HBO’s iconic new series “The Last Of Us” is racist, according to a review published Sunday.
An article published in Slash Films argued that “suffering is disproportionately assigned to black characters,” noting a handful who are “not just dying, but suffering horrible and pointless deaths” in the series.
Now, I can’t speak to the black experience in America. I’m an immigrant from a far-away land with a dying language being brutally beaten out of existence by the descendants of European invaders, so my perspective is a little different. What I can say is that “The Last Of Us” is the wokest interpretation of the apocalypse I’ve ever seen. But that doesn’t take away from the brilliance of the show.
Unlike so many apocalypse shows before it, the casting directors of “The Last Of Us” did an impeccable job of adding in serious black and Hispanic representation in the series. Most of the characters from the game upon which the show is based were white, so this wasn’t something the casting directors had to do, but they did it anyway.
‘The Last Of Us’ REVIEW: The Apocalypse Like You’ve Never Seen It Before https://t.co/sOL6Ld1LJI via @DailyCaller
— Chris 🇺🇸 (@Chris_1791) January 16, 2023
Here are some examples: the lead character Joel is portrayed by Pedro Pascal, a Chilean immigrant. His daughter is portrayed as mixed race. She’s played by Nico Parker, one of the greatest up-and-coming artists of her generation, who was attacked by actual racists online because her character in the game is not mixed race.
Similarly, Joel’s brother Tommy is played by Gabriel Luna, whose parents are both of Mexican descent. Tommy is married to and having a baby with Maria, played by Rutina Wesley. She’s black.
Am I missing something here? Aside from the racial element of the show, the review also dove into how hateful “The Last Of Us” is to gay people.
“The Last Of Us” makes all the gays die, according to this one writer. I actually laughed out loud at this comment, especially since there have only been two gay couples on the show thus far. The first was played by Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett, who both chose to die after old age took the best from them.
The other gay couple is made up of Ellie and her roommate Riley from FEDRA school, played by Storm Reid. Reid is black, which means both of the show’s protagonists are in mixed-race relationships, one of which is gay. Sorry, but I’m still failing to see the issue here.
If the issue is literally just about violence … it’s the apocalypse …? Everyone who has died on the show, regardless of their race, has died violently. Tess (Anna Torv) was literally blown up as she was seemingly being raped by a cordyceps fungus monster. That’s a pretty violent way to go for one of the white co-stars, if you ask me. (RELATED: Wild Origins Of Major Character Revealed In ‘The Last Of Us’ Episode 7)
Then again, maybe I’m overreacting. The Slash Film review literally started with the sentence: “there is little that separates ‘The Last of Us’ from any other zombie show or film.” Well, how about the fact its not a zombie show or film at all, idiot? I got called out for referring to the cordyceps fungus as a “virus,” which I fully put my hand up and admit to. I was wrong. But never would I be so ignorant as to call the victims “zombies.”
Overall, the entire piece makes me wonder if the author has actually even seen the show. Because anyone watching it with open eyes and open minds can clearly see it’s one of the most racially balanced, gayest apocalypse series of all time. And it’s magical for it.