Super Social Analysis: Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and LGBT in Movies

[Wiendish Fitch]

3 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

I didn't mind Elizabeth leaving Jack to be eaten by the Kraken.

What I DID mind was the shitty way she treated Will. 

Fair enough. More than fair, really. :)

Poor Will really can't catch a break in those movies, can he? If they were made in the 30s or 40s, he'd be played by Ralph Bellamy.

 

Reading over my post, I realize that I sound as though female characters should get free passes by virtue of being female, and that's not the case; I just want a little equality and perspective in how their actions are framed.

And if a female character doesn't appeal to me, I'll bitch about her as much as I would any male character. Heck, The Family Stone is a veritable smorgasbord of equally loathsome men and women! 

[aradia22]

Quote

Which...fair enough, but I'm wondering if a male character would be considered lovable if he was sullen and half pissed off more often than not. 

I wasn't prepped for this but off the top of my head... the Beast in Beauty and the Beast, James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause, Edward Cullen, Ethan Hawke in Reality Bites, Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, Luke in Gilmore Girls, Rochester in Jane Eyre, Darcy in Pride and Prejudice... It's not exactly the same thing but there's a degree to which a moody or even angry guy can still be considered attractive if it seems to point at artistic or emotional depth or some kind of outsider/rebel status. I'd have more guys for this list but generally male leads can be dickish but also spend a good part of their time being charming and affable like Han Solo or Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You. The guys I named spend the majority of their time being sullen and moody. 

[raezen]

13 hours ago, aradia22 said:

I wasn't prepped for this but off the top of my head... the Beast in Beauty and the Beast, James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause, Edward Cullen, Ethan Hawke in Reality Bites, Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, Luke in Gilmore Girls, Rochester in Jane Eyre, Darcy in Pride and Prejudice... It's not exactly the same thing but there's a degree to which a moody or even angry guy can still be considered attractive if it seems to point at artistic or emotional depth or some kind of outsider/rebel status. I'd have more guys for this list but generally male leads can be dickish but also spend a good part of their time being charming and affable like Han Solo or Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You. The guys I named spend the majority of their time being sullen and moody. 

A lot of those characters are supposed to have that "bad boy" appeal, which is a whole other problematic trope. 

[Spartan Girl]

18 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Fair enough. More than fair, really. :)

Poor Will really can't catch a break in those movies, can he? If they were made in the 30s or 40s, he'd be played by Ralph Bellamy.

 

Reading over my post, I realize that I sound as though female characters should get free passes by virtue of being female, and that's not the case; I just want a little equality and perspective in how their actions are framed.

 

Hear ya loud and clear.  And I do think that it's okay for a female character to be soft/vulnerable as long as the writer's don't go overboard and make them insipid ninnies.

 

14 hours ago, aradia22 said:

I wasn't prepped for this but off the top of my head... the Beast in Beauty and the Beast, James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause, Edward Cullen, Ethan Hawke in Reality Bites, Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, Luke in Gilmore Girls, Rochester in Jane Eyre, Darcy in Pride and Prejudice... It's not exactly the same thing but there's a degree to which a moody or even angry guy can still be considered attractive if it seems to point at artistic or emotional depth or some kind of outsider/rebel status. I'd have more guys for this list but generally male leads can be dickish but also spend a good part of their time being charming and affable like Han Solo or Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You. The guys I named spend the majority of their time being sullen and moody. 

I'm not gonna lie, bad boys are appealing.  But more often, writers seem to write "bad boys" as a weak, whiny insecure beta males that try to remake themselves as alphas by playing the victim lashing out at others.  And it's not just the "bad boys," it's also the Nice Guys.

[Athena]

Lindsay Ellis's new videos about Hobbit have brought up a few interesting points about women in Hollywood and women in fantasy in general. Video starts at 19m41 sec mark where she discusses the Hobbit movies character Tauriel:

[VCRTracking]

2 hours ago, Athena said:

Lindsay Ellis's new videos about Hobbit have brought up a few interesting points about women in Hollywood and women in fantasy in general. Video starts at 19m41 sec mark where she discusses the Hobbit movies character Tauriel:

 

That is the question isn't it? Is it better to have female representation in a movie better than none at all even if that representation isn't great?

