Color Blind Casting

[shipperx]

The rant/article caught my eye.

One reason is that I really like Michael B. Jordan (Friday Night Lights, Chronicle).  And reading the controversy it somewhat amuses me that I remember MBJ from his teenaged years on "All My Children" where he had not one, not two, but three sisters who were caucasian (He had a single father who was raising the blue-eyed blond (autistic) daughter of his late first wife.  The father eventually re-married and acquired two more step daughters, which is how Jordan's character ended up with three sisters.)

From a poster @ DailyKos:

Comic book geeks are in an uproar over the casting of African American actor Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm (aka The Human Torch) in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. I didn't know comic book purists carried so much racial baggage.

Producers for the new movie announced the new cast recently, which also includes Miles Teller as Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Kate Mara as Sue Storm (The Invisible Girl) and Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm (The Thing).

What has most of the geeks spun up is that in the comic book Sue and Johnny Storm are full biological siblings and they're both white and blonde. The geeks are in a tizzy over the "political correctness" of making Johnny black and can't wrap their minds around how a black guy and a white girl can be siblings. Guess they never heard of step-siblings or half-siblings.

Anyway, reading some of the comments made by comic book "purists" on a story running on Variety.Com (http://variety.com/2014/film/news/miles-teller-kate-mara-fantastic-four-1201099921/#respond) made me alternately laugh, sigh and want to punch somebody. Many of these people really take these comic book stories seriously...way too seriously. But if you're a true comic book geek, I guess that what you do.

Comments

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

OK, first of all, Michael B Jordan is incredible. He was cheated out of a given Oscar nomination this year for Fruitvale Station for some reason I can't possibly fathom.

Secondly, I wish this surprised me, but given the outraged reaction every single time a black actor is cast in a role that's not explicitly written as more-or-less stereotypically black from the beginning (or even if they are, as in The Hunger Games), it's just really depressing.

Thirdly, I saw writer Teju Cole note on twitter the other day that comic book movies these days seem to be treated, both in terms of budget, production and cultural importance, the same way that biblical epics were in the 50s and 60s. Which, yeah.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I really like MBJ too. Charismatic, talented, and handsome. What's not to like?

And reading some of the comments linked on KOS, it totally pisses me off when people complain about 'political correctness' because they're only using the term for anything that doesn't conform to their stict "this is how I think things ought to be" biases.

[jerusha]

I was waiting for this, and it is SO DUMB. People were up in arms over Idris Elba being cast as Heimdall in the Thor movies, although they've mostly quieted down about that because, well, IDRIS ELBA. There are plenty of ways to have a biracial family. I have cousins who are Native and/or Native/African-American. It's really not that revolutionary. And setting that aside for the moment it's a) a comic book, where literally anything can happen, and b) Michael B. Jordan is amazing. The proposed cast is really, really good, suggesting that the movie might also be more than watchable, which is more than I can say for the last F4 movie.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

The thing that blew my mind about the 'controversy' is that comic book movies (and the comics themselves for that matter) CONSTANTLY 're-imagine' and 're-boot.' Somehow randomly changing Uncle Ben's age or the existence of Robin is a-okay, but don't do anything to mess with people's preconceived stereotypes! Sheesh!

[speakr2customrs.livejournal.com]

I have black cousins too but I don't think a black actor should have been cast as Johnny Storm with a white Sue Storm. It doesn't make sense in context as they've always been clearly shown to be biological siblings. I have a feeling that it was actually for racist reasons - to avoid an inter-racial Reed Richards/Sue Storm pairing. It would have made so much more sense to cast them both black or both white - and I think the best option would have been the idea I saw in a Cheezburger comment; to cast them as both the same race but cast Denzil Washington as Reed Richards instead of the too young white guy who got the role. And if I'd been casting it I'd have had Johnny and Sue both as Native Americans and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson as Ben Grimm.

[jerusha]

I don't necessarily disagree--I think I would have been completely okay with both of them being black, or mixed race, or whatever. And it's entirely possible that they decided to go this direction to avoid an interracial relationship, although I find that abhorrent.

But I don't think that just because they've always been portrayed as biological siblings at all precludes the idea of a reboot where they're not. There are plenty of changes introduced in reboots far more radical than the idea that two people who don't share the same skin color are actually brother and sister.

However, I like your ideas. A much more racially diverse cast would have been preferable. Dwayne Johnson would have been wonderful as Ben Grimm, and I wished they'd gone a little bit more outside the box on their casting choices. But I don't have a problem with Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm. He's charming enough to pull it off, and he's an excellent actor to boot.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

But I don't think that just because they've always been portrayed as biological siblings at all precludes the idea of a reboot where they're not. There are plenty of changes introduced in reboots far more radical than the idea that two people who don't share the same skin color are actually brother and sister.

This.

I mean, they turned Starbuck into a girl on Battlestar. I don't know what substantive difference there might be with half-siblings.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

True, I think they should've been a bit more consistent with casting. Why not an interacial relationship? We're to the point of their being used regularly in soap operas, night time soaps (Scandal, Nashville, and Revenge have all had them without making the interacial aspect something that's any sort of issue).

Still, is there something that would substantively change between being full siblings and half siblings? That's what I couldn't figure out.

Plus MBJ is very charming, attractive, and charismatic.

[eilowyn.livejournal.com]

Just stopped myself from responding to some moron who thought the fact that Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck haven't been race bent in the name of political correctness is some kind of argument. Michael B. Jordan won my heart in Friday Night Lights, so I'm all for him getting into some superhero spandex. And come on. They're trying to erase the memory of Jessica Alba. What's not to like?

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Just stopped myself from responding to some moron who thought the fact that Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck haven't been race bent in the name of political correctness is some kind of argument.

I need that old Spike Head Tilt gif.

I could swear that Donald is a DUCK... (What does that make Daffy, BTW?)

-_-

[sp23.livejournal.com]

One thing I really like about Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles is that the teen heroes are full siblings of mixed-raced parents. And the boy looks black like their dad and the girl looks white like their mom. Genetics. Weird man. ;-)

[next_to_normal]

Not surprised. At all.

And the "they have to look like siblings" excuse? Meh, whatever. If they'd cast a black actress as Sue, people would be even MORE upset that they race-bent two characters instead of only one.

(OTOH, a black Sue would have been awesome. Half non-white cast, plus a biracial couple? Yes please.)

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

I'd have preferred it if they'd given one of Marvel's established black characters a film instead of making one that will be inevitably seen as AU, but racist meltdowns over casting are always stupid and ugly.

[femmenerd.livejournal.com]

Huh, this post made me realize that I've only just recently STOPPED thinking about AMC every time I see him.

Also, the ridiculous thing about these purists is the fact that comic books are ALWAYS re-writing and re-booting and re-inventing their characters/mythos. So if you only freak out at this kind of thing, then.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Also, the ridiculous thing about these purists is the fact that comic books are ALWAYS re-writing and re-booting and re-inventing their characters/mythos. So if you only freak out at this kind of thing, then.

This was part of what mystified me. Comics seem to constantly re-boot their origin stories. And it's not difficult to come up with a scenario where they are siblings (half or adopted or full but with different gene expression).