The Racial Ambiguity of Luz Noceda and Its Effects on Black Representation
Fun fact: There are about 182 black cartoon characters. That’s not a lot, too little to represent the rich spectrum of Blackness that exists within this world, so when characters are confirmed to be canonically black, it is a day to celebrate.
The world of animation and animated shows are constantly progressing and regressing at the same time, but eventually showing an upward turn to progression. From queerness to POC to neurodivergence being openly depicted and embraced, it is a far cry from the 2000s.
Turning to the Owl House, we have Luz Noceda, an animated cartoon created by Dana Terrace that is being run on Disney Channel. The series follows Luz Noceda, a fifteen-year-old Dominican-American who accidentally stumbles upon a portal to another world instead of going to a juvenile detention summer camp. Upon arriving on an archipelago known as the Boiling Isles, she befriends the rebellious witch Eda “The Owl Lady”) and her adorable demon housemate King. Despite not having magical abilities, Luz pursues her dream of becoming a witch by serving as Eda’s apprentice at the Owl House and finds a new family in an unlikely and hostile world.
The Curious Case of Luz Noceda:
Luz Noceda has many firsts within Disney animation. She’s the first queer Disney protagonist in an animated show, with the creators have officially stated that she’s bisexual — Amity, one of her classmates who she grows close to over the first season, is a lesbian. Luz and Amity are also one of the first Disney properties to feature a same-sex couple in leading roles. While there has been a rapid increase in openly queer characters in children’s media, there are relatively few queer characters that are explicitly and canonically bisexual. It’s also refreshing to see an Afro-Latina heroine who gets to be quirky, weird, and flawed in a way not tied to race and who is never impacted by racism.
With all of these accolades that I’m giving this show, then what is the problem with Luz?
Well, look at her:
It’s not obvious for most people, but here’s the answer: Luz doesn’t have black features. Weird isn’t it? For Luz to be canonically Afro-Latina, as confirmed by Dana Terrance and her admitting to the fact that Luz was created and was inspired by consultant and story artist Luz Batiste, who agreed to let Terrace use her name for the series’ main character on the condition that she be Dominican-American, which Terrace agreed to. It is fantastic and amazing that Luz exists in all of her glory as a protagonist in her own show but many black fans are disappointed since she doesn’t have visibly black features and because of that lack, the greater fanbase ignores her blackness. It is possible with Gus, why not with Luz?
Cowardice? Colorism? Some mix of the two?
A strong maybe.
It’s an ongoing problem that isn’t just within The Owl House. It happened in Kipo as well, and other characters in other animated shows. Black representation is scarce and it is the treasured water found after trekking a vast, empty, dangerous desert, but if we do not give our black characters the visibility that is beyond well-deserved, especially within our mixed characters, then that water is nothing more than a mirage, hot sand pouring down from our mouths, coarse and biting.
We want water, not sand.
