Heroes – character representation
One of the things that first endeared me to Heroes was its diversity of characters. Not only were there a great deal of strong female characters who had important roles to play—the cheerleader who has to save the world, anyone?—but there was also a variety of characters from a number of different ethnic backgrounds. While the show was still not exactly representative of the diverse cultural mix found in our society, it certainly thumbed its nose at the generally unrepresentative casts seen on television and in film.
Another thing I loved was that characters from other cultures—such as Hiro and Ando, who hail from Japan—actually speak their native language on the show, rather than, as is painfully common in Western film and TV, speaking broken English, or English with a pronounced foreign accent. While the use of subtitles arguably may have turned off a minority of the audience, it’s refreshing to see a show that considers its audience intelligent and worldly enough to, gasp, engage with and enjoy the representation of different cultures, countries, and languages.
However, as much as I hate to criticize a show that has clearly made an effort to be representative, Heroes still has a long way to go in terms of racial parity. If we think about it, it is, after all, the blonde, white cheerleader who is set to save the world. In addition, it seems to me that a too-great proportion of characters from non-white backgrounds seem to die or suffer grisly fates than when compared with the white characters. While Heroes has definitely made an effort to be inclusive and to represent diversity on our television screens—an effort that should be applauded—the implications of the way these characters are treated is something that still needs to be taken into consideration to ensure that the wrong message isn’t inadvertently shown.
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