167.206.128.33: Filling out the stub article about Carl Brandon, and correcting the category.

2007-08-28T15:56:40Z

Filling out the stub article about Carl Brandon, and correcting the category.

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:56, 28 August 2007
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	Namesake of the [[Carl Brandon Society]].		Namesake of the [[Carl Brandon Society]].

	~~Apparently~~, a ~~feminist conspiracy~~.		"Carl Brandon" is a fictional [[person of color]] in the [[science fiction]] fan community, created as a response to the near-invisibility of people of color in fannish spaces. Fans of color who found themselves the sole nonwhite person at a convention, or one of few, would jokingly refer to the fictional Carl (e.g. "Where's Carl?" "Oh, I just saw him in the dealer's room.") to create the illusion there was at least one more.

			As described by Mary Anne Mohanraj, one of the founding members of the [[Carl Brandon Society]] (a network of SF fans of color), "We named ourselves after the fictional fan of color 'Carl Brandon, Jr.' created by in the mid-1950s by Terry Carr and Peter Graham, who used the ruse to explore concepts of race within the pages of the influential INNUENDO fanzine (co-edited by Carr), during a time when the landscape of speculative fiction was decidedly more monotone."1

			The "Carl Brandon" mythos continues to be used at present, most recently via "Where's Carl?" buttons worn by fans of color and allies at the 2007 [[Wiscon]] science fiction convention. There are several reasons for Carl's enduring popularity. The first and most obvious is a tongue-in-cheek reaction to the overwhelming [[whiteness]] or perceived whitness of science fiction fan gatherings. Carl serves as a support mechanism for people of color who feel isolated and uncomfortable within these spaces; by joking that there was at least one other, they could feel less alone.

			Another reason for Carl's "creation" was a less humorous acknowledgement of the pervasive invisibility of people of color within the SF realm (notably, Carl is male perhaps in reference to the particular invisibility of African-American males, a la [[Ralph Ellison]]'s novel [[Invisible Man]]). Despite the fact that nonwhites represent the vast majority of the human population globally, science fiction literature, TV, film, and gaming has persistently depicted futures in which the human population is predominantly or entirely white, or at best [[default white]].

			This occurs in [[fantasy]] and [[horror]] as well -- though these genres contain many examples of people of color depicted as stereotypes, caricatures, "evil", or nonhuman. For example, [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s [[Lord of the Rings]] trilogy describes "Easterlings" and "Southrons" as the decadent allies of the evil Sauron, and does not count them among the heroic "Men" (sic, humans) of [[Middle Earth]].

	[[category:~~Feminist Conspiracies~~]]		In reaction to these inaccurate and offensive depictions of people of color, an elaborate mythology developed around Carl to establish his utter normalcy.

			1. Source: Mary Anne Mohanraj's website: [http://www.mamohanraj.com/journal/show-entry.php?Entry_ID=3176]

			2. The Carl Brandon Society's official website: [http://carlbrandon.org]

			[[category:Antiracism]]

OwlQueue at 14:54, 23 June 2006

2006-06-23T14:54:52Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:54, 23 June 2006
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	[[category:~~Putative~~ Feminist Conspiracies]]		[[category:Feminist Conspiracies]]

OwlQueue at 14:54, 23 June 2006

2006-06-23T14:54:28Z

New page

Namesake of the [[Carl Brandon Society]].

Apparently, a feminist conspiracy.

[[category:Putative Feminist Conspiracies]]

Carl Brandon - Revision history

167.206.128.33: Filling out the stub article about Carl Brandon, and correcting the category.

OwlQueue at 14:54, 23 June 2006

OwlQueue at 14:54, 23 June 2006