An Introduction to This Blog

In a story that originates in the south, Georgia to be exact (where 30.5% of the population is black), it's kind of surprising that there are only two main black women characters in The Walking Dead. Wait, now there is only one since Sasha was killed off [in a very stupid way] at the end of season 7.

Anyway, as reported in the the 2010 census, the United States has a 12.6% black population. Taking a closer look at the show's current demographics, I think you'll be pleased to see that the numbers are close to the actual U.S. population.

According to the fans over at Walking Dead Wiki, there are 66 living characters. Of these, there are:
59 white characters (89%)
7 black characters (11%)
40 males (60%)
26 females (40%)
4 black males (6%)
3 black females (5%)

Of the 19 main characters, we have:
15 white characters (79%)
4 black characters (21%)
12 males (63%)
7 females (36%)
3 black males (15%)
1 black female (5%)

The Walking Dead is one of the most watched TV shows, with between 10 and 17 million viewers during Season 7. It's nice to see black women being represented on the show, even if we did lose Sasha last season. Really, why did we have to lose Sasha? I won't try to answer that, but now we are left with only one black female character on The Walking Dead and that's Michonne.

This blog will be an exploration of Michonne's role in The Walking Dead, in both the TV show and the comic. I will look at how she is treated by the writers, and how she is received by viewers and readers.

Sources:

American FactFinder. Accessed May 01, 2017. https://factfinder.census.gov.

Hibberd, James. "'The Walking Dead' Ratings Fall to Lowest in Years." EW.com. Time, Inc, 23 Nov. 2016. Web. 01 May 2017.

Kirkman, Robert. The Walking Dead. Berkeley, CA: Image Comics, Inc.

Kirkman, Robert. The Walking Dead. American Movie Classics (AMC).

"TV Series Characters." Walking Dead Wiki. Fandom TV Community. Web. 01 May 2017.

Comments

Michonne's Sexuality (pt 2): Torture Porn

In The Walking Dead issues 28 and 29, Michonne becomes the Governor's "brown sugar" "plaything," but not without upsetting many readers who are sensitive to the issue of the dehumanization of black women by white men. The Walking Dead, #28 The Walking Dead, #29 This issue was incredibly difficult to read, and I am not the only reader who felt this way. I would like to share some excerpts from a long letter to the author Robert Kirkman, written by a reader named Sundjata Abubakari and published at the end of issue #32. I think the letter is well written and Abubakari makes valid points that I wish to write about in further posts. (The texts in bold are Kirkman's comments) "As a man of African descent, I was quite disturbed and appalled by the image of a strong, powerful black woman stripped of her power and humanity by being raped and brutally beaten by a white man not once, but twice in the same issue. As a man of white people desce...

Michonne's Sexuality (pt 1): Heartless Homewrecker

Comic Book Michonne is a sexualized character. She wears form fitting clothing that shows cleavage. She appears on her second cover, issue 22, but instead of a sexy badass bitch with a katana, this time she's a homewrecker. The Walking Dead, #22 In the previous issue, Michonne and Tyreese (who has a girlfriend) have this interesting interaction: The Walking Dead, #21 . . . this is what Michonne had to say about it after the fact: The Walking Dead, #22 Sources: Kirkman, Robert. The Walking Dead. #21-#22. Berkeley, CA: Image Comics, Inc., 2005.

Shattered Sense of Security

The Walking Dead, #28 In The Walking Dead #28 , the Governor has taken Michonne to a locked storage compartment and tied her there. He asks her, "Tell me, girl -- how long do you think it would take for me to ruin your life -- shatter your sense of security -- really fuck you up?" I couldn't help but notice a similar theme in Assata Shakur's autobiography. Here is a real life strong black woman who is kept against her will, abused, and presented to the public as a form of entertainment. For one example, when she becomes pregnant, and deals with the stress of being denied proper medical care, she also must deal with the media's telling of her situation: "I couldn't believe it. Sure enough, there were the articles. The one in the New York Daily News , i remember, was especially sordid. All of the papers speculated about who the father was and how i had managed to become pregnant in jail. One of them hinted that a prison guard was the father" (...

The Role of Michonne

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