Anything Goes : Should we 'Fear' zombie prejudice? by Marc Breindel

Yes, this is an interesting debate. I have watched "The Walking Dead" but have not yet seen "Fear: The Walking Dead." I do think they made some unfortunate choices in the first series, however it's now in its sixth season. Many characters of different races, ages, men, women and children have been lost. It was heartbreaking when "Tyreese" was lost and how the others tried to save him. "Michone" is by far my favorite character. It seems way too soon to cast such judgements over the second series. Troubling pattern? "Fear" is just getting started. And, it does feature a diverse cast and takes place in a location known to be diverse. Perhaps critics are being too sensitive and jumping to early conclusions? Give it time. It should be considered on its own merits. It's often best to sit back and watch an entire first season, see how the story plays out, experience the direction of the show, before passing judgment. Keep an open mind. :)

I don't get it. They hire plenty of people from different backgrounds and yet they still whinge about it?

So, I just watched the pilot episode and I found the slow moving plot more troublesome than any would-be racial issues. There's nothing about these characters that indicates race. Nothing. People are just people. The first character shown to be a zombie is a white woman. Next is a white male. Then, a side character who only has a few lines and is connected to one of the main characters becomes a zombie -- he just happens to be African-American. This series boasts diversity -- that should be praised! You can count the number of white characters on one hand. The writer of this article is simply blowing smoke.

"The Walking Dead" is awesome, but I appreciate where the "Vanity Fair" author is coming from. The original show kept African-Americans in the background at first, which was disappointing especially because Atlanta is a majority black city. That's changed (yea!), but it still seems like an African-American character is killed every time a new one arrives (as the article details). So, to have the first three African-American men with talking parts on "Fear" become zombies almost immediately makes people wonder if we're going to see the old "red shirt" phenomenon again ("Star Trek" characters wearing red shirts died quickly, and they were often African-American). There are much more pressing issues in the world -- a real-life Syrian refugee toddler died en route to Europe today, among others -- but I still think diversity on TV is a real issue, and I wish "Fear" had not cut out all three of its African-American characters in the first two episodes. That said, I like the show and I know it has much, much more to offer, including rich diversity (both living and undead) and great entertainment.

Now after watching a couple episodes of "Fear" I can say those three characters becoming zombies were simply plot related. Those characters weren't chosen to become zombies because they happen to be played by African-American actors, but because they serve the plot of the story. Again, people are just people. There's a whole season left to see where the story goes. Several others have become zombies too -- not just the characters who happen to be African-American. Many characters on "The Walking Dead" were originally white in the comic book series but the producers of the show changed that by hiring the best people for those roles, regardless of race. Again, I think things are being blown out of proportion in this article.

Marc, the characters are mostly created by a white man who wrote the comics. The show follows the source material closely. There's no point accusing the show makers of anything. That said, it's not a big deal. Sometimes there are more white people, sometimes there are more black people. Just like in real life. Racially the show is very well balanced.

