Hi...
It seems like there were a lot of SF and High-Tech thrillers that featured Hackers in the late '80s and thru the '90s, and most featured a non-white technically savvy character.... both in film and TV shows....
I figgered this was not only because SF is a good arena for diversity, but due to the fact that the real-life Hackers, the Masters of Deception, had a black member of their group....
The Texas-based Hacker gang, the Legions of Doom, used racist epithets against the MODs, starting a feud between the two groups, and launching a world-wide Hacker War that lasted for years.... or so the Hacker lore goes....
:)
There are a number of books documenting these Hacker Wars... and it inspired a host of movies featuring Hackers, usually featuring a black member... no doubt as a reference to the MODs....
:)
Some that come to mind are Sneakers, Hackers, Die Hard, AntiTrust.... but there are more....
Other SF films that would have non-white tech-savvy characters might include Alien (and it's knock-offs), Star Trek films, several Morgan Freeman films, many Wesley Snipes films, and many Mario Van Pebbles films... those are just the ones that come to mind off the top of my head....
TV shows that come to mind are all of the Star Trek shows (Classic, STNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, and films) had segments with non-white tech-savvy characters... Geordie and Travis are probably the most prominent examples of recurring engineering characters... but there were others...
Dark Angel, Outer Limits (old and new), New Twilight Zone, most of the Law & Order and CSI shows, Crossing Jordan, Profiler, Now & Again, and probably more if I thought more about it....
Made for TV movies are another rich source of diversity in SF and High-Tech thrillers...
Hope this gives you some grist for your mill...?
:)
This has been an interest of mine as well... so I would be interested in your reflections (or those of others) on this topic...
Cheers...
:)
NE...
Nicole English
Interdisciplinary PhD Program, Sociology/Psychology
Instructor, Program for Adult College Education (PACE)
University of Missouri--Kansas City (UMKC)
[log in to unmask]
________________________________
From: Film and TV Studies Discussion List on behalf of Jane Park
Sent: Wed 8/31/2005 9:56 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [SCREEN-L] query: race and science fiction film
Hello,
I am trying to come up with a list of US science fiction films since 1999 in which the
protagonist is not white (except for The Matrix and I, Robot). I'm looking specifically
for SF films with cyberpunk and/or cybernetics themes and tropes rather than those
dealing with aliens and/or fantasy (e.g. Pitch Black, Chronicles of Riddick, etc.) On a
related note, I am also looking for non-white characters in (not necessarily SF) films
who are technologically savvy or otherwise closely associated with new
technologies. Any help with either or both of these queries would be greatly
appreciated. Please email me at [log in to unmask]
Thanks,
Jane
Jane C. H. Park
Assistant Professor
Honors College, Film and Video Studies
University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK 73019
----
To sign off Screen-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF Screen-L
in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]
----
To sign off Screen-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF Screen-L
in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]
|
