The following open letter to Eric Kripke contains spoilers for all currently-aired seasons of Supernatural (though nothing about season five). It also includes a racial critique of all currently-aired seasons.
Dear Eric Kripke,
I want you to know that this is a fan letter. I’m saying this upfront because I’m aware that it might not seem like that as I go on. There are some problems I need to discuss, some issues that have repeatedly cropped up on your show that I just have to talk about.
But this is still a fan letter. I love Supernatural. In my opinion, it’s the best speculative genre show on the air at the moment. I love the snappy dialogue, I love the dense, multi-faceted characterization, I love that the plots hold together and continually surprise me (especially the season finales!) I love the actors, I love the writing, I love the car and I love the endless American landscapes. I love that the boys never eat in a Denny’s or stay at a Motel 6. I love that such a strange premise became such an intelligent show, when it could so easily have turned into self-parody.
Like I said, I’m a fan.
I’m also a black woman, and I’ve gotta tell you, that’s been giving me some grief.
Because as a black woman, I can’t ignore the aversive, stereotypical and damaging ways that your show deals with race. I can’t ignore the fact that there hasn’t been a single black woman on your show who has lasted more than one episode. This includes Cassie in “Route 666″– the only woman the show ever states explicitly that Dean loves. And even that was so frustrating. First, because it put a promising character in a ham-fisted Very Special Episode about a racist monster truck. Second, because instead of taking her out of that context and providing some depth to Dean’s relationships with women, she vanishes completely from the show. (This is, of course, an issue with most of the boys’ relationships with women, but I don’t want to get into that here).
Perhaps you will understand the extent of my problem when I say that I can count the named black female characters who have appeared on four seasons of a television show on one hand: Missouri Moseley (in “Home”), Cassie, Taylor (in “Hookman”) and Tamara (in “The Magnificent Seven”). That’s four women–there were none in third or fourth seasons.
You know your show better than anyone. You know that the boys are spending a significant amount of their time south of the Mason-Dixon line. There are black people everywhere in this country, and even setting your show in, say, the pacific northwest really isn’t much of an excuse, but I find it mind-boggling to watch episode after episode where Sam and Dean drive through a landscape of such exquisitely evoked Americana…except without the black folk.
It’s like some sort of freaky horror movie.
Not the kind you were going for? Then let’s talk.
Because it’s not just the black women. In fact, that’s the mildest part of my problems with race on the show. Because, for better or worse, it’s difficult to mess up the portrayals of a demographic you have excised from the world of your characters.
Black men, on the other hand? Well, that’s where I really hit some brambles.
Because you have some black men on the show. They have major roles across multiple episodes. They engage the plots, have multiple interactions with all sorts of people and have as much of an emotional life as any other non-Winchester character does. But there’s a problem. A big one, really, and this has to do with the space in the story that these black men occupy. Because every single time they are tragically evil, and they are killed off to add to the emotional angst of your white leads.
Nothing is wrong per se with a tragically evil character. You have plenty of tragically evil white people on the show, too. Ruby comes to mind, but also Travis (in “Metamorphosis”) and Eva (one of Azazel’s other special children).
But something is wrong when you follow the same pattern with every single black character of any importance on your show across four seasons. First there was Jake, the Iraq War soldier who was manipulated by the yellow-eyed demon into killing Sam and opening the Devil’s Gate. He lasted two episodes, and ended with a clip of bullets pumped into him.
Then we met Special Agent Henriksen. He was awesome: tough, ironic, smart. A worthy adversary for the boys. When Henriksen is finally confronted with unequivocal evidence that The Supernatural Is Real And About To Fuck You Up, he responds with those same qualities that made him such a scary opponent. And then…he dies. Within twenty minutes of his final empowerment as a fully-fledged good character (as opposed to good, but doing bad things mistakenly), Lilith murders him, along with everyone else in the police station. It was a dramatic, breathtaking moment in the context of the show, but once again I had to check a black man off of my list of characters I enjoyed.
Next came Gordon Walker. He was a lone hunter whose philosophy of a black and white world clashed brilliantly against Sam and Dean’s increasingly murky shades of gray. He was insane, but enjoyably so: I loved watching him hunt Sam, and his role in “Bad Day at Black Rock” was hilarious. He was a quintessential tragically evil character: doing bad while convinced he was good. When he was turned into a vampire, I couldn’t wait to see where the show would go with him. Imagine all the drama in that situation: the man who hates supernatural creatures more than anything has become one. Does he still hunt them? Does he struggle with himself?