I agree that "The Walking Dead" is great, and no one involved is a "terrible person" (as far as I know -- maybe someone there always takes the last piece of pizza, or something), but I do think it's worth looking at how they represent groups of people. And, Cherie, the show doesn't actually follow any source material, because "Fear" is entirely original (http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/08/23/the-secret-weapon-of-f...). So all those choices are free to the creators. (The original show also exercises artistic license, but the new one is even more free because it's wholly original.) Again, I'm not looking to "accuse" people of anything. I'd like to put it more gently, as in, sometimes when we write stories we fall into patterns, or there's pressure from outside, or some other factors lead to under- or misrepresentation, often unintentionally. However it was that "Fear" arrived at its very cool yet still imperfect state (and everything is imperfect), I was disappointed that the lead female teen's African-American boyfriend got bitten in the second episode, and the lead male teen's African-American friend turned out to be a murderous drug dealer who turned zombie and was run over with a car in the same episode, and the principal of the lead mom's school turned zombie and she put him down, also in the second episode. Those were the first three African-American characters on the show, and the first three speaking characters to turn zombie, as I recall. They did not have to be black; that was a choice. Not "just like in real life." We writers and other artists decide who's who in our invented worlds. If the lead daughter were black, I don't think they would've killed her in the second episode; instead, maybe her white boyfriend would have gone zombie (also a bummer for him, but at least there are many more TV/movie roles for white actors). Ditto for the brother and his friend. And any of those characters could have been of any race. Bottom line, now "Fear" still has about seven lead characters, none of whom is African-American, and that seems to be the status quo, partly confirmed by iMDB. Not the apocalypse by any means, but disappointing to me from the point of view of diversity in artistic representation. P.S. I think it's great that we have different responses to TV/movies. I hope we can talk about that openly and in a friendly way. I really hope people will respect one another's points of view. I respect everyone else's here -- I agree that we shouldn't overreact or react too quickly to possible TV bias -- and I hope others will respect my opinions. One more time: I like "Fear" and "Walking Dead," and I don't expect showrunners to consult a population census every time they cast a role. Now, who's that lumbering slowly toward my open door? I should go out there and see why they're moaning and dragging their dead limbs behind them...

What is this obsession with african american? there are clearly non white (i don't actually know their background....middle east/indian?) main characters and they EQUAL the whites. three of each! we're two episodes in and people are being ridiculous. as with walking dead the show's cast will likely change. this is all a storm in a teacup. it's actually pissing me off. i mean here we have TWO shows that have lead and supporting characters of every colour and still people whinge. why are we whinging about how there's not enough other races on other shows with clearly majority or all white casting? it's so bizarre this article and your responses. they are completely unfounded and it's like no matter what you're going to see what you want to. there's PROOF right in front of your eyes that the casting is well balanced. is it opposite day again? did i travel into an alternate universe and not know it? what the hell? why does it matter that supporting characters who die are black? how do you know they chose only blacks for those roles? i mean we're being paranoid. MOST supporting characters are going to die! you'd be whinging if they were white saying there should be more blacks. i notice you only mention blacks and not asian or middle eastern or native american. again we're TWO EPISODES IN!

Consider the source of the article, they have to write about something, VF isn't exactly the Wall Street Journal. How many native Americans in the cast of Fear the Walking Dead or The Walking Dead? Now that's prejudice.

Yes, I agree VF is not a good source of journalism. But, in regards to Native Americans not appearing on either show, I don't think that's prejudice. One could argue that both show's locations do not have large populations of Native Americans. Here in Washington state we do. I grew up in the Midwest where there are many tribes. I also lived in Alaska where Native American culture is celebrated and very much part of life up there. Larger Native populations in the US tend to be located in the northern states. In many other dramas that take place in the Midwest or other northern areas, Native Americans do appear -- "The Red Road" and "Longmire" to name a couple. Both can be seen on Netflix. :)

Oh, another TV series that has Native American characters in it is "Banshee." It's set in Pennsylvania. Location setting is relevant to what cultures/races may appear in any given show. Not giving "Walking Dead" an excuse, but rather acknowledging a possible logical reason for lack of Native Americans. "Fear" appears to be reflecting the diversity more commonly known to exist in LA. :)

Cherie, first of all, I'll enjoy our chat more if we dial back the loaded language like "paranoid," "ridiculous," and "obsession." As I've said, I respect your opinions -- and partly share them -- and I read that you and Beth share the "Vanity Fair" author's and my general appreciation for TV diversity. What stood out for me, and maybe the VF author, was the swift, surprising way that trio of characters came and went, which reminded me (and others) of some casting choices that disturbed people in the first years of the original show. Of course, I love the diversity of "Fear"'s remaining cast -- especially the fact that excellent star "Dad" Cliff Curtis plays as his actual ethnicity -- indigenous Maori of New Zealand (http://m.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&obje...), which I'm sure Beth appreciates, per her comments about Native Americans. And the show probably doubles the number of Latino lead characters on TV, including the great Ruben Blades, which is ¡maravilloso! For that reason, and others, count me on Team Fear the Walking Dead! At the same time, I had a gut reaction to the quick dispatching of the first three black speaking characters, and I shared that here because I think it's important for us writers to be aware of how people are represented in writing. As you say, it's early days for the new show, and I'm sure they'll do many things to delight and horrify us (in good and bad ways). I hope everyone here enjoys the show, as I will, and I hope "Fear" will illuminate the human experience in constructive and FUN ways more often than it makes people feel diminished.

