Despite the relatively representative nature of
Teen Wolf’s cast, the development of their identities has been problematic at best and non-existent at worst. For example, though the show and the show’s creator boast that their lead actor is Hispanic, there has been no acknowledgement of
Scott McCall’s race or ethnicity within the canon of the show. In fact, actor
Tyler Posey is often asked whether or not Scott is meant to be Hispanic. In
an interview with Lee Hernandez for the Latino Voices section of the Huffington Post, Posey was asked following question: “Your character Scott McCall is an all-American guy. He’s not Latino, right?” While this should be an obvious answer since McCall is played by a Hispanic actor, Posey qualified his answer by saying “Well, his mom has got a dark complexion, so I think he's half-Latino. It never comes up in the show, but I'm pretty sure that he is Latino. I mean, look at the guy! He looks Latino, a little bit” (
Hernandez). Unfortunately, the whitewashing of Posey’s character is not the only example of problematic identity development for person of color (POC) characters. Although she is played by white, blonde actress
Gage Golightly,
Erica Reyes is implied to be of Hispanic descent. While there are many Hispanics with fair complexions,
Teen Wolf again denies even the slightest nod to her supposed heritage. This lack of acknowledgement may be in part due to Jeff Davis’s take on a discrimination-free world but, regardless, it leads audiences to read both characters as exclusively white, thus nullifying their attempts a
representing a diverse cast.
If just one of the show’s Black characters were
allowed to progress into being a fully realized person it would be far easier
to overlook the faults of the others. Not being able to develop all of your
supporting Black characters is understandable, but when you score 0 out of 3,
it’s time to step back, take a look, and maybe stop making excuses.
we could still see fleshed out, acknowledged PoC
characters that act as more than props, scenery, and spiritual guides. Believe
it or not, there’s no trick to writing these characters, no experience that you
missed out on as a child that wouldn’t allow you to expand on the characters of
a teenage boy or a grown man. Plot lines for Black characters (or any PoC
character) do not have to center around the color of their skin. When you exist
in a world where getting bitten by a werewolf is a more pressing concern than
discrimination that rule should only increase ten-fold.
Discussion of "Development"
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