Molly Ringwald wrote a great essay in The New Yorker reflecting on her 80s movies with John Hughes and how some elements have not aged well, especially in today's climate:
What About “The Breakfast Club”?Revisiting the movies of my youth in the age of #MeToo.

[aradia22]

Quote

A lot of those characters are supposed to have that "bad boy" appeal, which is a whole other problematic trope. 

Quote

I'm not gonna lie, bad boys are appealing.  But more often, writers seem to write "bad boys" as a weak, whiny insecure beta males that try to remake themselves as alphas by playing the victim lashing out at others.  And it's not just the "bad boys," it's also the Nice Guys.

 

At least personally, I do not get the attraction to someone who treats you badly. I feel like the "bad boy" appeal comes the reasons they don't initially appear to be Mr. Right. They're not the guys you're supposed to want for X, Y, Z reasons. But to me, none of those reasons should be that they're verbally, physically, or emotionally abusive or something like that. They should come from things like class, racial, or personality differences. "Bad boys" are rarely alphas because they tend to be loners and outsiders. The exception is someone with a military background who is like the old cowboy archetype but he obviously operates within the system so you get to have some of both tropes. 

[ancslove]

Regarding Elizabeth vs Jack Sparrow, I think it also depends on how the character is framed in the beginning of the narrative.  Fans turn on "good" characters who do one bad thing, far more quickly than they do on "bad" characters who show up as trouble, and then do one (or even several) good things.  And female characters tend to get more of a default "good" introduction.  Jack Sparrow was always presented as the outlaw who does a lot of questionable and even illegal things, but with the requisite "heart of gold" buried deep down somewhere.  Elizabeth is the "good girl" with the "good upbringing" who was the "moral center" to start off.  Audiences are primed to cheer on Jack's more noble actions, whereas a "good' character turning bad is jumped on.  In POC 3, everyone is doing shady stuff from the beginning, no one is as pure as they once were, and audience reactions weren't as venomous when the good guys did bad things.  

I do think women have to be flawed in the right way, in order to gain or keep audience sympathy.  Snarky, witty, quick-tempered (in a funny way) women can be good or evil, but attract a loyal fan following - Santana on Glee, or Princess Leia in the Star Wars original trilogy.  Cold, distant, deceitful female characters are hated a lot more than cold, distant, deceitful male characters.  

[starri]

I think I'm going to use her head-canon about Duckie being gay as my head-canon as well.  Much better than thinking of him as one of those Nice Guys who just can't get a girl because they only want bastards, m'lady.

[HunterHunted]

On 4/7/2018 at 7:30 PM, starri said:

I think I'm going to use her head-canon about Duckie being gay as my head-canon as well.  Much better than thinking of him as one of those Nice Guys who just can't get a girl because they only want bastards, m'lady.

Her essay was the first time I realized that Duckie was supposed to be explicitly straight because all of this time I thought the character was subtextually gay, closeted because it was the 80s, forcing himself to act like a straight-ish douche because he couldn't come out, and doing a bit of projecting. I was a little young to have seen it in the theaters originally, but I know I saw it at a sleepover around 1990 or 91 and this opinion about Duckie is one I've had since then.

[methodwriter85]

On 4/7/2018 at 8:30 PM, starri said:

I think I'm going to use her head-canon about Duckie being gay as my head-canon as well.  Much better than thinking of him as one of those Nice Guys who just can't get a girl because they only want bastards, m'lady.

I don't think she would have had that head cannon if they had cast Robert Downey Jr, for Duckie instead. There was an interview she did where she being brutally honest about how she didn't find Jon Cryer attractive (seeing him more like a brother) but that she could have had those feelings if they had gone for RDJ like she wanted.

Of course, her actual film with RDJ did flop, so it's probably for the best that they did go with Jon Cryer.

I have never really seen much of the appeal of Duckie. I do like Pretty in Pink because I think it's an interesting exploration of how it feels to be poor in a rich school, and "If You Leave" is my jam. Every time I hear that song, I imagine myself at a prom in 1986. (I was a baby then, but still.)

I would say that Pretty In Pink is probably the cleanest in terms of sexism in the Ringwald trio. Even the bitchy beautiful blonde is pretty much covered up the entire time.

[xaxat]

[Luckylyn]

A Kid Like Jake

[methodwriter85]

 

Is it just me, or did Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy TOTALLY have a homoerotic vibe in Class? I'm going to pretend they wound up nailing each other before graduation or on Graduation Night.

