WHAT THE @#*!$ MOMENTS IN COMICS
So the 60's and 70's come along and there are a lot of books that make social commentary, which is no big shocker because many comics, since they have been around, have made some sort of social commentary or another about something, whether it was war, poverty or whatever....it seemed the best was done through Marvel comics but then DC released in Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #106 "I Am Curious Black". In it, Lois does a story on....get this...."Little Africa", in Metropolis and the black folks are so distrusting of white people ,that they won't even speak to her. She is also berated by a black man holding a "street meeting" for other black folks.
Then in an attempt to "connect" with black people, she uses her boyfriend Superman's "Plastimold" Machine to turn black for a day. She meets the black man who talked bad about her, befriends him and then helps him stop a drug deal where, he gets shot.....oddly enough, Superman (who had been following Lois to make sure she didn't get in trouble) shows up after the brother gets shot (how often does that happen) and stops the bad guys. Lois gives her blood to help him live and the revelation that their blood is the same is FINALLY realized.....I mean who knew....
Then in an attempt to "connect" with black people, she uses her boyfriend Superman's "Plastimold" Machine to turn black for a day. She meets the black man who talked bad about her, befriends him and then helps him stop a drug deal where, he gets shot.....oddly enough, Superman (who had been following Lois to make sure she didn't get in trouble) shows up after the brother gets shot (how often does that happen) and stops the bad guys. Lois gives her blood to help him live and the revelation that their blood is the same is FINALLY realized.....I mean who knew....
Don't get my sarcastic tone twisted........the writers of this book didn't mean to come across as racist (and to me, it does come across as racist) but I think that they were making a serious attempt to talk about a sensitive topic. However sometimes people, when they don't know enough about a culture, will make an attempt to talk about it but make simple mistakes or use offensive terms (i.e. non black folks using the N word just to be trendy). Of course they had the best of intentions and some of the formula may have worked in the day it was written but by today's standards it comes off as condescending. Check out the Full comic below and let me know what you think ....what's your opinion on this one? PEACE.
7 comments:
Best comic ever! : )
@Joseph It seems their heart was in the right Place, but they just didnt deliver it right.
True, it was clumsy. But such was the nature of DC comics at the time: they tried to send a good message, but like a game of telephone, it just didn't come out right (see: Green Lantern/Green Arrow: Hard Traveling Heroes for an example of just how bad they could trip up a positive message).
An awkward, but sincere, attempt to promote racial understanding in 1970. It's interesting that Superman and Lois didn't get to finish the conversation prompted by Lois' hypothetical marriage question. Superman's first response reminds us of the old "If you marry her/him, OTHER people are going to give you and your kids such a hard time" excuse our parents used to give. What Lois didn't get to say was that Superman's enemies would likely want to hurt Superman's wife regardless of her color.
Yeah. They meant well...it was just misplaced. But you know Supes would have backed out if lois was black.
I had to really think about this before I responded because it brought so many emotions for me. I was 12 years old in 1970 and I was pretty tired of being called the "N" word and having to physically defend myself when a group of white guys decided they wanted to pick on a black girl because our family lived in their neighborhood. Years of dealing with that kind of nonsense drew me toward the rhetoric of the Black Panther Party. So even though I didn't leave in the 'hood like the people in this story, I was extremely suspicious and uncomfortable around white people. Most of my friends, who did live in the 'hood, acted the same way. It was a tense period of transition from the Civil Rights movement to "well, we can vote but we still have trouble getting jobs." I think the cartoon captured the atmosphere of the era fairly accurately. But "Little Africa"? That's pretty bad right there! There's no such neighborhood for black folks who are American, and most of the old folks wouldn't live there! ("I ain't no African" my grandmother used to say. "I'm colored." I rolled my eyes whenever she said that.)
As far as Superman marrying a black Lois Lane, I seriously doubt he would have back then. Very few white men did marry black women in those days, and if they did, they had to be socially courageous and very secure in themselves because both black and white people would have issues with it, albeit for different reasons. I remember saying that I would never marry a white man because of how my ancestors were raped by slave masters. Well, I haven't married one, but I've dated a few. Not much different than dating black men, really. Men are men. :)
The biggest problem I had with with the comic is something that is based on reality--when white people come into a black neighborhood, there several scenarios that makes interaction awkward: a) they are usually authority figures i.e., the police, probation officers, bill collectors, etc., b) if they are conducting some kind of social science study or members of the press, they will sometimes walk up to people and expect them to start talking, disregarding the 400 years of mistrust that has built up in the community. Besides, who wants to be "studied" like an anthropological site? It's very insulting. It's best to find a way into the community through a church or social service agency. Even then, it's not going to be instant BFF. Lois made the cardinal mistake by walking up and expecting people to trust her instantly. Unfortunately,it's a mistake that still takes place. Trust isn't easily earned in black communities. I'm black, and I know if I go into a community where people don't know me, they are going to be reserved around me, especially since I "talk like a white girl". It's not a big deal because I know that's the way it is.
And finally, there were two popular books that were published around that time that may have influenced this comic: "Soul Sister" by Grace Halsell and "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin. Both books involved white journalists who darkened their skins and lived as black people. Their experiences were much more harrowing than Lois's as far as how they were perceived and treated by whites, resulting in unforeseen daily stress and at times, complete terror. And there was no Superman watching out for them, either.
@Angela Thanks for that. That was a more in depth look than mine. Your experiences remind me of what my father told me about the movement. But this, like i said is an example of what i see all the time when people don't fully understand a culture, but are sympathetic, try to explain or profoundly "help the cause". This comic is good to see to understand how we look at each others cultures.
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