Let us take each ranger, one at a time first.
Billy - the blue ranger:
Billy, the awkward and shyest of the teens plays perfectly into the "geek" stereotype. With his generic side-parted hair-do and his thick circular glasses, he just gives off the Slashdot vibe. He is quiet and shy, yet good with technology, making inventions for the rangers.
Kimberly - the pink ranger:
Young Kimberly Hart is the ditzy and materialistic ranger who undergoes a change of hart to become a compassionate and caring individual with a hart of gold. ok, enough lame hart jokes. The pink ranger is the more attractive of the two female rangers. She is also the most feminine. Notice her Ranger suit actually as a skirt (although why is a mystery) to emphesize the fact that she's a girl, as if the hot pink outfit wasn't enough. My main problem with her is this: She is the one ranger with a slight bit of sex appeal for young boys (the primary audience). The pink ranger basically teaches the youth of this country to associate pink with sex. Something that most guys have no trouble seeing the connection between.
Now, I know what you're thinking. We have class stereotypes and sexism, but where is this promised racism? Well, here it is.
Zack - the black ranger:
As black ranger, Zack gained enhanced strength, speed, and durablity. Meaning, of course, he bacame the perfect athlete. Figure this one out. The only black member of the team just happens to be the black ranger? It was pounded into kids' skulls that this guy was black. And just look at the typical 90's rapper-wannabe hair-do Zack sports. A quick note: the black ranger shares the name of our 12th president, Zachary Taylor, who was the first president to make an attempt to eliminate slavary... might as well have called him Abe Lincoln.
Trini - the yellow ranger:
Trini is described as the quiet and spiritual ranger. She also happens to be Asian. This goes back to the black ranger; black guy, black ranger; Asian girl, yellow ranger. Seems somewhat suspicious to me. Trini was never a major character, but everything from her name (Trini Kwan) to her look is stereotypical of an Asian-American.
Jason - the red ranger:
Jason is strong and brave. What could this possibly have to do with racism, you ask. Well, Jason is obviously Native American (at least in part). Once again, the color of the suit discloses information about the wearer. The proud heratige of the Native American is reduced to one word: "redskin"
Tommy - the green ranger:
When I was first exploring this theory, I saw no connection between the evil green Tommy and the rest of the racist rangers and I decided to write that he was the one shining ray of hope in this screwed up series... but I soon reconsidered.
Tommy - the white ranger:
When Tommy changes his evil ways, he becomes the white ranger. The strongest and purest of all the rangers, he is strong, fierce, and completely uncorruptable. I was having some trouble swallowing this one. What did this have to do with anything? Suddenly, it came to me: He is strongest, fastest, and overall most powerful of all the rangers; he is the perfect ranger. Hence the white.
I'm not sure where he gets the idea that the Red Ranger was Native American. Actually, I think that the Green/White Ranger is Native American.
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