[xaxat]

Saw the trailer for Incredibles 2.

Really tired of Frozone's (Sam Jackson) wife continuing in the Angry Black Woman role. 

[HunterHunted]

8 hours ago, xaxat said:

Saw the trailer for Incredibles 2.

 

Really tired of Frozone's (Sam Jackson) wife continuing in the Angry Black Woman role. 

Me too. I keep wondering who this obnoxious harridan is who keeps complaining about her superpowered husband of at least a decade plus using his super powers.

[Trini]

On 4/27/2018 at 11:06 AM, xaxat said:

Saw the trailer for Incredibles 2.

Really tired of Frozone's (Sam Jackson) wife continuing in the Angry Black Woman role. 

Hopefully she gets a face this time.

[aradia22]

Quote

Deadline has reported that stage and film star Jake Gyllenhaal will produce and star as legendary composer Leonard Bernstein in a new biopic titled The American.

The screenplay will be adapted from Humphrey Burton's biography of Bernstein by screenwriter Michael Mitnick. Cary Joji Fukunaga will direct.

According to Deadline, the story will unfold in five movements, like a symphony, It follows Bernstein's personal and professional trials and successes, beginning at the age of 25 as conductor for the New York Philharmonic.

Of the project, Gyllenhaal said, "As a man, Bernstein was a fascinating figure-full of genius and contradiction-and it will be an incredible honor to tell his story with a talent and friend like Cary."

If they don't deal with him being gay/bisexual I'm not interested. I'm curious if his family is involved. I went to a concert where his children were in attendance and there was no mention of him being anything but straight in the midst of all this other biographical info.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Jake-Gyllenhaal-To-Play-Leonard-Bernstein-in-New-Bio-Pic-THE-AMERICAN-20180501

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/books/review/the-leonard-bernstein-letters.html

[aradia22]

Out of curiosity, I read an article on all the deaths in Avengers Infinity War. Whew, I'm glad I haven't been trying to follow these movies. Even reading the article felt way too comic-book-y for me. Major spoilers to follow.

Spoiler

Am I missing something or, aside from some characters from Wakanda and War Machine, did they manage to kill all the POC in the Marvel Universe? Heimdall, Gamora, Black Panther, Falcon, Nick Fury, Drax... I realize that aside from T'Challa, they're secondary characters but that's kind of on you for making most of your POC characters secondary characters. The article does point out at the end that you don't know if a couple of the POC characters are dead. But I feel like if they didn't have War Machine, it looks really bad to kill almost all your non-white characters like this and not even one of the original Avengers team. 

http://time.com/5252990/avengers-infinity-war-deaths/

Edited May 5, 2018 by aradia22

[JessePinkman]

24 minutes ago, aradia22 said:

Out of curiosity, I read an article on all the deaths in Avengers Infinity War. Whew, I'm glad I haven't been trying to follow these movies. Even reading the article felt way too comic-book-y for me. Major spoilers to follow.

  Hide contents

Am I missing something or, aside from some characters from Wakanda and War Machine, did they manage to kill all the POC in the Marvel Universe? Heimdall, Gamora, Black Panther, Falcon, Nick Fury, Drax... I realize that aside from T'Challa, they're secondary characters but that's kind of on you for making most of your POC characters secondary characters. The article does point out at the end that you don't know if a couple of the POC characters are dead. But I feel like if they didn't have War Machine, it looks really bad to kill almost all your non-white characters like this and not even one of the original Avengers team. 

http://time.com/5252990/avengers-infinity-war-deaths/

 

Spoiler

Gamora and Drax are green and gray aliens...

 

I don’t think this qualifies as an issue. The great thing about Black Panther is that it added a number of varied black characters to the cast to make this less of an issue than it would normally be IMO.

Edited May 5, 2018 by JessePinkman

[aradia22]

@JessePinkman I was referring to the actors playing the characters. I think it's still a problem when you're down to almost one superhero franchise/universe (Black Panther) to carry the torch. And of course it's not just about the black characters but it's not like there's a host of East Asian, Hispanic, South Asian, etc. characters for me to discuss which is why I included 

Spoiler

Drax

[Raja]

6 hours ago, aradia22 said:

Out of curiosity, I read an article on all the deaths in Avengers Infinity War. Whew, I'm glad I haven't been trying to follow these movies. Even reading the article felt way too comic-book-y for me. Major spoilers to follow.

