiene and sleeps until noon everyday- they could be a millionaire but chances are they are a walking ball of potential problems like unemployment:underemployment, bad credit, etc. and not a strong provider.
So systemic racism creates conditions by which certain groups at large are forced into positions where the group tends to suffer lack of opportunity and as such being a member of that group tends to become associated with such lack.
Where that plays in go things historically is the details of The Who and the why and the when change around. When we start talking about race and accuracy or representation of race in history from the context of the modern day things can get tricky. On the one hand, what happens in history is what happened. Your WW2 movie with a diverse cast of commandos led by a U.S. 3 star general played by Idris Elba is walking a thin line of host rival accuracy as not only was the budgets rank by a black soldier at that point a single star general- but there was only one and he was a pretty famous guy. But.. does that matter…? That’s where things can get tricky. I mean- “historical” movies take liberties all the time. The overwhelming trope in Haiti rival movies tends to be that almost anyone from the Greeks to the Romans, the Egyptian and the so on all spoke in an accent reminiscent of modern fancy British “Upper Received Pronunciation” when not only is that totally not true…
The “British accent” we are mostly familiar with is relatively modern and basically made up. The simplest and closest examination without a whole long thing is that Brit’s talked closer to how certain US accents of the north east sounded. A bunch of fancy pants royalty types spoke in a haughty affectation that lower folks started to emulate to try and sound fancier than they were. Rhotic speech vs. received pronunciation is the short version. Brit’s didn’t pronounce the “r” and over time Americans started to. That’s why places like Boston that were heavily in contact with the English (who didn’t pronounce r) say things like “Pahk the Cah” instead of “park the car.” The fancy fops in Britain decided to effect a fancy accent and after so many generations Brit’s just speak that way. So in all likelihood their great great great… grandparents running around in the 1700’s and before didn’t sound like lord Whistlepot ot whatever but sounded more like (but distinct from) some rando at a…
Red Sox game. To Americans and many others a “British accent” is just sort of the accent that represents this concept of old regality or of villainous empires or such- and so it gets used. But there is SOOO much context and history that is being left out here. Feel free to research it or just believe me when I say that most peoples ideas about race and perceptions of what a place or time or people in ancient history were like are very wrong. Even people who consider themselves to be pretty big history buffs and/or did well in school etc in history. In fact- sometimes more so even the ones that did well at history because as entire books are dedicated to- the history taught in so many schools around the world is flawed in so so so many ways.
The quest for representation and to have a place in history for many groups and people is a real one. Many societies cultures and nations have undermined or cut out of completely re written history or large parts of it to favor a narrative that isn’t overly favorable or is exclusionary or even unfavorable to certain people or groups. When talking representations in historical productions etc. in the modern day we must be mindful of that. Of course we have to be careful about revisionist history. Not only is it not factually but it would largely undermine the lessons and losses of those who suffers from the times and the long standing aftermath to re write history so that never happened. As well intentioned as it may be to rewrite history to show George Washington as Denzel Washington- doing that can seriously backfire and undermine or erase wrong doings that were don as well as the hard work and sacrifice of those who worked to fight those wrongs or who were the receivers of the wrongs
And just because white people have been doing something for years or decades or centuries doesn’t mean “turn about is fair play.” I mean- on the lair for horrible things done by white people to other groups is the erasure if their culture and history and their exclusion or diminishment In representation in stories. Doing the same things doesn’t necessarily make it right just because someone else did it first. Two wrongs don’t make a right is what they say.
Of course we do need to step back and remember that despite all that- wrongs have been done. The fact that choice rules of various types don’t exist for certain types of people is often largely due to racial issues if the day and place making it so this episode
Didn’t have the chance to e a part so things and this how could they have a role just for them?
We also have to remember fiction is fiction. Orlando Bloom is not an elf- when we make fantasy and fiction we do have some room for things to be not 100% dead on. Overall we have to just approach these things with some care for others and sensitivity.
MIddle-Eastern people are caucasoid, just like Europeans. Given the same complexion and hair-style, they aren't visually distinguishable for the most part.
In much of history and in many cultures through history and even today “colorism” is a thing. In Japan and Korea and China for example it has been a general case that those with lighter skin are often considered more attractive or Wealthier. In thE Philippines, in many Afro-decendent groups like African Americans there can be colorism as well- and it can go either or both ways. Darker skinned people being perceived as or claiming they have stronger ties to their culture or history or lighter skinned people being…
In the Americas and in Europe light skin was once prevalently considered one of the signs of wealth and power and thus a factor in attractiveness. It meant one probably didn’t work outside in manual labor so had a “skilled” job or didn’t need to work. It meant one could travel in cover as opposed to exposed on foot or animal. Etc. When leisure travel and physical fitness started to become things that were more available to the wealthy or well off, tans from exotic vacations or time spent lounging in the outdoors vs. being cooped up in a factory or windowless office doing relatively low end work became a sign of wealth.
So systemic racism creates conditions by which certain groups at large are forced into positions where the group tends to suffer lack of opportunity and as such being a member of that group tends to become associated with such lack.
Of course we do need to step back and remember that despite all that- wrongs have been done. The fact that choice rules of various types don’t exist for certain types of people is often largely due to racial issues if the day and place making it so this episode
Didn’t have the chance to e a part so things and this how could they have a role just for them?