Does Not Illustrate: Divine Race Lift

The current image for Divine Race Lift is of Morgan Freeman as God from Bruce Almighty. But since God has no identified race, this image does not actually apply. I get that this is meant as a subversion of the white, bearded Grandpa God, but suggesting that a non-white person is unrepresentative of who God is has serious Unfortunate Implications. I'm open to other images (Idris Elba as Heimdall immediately comes to mind), but I liked this image of a Chinese Jesus, since Jesus was an actual person with a somewhat identifiable race: https://www.google.com/search?q=chinese+jesus+painting&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=yqzKOzaUzMz7zM%253A%252CqRK-f3ENqtbNtM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kTH2D495PBAzrpWsCVYsMBvgHXVdA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjhlpCz5t7hAhVSSq0KHQ7cB8wQ9QEwBnoECAcQEA#imgrc=yqzKOzaUzMz7zM:&vet=1 (Sorry—I don't know how to directly upload a picture. If anyone wants to include how to do that in the thread, it would be much appreciated.)

I fixed the link; it's meant to go to the page and not be part of the title.

If we want to get technical, then God has no race, at least according to theologians like Thomas Aquinas (divine simplicity). And in Islam, the concept of God being part of any human lineage is outright heretical.

This seems like a solution looking for a problem. Reading Unfortunate Implications into a common portrayal of a trope does not make it not a trope, even if that trope is now discredited or a Dead Horse Trope. Case in point: Greedy Jew. TV Tropes aims to be descriptive, not prescriptive.

Edited by Morgenthaler on Apr 21st 2019 at 2:21:49 AM

The description talks about God as an example. It's all about expectations. Christians of the Western world are used to imagine God as being white. Hence showing him as being from another race is exactly the kind of irritation this trope is about.

Edited by eroock on Apr 21st 2019 at 2:51:51 AM

I don't have an issue with the current.

To upload an image, download it, edit any page, and click the "Upload image" button at the top.

I don't have a huge problem with the current, but what do people think of the Chinese Jesus painting?

Current.

I prefer the Chinese Jesus one. It does a better job of portraying the trope- the current is just two guys (one in a suit) talking, without additional context.

I also largely agree with OP, Christian God doesn't really have a race, so any and all depictions of God (including Grandpa God) would either be equally valid examples of Divine Race Lift, or not examples of it.

I have a hard time getting "Jesus" from OP. Current at least has the Walk on Water cue.

We might be getting at what this trope is actually about. A Race Lift cannot exist unless the original character had a race. The Judeo-Christian God represented in the Bible has no human form (except as Jesus according to the Christian New Testament), so as naturalironist said, either all anthropomorphic representations are Race Lifts or none are. But there are other divine beings that according to their original tradition had human forms. This trope should be restricted to those. The Chinese Jesus was one example (the picture is of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus), Idris Elba as Heimdall is another.

Here's Heimdall of the Norse Mythology.

Original Heimdall

MCU Heimdall

feel like this is a strong contender as it shows the original divine and the race lift. I'll wait to see if there's any better suggestions otherwise .

That's pretty good, but the Edris!Heimdall pic is too dark for my liking.

Edited by Willbyr on Apr 21st 2019 at 10:17:03 AM

If it's too dark, then here's an alternative:

Top: Original Norse Heimdall

Bottom: MCU Heimdall

Yep, that's good.

I hope the others transfer their votes to this one

I think it's better cropped with better lighting. Plus it still retains Heimdall's name (just in case anyone was skeptical of the Norse God's original appearance compared to the modern MCU one)

15

I prefer this one.

I like the inclusion of the Bifrost. Either one works though.

Edited by ShaiPa on Apr 23rd 2019 at 10:39:57 AM

or #15

Edited by Ghilz on Apr 24th 2019 at 9:13:34 AM