The Dark Fantastic Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games

This book is asbolutely fantastic! Thomas analyses how Black girls and women are portrayed in popular media by focusin on four case studies: Rue in The Hunger Games, Gwen in BBC's Merlin, Bonnie in The Vampire Diary and Hermione and Angelina Johnson in Harry Potter. She carefully explains the Dark Fantastic cycle and how Black girls and women in the fantasy genre are in the intersection between racism and misogyny. The characters they portray are oftentimes limited and even if a character breaks the cycle minimaly, as in the case studies above, the Black girls/women ultimately cannot leave the Dark Fantastic cycle altogether. Thomas shows how misogynoir colours the representation of Black girls/women within the text, how real-life problems and racism influence their representations and the reactions to the characters within the fandom. Negative comments aimed at the actresses and characters are strongly influenced by racism and white supremacy and the figures are punished for trying to break the Dark Fantastic cycle. Even a small deviation elicits rage, racist attacks and anger within certain fans. Thomas not only offers an insightful academic discussion on racism within the fantasy genre and popular media, she also writes engagingly, catching the attention of the readers from the first moment. With clear and engaging language, she explains each of her arguments concisely. The book was (despite it's serious topic) entertaining and a blast.