Race in horror films

Depictions of race in horror films have been the subject of commentary by fans and academics. Critics have discussed the representation of race in horror films in relation to the presence of racist ideas, stereotypes and tropes within them. The horror genre has conversely also been used to explore social issues including race, particularly following popularization of social thrillers in the 2010s.

Judith O'Dea and Duane Jones in Night of the Living Dead (1968). The casting of a black actor in the lead role of an American film that did not explicitly explore ethnicity is often considered notable for its time.^[1][2]

Throughout the history of the horror film genre, especially in American-produced horror films, racial minorities have not received as much representation as white people, often being relegated to lesser roles. For most of the 20th century, minorities were often subject to tokenism, being frequently cast as supporting characters or villains.^[3]

"The Brother Always Dies First"

"The Brother Always Dies First," coined by film critic Roger Ebert, references the popular misconception that black characters are the first victims in horror films.^[4] While it is not true that minority characters are always the first victims, black characters have a significantly high mortality rate in horror films. This includes minor, non-speaking, sometimes nameless roles that might not warrant death within the narrative. In an informal study of nearly one thousand horror movies with at least fifteen hundred appearances of black characters, scholar Robin R. Means Coleman and author Mark H. Harris found the mortality rate was around 45%.^[5] This perceived phenomenon is satirized in the 2022 horror-comedy The Blackening, in which a group of black characters attempt to be the least-black to avoid death.

The consistent killing of black characters was in part popularized by a lack of significant roles in early horror films, making them easier to kill in comparison to their white counterparts. Black characters were relegated to the status of largely undeveloped expendable victims.^[6] For example, Mantan Moreland's unnamed character in Spider Baby (1967) is killed-off for shock and comedic effect.^[5]

Themes and plot devices

Much of the attention that minorities get within horror films is through the use of their culture as plot devices and structures to scare or trigger guilt among the white protagonists.^{[7][unreliable source?]} References to such things as the "Indian burial ground" or the "medicine man" are commonly used in the horror genre to create a stereotype of "the other" and frighten white audiences.^[7] Many of the themes and plots relate to forcefully taking land from aboriginal peoples and the horrific outcomes that follow.^[8]

Horror films often rely on minority cultures and their signifiers being reduced to a mythical standpoint. The films do not portray these minority cultures sufficiently as an active part of the world, or in the lives of the main characters. Instead the cultures are cast as part of the mythological background of the evil that threatens the protagonist's life. American horror films have attacked the substance of both Native American and African American cultures, using them as devices and ultimately pinning them down as aspects of the past that are no longer a part of the current American culture. The "Indian burial ground" motif, heavily featured in horror film cycles of the 1970s and 1980s, is an example of how mainstream cinema renders Indigenous people as both hyper visible and invisible."^[7]

Native Americans are often hyper-visible in North American films [and] at the same time they [are] rendered invisible through plot lines that reinforce the trope of Indigenous people as vanishing or inconsequential. Native Americans stand at the center of the dominant culture's self-definition because Euro American identity submerged and formed upon the textual and visual culture register of the Indigenous other.^[9]

Mythical negro

See also: Magical Negro

The "Mythical Negro" character is usually an older character who serves as an all-knowing aide to the main characters.^[10] The "Mythical Negro" usually informs the protagonists of the realities of the horror they face, and guides them along the way. This character is set up to be sentimental and usually dies at some point giving the main character more cause to defeat the evil. They act as an outlet for exposition and their death is usually seen as necessary for the plot.^[10] Movies like The Shining show this trope, with the only black character, Dick Halloran (Scatman Crothers), being the one who understands the protagonist's true powers and the evil surrounding the plotline. However, in line with his trope, he dies in an attempt to rescue the protagonist from the antagonist.^[11]

Zombies

The concept of zombies has roots in slavery in Haiti. Zombies are seen as lifeless and live a life of constant despair, similar to the lives of slaves who were subjected to cruel environments and treatment, making them live a life of misery.^[12] Suicide was common during slavery, but it was believed that if you died your spirit would be released back to Africa, though if one were to take their own life, this would not be. Because of this, zombies were a metaphor for being trapped in ones' body until death as committing suicide would mean that your soul would not be released back to Ian guineé.^[13]

Race as a theme

Further information: Social thriller and Black horror

Director Jordan Peele's 2017 horror film Get Out received acclaim for its exploration of race in the United States.^[14]

There are a handful of directors attempting to address issues of race and sexuality,^[15][16] and the exploitative power that horror movies have. Many Native American and African American directors/screenwriters and actors have begun to use the horror genre to bring issues of racism and violence to audiences.^[8][16]

See also

• Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror
• Blaxploitation horror films
• Indian burial ground trope
• Misogyny in horror films
• Disability in horror films
• Racism in early American film