Yes, it will be interesting to see where the story goes. But again the biggest issue for me was the slow moving plot. The pilot episode was rather boring. I don't know if I will continue to watch "Fear." We'll see. I do like that it has a female lead. Personally, I don't see any racial issues with the show. Those characters were written to become zombies before they were cast as those story choices appear not to be racially driven. There's nothing about those three characters that was racially informed -- a clean-cut young middle income drug dealer, a school principal and a loving teen boyfriend. They just happen to be African-American. Yes, I'm sure there will be much more ahead for the show's diverse characters and the characters to come. :) Hopefully people will reserve judgement and enjoy the series.

VF article could have picked any race at random and said it was under-represented in the cast. If they (VF) want to deliver a slanted view of a show where black characters killed off every episode, where was the author when HBO's Oz was on the air?

Beth, I'm with you in hoping they pick up the pace! Why couldn't one of the lead characters have been in the bouncy house next door when the zombie came in?! Why couldn't one of the lead characters have squared off with a police officer over the last gallon of gasoline or the last package of bottled water in the convenience store, then gotten some intel on the epidemic from a police scanner? We don't have to wait for the apocalypse to be over before the conflict begins, "Fear" writers! P.S. Glad you're enjoying the female lead; I am, too. She seems poised to develop into a combination of Kick-ass Rick Grimes and Carol the Cookie Ninja!

JD, surely you've noticed that people express concern about TV/movie representation regularly, regarding all kinds of shows. Beth has been moderating a thread about representation of women, jumping off from criticism of the lead female character in "Jurassic World." UCLA put out a study of Hollywood diversity that "Variety" quoted earlier this year: "...showing that minorities and women were falling far short in making inroads into influential Hollywood positions compared with the actual demographics of the U.S. population. That document asserted that the percentages of female and minority actors, writers, directors and producers in films and TV ranges from less than 10% to 50% of their actual population percentage." http://variety.com/2015/film/news/ucla-report-audiences-seeking-more-div... Of course, no reasonable person wants Hollywood to assign roles based on census figures. But all of us hope to see ourselves reflected on screens large and small, so we remind one another that it's just human courtesy to share the limelight. Unfortunately, that UCLA report found that in 2012 "Minority lead actors in film and TV were underrepresented by a factor of more than three-to-one — less than one-third the rate that would be expected based on their proportion of the population. In broadcast TV comedies and dramas, they were underrepresented by a factor of seven-to-one." We can do better.

As a screenwriter you can believe your script will change the face of the characters seen in movies and TV. When your script gets picked up and re-written for production, its probably going to be a different story. Being part Native American, I should be incensed with Hollywood's portrayal of native peoples and the casting of Caucasians to play those roles.. I'm with Cherie Grant, just get over the character choices in FtWD or stop watching it.

Haha! Marc, yes, always love "Carol" or rather "Scarol." She's terrifying at times. :)

Yes, absolutely, minorities are often underrepresented and sometimes portrayed disparagingly. However, it does seem to be improving -- or at least seems hopeful. The more volume and variety of TV series will certainly help bring different points of view and characters to the screen. :)

Anyone remember this commercial and print ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7OHG7tHrNM This man was cast: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Eyes_Cody An Italian, ......disgusting.

Yes, JD that ad marked a very strange "cultural moment." Such casting can be really sad. I love it when "creative casting" is used thoughtfully (unlike in that "Iron Eyes Cody" ad) to open our imagination -- most often in theater -- as in Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton", where people of varied ethnic backgrounds play U.S. founders Alexander Hamilton, et al. >> https://youtu.be/deApjIhhhC4?t=5s