Malcolm (Jessica Jones)

[itsnotmymind]

Someone online was talking about how their original reaction to Malcolm was upset that the JJ writers were going for that stereotype of a black man, the drug addicted criminal. And I get it, I think I do, anyway. Race is…stereotypes are…this crap is harmful, and even a well-done version of a stereotype…it’s complicated and difficult.

But I really loved Malcolm even before we found out what Kilgrave had done to him. He’s just…the best way I can put it is that he's a good guy. You can see it. I like the scene in the elevator when Jessica tells him she needs money, not expecting him to give it to her, of course, because he has none. And he offers his TV set. His stolen TV set. He has nothing to offer her. He has nothing. He’s a complete and total loser. But by offering his TV set, he is giving her something else. A sort of emotional support. It’s funny, in a way, almost a joke to cheer someone up. And while I don’t think he actually expects her to take him up on it, I think it is a genuine offer. He would give her what she needed, even if it took something away from him. He doesn’t know her that well. But they have a bond. And his compassion, the compassion that his drug addiction keeps him from being fully able to express, is a factor in that.

It’s not like Malcolm the social worker, Malcolm the guy who tries to help Kilgrave’s victims in any way he can, through non-violent means, Malcolm the guy who ends the season by answering Jessica’s phone and saying, “How can we help?”, it’s not like that guy came out of nowhere.

Comments

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Malcolm is part of what makes the difference of Jessica Jones as a show to, say, Game of Thrones to me. It's a dark story, and terrible things happen to people, yes. There are also terrible people (other than Kilgrave, the obvious case, I mean) around. But it's actually not pessimistic about humanity, and Malcolm is a great example of why. In the hands of another showrunner, he'd just be another illustration of how Killgrave ruins lives, how much damage he can do. In Melissa Rosenberg's writing, though, and in the performance, Malcolm proves that kindness and reaching out can endure even when someone has gone through terrible loss - thus refuting the nihilistic assumption that people can only change for the worse. Knowing Malcolm is part of what keeps Jessica going and keeps her from sinking into despair.

[itsnotmymind.livejournal.com]

I only read part of the first book of Game of Thrones, and when it went back to the library I was not motivated to get it out again. For a story famous for dealing in shades of gray, its bad guys were very over-the-top unambiguously evil.

Yes, I love that we see Malcolm's capacity for compassion even when he is at his lowest, and it survives to the end.

[lokifan]

I actually don't think Malcolm ends up being a stereotype in that sense (although having him appear that way in some episodes is arguably an issue - less of one though for a Netflix series where it's assumed you'll bingewatch it all.)

Because part of Kilgrave's villainy, I think, is that he's an upper-middle-class straight white man who uses his victims' oppression against them. Jessica's suffering is a turned-up-to-11 version of what domestic violence and rape victims suffer in general: you're crazy, what you're saying can't be true, why didn't you leave him, you could've left him at any time, smile. And Malcolm gets a version of that for a black man: you're an addict, you're a criminal, what you're saying is crazy and down to the drugs, why don't you bootstrap your way out of addiction. It just takes a bit longer for that to be revealed.

[itsnotmymind.livejournal.com]

I hadn't noticed that at all, but wow, that is an interesting idea as a metaphor.