When Rihanna was revealed to be starring in the new the Luc Besson movie ‘Valerian’, everyone was super excited about her role in the sci-fi flick. It has finally been announced what exactly her involvement in the film will be; her character is set to be a sexy cabaret stylised alien stripper. Although we’re happy that Queen RiRi is broadening her acting sheet, we can’t help but notice the perpetuation of the idea that black women in sci-fi are often overtly sexualised characters.
The only black character we have now is Uhara, in the Star-Trek reboots played by Zoe Saldana, who has said on many occasions she doesn’t even identify as black. We definitely need more black women playing a diverse set of characters and not either being: the sexy one, the comedic relief or the sidekick. Although further details haven’t been released on how exactly Rihanna’s character portrayal will be presented in film, it might be a turn-around in events. Since we know Rihanna is capable of almost anything, we’re sure she’ll make this character her own.
Watch clip of co-star Dane Dehaan talk about working with the singer/actress:
Cara and Dane talks about Rihanna @ ‘Valerian’. pic.twitter.com/QMOrU7RDvm
— Ronny Erickson (@RonnyErickson) July 21, 2016
