Diversity in Media and Literature (WAS No Subject)

[archeaologee]

No: HPFGUIDX 40664

As a Londoner\Surrey resident (Surry address, London Phone No., 
London Transport...) in an area with the highest concentration of 
Koreans outside Korea, as well as attending an international College 
(75% overseas) and being an avid football fan I *inhales deeply, and 
regrets lack of previous punctuation* never assumed Dean, or 
Angelina, or Lee was black.  Or white.  Or anything other than a 
wizard and young.

There is a wonderful episode of Southpark where they try and change 
the town flag.  This originally depicts a bunch of Klansmen (or 
whichever hate group they choose) lynching a black man.  The children 
fail to see it's racist as they only see a bunch of people hanging 
another one.

I did assume the name Patel was asian, and thought that Cho was 
probably Chinese, but as far as all the others went I carried no 
opinion whatsoever unless given specific descriptions (Ron's red hair 
and freckles did give him away I must admit).  I don't think that 
children reading them would have an opinion either.  In fact I 
believe that there would be those that even visualise a black Harry 
(analogies with the African depictions of Jesus - an ethinc 
Jew\Middle Eastern resident - are not inapropriate) if the books did 
not have Harry as white on the covers [ok I just re-read that and 
remembered his "pale complection" and "green eyes" but I think the 
analogy still holds].

I am a bit annoyed that the US editon put that in [Dean's colour] (I 
really didn't see the need, and it implies Harry is concerned with 
these things in a way the UK editions don't) but then political 
correctness is seen as very important and people assume odd things 
and get VERY upset about these issues (as mine and previous posts 
have shown).  Dean's colour in the unmentionable cinema title 
surprised me, but only as I had never thought about it, and I had no 
problem with it after that.

James