The Existential Dread of the Disposable Black [Insert]
By: Affiah Sangare
Representation is such a tricky subject, and it's a hard thing to get right. Nothing will ever be perfect to anyone. FYI, there are people who call “Sinners” a ‘struggle’ movie. Sinners, a movie that intentionally shows the various emotions and experiences of Black people during Jim Crow, is being reduced to trauma porn. It doesn’t matter that the movie used half its run time to portray complex relationships and show Black people having joy despite the brutal Southern racism, because they die at the end. Every time a Black person is on a television screen, it is up for debate on whether it is offensive or not. It is exciting to live in a time where anyone (and I mean anyone) can spew their hot takes online, but it’s also exhausting.
One trope that I particularly take offense to as a Black person is the Disposable Black [Insert]. It is one of the less overtly offensive tropes and can even be seen as a progressive trope. The trope is sneaky in that way because there is nothing to the naked eye that is offensive about it. For anyone who doesn’t spend all their time learning about media tropes and archetypes, the Disposable Black [Insert] is a Black character that is purposely written to serve the main white character, and once the problem is solved, they are thrown away.
Usually, this comes in the form of the love interest, when Black characters are used as secondary plot devices to serve the main (typically but not always) white couple. This Black character can be almost perfect or actually flawless, but they pale in comparison to the white love interest. It is often not just limited to Black people; it can be any person of color, i.e., Jacob Black from “Twilight” or some may argue (I do) Paxton Hall-Yoshida from “Never Have I Ever”. In the second movie of Twilight, the movie shows all the ways in which Jacob could be the perfect person for Bella, but he isn’t simply because he’s not Edward. On its face, this doesn’t seem like much, but add in the fact that Stephanie Meyer couldn’t even imagine a world where Alice is Asian, that the only people of color aside from the werewolves were Bella’s designated sidekicks, then it becomes more of an issue. Yoshida is given more space to develop as a character, but is thrown away as a love interest despite his clear interest and chemistry with Devi, because he wasn’t Ben. This, on its face, doesn’t seem like an issue, but every single one of Devi’s boyfriends, aside from Ben, is a man of color who all have issues too much for Devi except for Ben (for some reason). Mindy Kaling also has a history of writing her South Asian characters with horrible white men, and her brother also pretended to be Black to get into med school. It’s not quite as relevant to her, but it does show what type of environment she grew up in.
They don’t always have to be a love interest either, I would argue that there are a lot of intersections with this trope and the ‘Black best friend’ trope, hence the name Disposable Black [Insert]. I would even say that any Black character used as an afterthought to serve the main white narrative is a Disposable Black [Insert].
Now, to be fair, this trope doesn’t come up that often because, according to UCLA, Black people only make up 15.5% of representation in film. I think this trope is probably one that a lot of Black people, especially those who interact with white people, can pick up on. It is this feeling of belonging yet betrayal, to feel like you’re a part of something and then be thrown away once you no longer serve a purpose. That is probably something that everyone can relate to, but in a world where Black bodies have been commodified for centuries. Where every culture can be turned into a microtrend only to be tossed away like patchwork Shein jeans, and every AAVE phrase can rise and fall within the span of seconds, it hits heavier.
The Disposable Black [Love Interest]
One example is Angela Moore from “Boy Meets World”. It's an older show, but many of us grew up watching its descendant (no pun intended), “Girl Meets World”. Yet the trope remains the same: Angela is Shawn’s girlfriend who matches him down to a T, has seen him through the worst of times, and still loves him despite him breaking up with her. Angela’s character helped the show simply by her presence, as it was praised in the 90s for its diversity and ‘good representation’. Yet she isn’t rewarded for this by ending the show with Shawn or even being in the final episode. Though that has more to do with racism the character’s actress was facing off-screen. She surely isn’t rewarded for this reboot with a terrible wig and being compared to Hurricane Katrina, yes, that Hurricane Katrina, the same one that misplaced and killed hundreds of Black people. Only to be tossed away after telling Shawn that it’s time to move on to her blonde replacement.
Another example, probably the one that we all watched as kids, was Kira Starr from Austin and Ally. Kira was quite actually described as the perfect girl, aside from her bad breath. Her father was Austin’s boss, but her main use was being the thing that forces Austin to come to terms with his feelings for Ally. She, along with every other girl that Austin came into contact with, was used for the same purpose. But her character stands out the most to me because she was one of the few people that I saw on Disney Channel who even looked similar to me at the time.
John Ambrose from “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” is an honorable mention that was also completely unnecessary, as the character in the book was white, and he was also recast as Black. This trope even happens in real life with FKA Twigs and Robert Pattinson. Twigs faced a vicious amount of racism and even said, “He was their white Prince Charming, and I think they considered that he should definitely be with someone white and blonde and not me.” The Disposable Black [Insert] is just the natural conclusion to the Token Black Friend. No matter how hard you try to escape it, all tokens get spent.
The Disposable Black [Friend]
An example of this trope in a non-romantic light is Bonnie Bennett from “Vampire Diaries”; she exists only as a plot device for the other white characters' problems. Even being in the main cast doesn’t stop her from being sidelined in one of her only main relationships with Jeremy Gilbert. Literally every time this woman solves a problem, she dies. There is no relief for her, she is either used as the ultimate solution for the other protagonist or her pain is being used to dramatize the show. When she no longer serves a purpose, she is thrown away. There were many times where her actor, Kat Graham, thought that she might not come back to the show. The show ends with everyone else but her getting a somewhat satisfying ending despite her being one of the main protagonists.
Victorious’s Andre Harris and his revolving door of Black girlfriends can also be placed in this trope. Andre Harris, in my opinion, made the most sense with Tori Vega, even if that wasn’t my favorite pairing on the show. It probably would’ve happened at one point if Andre wasn’t Black. The show refused to give Andre a consistent love interest and relationship. Most likely because it probably wouldn’t have been as marketable as the rest of the main pairings of the show. So little Black girls were given one of his girlfriends, who is darkskin, that is bossy and aggressive, and another, who is light-skinned, and can’t seem to keep her hands to herself. This was one of the only times Black women were ever portrayed on the show. Andre, as a character, is often used as a plot device for the character’s problems. His talents of just general musical artistry are used as solutions to many of Tori’s problems.
As children, we cling to any form of representation that we get. I think back to the many times that my cousins and I would try to act in our favorite TV shows and be stuck on who gets to play who, because none of the characters looked like us. There were so many times when I would cling to one Black girl character that appeared in the background of my favorite Nickelodeon and Disney shows. Everyone says representation is important, especially in a world where Black children have statistically lower self-esteem than white children due to the lack of representation. But what happens when the representation looks like this? When even in fiction, Black people can’t escape the reality of being undermined and sidelined. Should writers simply avoid the entire thing altogether? Like how Henry and Charlotte never got together in Henry Danger, so there was no way to dispose of her?
White children can live out their fantasies of being vampires, superheroes, becoming overnight sensations, attending a prestigious Arts Academy, or simply just have relatable coming-of-age stories. Yet, Black kids have to deal with the reality of being undermined and ignored by not only their peers but institutions and society as a whole, with their only value being tied to how much they can serve this large White narrative that we all live in. Not to mention, the reinforcement of fetishes and only seeing people of color as experiments and phases. There is no escape for the Black child living in the projects and the Black child living in the boondocks of that reality. Only constant reminders that you can be a talented musician, a powerful witch, a loving partner, and the overall embodiment of Black Excellence and still be second best. That the best possibility for you is to be in proximity to whiteness and to also be at its disposal. How is that ‘good’ representation? How is that even representation worth having?
