Denver Comic Con 2016 Panel Spotlight: Diversity in Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Comics (and why it matters)

​Written by Tim

Diversity in Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Comics (and why it matters)
Friday, June 17, 2016 6:30pm-7:20 pm
Adelina Esquibel, Craig Volk, Emily Peros-McBreen, Josh Hem Lee, Regina Renee Ward

My first panel at the 2016 Denver Comic Con (and ever for that matter) was “Diversity in Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Comics (and why it matters)” with staff members of the Denver Public Library. They began with staggering statistics showing how little of a role women, people of color, and especially LGBTQ people have played in films. There was one study on “The Diversity Gap in Sci-Fi & Fantasy Films as of 2014” which showed that only 14% of the films had a female protagonist, 0% had LGBTQ protagonists, 1% had a protagonist with a disability, and 8% had a protagonist of color (six of those were with Will Smith).
 
They presented us with the obvious but important questions. How many characters of color are there? Of that number, how many have their own series? Since near the beginning of Marvel Comics, we have had disabled heroes like Professor Xavier, Daredevil, and more recently, Hawkeye (he is deaf). Lately they have become even more inclusive, with characters like Miles Morales (Ultimate Spider-Man) whose father is African American and mother is Puerto Rican, and Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) who is a Pakistani-American Muslim.  This diversity however, is slow to trickle into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The goal is not to remove Caucasian men from all comics and movies, the other groups just want their children and themselves reflected in the art forms that they love so much.
 
So, what can we do to help?
 
We can support the artists who are creating worlds with more diversity. We were supplied with an extensive “suggested reading” list, including comics and graphic novels like Rat Queens, Hilo, Little Robot, Bitch Planet, Saga, and Lumberjanes. If you are a heavier reader, then some of novels that might interest you are, Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor and Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older. On the small and big screen, there is the Netflix series Sense 8 and the upcoming Disney movie Sanjay's Super Team.

Don’t accept cultural appropriation or whitewashing. Plenty of films have changed the gender/race/etc. of the characters (Avatar, Iron Man 3, Doctor Strange, Ghost in the Shell, etc.), but if you don’t buy it, eventually they will stop making it. If you are a creator, then create. We need more diverse books, comics, movies, etc., and you could even just start a blog or a web comic. Also check out some blogs that specialize in diversity such as NPR Code Switch, For Harriet, The Nerds of Color, and A Tribe Called Geek.

Believe it or not, cosplay is one way we can help. The more Sam Wilson Captain Americas and Jane Foster Thors we see, the more they become common and normalized.
 
Next up to discuss from Denver Comic Con's panels: The Force.

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