Ethnic background of Vera sisters

[Katie]

Apr 20, 2019 9:22:21 GMT -5 BettyNewbie said:

Apr 19, 2019 21:41:56 GMT -5 Katie said:

[Agreed. Also I hate that the series has done nothing with the Latina culture, like apart from the mother, where are the ancestors and their version of the Latina Melinda Warren. I'm disappointed we haven't explored anything from their ancestors past.

Feels like making them Latina was all just to be modern and for the sake of POC.

As I pointed out before, two of the three leads (Madeleine Mantock and Sarah Jeffery) aren't even Latina, which says it all. (And, I'm saying this despite loving both of them in their roles.) This is also the same network that racebent Maggie Sawyer to Latina on Supergirl to "add diversity," yet cast a white woman in brownface (Floriana Lima) to play her, and before that, had whitewashed loads of originally POC characters on Arrow.

In short, the CW sucks at telling stories about people who aren't white. While they're making more of an effort compared to 8-10 years ago, that's an extremely low bar, and they still have a long way to go.

Yeah it is pretty bad. I had no idea they still do brownface these days. 

In short, the CW sucks at telling stories about people who aren't white. While they're making more of an effort compared to 8-10 years ago, that's an extremely low bar, and they still have a long way to go.

Perhaps, in another ten years, they'll finally get it right.

Yep. I wonder if The CW will even still be around in 10 years. 

[BettyNewbie]

Apr 22, 2019 0:17:23 GMT -5 Katie said:

Yeah it is pretty bad. I had no idea they still do brownface these days. 

I wish I could say the same, myself. Even in today's day and age, Hollywood would still rather have its Latinos look like white people with tans than look like actual Latinos.

While Charmed wasn't perfect with its Latina casting, I do have to at least give them credit for still casting three WOC and making an effort to portray Afro-Latina characters (who always seem to get erased and ignored when it comes to Latin American representation). So, there has been some improvement since the whitewashing screw-ups of Arrow and Supergirl.

[Katie]

Apr 22, 2019 10:39:36 GMT -5 BettyNewbie said:

Apr 22, 2019 0:17:23 GMT -5 Katie said:

Yeah it is pretty bad. I had no idea they still do brownface these days. 

I wish I could say the same, myself. Even in today's day and age, Hollywood would still rather have its Latinos look like white people with tans than look like actual Latinos.

While Charmed wasn't perfect with its Latina casting, I do have to at least give them credit for still casting three WOC and making an effort to portray Afro-Latina characters (who always seem to get erased and ignored when it comes to Latin American representation). So, there has been some improvement since the whitewashing screw-ups of Arrow and Supergirl.

Oh boy, is this upsetting to hear. 

Yeah, they are at least making an effort, I give them that, even if the writing and story plotting can be bad at times. Which is why I truly hope S2, lets us explore the ancestors and us getting to meet the Latina version of Melinda Warren. I also hope they do time travel episodes, those were always so popular on Classic Charmed, and some of my all time best episodes were ones featuring time travel, well not the ones from S6-S8, but the ones before.

[BettyNewbie]

Apr 22, 2019 22:08:12 GMT -5 Katie said:

Yeah, they are at least making an effort, I give them that, even if the writing and story plotting can be bad at times. Which is why I truly hope S2, lets us explore the ancestors and us getting to meet the Latina version of Melinda Warren. I also hope they do time travel episodes, those were always so popular on Classic Charmed, and some of my all time best episodes were ones featuring time travel, well not the ones from S6-S8, but the ones before.

Fully agreed. There are entire traditions of Latin American and African-American magic and mythology the show can draw from and use to flesh out the sisters' heritage and backstories. So much untapped potential there, and I hope S2 dives into those kinds of storylines instead of more stuff like Galvin and Parker. Focus on the sisters, not these boring side characters, show.

[Tim]

This was more Charmed centered than the CW, so I moved the posts here.

There are entire traditions of Latin American and African-American magic and mythology the show can draw from and use to flesh out the sisters' heritage and backstories. So much untapped potential there, and I hope S2 dives into those kinds of storylines instead of more stuff like Galvin and Parker. Focus on the sisters, not these boring side characters, show.

I agree.  As Katie suggested, how about an episode where the sisters go back and meet the first Vera witch of their line.  We know next to nothing about her. 

This is the show about the Vera sisters, after all.

[Katie]

Apr 23, 2019 12:37:05 GMT -5 BettyNewbie said:

Apr 22, 2019 22:08:12 GMT -5 Katie said:

Yeah, they are at least making an effort, I give them that, even if the writing and story plotting can be bad at times. Which is why I truly hope S2, lets us explore the ancestors and us getting to meet the Latina version of Melinda Warren. I also hope they do time travel episodes, those were always so popular on Classic Charmed, and some of my all time best episodes were ones featuring time travel, well not the ones from S6-S8, but the ones before.

Fully agreed. There are entire traditions of Latin American and African-American magic and mythology the show can draw from and use to flesh out the sisters' heritage and backstories. So much untapped potential there, and I hope S2 dives into those kinds of storylines instead of more stuff like Galvin and Parker. Focus on the sisters, not these boring side characters, show.

That would be very interesting to watch and see. And Voodoo is pretty big in the African-American magic and mythology. Reminds me of a Charmed novel Voodoo Moon I loved. 

I hope so, and remove the boring characters. 

[Tim]

A voodoo episode would be interesting.  As long as they stayed away from the old cliches (like sticking pins into dolls of people). 

[BettyNewbie]

What we call "voodoo" is actually a racist bastardization of voudon (which is the correct term for it), a Haitian religion:

Voodoo is a sensationalized pop-culture caricature of voudon, an Afro-Caribbean religion that originated in Haiti, though followers can be found in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, the United States and elsewhere. It has very little to do with so-called voodoo dolls or zombies.

Voudon refers to "a whole assortment of cultural elements: personal creeds and practices, including an elaborate system of folk medical practices; a system of ethics transmitted across generations [including] proverbs, stories, songs, and folklore... voudon is more than belief; it is a way of life," wrote Leslie Desmangles, a Haitian professor at Hartford's Trinity College in "The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal" (Prometheus Books, 1996).

Voudon teaches belief in a supreme being called Bondye, an unknowable and uninvolved creator god. Voudon believers worship many spirits (called loa), each one of whom is responsible for a specific domain or part of life. So, for example, if you are a farmer you might give praise and offerings to the spirit of agriculture; if you are suffering from unrequited love, you would praise or leave offerings for Erzulie Freda, the spirit of love, and so on. In addition to helping (or impeding) human affairs, loa can also manifest themselves by possessing the bodies of their worshipers.

Followers of voudon also believe in a universal energy and a soul that can leave the body during dreams and spirit possession. In Christian theology, spiritual possession is usually considered to be an act of evil, either Satan or some demonic entity trying to enter an unwilling human vessel. In voudon, however, possession by loa is desired. In a ceremony guided by a priest or priestess, this possession is considered a valuable, first-hand spiritual experience and connection with the spirit world.

www.livescience.com/40803-voodoo-facts.html


Since it's both non-white and non-Christian, voudon has been heavily demonized and misrepresented in American culture. It needs to be portrayed accurately and treated with respect if Charmed is gonna start incorporating it. (Which is all the more reason for the show to do so -- voudon is long overdue for a fair portrayal on TV.) If the show has to bring in an expert practitioner to help out behind the scenes, so be it.

[Tim]

I think the reboot would do voudon right.

The original series, not so much, considering they always went right for the stereotypes.