Understanding whiteness Part 8: Loveable villains and generational curses

Parts 1 - 7 of the Understanding Whiteness series can be found at this link, exploring racism and race theory through the lens of storytelling. Be aware: this is critically engaging but emotive content. And fascinating too.

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Everyone loves a villain

As central as a goodie is to the basic construction of any story, its direct other, the baddie, is equally vital. Every Batman needs a Joker. Every Superman needs Lex Luthor. Every fairy tale requires a wicked step mother, or foolish king, or bad minded queen who’s whole point is to do Bad Things, and give us something to boo at.

Villains are fascinating because they break social and moral taboos. They do the things that we are unable to do because of the brakes of morality, propriety or conscience. They break the physics of social contracts and watching them do so makes us gasp with not only fright, but some kind of perverse delight. White supremacyis clearly a villainous force. It created racism and ripped up the rules of basic human empathy along the way. It has proven itself to be callous and unwavering, deceitful and intelligent, designing ploys and traps to extend its lifespan and retain its grip on societal structures, plural.

A quick Star Wars analogy…

Dominant whiteness, as the child of white supremacy, owes itself to a truly villainous force.  And suddenly, killing the villain becomes as emotionally complex as Luke Skywalker killing Darth Vader when he realises (spoiler alert) that the dark lord is actually his father.

For many people racialised as white, who are beneficiaries of a dominant whiteness that is itself the child of white supremacy, there is a connection to racism that, in part, justifies their very existence. In the story of racism that this series is attempting to explain, the villainous force of white supremacy can be seen as a patriarchal power that literally patronises his offspring. Any white readers still in this thing with me, let me ask you again: Are you sitting comfortably?

…and a slightly less quick Spider-Man analogy

Another pop culture example: this time from Spider-Man, in the world of Marvel comics. One of Spider-Man’s many arch rivals is a super-villain called the Green Goblin. The Green Goblin is actually Norman Osborne, a wealthy business owner and recklessly self-medicating scientist. Osborne’s sick and diseased mind has turned him into a homicidal baddie of comic book proportions, flying around New York trying to kill Spider-Man with pumpkin bombs. Norman Osborne has a son, Harry Osborne, the heir to OsCorp industries and, coincidentally, Spider-Man’s best friend. When Harry starts to exhibit similar signs of stress and psychological decay as his father, it’s clear that he is also ready to take up the Green Goblin mantle. Harry loves his best friend, but he loves his father too, so the Goblin legacy lives on and Spider-Man is left to fight a new generation of Goblin-dressed evil.

Just like the Green Goblin, white supremacy lives on, as a consequence of duty and fear.

So on to a huge question: Does dominant whiteness have what it takes to kill its own parent?