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The premiere episode of Riverdale season 7 has started on the backfoot thanks to controversy related to mentioning Emmett Till in a disrespectful way. The show has already generated some stir by getting renewed for yet another season at a time when other good CW shows were canceled last year and it seems the series has also managed to disappoint fans with another inappropriate gesture.
The first episode of Riverdale season 7 began with the characters set in the 1950s, which was also the historically accurate time for Emmett Till's torture and murder. The 14-year-old's death is one of the darkest events to take place in American history. The first episode did look into the murder of Emmett Till, but it seems that fans are not impressed by this depiction and have come forward on social media platforms to express their disappointment and disgust.
Riverdale season 7 episode 1 premieres on March 30, 2023.
How are fans reacting to Emmett Till's mention in Riverdale season 7 episode 1?
While tackling a sensitive topic of this magnitude, showrunners need to be extremely careful. The casual use of Emmett Till's story in Riverdale season 7 is by far one of the most irresponsible things that the show may have done. Given the continued abuse of racial supremacy in America, this is an especially sensitive topic to discuss, especially when it comes from a show that is meant to be fun.
Of course, the creators probably tried to make a point about racism and homophobia from back in the day, but it has not made the impact that they were looking for. Earlier, the show's executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa told Decider:
"When we first talked about doing the ’50s, one of the big questions that we talked about a lot in the writers room, and I talked a lot about with the cast was, are we going to play the reality of the 1950s?...That for a certain kind of teenager they were great and super fun; and for the more marginalized groups, the characters of color, the queer characters, it was in fact a very repressive, racist, homophobic, horrible time."
Many fans came forward to criticize the decision.
While the general verdict has been negative, many have praised the show for its brave depiction and claimed that putting this important historical event on a popular show would help more people know about it.
Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was an African American boy who was abducted, tortured, and lynched in 1955 after being accused of flirting with and offending Carolyn Bryant, a white woman, at a grocery store in Mississippi. After he was murdered in a very brutal way, his killers were acquitted of the crime, leading to one of the biggest tragedies and marks of racism in the history of America.
He posthumously became an icon of the civil rights movement in America and his death is till day mourned as a huge loss to the community.
Riverdale season 7 is now streaming on the CW.
