Maligned Mixed Marriage: Difference between revisions

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Their children will be likewise persecuted, perhaps more so than the parents, for being a [[Halfbreed]]. Even if the adults are fine, other [[Kids Are Cruel]] after all. Expect the child to eventually pop the question about why they don't look like mommy or daddy, or why mom and dad don't look like each other.
 
And of course, sometimes it's not a mixed race marriage, but a mixed ''[[Interspecies Romance|species]]'' marriage. All of the above applies ''plus'' [[Fantastic Racism]]. On the plus side, the kid is likely to be [[The Chosen One]], a [[Half-Human Hybrid]], a [[Dhampyr]], or perhaps even a [[Hybrid Monster]] with really cool powers. [[Blessed Withwith Suck|That makes up for it, right?]]
 
Some examples of interracial marriages that earn disapproval can be found in [[Asian Gal Withwith White Guy]], [[Black Gal Onon White Guy Drama]] and [[Where Da White Women At?]]. For mixed species marriages, see also [[Vampire-Werewolf Love Triangle]].
 
In [[Real Life]], mixed-race marriages can be everything from completely accepted to something you only do if you've got a death wish. Thankfully, in most places it's skewed towards the "completely accepted" end of the spectrum, and a great way for someone to reveal himself as a severe jackass is to show bigotry towards a mixed couple. Mixed-race marriages seem to be one of the last bastions of racism. Many opponents of interracial marriage will claim to oppose all other forms of racism and [[Some of My Best Friends Are X|have friends of other races]]. Their most common argument is that [[Tragic Mulatto|mixed-race children]] are subjected to prejudice and identity crises. In general, mixed-race children tend to have about the same level of trouble that their parents have, or less if they look like one race or the other instead of an obvious mixture. Mixed-race children are also likely (though not guaranteed) to be considered [[Cursed Withwith Awesome|beautiful]], due to having features both sides can find attractive.
 
In stories that take place before race became a defining factor in classifying humanity (as well as some that take place afterward, for that matter), a "mixed marriage" could mean many other different things: mixed ethnicity ("ethnicity" here being vaguely synonymous with "nationality"), mixed religion, or mixed class. Due to [[Values Dissonance]], many of these other "mixed" marriages tend to be [[Dead Horse Trope|Dead Horse Tropes]] in fiction, though they do surface occasionally: consider ''[[My Big Fat Greek Wedding (Film)|My Big Fat Greek Wedding]]'', which mines humor from the "scandal" of a (white) Greek-American woman choosing a (white) Anglo-American man as her husband.
 
[[Truth in Television]], of course, as there are still people who feel this way.
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== Anime & Manga ==
* Van and Folken Fanel's parents in ''[[The Vision of Escaflowne (Anime)|Vision of Escaflowne]]'' were human and Draconian, much to the outrage of the royal court due to the racism against Draconians.
* ''[[Inu Yasha (Anime)Inuyasha|Inu Yasha]]'': Shiori's parents, a human mother and a bat-youkai father, suffered a great deal of persecution, even costing the father his life.
** However, while InuYasha was similarly persecuted as a "half-breed," everyone generally accepted his parents' love for each other as they were.
 