  Hide contents

Am I missing something or, aside from some characters from Wakanda and War Machine, did they manage to kill all the POC in the Marvel Universe? Heimdall, Gamora, Black Panther, Falcon, Nick Fury, Drax... I realize that aside from T'Challa, they're secondary characters but that's kind of on you for making most of your POC characters secondary characters. The article does point out at the end that you don't know if a couple of the POC characters are dead. But I feel like if they didn't have War Machine, it looks really bad to kill almost all your non-white characters like this and not even one of the original Avengers team. 

http://time.com/5252990/avengers-infinity-war-deaths/

The last sentence of the spoiler coded quote is the critical issue. The one named human survivor not among that group may have been chosen to survive just because of this issue only to have him be called a token in the hyper political aftermath 

[starri]

2017's OTHER Big Gay Movie, the British "God's Own Country" is now streaming on Netflix.

There's really no other way to describe it but "Brokeback Mountain in present-day England."  Down to the sex on the windswept mountaintop.

John is an angry young guy who is supposed to be helping run his father's farm while the father recovers from a stroke, but he shirks responsibility by going out to the pub and getting falling-down drunk, and having quick, anonymous bathroom sex.  In walks Gheorghe, a sexy migrant farm worker from Romania.  They hate each other at first, and then have to spend a few days rebuilding a fence and looking after the sheep on the aforementioned mountaintop.

What's nice is that, being in present day, they're able to be more openly affectionate than Jack and Ennis were, and even discuss their future in public.  And these days, you can also get a happy ending.

[methodwriter85]

On 5/1/2018 at 10:25 PM, aradia22 said:

If they don't deal with him being gay/bisexual I'm not interested. I'm curious if his family is involved. I went to a concert where his children were in attendance and there was no mention of him being anything but straight in the midst of all this other biographical info.

James Dean biopics are pretty much straightwashed for this reason, at least ones that get an actual budget and are authorized. His family really, really doesn't want his bisexuality portrayed.

[JustaPerson]

Thanks @starri I've been meaning to watch that movie, but I didn't know it was already on Netflix! I thought it was great, although I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain (I probably should, since my family will watch anything Ang Lee touches). What a gorgeous film! I must have rewatched that last scene when Johnny tracks down Gheorghe like 10 times. Both characters were so well drawn, though I must have said out loud multiple times throughout the film that Gheorghe was too good for Johnny. I think Johnny knew too. 

That yorkshire slang was something else -- the most unrealistic part of the film was that Gheorghe could understand any of them when he first arrived at the farm.

Edited May 6, 2018 by JustaPerson

[starri]

Even though the subject matter couldn't be more different, it's making me want to watch Weekend again.  That one's a gay version of Before Sunrise, done by Andrew Haigh, who did the HBO series Looking.

Which apparently got a Criterion Collection release, now that I'm looking for it.

[JustaPerson]

Another film I meant to watch, before they took it off netflix! It was my fault tho, it was in my list for a good couple of years before netflix took it off lol. 

[starri]

As long as you're motivated, you can get a free two-week trial to FilmStruck and stream it with all of the other Criterion Collection films.

The CC seems to have bumped up it's queer film offerings as well.  In addition to Weekend, they've also added Blue is the Warmest Color, Desert Hearts, La Cages Aux Folles, and a few John Waters movies.

Will not be surprised if CMBYN shows up on the list eventually.

[JBC344]

Honestly I think this discussion can't really have it's full weight without seeing the next Avengers movie in which we will have clarification on which characters are "actually" dead. 

[methodwriter85]

Wild Reeds from 1994- beautiful movie. Just beautiful. I watched it when I was about 16 or 17 and it really stuck with me.

[Zola]

I had the pleasure of watching "Carol" last night. A beautiful romantic drama starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara.

I read the critiques beforehand, and they were all highly favourable. But my only concern was trying to envisage Blanchette playing the "bored housewife having a lesbian fling with a younger woman" trope. And yet on watching the film, I was completely absorbed, not only by the film itself but also Cate's brilliant and genuinely moving role.

