Post #1: The Tragedy of Bonnie Bennett in "The Vampire Diaries"

For this first writing assignment, I plan to discuss the magical black best friend positive stereotype in relation to "The Vampire Diaries." For those unfamiliar with the series, Bonnie Bennett, one of, if not the, most important character in its 8-season entirety, is extraordinarily powerful, yet cast aside throughout, sidelined to her admittedly useless best friend, Elena Gilbert. As is true with many forms of media that coincide with this trope, Elena and the show's other white main characters aren't useless because they are white, but Bonnie is sidelined because she is black. 

Bonnie is forced to help Elena and the Salvatore vampires, Elena's love interests, whether she wants to or not, and is made out to be selfish or villainous when she tries to refuse. Her storyline is exhausting and sad, considering how many times she is denied a chance at happiness, romance, or even a life of her own, continuously beaten down by the sometimes deliberate actions of the other characters. "The Vampire Diaries" is an excellent example of what makes this "positive" stereotype so terrible; though the black side characters, even apart from just Bonnie, are extremely powerful, magical, and beautiful, they are subject to torment by, and servitude to, the show's white main cast.