If Mike Sargent has anything to say about it, Luke Skywalker will have competition battling bad guys in space. Sargent is a writer who has created James Scott, a black science fiction hero in the mold of James Bond.
The character is a field operative of the Planetary Law Enforcement Agency (P.L.E.A.). Scott works in the 21st Century, when traditional ”war”
has been replaced by industrial spying, secret-stealing and sabotage.
The public first learned of James Scott when Sargent produced a radio drama on New York`s WBAI-FM, a non-commercial station, in 1984. The series ran for two years.
Sargent has also promoted the character at science fiction conventions and Black Expos. At such events, one could buy a cassette of the radio drama and other James Scott items. ”We had sort of a cult following,” said Sargent.
Between 1986 and 1991, Sargent and partner Chris Griffin kept working on the James Scott concept. Last year`s large number of black movies made Sargent realize he had to get his fictional character out to a mass audience.
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”I felt if I don`t try now to put this out there, then I may sit at home one day and watch a commercial for some black science fiction and be shooting myself because I didn`t try,” Sargent said.
That extra drive led to his current James Scott CD. The album features three chapters of a James Scott adventure, followed by seven selections of music.
Sargent explained that the album`s purpose was to introduce the general public to the Scott character. ”Most people buy CDs with music on it. When I released mine, it was the first (sci-fi) audio drama released on CD,” Sargent said.
He believes that James Scott is an answer to the lack of positive black protagonists in science fiction. Sargent said that in most science fiction movies and TV programs, blacks have been minor characters, negative stereotypes or those killed to save the white hero.
He cited the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie ”Total Recall,” where the sole black male was an amoral cab driver who was a mutant and a traitor. His character was later killed by Schwarzenegger.
The science fiction writer emphasized that he is not marketing his character just to an African-American audience. Since James Scott is a tough secret agent tackling criminals in space, Sargent believes the character should have general market appeal.
The bespectacled 30-year-old praised the late Gene Roddenberry, creator of ”Star Trek.” ” `Star Trek` remains the only science fiction TV series where blacks have had a positive role,” Sargent said.
Sargent first began working on the fictional hero when he was 12. He said he would place the stories on cassette, using sound effects and background music.
The character continued to grow when Sargent entered the High School of Art and Design in New York City. The person who was particularly interested in the character was his high school friend, Griffin, an artist.
”Working with Chris allowed me to bring the idea of a secret agent, which was what James Scott was at that time, into the future, combining the two genres I like-spy films and science fiction,” he said.
If having a black hero in a science fiction adventure is a radical step, so are Sargent`s ideas about a soundtrack. ”If I make James Scott into a film, I don`t want to use orchestral `Star Wars` soundtrack music. I want to use hip hop, I want to use jazz, I want to use African music, Jamaican music, all as scoring for the film,” he said.
A James Scott film is hardly a pipe dream. Sargent has recently completed the second draft of a screenplay and is in negotiations with movie studios. He is also looking at comic-book firms and book publishing companies to promote the character.
As if this wasn`t enough to keep him busy, Sargent is also the co-host of a weekly call-in talk show on WBAI-FM. And he has designed sound for several black plays, including ”Ghost Stories.”
So for Mike Sargent, the future is now.