[7.5/10] I have mixed feelings about “Troq”. On the one hand, it takes racial slurs seriously and, more to the point, the effect they have on those who have to labor under them. The emotional impact Val Yor’s hurtful names have on Starfire is palpable, and the inner turmoil she grapples with while trying not to confirm his stereotypes and tolerating his bigotry for the good of the mission is heart-rending. As a character story, it succeeds beautifully.
But I do take issue at least a little with the approach and the message. As to the approach, I’m totally on board with tackling the idea of racial slurs through abstraction. As a Star Trek fan, I understand the value in exploring the notion of prejudice through fantastical renditions of it. Substituting prejudice against Tamaranians for prejudice against real life marginalized groups, and substituting “Troq” for real life slurs allows Teen Titans to address the issue in an age appropriate way and with the benefit of distance.
The catch is that it walks right up to the line of dealing with those real life issues before pulling back, which feels churlish. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Starfire ends up confiding in Cyborg, the only black member on the team and one of the few prominent black superheroes at the time. Putting a person of color front and center in a story about bigotry has meaning. But when Cyborg says he knows what it’s like to have people judge you based on how you look...because he’s part robot, it’s too cute by half.
I don’t mind making Starfire the anchor of this one. And I don’t mind framing Cyborg as her ally and support. But it feels almost gauche to gesture so closely and wildly to real life prejudice and slurs faced by black people without actually acknowledging it.
At the same time, I’m a little bothered by the message “Troq” sends. On the one hand, its heart is in the right place. It wants to show Starfire’s hurt and plight. It wants to show she’s better than even the vaunted and otherwise impressive bigot who treats her as something lesser. It wants to show she has an integrity and empathy he’s totally lacking. And it wants to show that friends will stick by you when you raise these sorts of issues with them, even if they’re ignorant of it until you explain.
But there’s a subtle message, one I don’t think was intended, that you should risk your life, or at least go out of your way, to look after racists, when they wouldn’t do a hundredth of the same for you. In essence, Starfire tries to prove herself to Val Yor, that despite whatever he thinks of her, she’s stronger, better, and morally superior to him. At the same time, though, her choices implicitly suggest that the young men and women watching should do the same in real life, try to prove themselves to racists and put themselves on the line to protect or even save bigots. I get what Teen Titans is going for here, and their intentions are good, but it left a sour taste in my mouth.
(As an aside, did anyone else question whether the “Cricksies” might actually be the good guys? Since Val Yor turned out to be a space racist, I was half-expecting a reveal where his people were the villains, and the Cricksies had just been defending themselves for Val’s aggression. It seems odd that no one ever questioned the rightness of their mission, even Starfire.)
Still, it’s hard not to like this one for how well it gets the emotions of the situation right. There’s subtlety in Val Yor’s prejudice at first. He compliments everyone on the team but her, gives them all tasks while leaving her out. It could almost pass for an oversight. But then he uses the word “troq” and his bigotry becomes much more explicit and intense. Even then, though, it’s more direct and ugly when the two are in a one-on-one situation, with him feigning more politeness around mixed company.
The two-faced elements of that, the insidiousness of someone who cakes their disdain for another group in politeness or decorum or other privileges granted by their position is on full display here.
More to the point, the episode explores what it’s like for STarfire to be in that position. She’s angry but doesn't want to express it because it’ll confirm Val Yor’s stereotypes about her. She has to restrain herself constantly from calling him on his crap or reacting emotionally to something so hurtful, lest she be seen as someone who rocks the boat. She feels pressure to keep quiet, both from the fact that the rest of her team adores this newcomer and from the importance of the mission.
That’s why it’s rousing when Starfire will brook no more and insists on joining the mission alongside Val Yor, because her friends are in danger. She proves herself his better, helping the mission succeed and saving Val’s bacon, despite his constant putdowns and resistance. Her steadfastness is admirable, even if it’s a little problematic, and it’s hard not to be enthused for her at triumphing, getting the credit for it, and having her friends stand beside her.
The most true-to-life part of “Troq” is that even after winning the day, all Val Yor can say is that Starfire’s “one of the good ones.” The team stands up for Starfire in response, seeing through their onetime idol’s B.S., and telling him to take a hike. Some of this is fantasy and wish fulfillment, but the emotional trajectory of it all is real enough to make this a winner despite some regrettable elements.
Those elements still irk me. It’s good to address racism with a younger audience, filtering it through a lens they can appreciate. And yet skirting so close to the real life version of such exclusion without acknowledging it, or suggesting, even accidentally, that marginalized groups should go out of their way to help the people who hate them, adds something sour to the broth. Still, Starfire’s experiences ring so true here, that “Troq” still stands as one of Teen Titans’ high points, showing that our Tamarian hero is much more than nothing, and that her friends will stand by her to the end.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-08-10T22:11:22Z
[7.5/10] I have mixed feelings about “Troq”. On the one hand, it takes racial slurs seriously and, more to the point, the effect they have on those who have to labor under them. The emotional impact Val Yor’s hurtful names have on Starfire is palpable, and the inner turmoil she grapples with while trying not to confirm his stereotypes and tolerating his bigotry for the good of the mission is heart-rending. As a character story, it succeeds beautifully.
