The Problem(s) With Starfire

lol By now, if you’re a nerd who uses any form of social media, I’m sure you’ve seen a number of posts all about the new Teen Titans live action tv series.

A number of these posts have come in the form of criticism aimed at leaked, unofficial photos of the actors behind the scenes. Let me be the first to say that I’m not too thrilled about what may be official wardrobe designs myself. The keyword here is “may”. Let’s think about a few things before I jump into the second half the criticism:

1. Live Action means the actors/characters get to change outfits! Amazing, right? So even if those less than fantastic ensembles we see in the leaked photos make it into the show, there’s a good chance they’re merely civilian clothes that we’ll only see in one episode, and not their actual crime-fighting costumes.
2. The photos were leaked. They are not images of final products that were released by the producers or network. Starfire’s actress, Anna Diop, released a statement addressing this, as shown below

Personally, I’m reserving final judgement until I actually watch the show and/or get official photos of the characters in their actual costumes. Judging by Anna’s statement, what we saw was not a final or accurate representation of what’s to come.

I’ve seen a lot of people making less-than-kind comments about how the actors look in the leaked images, but I’ve noticed a trend with Starfire’s actress getting the most criticism, with a good chunk of it going straight into cruel, mean-spirited, and even racist territory, which is something Anna Diop also addressed in her statement. It’s one thing to simply not like whatever outfits and styling shown in the pictures, it’s another thing entirely to say the actress herself (not the character) shouldn’t be a black woman, make racist memes, and liken her a crackhead or “prostitute.”

I’m not sure if you’re aware, but just so we’re all on the same page:

1. Yes, Starfire is an orange alien.
2. No, orange aliens do not actually exist, so they couldn’t cast a real orange alien for the role
3. If you’re criticism goes beyond the outfits and into calling Diop slurs and derogatory names, while complaining about the fact that she has the nerve to exist as a black person in a role where you don’t want to see any, you have some major problems.

With this in mind, I understand people wondering if the actress will either be painted orange via body paint, or if they’ll do some CGI magic to make her orange. That’s fine. No biggie. However, I see people saying the actress herself shouldn’t have been a black woman, and that’s part of what bothers me. Assuming she’ll be made orange in post production, why would it matter what color the actress is? Starfire is gorgeous. Anna is gorgeous. Any beautiful actress could arguably have been cast if she impressed casting directors, so it’s easy to deduce that her being a dark skinned black woman at all makes people uncomfortable. I get it. Just last week, someone called me “Nigga Croft” on a picture of my Lara Croft cosplay; this isn’t a unique or unusual occurrence. We’re so used to not seeing “unambiguously black” Black women in prominent roles in the media (and in certain parts of society and subcultures), that some of us are alarmed when we see them at all. That alarm manifests as excitement for people like me, who want to see more diversity in the media (cue the “anti-pc” and “anti-sjw” tears)…and fucking racism and colorism for people who are irrationally terrified of, brainwashed into mocking, and otherwise hateful of anyone black, especially black women. Racism isn’t just burning crosses and white hoods; it comes in many forms, with some often seeming harmless and subtle. It can also come in the form of internalized racism and colorism (which is basically a social hierarchy in which the lighter a person of a particular race is, the better and more attractive they are perceived). Take these clowns for instance:

These are black men who’s only problem with the casting is that Starfire’s actress is a black woman with dark skin. They don’t care that she isn’t orange. Just that she’s dark and they wish she had lighter skin or simply wasn’t black at all.

That’s the shit I’m talking about when I say that some of the criticism aimed a Anna Diop is not coming from an innocent or justifiable Teen Titans fandom concern. But wait! There’s more!

Glowing green eyes, uh…I hate to break it to you, but they don’t exist. She’s “orange,” not tan, but tell me more about how fantasy races are the same as actual skin tones. She also said Diop looked like a prostitute, but I didn’t get a screenshot of the expanded comment.

I’m deeply concerned for the number of people who think orange alien actresses are real. I’m also concerned for the people who will sit back and say “They chose the best person for the role!” when POC characters are whitewashed, but will cry “SJW politically correct bullshit” and “forced diversity” whenever a black or other non-white person is cast for a role that wasn’t traditionally a POC in the source material. Pick one. Is all casting truly colorblind, or is everything just turning to evil meanie-head “PC bullshit”? You can’t have it both ways, and the truth is a lot more complicated and nuanced than either of those absolutes.

My personal take on it is that Starfire being orange doesn’t make or break her character, so even if we do get a dark skinned Starfire, it’s not a big deal. I’d feel the same way if the actress were any other color, because they can still convey how she’s an alien without the orange skin. Starfire’s powers, origin, and personality are what make the character, so as long as they get that right, I don’t really care as much about whether or not she’s going to be orange. I feel bad for anyone who claims to be a fan but reduces a really interesting character to “ORANGE!!!!”.

~DeLa Doll
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DeLaDoll

DeLa Doll is a culture writer, cosplayer, and artist based in Florida. She has been writing professionally since 2016, with some of her work being featured on sites like HuffPo and /Film. She is an advocate for meaningful diversity and representation in media, a gamer, a mom, and an avid user of DIY hair dye.