Certainly one of my favourite gay films since "Desert Hearts" and "Blue is the Warmest Colour"

[Irlandesa]

Netflix looks to have a gay/bi themed teenage (romantic?) comedy coming up.

[methodwriter85]

I legit thought he was RJ Mitte, but then I realized he couldn't be because he doesn't seem to have any kind of physical impairment. Uncanny. Anyway, I do wish more movies in this genre would explore ambiguous sexual attraction, especially on the guy side.

[ApathyMonger]

Lando Calrissian is pansexual, says original Star Wars co-writer

 

Quote

“There’s a fluidity to Donald and Billy Dee’s [portrayal of Lando’s] sexuality,” Kasdan told the Huffington Post. “I mean, I would have loved to have gotten a more explicitly LGBT character into this movie. I think it’s time, certainly, for that, and I love the fluidity ― sort of the spectrum of sexuality that Donald appeals to and that droids are a part of.”

Obviously, there's nothing to explicitly confirm this in the actual movie. ?

[Silver Raven]

I'm hearing rumors that Freddie Mercury's death of AIDS is not going to be addressed in Bohemian Rhapsody.

[Unusual Suspect]

16 hours ago, ApathyMonger said:

Lando Calrissian is pansexual, says original Star Wars co-writer

 

Obviously, there's nothing to explicitly confirm this in the actual movie. ?

Yay, another Rowling.

[JessePinkman]

A head's up on Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Spoiler

 

Thandie Newton's character, the first black woman in the series as far as I know, dies in the first 30 minutes. And Lando wants to fuck a robot. I don't know, man.

 

You're welcome.

[Athena]

This is an offspring of the Marvel and DC Universe threads. Please use this thread to discuss any gender, race, ethnicity, and LGBT topics in and around the superhero movie genre. This includes any movies in the Marvel and DC Cinematic Universes. 

Spoilers are allowed. 

[Trini]

Black Panther effect? : Jamie Foxx Set For ‘Spawn’

[JessePinkman]

What is it about Cap and Bucky being a couple that bothers people so much? I don't think it's because canonically they're straight, either characters sexuality has had little to do with the stories told about them over the years. If they make them gay in the movies (which they won't, duh) who cares?

I feel like every other hero having a black best friend (Tony, Steve, Thor) should bother me but the more black people the better. Now can we open the MCU up to other races? That would be super. I'm personally praying that when they cast Namor he's not played by a white guy.

[Apprentice79]

56 minutes ago, JessePinkman said:

What is it about Cap and Bucky being a couple that bothers people so much? I don't think it's because canonically they're straight, either characters sexuality has had little to do with the stories told about them over the years. If they make them gay in the movies (which they won't, duh) who cares?

I feel like every other hero having a black best friend (Tony, Steve, Thor) should bother me but the more black people the better. Now can we open the MCU up to other races? That would be super. I'm personally praying that when they cast Namor he's not played by a white guy.

Namor would be a good antagonist for T'Challa.  I wanted him to be the one that truly threaten Wakanda's existence and not Thanos. 

[festivus]

I wish we could get an Asian superhero. I don't know enough about the comic universe, are there any?

ETA: I'm looking at the Wiki but I don't know if some of them are considered more as sidekicks or what. I guess what I mean to ask is that are there any in the vein of Iron Man or Captain America? Main characters with their own story.

Edited May 30, 2018 by festivus

[HunterHunted]

8 hours ago, JessePinkman said:

Now can we open the MCU up to other races? That would be super. I'm personally praying that when they cast Namor he's not played by a white guy.

7 hours ago, Apprentice79 said:

Namor would be a good antagonist for T'Challa.  I wanted him to be the one that truly threaten Wakanda's existence and not Thanos. 

 

I've been hoping that it would be Lewis Tan. He was on a single episode of Iron Fist playing Zhou Cheng, but it was such a brief scene (with good acting and fight work by Tan) that the part could be recast if they decided to use the character again. Unfortunately, rights to Namor are still weirdly tied up at Universal. They seem even less interested in making a movie with Namor than any of the Hulk characters that they still retain the rights to and they seem to be supremely uninterested in making any Hulk movies. It just seems like they are going to squat on the rights to these characters until Marvel/Disney is forced to pony up big bucks to use them in films.

I get why Marvel is too chicken to have any romances that are anything but straight, though I disagree with that decision. I just don't get why all of the characters are so white on the film side of things.

