Race + The Walking Dead: Why Michonne Matters

October 12th, 2012 by Guest Contributor

We cheered when we saw Michonne was joining the cast and we hope for so much from her and did a minor happy dance that they cast beautiful dark-skinned woman to boot. But, at the same time, we’re worried–the show doesn’t have the best record and we can’t help but wonder what are they going to do to her? Will she remain the multi-layered character of the comics, or will we see everything that is wonderful about her usurped by white men? It seems that no matter how desperate the situation is, when it comes to the most popular fantasy of our time, white men are still expected to be the only leaders and the only source of real strength. This by definition would mean that the Michonne that we have come to love would never make a real appearance on the show.

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Posted in comics, race, race & representations, tv | 8 comments

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  • http://twitter.com/SignalFire90 Kat

    Yeah, as much as I love the comics, I’m really reallyyyyy hoping they leave out the rape stuff :( I just won’t be able to stomach it. I think they will though because it’s AMC. I’d except a network like HBO to go for it, but I think it would be too graphic for AMC’s standards. Also, in the comics, Tyrese was in a relationship with Carol and that was pretty early on. Tyrese’s daughter was in an interracial relationship too. So I don’t think that RK has a problem with it. It could just be that it is simply one of Michonne’s character traits to prefer black men but I can’t say this for sure (psychologically, it would make sense if you consider her history with men and the fact that she keeps her ex and his best friend attached to her as walkers). It’s more important for them to present the interracial relationships in the show though since they completely eliminated Tyrese’s character and his relationship with Carol, as well as his daughter. Plus, I’ve always had a soft spot for Michonne/Rick x)

  • http://twitter.com/Ellington3 Rhonda Yearwood

    Nice article! Thanks for explaining the differences between the comic characters and the tv show characters, I did not know any of that!
    I look forward to seeing how they do handle MIchonne. I hope that it is not a let down.

  • Keith

    The Michonne character is racist anyway she’s walking around with 2 black dudes with chains around their necks. It’s like the dudes who wrote the walking dead were mad at Harriet Tubman about freeing slaves and wanted to get even.

  • De’Liyuon

    I have some hope for Michonne. The producers mentioned that they will stay true to her as far as the comic is concerned..but they also said that there will be a big jump AWAY from the comic so anyone is ups for grabs to die. Also, I would like to add that in one of the comments of a comic in a reply to a reader, Kirkman mentioned that T-Dog was not a representation of Tyrese. So maybe he will make a appearance this season. *Comic spoiler* Tyrese being beheaded was an intense scene and could possibly be tied into the show. I saw in the preview Axel so they are keeping some characters from the prison scene but how the prisoners v. Grimes group situation will play out without some key characters will be interesting to see as well as how Gov’nor is portrayed.

  • Kole Kash

    I Strongly disagree with this assessment. Honestly Michonne is alot like Storm from the X-Men. Superduper strong black woman who exists primarily as a weapon for the needs of the white characters. She literally says this on many occasions in the Comic and points out how frustrating it is that Rick never asks her about how she’s doing it’s just “Michonne kill this or kill that.” The notion of interracial dating is also rather preposterous when you consider the circumstances. First, societal attitudes haven’t changed just because there’s a zombie apocolypse going on and “dating” as it were, is the LAST thing on the minds of most of the survivors. It has nothing to do with her having to be validated by white men wanting her, or her ‘loyalty’ to black men, it’s HER preference. Why problematize black women choosing what is known and comforting to them. To be honest, the entire relationship between Michonne and Tyreese is worth noting in in this regard. The only people who have really sought out new romantic relationships in the comic are women seeking a protector, otherwise people are just surviving. I just think you’re way off on this character…

  • Gemsteel

    Minor flaw in argument about Jacqui. Near the beginning/middle of season 2. Lori and someone else (maybe Andrea or Carol) said maybe Jacqui was right to stay behind as they had doubts about their future. But that bit where Dale stayed for Andrea and no one “fought” for Jacqui is infamous w/in the fandom.

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  • Donella

    Also agree that the rape of Michonne is gratuitous and exploitative within the comic, questionable from a political standpoint, and not necessary to reveal the strength of her character or the evil of the Governor.