Racism from Beyond the Grave

I am a fan of zombie movies.  I was a late comer to the genre having been "bitten" by the zombie bug while watching the remake of Dawn of the Dead.  Since then I have enjoyed both of Max Brook's books on the impending zombie apocalypse and several movies of the same flavor.
Fan of the genre is putting it mildly, I have developed a martial art style with the sole intention of fighting the undead.  I also developed a power point presentation and held a seminar.  No shit.

I started reading the graphic novel series the Walking Dead several months before I heard that it was to be adapted for television.  Though there are many differences between the two story arcs, I have enjoyed both.
If you have been meaning to start watching the series I'm going to warn you now that there are spoilers in this post.

One of the reasons that I am fascinated by the zombie genre is that I like seeing individuals work together that would otherwise have nothing to do with one another.  Call me sentimental but when I see strangers unified for the greater good I feel that it is a glimpse into the best parts of humanity.  Like when an entire theater of people collectively yell "Shush!" at the one dickhead that didn't mute his cell phone during the movie.

Being that I am a psychology enthusiast one of the things that I find most interesting about zombie movies is the backgrounds of the characters in the survivor group and how they interact with one another.  The relationships and their interplay can be an interesting insight into the mind of the writers.  For instance, if Hitler had written Starwars, it's a good chance that the main bad guy would have been name Emperor Cohen.

Wait... is that a yamaka?

   As a writer, you want the audience to connect with your characters.  One of the ways that a writer may accomplish this is to ensure that the reader, or viewer, sees elements of themselves in the heroes so that on a subconscious level, it is easier to identify with them.  Ideally you want broad enough appeal among your characters so that you can sell your product.  If all of your survivors were of middle eastern decent and worked as interns at a toothpaste factory, then you would really sow up that middle eastern toothpaste worker demographic.  But you may find difficulty in other markets.  

Now to my point.  There is a running stereotype in horror movies that there is always a black male character.  This character is typically amongst the first of the casualties.  To it's credit, the zombie genre has done a good job of steering clear of this featuring African Americans in many lead and positive supporting roles.  For instance the original Night of the Living Dead featured an African American in the lead role and he was a bad ass.

Undead huh? I got this shit.

That is why, when I began watching and reading the Walking Dead series I was not surprised to see an African American in the cast, but disappointed to see that he seemed to be filling the role as the, "token" black guy.  This is nothing against the actor IronE Singleton.  He did a damn fine job despite having been born with a silly name.
The following is a series of excerpts from the personal journal of Mr. Singleton that I was nice enough to write for him beginning with the day he was cast in the role.

 Day 1:  Dear Journal, I got the part! I'm a little bothered about the fact that they named the character T-Dog though.  I mean seriously, could they come up with a more racist name for my character? They might as well have named him Black Guy.  Oh well, still excited for the opportunity.

Day 30: Well we've been shooting for a while now, I'm feeling pretty confident that my character will stick around for a bit, no other black actors in sight!  As a matter of fact, there is only one other minority, an Asian guy.  Kind of surprised they didn't make him a ninja with all the racial sensitivity they've treated my character with.   Oh well, nice to have a steady pay check for a while.

Day 60: We just wrapped up season two and I haven't seen the last episode but I'm pretty sure I'm still the last black person on the planet.  Not sure how to feel about that.

Day 61: Shit, well that was a curve ball, apparently there is another black person but she's miles away from me and get this, SHE'S A NINJA!!!  If I was the Asian guy I'd be a little pissed.

Day 75: Well, still no other black actors, but the script says that we just found a prison.  I am worried about where this is headed.

Day 80: OK, for almost three whole episodes there was me and two other black guys.  One of them died.  Still stay'n strong!

Day 85: I'm a little concerned with the frequency and gusto with which the writers are eliminating the other minority characters.  There were five guys in the prison, three black guys, a hispanic(ish) guy, and a white dude.  Guess whose still alive?  Me, one of the black guys, and the cracker.  Me and the other black guy are a little nervous.

Day 90: Shit! I KNEW it wouldn't last!  Another black dude shows up and sure enough, I get bit and die!  Fuck this, I'm calling Tyler Perry.

In case I am not painting a clear picture.  I'm a little bothered that Walking Dead didn't keep T-Dog around.  Yes I like that the show is not afraid to kill off main characters because it keeps the viewers on their toes.  I like that it stays close to the source material.  I think I am just a little disappointed that, in our day and age, the writers still feel like we the audience might feel uncomfortable with more than one black male in the surviving group.  Especially T-Dog... he was one of the good ones!