A Very Important Question On Randall Flagg

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rozziemcnugget

Active Member
Aug 30, 2018
44
83
Ok so recently I read The Stand: Complete and Uncut Edition.. And after a while reading it, I realized something.... Is Randall Flagg black/african american(i mean this in the least racist way possible)because how could he be the dark man be caucasian or somethin unless he was wearing black EVERYTHING.. Is this just how people percept him or something. I am so confused because I was looking at the cast of The Stand Miniseries(which I have not watched but I want to) and the man who played him was white.. I always have seen him as an african american and I think it kinda makes sense, and I do not believe SK even clarified what race he is(as far as I can remember)... Does anyone else have the same thoughts.. Any elaboration?
 

Nomik

Carry on
Jun 19, 2016
3,973
22,555
47
Derry, NH
You should definitely watch the mini series! It’s interesting that you thought of his character as black though. As a child of the eighties I always though the description “hard case” made him seem like a rebel without a cause, denim jacket wearing, long haired hypocrite who would align his views to the occasion in a manipulative manner, like a cult leader. Sorry, I was in a very destructive relationship with a guy exactly like him in college (who is now the town manager for a small town in Maine....).
I pictured him like my ex.
 

Coolallosaurus

Well-Known Member
May 20, 2018
252
1,666
Ok so recently I read The Stand: Complete and Uncut Edition.. And after a while reading it, I realized something.... Is Randall Flagg black/african american(i mean this in the least racist way possible)because how could he be the dark man be caucasian or somethin unless he was wearing black EVERYTHING.. Is this just how people percept him or something. I am so confused because I was looking at the cast of The Stand Miniseries(which I have not watched but I want to) and the man who played him was white.. I always have seen him as an african american and I think it kinda makes sense, and I do not believe SK even clarified what race he is(as far as I can remember)... Does anyone else have the same thoughts.. Any elaboration?

It's an interesting question that other posters have answered, so the only other thing I would add is that Flagg's ambiguous race fits well with his evil nature (thinking specifically to the pamphlets he carries with him). He is pure evil, pure hate regardless of gender, class, SES, etc . . . and his ambiguous nature allows him, as the novel notes, to run with the KKK on one hand, and Black hate groups on the other. There's even the quote: "his claim that he was black man had never been disputed, although his skin was very light" (217). It seems Randall illustrates the fact that extremism across identity spectrums is the same (motivated by unthinking hatred).
To add further complexity to the discussion, you might consider Mother Abigail as a contrast (in so many ways, but race being one) to Flagg. If I am correct, while the survivors see a 'black woman' in their dreams, her race is ambiguous (she could be racially Black or symbolically black). In fact, Flagg is even mentioned in one dream as the black man (thus setting up the potential for reading the symbolic 'darkness' in both characters rather than race). Yet, when Mother Abigail is first introduce to the readers in the uncut version in chapter 45 (i.e. when the narrator gives us insight into her thoughts), she is not called the 'black woman,' or even African American. Instead, her race is revealed when she reflects on ancestors who were enslaved, emancipated, and then started the legacy of Sweet Home. I.e. race (Blackness) is untethered from evil (blackness) as an identity marker. I think it's a brilliant act of characterization that plays well with SK's skill with contrast/foils.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
It's an interesting question that other posters have answered, so the only other thing I would add is that Flagg's ambiguous race fits well with his evil nature (thinking specifically to the pamphlets he carries with him). He is pure evil, pure hate regardless of gender, class, SES, etc . . . and his ambiguous nature allows him, as the novel notes, to run with the KKK on one hand, and Black hate groups on the other. There's even the quote: "his claim that he was black man had never been disputed, although his skin was very light" (217). It seems Randall illustrates the fact that extremism across identity spectrums is the same (motivated by unthinking hatred).
To add further complexity to the discussion, you might consider Mother Abigail as a contrast (in so many ways, but race being one) to Flagg. If I am correct, while the survivors see a 'black woman' in their dreams, her race is ambiguous (she could be racially Black or symbolically black). In fact, Flagg is even mentioned in one dream as the black man (thus setting up the potential for reading the symbolic 'darkness' in both characters rather than race). Yet, when Mother Abigail is first introduce to the readers in the uncut version in chapter 45 (i.e. when the narrator gives us insight into her thoughts), she is not called the 'black woman,' or even African American. Instead, her race is revealed when she reflects on ancestors who were enslaved, emancipated, and then started the legacy of Sweet Home. I.e. race (Blackness) is untethered from evil (blackness) as an identity marker. I think it's a brilliant act of characterization that plays well with SK's skill with contrast/foils.
...plus, in simplistic terms....Flagg as White and Mother as Black ironically reverses the White(good)and Black(bad)eternal struggle simply through skin color....
 

Wayoftheredpanda

Flaming Wonder Telepath
May 15, 2018
4,907
22,094
20
Whether he be Marten Broadcloak, Walter O’ Dim, the Man in black, Richard Faraday, The Walkin’ dude, or any of Flagg’s other aliases, he always seems to keep a similar physical appearence outside of clothes.
I can see him in the backgrounds of all the worst events in history, being an advisor to some of real life’s most prominent villains. I can see him dressed in a white hood blending in with crowd at a KKK cross burning. I can see him whispering into Joeseph Stalin’s ear. I can see him writing Beatles lyrics on the wall with blood amongst the Manson family. Flagg seems to be synonymous with all of histories worst events, whether it be in this world or another, he’s there whenever chaos’ black shadow falls on the world simply because he’s entertained by it. I mean, where did you think he got all those pins for his jacket, dollar tree?