No, of course not. Sam kills him.
And then there’s season four. Uriel is an angel, so it’s understood that he’s simply possessing his body, but for the purposes of us in the real world, he’s still a black character. I’m pretty sure he was still a black character for you writers, as well. Because isn’t it funny that he’s the one who wants to lay waste to municipalities and break Dean’s psyche by forcing him to torture, while Castiel (the attractive white male) has the emotional arc and the implied romance and the tortured wrestling over the nature of free will and the existence of God?
Did I mention that Uriel also dies, tragically evil?
I suspect that if you were going to grasp my point, you’d have done so by now, so I won’t belabor it. Suffice it to say that now when a black character appears on Supernatural I wince and reach for my pillow, because I’m pretty sure he’ll be checking out in some less-than-pleasant way in a few episodes.
But, like I said at the beginning, this is a fan letter. It’s one in more ways than you might appreciate right at this moment. It’s only because I am such a fan that I am sticking with this show and hoping you’ll do it better. And it’s only because I’m such a fan that I’m writing you this letter.
The fifth season starts on Thursday, and I’m so excited I could sing. I can’t wait to see more of your deliciously amoral angels, your conflicted demons, and–inevitably, perfectly, fraternally–Sam and Dean. The final season four scene of them gripping each other’s shirts as the screen fades to white was one of those storytelling moments where I felt the pure contentment of a well-executed narrative. There is so much going for Supernatural into this season that part of me just wants to lay back and enjoy the ride.
The trouble is, I can’t. Each episode, these problems worm their way inside my head. They’re too obvious to ignore. As a black woman who consumes a lot of pop culture, I’ve learned to compartmentalize. To acknowledge problematic aspects of things I like and still enjoy them. But I’m aware of the process, and when I find myself doing that to such a degree with a show that I otherwise love so much, I can’t help but feel sad.
Mr. Kripke, I certainly hope that you care about social justice and historical power imbalances and the struggles for racial equality in this country. But I don’t actually intend for this letter to appeal to your ideals. Because you’re a writer. A damn good writer, and I can tell from the way you handle the rest of the show that you prioritize characterization and narrative flow and plausibility and other major touchstones of good fiction.
So, consider this as a bit of advice from one professional writer to another: in this aspect, you have really fallen down. The patterns I have identified above don’t just harm black people, or people of color. They harm every viewer of your show.
Every single person who watches and enjoys Supernatural for a hundred good reasons is being subjected to this shoddy, sub-par evocation of one of the most important aspects of the American experience. Every fan you paid homage to in “The Monster at the End of This Book” is damaged by the utter absence of black women (particularly the one that one of your two main characters fell in love with). They might not notice it, they might figure it doesn’t matter, but even so it takes away from the power of the story.
Here’s my point: a richer, fuller, more completely-evoked America with black people and Native Americans and Asians and other people of color (and more women who don’t only exist as sexual objects) would make Supernatural even better.
Maybe I’m the first person to seriously lay out these issues for you. If so, I hope you won’t dismiss this critique reflexively. I assure you, if no one else has said this, it’s not because the problems don’t exist, but because racism (particularly aversive racism) is still so prevalent in this country that many white people can go their entire lives without thinking seriously about race. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist– it means you don’t see it.
Mr. Kripke, I wish you the best of luck with this season. I can’t wait to see what you do with it.
And I hope I’ll get to see what my favorite TV show would be like with a black man who doesn’t die; with a black woman who has a voice.
Sincerely,
Alaya Dawn Johnson
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An Open Letter to Eric Kripke
It’s why I avoided SUPERNATURAL — it’s a he-man way of doing BUFFY, with every woman being demonic or a victim of demons, and every guy not measuring up to the boys’ studliness. I know they’re trying for the throughline of demon slayers = serial killers for God, but it’s still repellent. Just as I wouldn’t want to be stuck in a rural area filled with white-power militia, I wouldn’t want to be stuck anywhere near the Winchesters. With such a horrid world they’re fighting for, why would anyone want it to be saved?
When their traditional Xmas presents are beer, Slim Jims and porn, I know what sort of world Kripke’s sketching. If I want that sort of thing I’ll stick with SONS OF ANARCHY, where they call a spade a spade, and pay the real-life consequences.
Awesome, awesome letter.
What Chris said. I really hope he reads it and takes it seriously.
I haven’t tried Supernatural. After reading this letter, I’m simultaniously interested in watching it, and at the same time thinking that maybe I should give it a miss.
What she said.
