There's a land to burn out everything that you've learned

[sovay]

Internet! I am looking for a good database and/or personal recommendations of science fiction media foregrounding characters of color. My father was expressing his disappointment in the latest season of Doctor Who tonight and he is quite right (among other complaints) that reverse-fridging a male character reads much less cleverly and much more sketchily when the male character is black. I should like to be able to recommend him some antidotes.¹ More than one person of color in the cast preferred—who are not the canaries in the coal mine or the sacrifices on behalf of the white characters, if there are any white characters; there don't need to be. Bonus points from my perspective if there are women with agency and queer characters. (I should just hand him Janelle Monáe's back catalogue, right?) He is a hard sell on animation and does not play games, but enjoys things that are not in English. I can do this a lot more easily with books.

1. It is not like my father has never seen science fiction with protagonists of color; he followed Eureka for a while just because it contained Joe Morton. I just know there's always room for more. A lot of room.

Comments

[skygiants]

AND ON ANOTHER NOTE, since you said he's cool with subtitles and no one's been reccing Japanese sci-fi yet, I'll throw in a rec for Spec 2, which is sort of X-Filesish and about as nominally sfnal as Dr. Who. (I mean, it's TERRIBLE science. But science!) Gleefully antisocial genius female science cop and glum male skeptic cop partner investigate superpowered crime; cases-of-the-week eventually develop into a deeply bizarre plot about metahumans, mind control and time travel. Ten episodes, all of them jam-packed with genius female science cop making wonderful faces and having the BEST TIME while everyone else has the WORST TIME.

(There is also a Spec 1 which is in the same vein, but it's only loosely related and stars different characters, and I haven't seen it.)

[sovay]

since you said he's cool with subtitles

Yes. He has randomly recommended me Korean sci-fi that he found while browsing Netflix. (It was good, too.)

and no one's been reccing Japanese sci-fi yet, I'll throw in a rec for Spec 2, which is sort of X-Filesish and about as nominally sfnal as Dr. Who.

And I've never heard of it!

Gleefully antisocial genius female science cop and glum male skeptic cop partner investigate superpowered crime; cases-of-the-week eventually develop into a deeply bizarre plot about metahumans, mind control and time travel. Ten episodes, all of them jam-packed with genius female science cop making wonderful faces and having the BEST TIME while everyone else has the WORST TIME.

Well, I'd watch that.

Thanks!

[skygiants]

You should watch it! Science fictionality aside, it's gloriously surreal in style and tone, and the protagonist is the best female variant on the familiar model of detective-genius-asshole-trolls-murderers-for-the-lulz that I've yet seen. Also, I really can't stress enough how great her faces are.

[sovay]

Also, I really can't stress enough how great her faces are.

"Surprisingly he looks normal."

Heeeeeeee.