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== Film ==
* Spock's parents in ''[[Star Trek (Filmfilm)|Star Trek]]'', to the point even completely logical Vulcan adults (and children) are incredibly racist towards him and his parents.
** In [[Star Trek: theThe Original Series|the original series]] Spock had his problems but Amanda seems to have been fully accepted, even becoming an initiate of Vulcan's ancient mystical discipline. Illogical but understandable; a human choosing to live according to Vulcan ways is a compliment; a Vulcan who isn't quite on the other hand is kind of creepy.
* The whole point of the movie ''[[Lakeview Terrace (Film)|Lakeview Terrace]]'', starring [[Samuel L. Jackson]]. An interracial [[Black Gal Onon White Guy Drama|(the woman is black, the man is white)]] couple move in next door to a cop. He terrorizes them, mainly because his wife {{spoiler|cheated on him with her white boss and died in a car accident trying to get to her boss' house.}}
* ''[[Something New (Film)|Something New]]'' has a successful black businesswoman falling in love with a white landscaper and her parents not exactly approving as they'd prefer her to be with someone of her own race (and class.)
* The main premise of ''[[Guess WhosWho's Coming to Dinner (Film)|Guess Whos Coming to Dinner]]'' and its remake ''[[Guess Who]]''.
* ''[[The Royal Tenenbaums]]'' has Angelica Huston and Danny Glover's characters get married, and again the mixed-race thing isn't a big deal.
** Except on the part of Royal himself, though he may have just been upset about her (re)marrying ANYONE and simply been playing up the race angle in order to offend and provoke Glover's character.
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* From the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[Virgin New Adventures|New Adventures]] novel ''Lungbarrow'', Leela and Andred's relationship. The other Time Lords find it rather embarrassing that Andred is with a 'non-Gallifreyan'. Leela and Andred, however, don't mind at all.
* In the [[Timeline-191]] series by [[Harry Turtledove]], Achilles Driver marries Grace Chang, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, much over the objections of her parents. Said parents refuse to speak to either of them for years. Achilles says this is because he is black, but Grace says they would have reacted the same way had he been white; the important issue is that he's not Chinese.
* [[JRRJ. TolkienR. (Creator)R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]] has Beren and Luthien, the original mixed pairing, as well as Idril and Tuor, and [[Star-Crossed Lovers|Aegnor and Andreth]] - the only human/elf pairing that didn't work out because of the consequences of this trope. A few generations later, there's also Aragorn and Arwen, but they got off easy.
** Luthien's parents took that [[Up to Eleven]] — Thingol was an elf (and Teleri at that, which for the elven aristocracy of Middle-Earth just ''screamed'' "parvenu"), while his wife Melian was [[Physical God|a freaking Maia]], just like Gandalf and Sauron.
* The parents from [[Judy Blume]]'s ''[[Are You There God? ItsIt's Me, Margaret (Literature).|Are You There God Its Me Margaret]]'' eloped because Margaret's Christian maternal grandparents wouldn't accept their daughter's relationship with a Jewish man.
* In ''[[Deryni|In The King's Service]]'', predictably enough thanks in part to [[Fantastic Racism]], the marriage of Lady Alyce deCorwyn and Sir Kenneth Morgan is condemned by both humans and Deryni mages. Hostile clerics and other humans don't like to see a wealthy and beautiful "sorceress" wed and reproduce; High Deryni Lords and Ladies who worry about protecting their heritage against hostile forces would prefer she wed another mage instead of a mere human, who will only father "[[Halfbreed|inferior half-breeds]]".
* In ''[[Discworld (Literature)|Discworld]]'' novels, some people, most notably the Dragon King At Arms in ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Feet of Clay|Feet of Clay]]'', believe that Carrot being in a relationship with a werewolf should prevent him becoming king (not that he ''wants'' to be king anyway, of course).
{{quote| "The city knows how to deal with ... inconvenient kings. But an heir to the throne who is ''actually'' called Rex?"}}