I would like to give Mr. Kripke a big thumbs up for having Cassie survive the episode. That was nice. It’s pretty depressing that just *not killing* a black woman character is an occasion for remark… but it is remakable, so: Good job, Kripke! Do more of that!
This is mostly a good post, with a few problems.
1. Eric Kripke doesn’t write the show. He oversees a team of writers. I really doubt they’re sitting in the writer’s room saying, “okay, let’s make this character a black guy, and if we do, then he has to be evil, and then we’ll kill him.” They write characters, and cast the best actors for the job, and I honestly don’t think race is relevant at the time they’re doing it. They hire the best person they can afford.
2. Gordon Walker wasn’t in “Bad Day at Black Rock.”
3. You say every single time (emphasis yours) a black male character is tragically evil and then killed, then you go on to say just how incredibly good Agent Henricksen was.
4. I contest that Uriel was not evil. He just didn’t care about humanity, and he saw what he was doing as good for angels. He believed his cause was righteous, which was more than could be said for Zachariah, a manipulative, power-hungry, self-serving–and yes, one could say evil–white guy.
I don’t know what the answer is for creating greater diversity in areas where it should exist and doesn’t. I know I’m naive, but I long for the day when race truly doesn’t matter. It’s just as racist to hire someone just because he’s black as it is to hire someone because they’re not.
I’m sure you’re right. No one says that. Ever.
However, I’m sure there’s also nobody in the room who says “hey, we’re beginning to form a pattern with almost all the black male characters, and there’s next to no black women on the show. Can we change that?”
And as (I take it) the showrunner, it’s up to Kripke to be the person who says that. That’s his job. If the show puts POC into stereotypical roles, or almost omits them, and that’s not justifiable in the setting of the show — then it’s a sign that he’s not doing that part of his job well. And it’s perfectly legitimate to criticize him for that.
By the way, there are some other shows without all white casts, who do manage to have really great acting. The decision to show a diverse world in a show’s casting doesn’t mean giving up on hiring great actors; it means expanding one’s mind when it comes to imagining who can play which character.
Jeanne:
I don’t know how much of the show Kripke actually writes, but I sure see his name listed in the credits as a writer or co-writer of the episodes plenty of times.
And in any case, even if he doesn’t specifically write most of the episodes, he’s the showrunner, and he has responsibility for the content of his show.
And Gordon was in “Bad Day at Black Rock.” Watch it again, if you like. He’s in jail at the beginning.
And finally: just because you wish that race and racism wouldn’t exist doesn’t mean that closing your eyes makes it so.
A brilliant post. Supernatural was a really special show (though not unproblematic) in seasons 1 and 2, and it’s let itself and the audience down in many ways. I’d also like to say thanks for the reminder of the whitewashed America shown here – I’m not American, and I’ve never been to the US, and my brain accepts the mostly-white TV version of the US far too easily (Buffy is another good example).
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Totally agree. I didn’t watch the show at first (caught up with it later) because I was all, “what, no girls on it? ever? eesh.” And racial/gender politics-wise, they do suck donkey balls. I love the show, but man.
The sad thing is, if they’d brought Cassie back, it’d only be to kill her, so we should all be glad she hasn’t returned!
I dunno – I’m kind of hoping the last scene of the last episode is Cassie, Dean and their four-year-old child watching Sam drive off in the Impala while they spread out a picnic and talk about getting Dean a job at the local garage.
What? It could happen.
I don’t watch much television anymore–it irritates me. I admit, I’m tired of programs like Supernatural, Smallville, Monk, Psyche, Dexter, while the movies theaters are filled with titles like Ironman, Spiderman, Batman, Star Trek and Transformers (both written by the same writers who probably wouldn’t know a real woman if she slapped them upside the head with her degree and 9mil), Wolverine, and Harry Potter. I’m sure you can see the connection with all these movies. I’ll watch a program or movie with a WOMAN as a central char (I don’t care WHAT type of female, even is she was pink and robotic, but alas–thanks Mr. Bay for your typical handling of THAT) but there aren’t that many to BEGIN with. I think out of all the children’s cartoons out there – Johnny Test, Jimmy Neutron, Batman, Scooby Doo, SpongeBob, Mickey Mouse, Ben10 – Danny Phantom illustrates best the cliche I can no longer tolerate; white boy is the header hero with a girl and a black boy as side kicks.