But I do take issue at least a little with the approach and the message. As to the approach, I’m totally on board with tackling the idea of racial slurs through abstraction. As a Star Trek fan, I understand the value in exploring the notion of prejudice through fantastical renditions of it. Substituting prejudice against Tamaranians for prejudice against real life marginalized groups, and substituting “Troq” for real life slurs allows Teen Titans to address the issue in an age appropriate way and with the benefit of distance.
The catch is that it walks right up to the line of dealing with those real life issues before pulling back, which feels churlish. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Starfire ends up confiding in Cyborg, the only black member on the team and one of the few prominent black superheroes at the time. Putting a person of color front and center in a story about bigotry has meaning. But when Cyborg says he knows what it’s like to have people judge you based on how you look...because he’s part robot, it’s too cute by half.
I don’t mind making Starfire the anchor of this one. And I don’t mind framing Cyborg as her ally and support. But it feels almost gauche to gesture so closely and wildly to real life prejudice and slurs faced by black people without actually acknowledging it.
At the same time, I’m a little bothered by the message “Troq” sends. On the one hand, its heart is in the right place. It wants to show Starfire’s hurt and plight. It wants to show she’s better than even the vaunted and otherwise impressive bigot who treats her as something lesser. It wants to show she has an integrity and empathy he’s totally lacking. And it wants to show that friends will stick by you when you raise these sorts of issues with them, even if they’re ignorant of it until you explain.
But there’s a subtle message, one I don’t think was intended, that you should risk your life, or at least go out of your way, to look after racists, when they wouldn’t do a hundredth of the same for you. In essence, Starfire tries to prove herself to Val Yor, that despite whatever he thinks of her, she’s stronger, better, and morally superior to him. At the same time, though, her choices implicitly suggest that the young men and women watching should do the same in real life, try to prove themselves to racists and put themselves on the line to protect or even save bigots. I get what Teen Titans is going for here, and their intentions are good, but it left a sour taste in my mouth.
(As an aside, did anyone else question whether the “Cricksies” might actually be the good guys? Since Val Yor turned out to be a space racist, I was half-expecting a reveal where his people were the villains, and the Cricksies had just been defending themselves for Val’s aggression. It seems odd that no one ever questioned the rightness of their mission, even Starfire.)
Still, it’s hard not to like this one for how well it gets the emotions of the situation right. There’s subtlety in Val Yor’s prejudice at first. He compliments everyone on the team but her, gives them all tasks while leaving her out. It could almost pass for an oversight. But then he uses the word “troq” and his bigotry becomes much more explicit and intense. Even then, though, it’s more direct and ugly when the two are in a one-on-one situation, with him feigning more politeness around mixed company.
The two-faced elements of that, the insidiousness of someone who cakes their disdain for another group in politeness or decorum or other privileges granted by their position is on full display here.
More to the point, the episode explores what it’s like for STarfire to be in that position. She’s angry but doesn't want to express it because it’ll confirm Val Yor’s stereotypes about her. She has to restrain herself constantly from calling him on his crap or reacting emotionally to something so hurtful, lest she be seen as someone who rocks the boat. She feels pressure to keep quiet, both from the fact that the rest of her team adores this newcomer and from the importance of the mission.
That’s why it’s rousing when Starfire will brook no more and insists on joining the mission alongside Val Yor, because her friends are in danger. She proves herself his better, helping the mission succeed and saving Val’s bacon, despite his constant putdowns and resistance. Her steadfastness is admirable, even if it’s a little problematic, and it’s hard not to be enthused for her at triumphing, getting the credit for it, and having her friends stand beside her.
The most true-to-life part of “Troq” is that even after winning the day, all Val Yor can say is that Starfire’s “one of the good ones.” The team stands up for Starfire in response, seeing through their onetime idol’s B.S., and telling him to take a hike. Some of this is fantasy and wish fulfillment, but the emotional trajectory of it all is real enough to make this a winner despite some regrettable elements.
Those elements still irk me. It’s good to address racism with a younger audience, filtering it through a lens they can appreciate. And yet skirting so close to the real life version of such exclusion without acknowledging it, or suggesting, even accidentally, that marginalized groups should go out of their way to help the people who hate them, adds something sour to the broth. Still, Starfire’s experiences ring so true here, that “Troq” still stands as one of Teen Titans’ high points, showing that our Tamarian hero is much more than nothing, and that her friends will stand by her to the end.