Core Response #2 by Onyinyechukwu Chidi-Ogbolu

For my second core response, I choose to focus on Kristen Warner's, “ABC’s Scandal and Black Women’s Fandom”. This comes across as a somewhat expected choice, seeing as I am a black woman, one who actively participates in fandom practices (although, Scandal is not one of my fandoms of choice). However, this response focuses not on life as a member of the fandom, but on efforts made by television producers to include black women in their narratives. 

The basis for this response is the following quote from the text: 

"Similar to Washington racebending to become Julius Caesar for an official production, fans racebend to reinsert versions of themselves into texts within which they have long been ignored. In one online community for women fan fiction writers of color called The Chamber, the writers are allowed to write whatever they want, provided that the main character is a woman of color. This opens up a world of possibilities, because they can transform Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice by making its lead, Elizabeth Bennett, a Black woman. Adjusting the story world to accommodate the reality of a Black Elizabeth Bennett, the narrative can be molded to adapt to the needs of a Black lead." (39)

Warner notes that when fanfiction writers racebend existing characters, they also adjust the story world to that of a Black character. This is what I believe to be noticeably missing in the racebending that occurs in the film and tv industry. It is not enough to simply engage in colorblind casting, a person's race is a huge determinant of their life experience and thus when casting people of color, specifically Black women, the character must be molded to fit that experience. This is why it is imperative to have people of color writing their own stories and in charge of their own narratives. As the Black women in fandoms fill in the gaps their tv shows fail to for themselves, having Black women involved in these productions will, not eliminate, but at least reduce the need for them to do so. Rather than change the narrative to fit the experiences, they (we) can simply revel in the joys of being represented, and done so well.