I’m really, truly sick of male fantasy programming…call me when there’s something where the woman is the hero of her own story, and she’s not a gorgeous BLOND…
God. You’re complaining about that? It’s about time. (And yes every time a black guy comes on screen I’m like ‘he’ll be dead in 40 mins’. Even when they added the black hunting couple in the 7 sins episode I knew he was gonna die and she would be written out as soon as they stepped through the door. But Uriel hit it home for me.) Moreover, I can’t recall a single character who wasn’t black or white. I don’t even remember seeing any latinos (wait there was that native guy… lol i forgot about him). It bothers me as well…. You’d think there would be some black generic demons if they’re just grabbing hosts from off the street, but they all seem to be white too… oh well I still find the show standable. If I can complain about something else, why does Sam feel the need to talk about his generic feelings so much. >:(
To Tessombra: there’s good stuff out there, trust me. You need to look harder. You’re rarely going to find a good film if you go to a chain theatre that plays things like G-Force and Harry Potter. TV shows too. Try looking for ones that weren’t granted a second season. lol i’m not kidding.
Everything’s right here – the portrayal of black woman is awful, in fact, entire Bechdal Test fail for all woman, really). However, one thing I would point out about the portrayal of black men is that EVERY character who is not Sam or Dean dies or is written out eventually. It’s all about them – the writers invariably kill off anyone (black or white) who could rival their relationship, their screen time – even their father! I’d put money on it that this will happen to castiel eventually). I -loved- Agent Henrikson, he was a fantastic character, (not evil, either!) and Walker was a great, morally-conflicted baddie, and they both lasted more than one season which is GOOD for any character who isn’t Sam or Dean. I honestly think that, compared to many other shows, Henrikson and Walker were a step -forward- in the presentation of race in sci-fi. There’s still a lot farther to go, though!
thank you so much for this letter – I am a die hard supernatural fan (and a white woman) who has noticed the same trend on the show and has been hoping that Kripke would turn it around. Thank you thank you thank you for this beautifully written letter! Hopefully “the team” will sit up and take note!
Did you send it to them? I think the “team” reads posts on the CW “fan lounge” – could you post it on there? If you don’t have an account, I would be happy to post the letter on your behalf (it’s also relatively easy to set up an account, if you don’t already have one).
Either way, thank you for speaking so eloquently to the concerns of many supernatural fans!
I’m glad someone said something, though I my complaint lately is about the upcoming episode having to do with the Hindu goddess Kali. They treat women, black people, minorities, gays and well, I’m having trouble think of who or what isn’t treated badly or misinformed by now. I stopped watching this season because I got confused after a few missed episodes, but I’m glad I missed all the horrible misogyny and b.s. everyone told me about. I’m also glad I was spared having to see them fight Ghandi(No,it’s not funny if you’re Indian. They could have chosen to fight Martin Luther King, Ceaser Chavez or any other minority icon,but they chose effin’ Ghandi).
I really, really don’t know wtf they’re thinking. For a show who claims who care about their fans, it’s not exactly fair to make it seem like the ones with colored skin who aren’t Christian or don’t fit the show’s values count. I mean, dressing her up as a slutty lawyer, referring to her as a pagan goddess and calling her an evil demon bitch? SERIOUSLY?!
o_O
Hindus aren’t pagan, we’re one of the world’s top six religions and they teach about us in most world religion and ethics classes. Kali KILLS demons, so why would she *be* a demon? It’s even more offense to dress her up as a slutty lawyer, considering a.)She’s associated with old age, time and death, b.)Hindus aren’t even supposed to have sex before they get married or date boys and c.) Suggesting we’re “exotic” tail is just BULLSHIT.
I really, really hope your letter makes it through. Maybe if it does, the rest of us have a fighting chance at getting their attention. Hell, maybe they actually mean it when they say they give two shits about their fans.
http://www.thewinchesterfamilybusiness.com/articles/39-opinion/8011-supernatural-and-minorities.html
I suggest you read this. There are more white men and women being portrayed as evil. Pretty much every bad guy and ghost was white. The show isn’t as bad as I thought after it was all laid out like this.
The main problem with this letter is that it’s not about race – they make everyone suck. They slandered demons, angels, women, men, God, heaven, the Elohim, everything, everyone! They all die! The fucking guys have died what five times?
In all honesty, I understand it is really unfair that positive role models do not exist in media, but on SPN specifically, this is not about gender, race, age, literally the whole fucking world is just a pessimistic ball of fail. [Also, Kali lived and so did Cassie.]
It’s so hilarious that he made a guy show for women and literally 90% of the people watching it do nothing but call him a misogynistic racist pig while ignoring the fact that he does it to everything. And that a lot of this stuff? Is from the bible. A hive of racist women-hated if there ever was one.
