Subtlety Lost: Navigating Identity Politics in Contemporary Storytelling
Why good representation still needs great characters
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Why does so much entertainment seem less entertaining these days?
Not to dismiss all quality, but when even mainstream media coins terms like "flop buster," it's a clear indicator of a downward trend.
Many attribute this decline to the increasingly ubiquitous term “woke.”
Originating in the African American community to denote awareness of prejudice and bias, it's since expanded to cover a broad set of progressive ideals—often tied to race, gender, and sexual identity.
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The Role of Social Commentary in Storytelling
Despite the urge to blame everything on that one term, the reality is more nuanced.
Political and social commentary in storytelling isn’t new—far from it.
Franchises like Star Trek and X-Men tackled difficult issues with grace, embedding their messages within engaging narratives. The key difference? Subtlety.
Themes were woven into character arcs and worldbuilding, allowing audiences to engage without being lectured.
Today, we often get the message at the expense of the medium. Even noble intent can feel forced when storytelling takes a backseat. And when that happens, the experience breaks.
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The Power of Subtlety in Classic Media
When NBC aired the first interracial kiss on network TV, it wasn’t hyped. It wasn’t made into a press event.
It was just part of the story. That’s what’s missing today.
Instead of letting characters and plot take the lead, many creators now focus on checking boxes—nationality, gender, pronouns, sexuality. All important elements, yes. But when they replace narrative coherence, the story suffers.
Representation works best when it’s embedded in the world, not stapled on top of it.
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Characters, Not Characteristics
I believe in diverse storytelling. But characters need to be more than vessels for identity markers.
We are more than who we date, how we dress, or what we identify as. Characters should be too.
When creators reduce characters to traits, they risk turning them into walking mission statements—or worse, avatars of the author’s ideology. That doesn’t create connection. It creates distance.
Want better representation? Start with better characters.
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The Impact on Storytelling Quality
This hyper-focus on identity has led to a drop in storytelling quality.
Plots get thin. Arcs get shallow. Lore gets ignored in favor of modern agendas. Beloved franchises morph overnight. Fans feel alienated—and rightfully so.
It's not change that people resist. It's careless change. It's disrespect toward continuity, coherence, and creativity.
If you're asking audiences to love something new, you still have to make it good.
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Chasing a Nonexistent Audience
Much of this shift is aimed at a mythical "modern audience"—one that praises from a distance but rarely shows up.
Social media noise doesn't translate to real-world engagement.
People don’t need characters to look like them to feel connected. They need characters who are written like people.
Give them that, and they'll care. Everything else is just set dressing.
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A Personal Perspective
There’s more I could say—especially as a lifelong geek and pop culture fan who happens to be African American.
Frankly, this discourse sometimes makes me feel invisible. Like I’m being spoken over, not spoken for.
But I’ll save that for another time.
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Oh, And Uh…One Last Thing
To any future creators, I have one request:
Make characters, not characteristics.
Don’t mistake representation for resonance. If your characters are real—layered, flawed, human—your story will carry itself. And the people it’s meant for?
They’ll know. And they’ll follow.
Thanks for reading. I’m building out more deep-dive content here on The Narrative Forge 🔥, where I explore storytelling, character arcs, and the creative tools behind compelling narratives.
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Need help shaping your own story? I offer narrative consulting and am open to selece writing opportunities. Reach out at My Email or connect via LinkedIn.
Until next time—stay sharp.
Originally published on Medium, this was the first essay I ever released. Lightly updated and included here as part of the foundation for everything that followed.