Now, let’s think about this for a moment. The island is full of white people. And I can’t recall any black people among the Others either (I don’t use African-American because the Others are clearly not American so it wouldn’t fit.)
But what of the minorities on the Island:
Hurley – an overweight, lazy Latino who used to work at a fast food joint and got rich by playing the lottery
Sayid – the Middle Easterner who used to fight for the Republican Guard in Iraq and (still) tortures people
Jin and Sun – Koreans with ties to the Asian mob
Michael – a lowly construction worker who can’t keep his marriage together (and has been written out of the show)
Mr. Eko – an African druglord
Ana Lucia – a hot-tempered Latina police officer who murders a man
Here’s another tidbit. Yunjim Kim, who plays Sun, originally auditioned for the role of Kate. But was made the daughter of a Korean mob boss instead.
The shows creators – J. J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof and Jeffery Lieber – are all white. This is in stark contrast to another ABC show, Grey’s Anatomy, which has a great diverse cast, and also was created by an African-American woman.
Granted that all the characters on the island have their fallacies, it seems like the minorities draw on stereotypes and are more severe than other characters.
Still, there is one minority character that seems to be strong and pure, and that’s Rose. But Rose has disappeared this entire season. The writers and producers don’t view her as a priority. Perhaps she is just too good to be shown, which would be a shame.
But apparently she will return in the last two episodes of the season. Does that mean Rose is pregnant too? She, incidentally, is the only plane crash survivor never to have contact with the Others. Sounds like somebody is due. (Get it?)