* In ''[[The Full Matilda]]'' by David Haynes, Rodrick is black and his wife Katie is white, and both their families disapprove. There even is a class element, with Rodrick coming from a middle class black family and Katie coming from old money. This causes problems for his son Jacob who is [[Ambiguously Brown]] and can't decide which race he identifies with.
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== Live-Action TV ==
* Helo and Athena from ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]''. Interestingly, no one in the show raises an eyebrow at other mixed race couples (Billy and Dee) or gay couples (Felix and Hoshi... well, Tigh does raise the ''one''). But mention that Helo is in love with a Cylon, and everyone thinks he's crazy. It might have something to do with her race having nearly wiped out humanity, but hey, their kid is ''soooo'' cute! {{spoiler|And the Mother of Us All. Do I detect [[An Aesop]]?}}
* An episode of ''[[Reno 911 (TV)|Reno 911]]'' featured a KKK member who proposed marriage to his African American fiance. The joke of course was that the two were somehow so madly in love that the woman's race and the man's bigotry were made completely irrelevant.
* In ''[[Charmed]]'' Piper [[Bodyguard Crush|fell in love]] with her [[Lowest Cosmic Denominator|whitelighter]]; this was initially forbidden, but Piper managed to out stubborn the [[Powers That Be]] into accepting a marriage. Throughout the series, the problems with this marriage kept coming up.
** Not to mention Phoebe falling in love with ''a demon''.
*** Forget him being a demon, he's the Source of All Evil. Kind of a bad idea.
* Prince Arthur and Gwen are essentially this trope in ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' not because of race, though Gwen is mixed race, but Arthur is royalty while Gwen is a servant, and King Uther won't hear of a romance between them.
* The relationship between Delenn and John Sheridan in ''[[Babylon 5]]'' gets a lot of flack from both humans and Minbari (with the [[Fantastic Racism]] rather justified in that a mere ten to fifteen years before, the two species had fought a war in which the Minbari kicked the humans' asses and then ''surrendered'', satisfying nobody), but they make it work; {{spoiler|being two-thirds of [[The Chosen One]] helps. They eventually have a son named David and lead the galaxy together.}}
* On ''[[Flash Forward 2009]]'', it is implied that Demetri's parents do not approve of his impending marriage to Zoey because she is not Korean.
* ''[[Scrubs (TV)|Scrubs]]'' has Carla (Latina) and Turk (Black). Turk even pulls the race card when they go to pick up their wedding cake.
{{quote| '''Turk''': Carla, there are white people on top of that cake.<br />
'''Carla''': Hush honey, they don't make tiny interracial cake topper couples.<br />
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* Joy and Darnell on ''[[My Name Is Earl]]''. Lampshaded several times during the series. (Including at their wedding, where they had a "cake" made of Hostess Twinkies and Cupcakes <ref></ref>)
** Another episode (from Earl's stint in [[Prison]] {{spoiler|for a crime Joy committed}}) featured a couple consisting of [[Ho Yay|a black man and a Latino]]. They were [[Star-Crossed Lovers|from rival gangs]], but eventually fell in love during a month in the hole, and decided they would stage gang fights (which their gangs thought were real) so they could be together. Earl has to get them together in order to restore some semblance of peace to the prison yard.
* Subverted in the ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' episode, "Fools for love." A young white man has married a black woman, even though his dad absolutely hates the idea (to the point of beating his son). As it turns out, the dad doesn't hate his son dating a black woman because of her race, but because said woman is a product of an affair he had, making the relationship incestuous.
* On ''[[Farscape (TV)|Farscape]]'', D'Argo (Luxan) married Lo'laan ([[Human Aliens|Sebacean]]), and [[Half-Human Hybrid|they had a child, Jothee, together]]. Macton, a Peacekeeper and Lo'laan's brother, disapproved of the relationship (Peacekeepers believing interspecies unions to be "evil"). This ended badly, as Macton's attempts to convince Lo'laan to leave D'Argo resulted in his accidental murder of her. His framing of D'Argo for the murder, however, was ''not'' accidental.
* The hidden camera show ''[[What Would You Do]]'' has a few bits where actors pose as interracial couples and other actors harass them. The camera crew then interviews bystanders about their reactions.
 
