There are things about this concept that I don't understand, that I would like to. Specifically, when we see exoticization in fiction, is it always problematic to prevailing sensibilities, or are there circumstances in which the technique can present as an acceptable literary device? If those circumstances exist, what do they look like?

--A little background on my question, though I'm not necessarily looking for insight on the specific example. As a little kid, my favorite characters on the Super Friends cartoon were Samurai, Apache Chief and El Dorado--characters who, along with Black Vulcan, were introduced to increase multi-cultural representation on the popular Saturday morning cartoon. Of course, I wasn't aware of the motivation for the introduction of the characters at the time, nor was I even aware of the comic books from which the other characters were borrowed. Therefore, each character on the show presented, to me, in equal stature, but given the touch of exotic, Samurai, Apache Chief and El Dorado stood out to me as more interesting than the others. Black Vulcan, on the other hand, was "just" a regular American, no different, essentially, than Batman or Superman.

So, anyway, thinking about this the other day, has led me to think about exoticization in general. Obviously, we don't want to see a story perpetuate stereotypes about cultures--particularly negative stereotypes--so I imagine exoticization might easily become a sticky issue, regardless of motivation, when applied to a specific character, but what about when applied in a more generalized sense, such as the depiction of a setting?

As a kid, stories that took place in "exotic" locations such as India or Egypt always appealed to my imagination; even more local settings like a Chinatown in an American city achieved the same effect. When does this become problematic?

I am minded of a story in Lois Lane #106 - "I Am Curious (Black)" in which Lois asks Superman to use his psyche-quantum-transformation-babble-babble device to make her black for 48 hours, so that she can see what "the other side" is like. I was pretty young when I read this, but I felt that was going a little far - or not far enough. But that was one of several examples I could think of right now.

Comics never used to be a proper venue for this IMO. When I started collecting, I didn't care who Spider-Man saved from a mugger, or who Batman got out of a burning building. And the Avengers and the Legion of Super Heroes were fighting to save whole worlds.... and everybody on them. (If there was ever a non-case of exoticization, I guess the Legion is the gold standard of it.)

In literature, I guess it depends on the theme of the publication. I read "Farnham's Freehold" by Robert A. Heinlein which (among other themes) propels a family forward in time to an era when blacks run their realms, and whites are servants and can never achieve much status (Mr. Farnham is a very rare exception, for reasons that are self-evident in the book - too long to sum up here.)

I never read "Planet of the Apes", but I saw the movie, and that seemed pretty obviously based on exoticization. The same occurs in Mr. Orwells "Animal Farm" (which I've never read either.)

So the point can be made, and some might dare to call them legendary. But I don't think it works in comics so very well. Consider DC's Black Lightning, their first black super hero character (as memory serves.) This could be seen as the first attempt to stretch out - but it was far from the first opportunity. Both the Justice League and the Teen Titans - and even the Doom Patrol - had non-human or non-American characters, and nothing was ever made of it. No one ever gave Superman, Hawkman, Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl, or Robotman* a hard time about their natures. Shucks, the original JLA only had three Americans in it - Batman, Flash, and Green Lantern.

*Robotman was something of a special case - but to me, it never seemed that his inhumanity was a metaphor for any minority. Ditto that for Ben Grimm in his venue... or even the Human Torch.

It's an interesting point. So many years later, it's very difficult to examine motives and any possible bigotry of the comic writers. It seemed that Julie Schwartz and Mort Weisinger, and Stan Lee were pretty color blind in that spectrum - but we'll never know now.

But ultimately, I'm pretty sure that comic books aren't the place to emphasize this exoticization (sorry Miles Morales.)

That's an interesting point, Michael. Do you believe it's possible to do a non-problematic jungle-type story in Africa, or do you believe it's better to avoid that type of story altogether? Also, when considering the question, does the era the story is set in factor into your interpretation?  In my experience, as a reader, a setting in a previous era can contribute as much exoticism as location. What are your feelings about the intersection of "exotic" eras with "exotic" locations?

And another related question, not specifically for Michael. Are we aware of stories that turn an exotic eye on western culture from an African, Asian, or Middle-Eastern perspective? This isn't something I'm asking in a turn-about sort of way, but rather because I'm interested to see what it looks like to read about one's culture through the lense of exoticization.