Actually Jo lasted through most of the second season! But I see you’re point. But to be quite honest I don’t think Eric Kripke is doing this on purpose. The whole point of using women in this show seems (to me) to because they use the female form to try and get the boys to trust whatever happens to be possessing that body. And they don’t kill of characters because of their race. Usually its because of the actor or its just the way the story will make sense in the end.
From what I gather they killed off Hendrickson because they were trying to show what Lilith does to people who help the Winchesters and Gordon Walker because he was nuts and murderous and trying to kill Sam. Not to mention the fact that women like Cassie were only in the show in the first place probably to show that Dean had a life outside of hunting and they are gone because they are trying to show that they boys cant have ties anywhere. As far as I can tell. LOL but thats just my particular take on the show. I just don’t think they are being intentionally racist or sexist…thats all I’m saying lol
I see the Failboat has landed on our fair shore. Please, tell us more about how this, just like everything else ever, is totally not about race. Because clearly you all are way more informed on that topic than anyone here.
This will not be the first letter Kripke has gotten about this, promise. You aren’t the only person in four seasons that’s noticed, people complain about this to him all the time.
Really, do read the thing at the link that Emily posted. That site is pretty awesome, and that article puts this in clear light. Just as many whites are evil as blacks are, it’s just that the main/frequently recurring characters are all white that makes it seem imbalanced, I think. But where would you put another character? And if you had a choice between an awesome white actor and a less awesome black actor, would you sacrifice quality just for PC’s sake? Supernatural has never cared about being PC (though they’re never blatantly bigoted), they won’t make any extra effort because another minority has added her opinion to the growing pile of people who call a perfectly decent show “rascist” and bring up Route 666 (the writers always deprecate their rascist truck storyline) again, sorry.
And don’t get me wrong, I’m a woman, and though I’m not black, I happen to love quite a few African-Americans, as neighbors, friends, uncles, aunts. I think the guy who plays Vince Howard on FNL is the most attractive thing since sweatervests. I’m just saying, no one should get offended by a TV show that’s not trying to be offensive.
That you write this suggests you didn’t understand the original post’s argument.
If I say “it’s unfair that green apples are virtually always put in the ‘tragically evil’ bin,” and you respond “actually, there are as many red and green apples in the ‘tragically evil’ bin,” you haven’t responded to my argument at all. I didn’t say anything about how many red apples are in the tragically evil bin.
The problem is, very nearly all the green apples are placed in the “tragically evil and soon dead” bin, whereas red apples wind up in a whole bunch of bins — including, but not limited to, the “tragically evil” bin.
I just watched the first season of “The Wire.” The acting was AMAZING. The cast (which was large) was, I’d guess, around or above 50% Black. Meanwhile, the revival of FENCES on Broadway — with an all Black cast — has gotten great reviews for the acting. The idea that producers can cast black actors or cast good actors, but they can’t do both, just doesn’t match reality.
Furthermore, deciding to cast black men almost exclusively as tragically evil, shortly to be dead characters IS sacrificing quality. It’s making the show worse. So is the decision to set a show in Southern Americana but have hardly any black female characters appear. That lowers the show’s quality, because it’s ridiculous, and it suggests that the people creating the show don’t know shit about the milieu the show is supposed to be set in.
The original post’s argument doesn’t become wrong just because it’s something that’s been bothering a lot of fans of the show, or because Eric Kripke probably won’t listen. It’s a shame he won’t listen, but that doesn’t make him right.
Why should it be relevant whether or not they were “trying” to be offensive? If someone does something racist and hurtful without consciously intending to, that doesn’t make the racism and hurt magically vanish.
You shouldn’t get physically hurt just because someone is swinging their arms around wildly and accidentally punches you in the face. I mean, they weren’t trying to hit you or anything. Get over it, already. [/snark]
I am A HUGE fan of Supernatural and have been a fan from the moment I’ve heard about it. Quite honestly, this article is right. I’m a 25 y.o. African American woman from the South (Kentucky) and I whole-heartedly agree with what the writer is saying about the show. While yes, I’m happy to see characters of color in ANY sci-fi/horror/fantasy show, it’s the truth. There are characters that are your ‘usual suspects’, considered mostly the main cast, but not one of them are black. Up until today, I’ve talked to or met very few black fans of the show until VERY recently.
