Posted by Martin Read on February 12, 1999 at 05:38:28:
In Reply to: Why I Think Farnham's Freehold Is Racist posted by Terry on February 08, 1999 at 14:32:09:
: GC,
: And it just turned out in _FF_ that all the good guys were white and all the bad guys were black and lording over the poor whites in a future Africa which has escaped anhilation. They weren't just antagonists, but evil and evil in ways that made me think of Jim Crow. Very nasty types - lazy, pushy, unredemebly bad. No respect for the characters at all. In fact as an aside the greatness of literature is the respect an author has for all his/her characters.
: Maybe I'm overly sensitive, but it was personally embarassing to me to read my favorite author writing what, to may mind at least, was the most palpably racist, charicatures of blacks. Some evil daydream of a white racist put on paper in the name of a great author. I thought it quite sad.
: Vance, on the other hand, skates close to racism in _The Grey Prince_ which at least abstracts the problem to another planet and another society. If the prince were black and the country were South Africa, say, I'd lay the charge on Vance as well.
: Vance has always had a Eurocentric viewpoint which is fine by me and especially fine when the villains are Dirdir or other alien races. When villains become humans of a different racial type (but not black) I'm made uneasy by that narrow distinction, but can give credit to a fine author of an earlier sensibility.
: I'm trying to remember black people in Vance and can come up with only a couple - believe in Slaves of the Klau there's a black jazz band (here's what saves Vance from stepping over the line I think, his obvious love of jazz that is rooted in the black soul/experience). Also believe that in Take My Face there is a visit to a Bohemian neighborhood in San Francisco with black jazz musicians there. Anyone care to add to this list of black people in Vance?
: Anyway, I thought that Heinlein's book was indefensible, but I'm willing to cut Vance slack on the subject. You are welcome to your opinion, but I was in pain after finishing _FF_.
: Terry
In a sense in the books where Vance describes the use of "Skin toning" the issue of skin colour would seem to be a dead letter.
I'm not sure I agree with your opinion of The Grey Prince - it seems to be in real sense a typical story originating in the interaction between a materially "Advanced" and a "Less-developed" society. Also if racism is a universal concept it should not matter if the protagonists are grey or black-skinned, or indeed if the "Racial" differences are of any nature.
How great do the physical differences between poeples need to be before the label of racism is valid? If I wrote a story about the Roman conquest of Britain praising the culture and acheivements of the Romans and despising the backward filth of the natives would I be guilty of anti-British racism?
Having said this there is a great and lamentable dearth of black hero-figures in SF and fantasy. The only one I can think of off-hand is Erekose in Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion series.