Racebending.com

robotmutant:

Fresh off a disastrous attempt to trademark Dia de los Muertos , Disney has announced another, hopefully much better planned out expedition into multiculturalism. Big Hero 6  , Disney’s long-awaited first animated Marvel movie, will be directed by Don Hall ( Winnie the Pooh ) and is set for release in 2014 and takes place in the fictional city of San Fransokyo. I actually think that Hall is a huge talent so I’m swallowing a bit of skepticism and really hoping for the best on this one. Check out a very nice-looking still below (click for hi-res), and see the concept footage at Hero Complex .

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Hmmm.  Do you guys think that resetting the original story from Tokyo to San Fransokyo was done to free up Disney from using an all-Asian cast of characters or cast of actors?  (San Francisco has a huge Asian American population, too, so they’d better still have an Asian American lead even if they make the group more diverse…)

No, we’re not aggrieved by the possible casting of an actor of color as the Human Torch.  The casting of an actor of color to play the Human Torch does not take away from the number of opportunities white actors have to play characters in The Fantastic Four.  

In fact, there will almost certainly be more white male actors in the film (some at higher billing) than whoever gets cast to play the Human Torch.  (eg. Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, whoever they pick as the villain, etc.)

And while we’re at it—the same goes for stuff like Man of Steel and Thor.  Casting an actor of color as Perry White or Heimdall didn’t take away any opportunity for a white male actor (in this case, scads of them) to still be the film’s center of attention.  It is not the same as the type of systemic discrimination Hollywood uses to approach characters or actors of color.

The casting of a white male actor in some significant role in The Fantastic Four is pretty much a guarantee.   The casting of an actor of color, at this point, is still speculation.  That’s the difference.   

jb-the-hunter:

What people are not understanding is that Marvel specifically DIDN’T want him to be Chinese. It’s not a case where they just didn’t care that the character in the comics is Chinese and chose to change the race for the movie out of ignorance like Hollywood often does. Every single minority character from the comics has been adapted “racially correct”, and even some white characters from the comics were changed into minorities for the films (Nck Fury, Hogun, Heimdall, Algrim/Kurse, etc.) They simply, specifically DIDN’T want him to be Chinese, and for a reason.

There is no way to adapt the Mandaran straight from the comics and it not be seen as racist by a large group of people. So instead, Marvel changed around his  character and origin so that instead of risking being seen as racist, the character himself is a racist in a way. He’s a true bad guy and not a Fu Manchu stereotype. The fact that they cast several Chinese actors to play supporting roles says a lot about the situation. This is not a case of racism, it’s an attempt to avoid racism.

NOTE: To anyone who may respond, keep in mind that I myself am a minority, so don’t just assume that I’m some white kid sticking up for Marvel just because he loves everything about them (even though that’s half true, I do love them), because the reason I’m arguing this point has nothing to do with that. I call it like I see it. Now one thing I can agree on is that Marvel needs to find more ways to get minority characters in their adaptations, and they’re off to a decent start. Iron Man 3 probably has the most “named” minorities in a Marvel Studios film yet with 6 so far, which is a little less than half the main cast. They can do better though. The Winter Soldier so far has 1 less minority than the first movie did. That better change as production goes on considering this one takes place in modern day where there are much more minorities in America. Thor: The Dark World has 1 less minority than the first one, but the fact that Adriana Barraza and Max Hernandez barely did anything in the first one and AAA has a major role in the second one evens it out IMO. Quality > quantity. GotG only has one member cast so far which is Chris Pratt. Jason Momoa reportedly has been cast as Drax. So that’s one to one if that comes to fruition.

“This is not a case of racism, it’s an attempt to avoid racism.”

These two acts are not mutually exclusive.   Attempts to avoid racism—even when they are well-intentioned— can still end up perpetuating racism.  

For example, Marvel’s recent efforts to add more secondary characters of color to its films may be part an effort to increase diversity.   At the same time, this effort can still reinforce racism by effectively slapping a glass ceiling on main/lead character roles:  All ten films in Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 1 and Phase 2 will have a white male lead.  

(Essentially, saying, “Look, at least they’re letting more people ride in the back!  Before they weren’t on board at all” still doesn’t account for why only white dudes are allowed in the driver’s seat of the plot bus.)