That whole ‘Route 666′ episode just should not have happened. While I totally understand where the writers may have been coming from….REALLY? Cassie totally could have been on the show somehow without it. And she was to be feisty, and she was… to a point. She still very much needed saving and wasn’t mentioned anytime before OR after that episode. Girl didn’t hold her own besides opening her mouth. This happened to air during Black History Month. A very special episode, indeed. I could have done without it, and if they wanted to deal with race they could have done it in a better way.
I’m happy Dean isn’t “scared of the dark”, if you know what I mean. But come on!
Kind of reminds me of the fact that black characters in Buffy were killed off, but… in the LAST season, Principle Wood and Ashanti’s demon character was around. And we had black characters here and there that weren’t featured, and had one black Slayerette who wouldn’t stop complaining and very argumentive. Hmm. This happened to be during Black History Month as well. On UPN. Hmmm.
I liked Gordon and Hendricksen quite a bit, but also wanted to see more good black characters as well. I can understand the need for shades of.. heh.. grey. But? Why isn’t there more black characters in the show that you see here and there as much as you see Bobby? There are episodes here and there where people of color are featured. I appreciate that fully, but now how they are handled at all.
Just because this show is about two “butch” *cough* white men from Kansas that travel the world doesn’t mean you won’t see people of color or have them run into or be friends or partners with them from time to time.
As well as gays, are shown here and there but rarely. We got the dead gay jogger from season one, the gay couple at the Supernatural convention, and that Chief dude. And? What else is there? I’m SO surprised we don’t have a lesbian hunter couple who will fight to the death for each other. I can’t say that they would have anything on Willow/Tara, but hell, its SOMETHING. A gay male couple would ALSO be awesome. Theban bond, anyone?
And yes, women are just thrown all over this show and discarded. While I loved Ellen and didn’t care for Jo much, they were something. Ruby v.1 >>> Ruby v.2 (Sorry Gen…), etc.. etc.. etc. AND I LOVED PAMELA! The poor girl got blinded, she didn’t need to be killed. I LOVED her, her attitude, everything. And she was smokin’ hot. BRING BACK MISSOURI!
And I’m Wiccan and do NOT really like how Pagans and Wiccans (Yes there is a difference) are portrayed. Yes, you have your bad witches. But what about us good ones? Why do witches and pagans in this show have to be evil? Meanwhile, Sam and Dean has a Pagan symbol tattooed on their hot hot chests. A symbol of not only protection, but the elements! What I liked about shows like Buffy while they didn’t have much diversity, they took the time to research about things and create a mythos that meshed well with Wiccan beliefs. Thanks for that, enough people think that we run around amuk casting mean-spirited spells carelessly and out for blood. Yay. EVERY TIME I see a ‘witch’ or ‘Pagan’ on the show, they’re said to be evil or up to no good. FOR REAL? I mean…. really?
Come on, writers! While people say “Kripke doesn’t write it”, it’s STILL his show and his creation and he has a hand in it. Seriously. If you sit back and wonder what folks are complaning about, you may need to examinate why. You too would be a lil irritated or even offended if you didn’t really see people like you who are marginalized, and when you do, they’re either evil… killed… or both.
Get it together, writers!
The original letter posted almost 4 years ago. I guess mr kripke did not read it or he basically does not give a sh__. he killed off the only character that made me laugh and happen to be black “Rufus” maybe the actor got a better offer I don’t see that though because he wasn’t on-screen enough anyway killing off Rufus served no purpose. I really hate to cry foul all the time but something’s just strike me as obvious. After Rufus was killed by good ol boy bobby that was it for me I no longer watch. It’s pretty sad when basically the only shows with black actors (shows with more than one) on tv are on the Tyler perry shows. Supernatural is fantasy and black folks can’t catch break there either. Shame on you !
Yuep! just wanted to see if others had spotted this. I am a huge fan of supernatural as well. I spotted the racism aspect and I’m a white guy… so that’s sayin something. Pretty much every black guy is a demon, oh wait there were two black guys who play’d angels… but they’re evil bad angels ??!? Oh and when Raphael the bad angel lost his male black vessel and had to get a new vessel… he got a female black vessel. Ruphus was the obvious token black guy, loved his role… but then they killed him. The guy who stabbed Sam in the back… black guy… the hunter who tried to kill sam … black guy. Alpha vampire… black….One of the crossroads demons was gay and black. Umm other than deans ex gf from route 666, there was another black girl who was a “companion” to a white guy(who was a warlock) and she was also a dog … yea that one is so loaded I don’t even have to give an analogy, that was from this season 8. Took me about 8 seasons to catch on to the pattern but as I said… I’m white.
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