Race and Animorphs

[anijen21]

What are your guys thoughts on what races/genders the Animorphs are, and what role they occupy in the group? Do you think there's any meaning behind the fact that Jake is the only white male and the group's leader, that Rachel is beautiful and her bloodthirst is a corollary of that "confidence?" (That's what Tobias thought in #43, anyway)

what are your thoughts?

[Alexandra]

This is an interesting topic for discussion!

I've always considered it a fluke that Jake was the only caucasian guy ither than Tobias (a nothlit, of course) and also the group's leader. My impression always was that KAA wanted to represent a multicultural perspective of American youth, and it just so happened that Jake (being her favourite boys' name) was a white guy (possibly also because she herself is white).

Rachel was never my favourite character (strange, because I'm a strong woman myself!), but I always wondered if her bloodthirst and war-mongering was a sub-concious rejection of her beauty and the box society automatically put her in. I think her father's "Rachel is better than any son" comment also has a lot do to with it: he thinks she's better than a son, and damnit if she isn't going to live up to that!

[voodooqueen126]

Jake and Rachel are jewish (says so in Megamorphs 3), Tobias is the only WASP character.

[anijen21]

Haha I don't know how I forgot about Tobias. Maybe b/c they portrayed him as a beta male so
well? Maybe b/c I only picture him as a hawk? Or maybe I'm just a dumdum lol

but ita about Rachel. They kept describing her as ultra confident and self-assured, but I always thought she was really insecure on some deep level that I couldn't quite identify. Uncontrolled rage has to
come from somewhere.

[voodooqueen126]

I suspect the authors have the same religious background as Jake and Rachel.

[Fwahm]

Just because Jake and Rachel are somewhat Jewish doesn't mean they're not white.

[anijen21]

Karen! You can't just ask people why they're white!

haha sorry I can't resist a Mean Girls quote when the opportunity arises, even barely...

[Darth Revan]

Just because Jake and Rachel are somewhat Jewish doesn't mean they're not white.

No, but the point is that he's not the stereotypical "Good ol' boy" white guy.

[anijen21]

tell me more

[voodooqueen126]

And I think that says something good about America: that the normal all american guy-Jake and-and the pretty all american girl-Rachel-belong to minorities-in fact to the ultimate and most persecuted minority on earth, like I was reading in Claudia Roden's 'the book of jewish food" (WHICH IS THE BEST COOKBOOK I OWN) that the all american national dishes (cheese cake and apple pie but especially cheese cake) were orginally jewish dishes, and bagels with salmon (america's favourite breakfast according to roden) and a lot of other jewish dishes have entered the American mainstream... symbolic of America's greater acceptance of this most unfairly persecuted minority) (sorry tangent-but does my point make sense that the all american jake belongs to a minority) Also the pathetic loser character (Tobias)  is the only true WASP...
Funny thing as well: Cassie is black/african american/insert fashionable politicallly correct label of your choice, and statistically speaking is likely to be a baptist, pentecostal etc (or stereotypically speaking) now it could be that the authors didn't do the research and probably is, but perhaps it  indicates that Cassie's family was originally from Louisiana/New Orleans/Baton Rouge before the Civil War, which could help in the creation of Cassie's surname.

[anijen21]

I think judging Cassie's ancestry by the fact she is black and she prays might be a tad too much liberty, but otherwise I agree. There is definitely an American acceptance of Jewishness like you said, though I still think Lucky Charms and Pop-Tarts beat out bagels and lox for most Americans. Good thoughts, though

[Breakability]

I thought it was a little weird that there weren't any Asian kids in the group, but on the other hand I feel like it would have been a forced multi-culti band of people and that would have just made it weird and forced more stereotypes on the group.

It was pretty stereotypical, but I thought it was cool that they went out of their way to include people.

In the beginning I thought it was stupid how Marco's family was the only one whose mother had left them, but then we later learn why. [spoiler](But then, I wonder if making Marco's mom Visser Uno was used to cover up the fact that she had left? It's a pretty big stereotype that Latino families usually have one parent.)[/spoiler]

[adeon222]

Guys, guys, guys... Jake and most of the others are clearly quite racist... Don't you remember the beginning of MM3??? It's like, how can you miss something like that... Even Cassie owns slaves!  Duh!

I think it's obvious that this blatant political incorrectness is proof positive of KA's radical right wing upbringing and political views, and this series is designed to teach young teens that people of different races are inferior...

Atrocious...

[anijen21]

Nah, I think Marco's mom was planned from the beginning. That's like saying rachel's parents were the divorced ones because only white people get divorced. Wasn't Marco's dad implied to be white
anyway?

[Breakability]

Nah, I think Marco's mom was planned from the beginning. That's like saying rachel's parents were the divorced ones because only white people get divorced. Wasn't Marco's dad implied to be white
anyway?

Mm, I suppose. We have a pretty large Latino population here, so it's something I'm pretty sensitive to.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure his dad was white and his mom was Latina.