Race, Casting and Story

by Dan Whisker The comedian Athena Kugblenu recently delivered a comedic routine addressing the implausibility of Idris Elba’s black James Bond (black James Bond is inevitably in the long, slow passport queue at Moscow airport; local law enforcement agencies the world over vigorously object to a heavily armed black man in their jurisdictions). Of course,… Read More

Fantasy’s Othering Fetish, Part 3

By Phenderson Djeli Clark This is Part 3 of a three-part series. Part 1 is here, and Part 2 is here. In the 1970s, African-American (now Afro-Canadian) writer Charles Saunders began publishing short fantasy stories in small magazine presses. From the beginning, his stories pulled on African history, as opposed to, as he put it, “the usual… Read More

Fantasy’s Othering Fetish, Part 2

By Phenderson Djeli Clark This is Part 2 of a three-part series. Part 1 is here. In modern fantasy, with its fascination with medieval Europe, it seemed almost fated that acts of “othering” would take root. Some of Western Europe’s founding notions of non-Westerners trace back long before colonialism, as early as the medieval era, where… Read More

Fantasy’s Othering Fetish, Part 1

By Phenderson Djeli Clark This is Part 1 of a three-part series. Over the years demands for more meaningful diversity in our fantasy realms have grown increasingly louder–a clarion call that echoes from the mundane world to haunt our usual lands of elves, dragons, orcs and whatnot. Back in 2010 when local New Zealanders were told… Read More

The ‘N’ word through the ages: The madness of HP Lovecraft

By Phenderson Djeli Clark When, long ago, the gods created Earth In Jove’s fair image Man was shaped at birth. The beasts for lesser parts were next designed; Yet were they too remote from humankind. To fill the gap, and join the rest to Man, Tåh’Olympian host conceiv’d a clever plan. A beast they wrought, in… Read More