Russel T Davis is a Whiteman. He seems to think that the fact he is gay entitles him to write scripts for Black people. My dislike of Ncuti Gatwa’s portrayal of Dr Who has nothing to do with Ncuti Gatwa (or his skin complexion) – but everything to do with a White-person thinking they can envisage what a “Black” Dr Who would think and feel. White gay people are still “White” regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Simply possessing different ideas about gender and sexual orientation does not grant a White person a license to speak for all non-White people. If a Black writer wrote scripts for Dr Who – I would be interested – just as I was interested in all the films made by Spike Lee (Quinton Tarantino is an oddity – as Black people have praised the Black content of his films).
As an Internationalist – I want to learn genuine knowledge about the very people I am supposed to be “Internationalist” about. White people attempting to write Black scripts is nothing but a product of empowered mockery and mimicry. White people have no right to fabricate identities for other people who have been the historical victims of oppression and domination. I do not like the new Shogun series as many of the lead-roles are played by Western-born Asian women – who “pretend” to be ethnically Japanese (again the script-writers are White). Japanese-born women are “Japanese” – they do not have to hide their “Americanness” to play a stereotypical part (usually the insane and deceptive temptress). I do not agree with the fascists – who hate everyone who possesses a different colour skin – but I do draw the line at White people thinking they can talk for non-White people. This is not an appropriate way of doing things. I do not like Nccuti Gatwa’s Dr Who because I can see clearly the dissonance between his “Blackness” and the “Whiteness” of the pen of RTD!
It is a celebration of a superficial Blackness which is “permitted” by the White establishment. Either way – the fascists reject this fake Blackness – just as they reject authentic Blackness. Racists undoubtedly exist on the left – but generally the left is more dialectically sophisticated. The problem is that discourse in the present has its roots in history – the history of White dominance and oppression over non-White people. These issues exist in the minds and bodies of everyone – and have not yet been fully explored, understood, or laid to rest. One of the reason Eastenders was known to be very “White” in its 40-year history is because the White writers admitted they did not know how to write authentic scripts for Black and Asian people – and did not want to go down the path of stereotypes. A Black Dr Who requires a Black script-writer – but this would require the White establishment to relinquishes at least some of its institutional power.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 