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* In ''[[Fiddler On the Roof]],'' Chava marries Fyedka, who isn't Jewish. Her parents ''sit shiva'' (mourn) for her as if she were dead.
* In Robert Bolt's radio and stage play ''A Man For All Seasons'', Sir Thomas More is a Roman Catholic (this was just before King Henry VIII broke England away from allegiance to the Pope) who at first objects to his daughter's fiancé, William Roper, because he's a Lutheran. The two men have a fairly bitter row about the matter early in the story: More declares that the man whom Roper now follows, Martin Luther, is an excommunicate; and Roper retorts, basically, that it's a mark of pride to be excommunicated from a bastard church. Ouch.
* And of course one of the most tragic mixed marriages in all of literature is that between Othello and Desdemona in Shakespeare's ''[[Othello (Theatre)|Othello]]''. Iago and his friend Roderigo apparently consider Moors to be subhuman, because they ask Brabantio, a senator and Desdemona's father, if he is prepared to have animals as in-laws.
 
 
== Video Games ==
* ''[[Grand Theft Auto San Andreas]]'' features a relationship between African-American Kendl and Hispanic Cesar. Her brother Sweet has trouble with the relationship.
* In ''[[Fire Emblem Tellius (Video Game)|Fire Emblem Tellius]]'', Beorc (human) and Laguz being is a relationship highly looked down upon, and their children are considered outcasts in both societies. This ends up setting up a lot of plot in Radiant Dawn.
* In [[Fire Emblem Elibe]], Lyndis's mother Madelyn got a [[Parental Marriage Veto]] when she fell for a Sacaean [[Warrior Prince]], Hassar. She then ran away from home with him, thought [[Princess in Rags|it took her a while]] to get used to a nomadic lifestyle. Once that was resolved, she and Hassar lived happily with their daughter Lyn... [[It Got Worse|until the Lorca tribe was wiped out]] and Lyn was left as the [[Sole Survivor]].
** Similarly, if Lyn gets together with Eliwood, it's mentioned that some nobles got up in arms because of her heritage. Curiously, it's not the same if she marries Hector.
* Averted in ''[[The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim (Video Game)|The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim]]'', because, despite the fact that [[Fantastic Racism]] is a fairly big part of the setting (The Thalmor, for example, [[A Nazi Byby Any Other Name|run on it]], and the Stormcloaks show shades of it as well), no one in Skyrim seems to have an issue with people of two different races, or even [[Interspecies Romance|species]] marrying.
* In ''[[Mass Effect (Video Game)|Mass Effect]]'', this is [[Inverted Trope|inverted]] with the Asari, who prefer that members of their race mate outside their species (as they can mate with any other species), because mating within their species doesn't add anything to their species, and has an increased chance of producing an [[Our Vampires Are Different|Ardat-Yakshi]], who [[Death Byby Sex|kills anyone she has sex with]].
 
 
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== [[Western Animation]] ==
* ''[[Rocko's Modern Life (Animation)|Rocko's Modern Life]]'': Cats and Turtles don't mix. That doesn't prevent Filbert and Paula from marrying.
** It turns out {{spoiler|Paula's father was a Turtle}}, giving her mom a [[Freudian Excuse]].
* Paul and Jean Baptise from ''[[Superjail (Animation)|Superjail]]'' The two are a very loving and devoted couple despite the fact that Paul is a black gangbanger and Jean Baptise is a former white supremacist. The episode "Gay Wedding" chronicles their rocky but ultimately successful attempt to get married.
* Nate Griffin (Peter's black slave ancestor) and Lois-Laura Bush-Lynne Cheney-Pewterschmidt (the daughter of Nate's owners) on ''[[Family Guy (Animation)|Family Guy]].'' They end up having three biracial babies that look like Chris, Meg, and Stewie.
{{quote| '''Carter''': Lois, how, in God's name, could you embarrass the family like this?<br />
'''Stewie''': Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! [[I'm Standing Right Here|Sitting right here.]] }}
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== Real Life ==
* Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel, most famous for their roles in ''[[Rent (Theatre)|Rent]]'', got ''hate mail'' for being married.
** Conversely, R&B singer Seal (a black Englishman) and supermodel Heidi Klum (a white German national who now lives in the USA) is questioned not because they are mixed, but because of the supposed [[Ugly Guy, Hot Wife]] dynamic (Seal's features are [[Good Scars, Evil Scars|heavily scarred]] due to a childhood bout of lupus, which some people think make him unattractive).
* [[Bruce Lee]] and Linda Lee faced considerable opposition to their marriage, both in the US and his native [[Useful Notes/Hong Kong|Hong Kong]].