Almost all of the Asian and Latinx characters seem to be relegated to the Netflix and TV side of the MCU. And because Iron Fist, Daredevil, and Luke Cage are on Netflix, it makes way more sense to introduce characters like White Tiger, Maya Lopez, or Shang Chi there as opposed to the films. Aside from the principals, they've also introduced Colleen Wing, Misty Knight, Claire Temple, Ghost Rider/Robbie Reyes, and Slingshot/Yo Yo. They've created the character Melinda May and reimagined Quake as biracial woman of Asian and white parentage. They've also got Nico Minoru, who is Asian-American, and reimagined Molly as Latina on Runaways.

Finding a way to incorporate some of the TV and Netflix properties into the films would go a long way from giving the impression that TV and Netflix is the ghetto where they stick all of their characters of color. It would also help diversify the film side really quickly.

The other problem is that so many of their other characters of color are mutants or Wolverine adjacent meaning that they're stuck at Fox until or if that deal goes through.

America Chavez, Kamala Khan, and Miles Morales are probably the only major characters of color that they can introduce in the films. Plus they've technically already screwed up Amadeus Cho in the films. A Korean scientist with the same name as his mom appears in Age of Ultron as the scientist who has a crush on Thor and is forced to help Ultron build his body. However, Martin Starr (the very white and not at all Korean let alone Asian Martin Starr) was technically cast as Amadeus Cho in Incredible Hulk.

Edited May 30, 2018 by HunterHunted
Adding Runaways characters

[Apprentice79]

I do think that the resolution of Avengers 4 next year will influence Black Panther's sequel and beyond.  I do want to see T'Challa deal with the fallout of opening Wakanda to the world.  I am sure his next nemesis will be an outsider. I doubt the Wakandans will rise up against him. He is the absolute ruler of Wakanda..

I remember reading that Ayo in the comics is a lesbian. Aneka was her lover. She could be introduced in the future movies.  I would love to see that explore in the sequel, especially, since Wakanda was never colonized by the Europeans, so Christianity's stance against LGBT people was never introduced into their culture.  It would be a very interesting angle to explore in the future sequels of Black Panther. 

Edited May 30, 2018 by Apprentice79

[Danny Franks]

4 hours ago, festivus said:

I wish we could get an Asian superhero. I don't know enough about the comic universe, are there any?

ETA: I'm looking at the Wiki but I don't know if some of them are considered more as sidekicks or what. I guess what I mean to ask is that are there any in the vein of Iron Man or Captain America? Main characters with their own story.

 

Yeah, there aren't many.

Marvel have a few Asian mutants, but none have ever headlined a book. Sunfire, Karma, Surge and Jubilee have all been X-Men. Shang Chi and Colleen Wing have been the stereotypical ninjas. Nico Minoru is Asian-American, and one of the main characters on Runaways, which is a good show (and a great comic book). She's also possibly bisexual and maybe embarking on a relationship with the definitely lesbian Karolina Dean. There are a few other, very minor characters as well.

DC had Cass Cain, the third Batgirl, Katana and Ryan Choi, the second Atom. They have more prominent Asian villains, with Cheshire and Lady Shiva. Again, there is a smattering of other characters, but no one major.

Edited May 30, 2018 by Danny Franks

[Morrigan2575]

35 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

Marvel have a few Asian mutants, but none have ever headlined a book. Sunfire, Karma, Surge and Jubilee have all been X-Men.

Jubes had a very, very short lived Solo Title, I think it lasted 6 issues. It was done specifically to target teen girls they even used a different art style. 

I only know because she's my favorite X Character so I follow everything Jubilee which isn't much in the post Claremont era.

Edited May 30, 2018 by Morrigan2575

[festivus]

33 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

Nico Minoru is Asian-American, and one of the main characters on Runaways, which is a good show (and a great comic book).

I've got that show on my list to watch.

 

Well that's disappointing that there aren't any major Asian superheros.

[HunterHunted]

25 minutes ago, festivus said:

I've got that show on my list to watch.

 

Well that's disappointing that there aren't any major Asian superheros.

Runaways is worth watching.

There aren't tons of Asian superheroes especially if mutants can't be used. That's why discussions about whether Danny Rand could have been cast with an Asian actor are important. I really liked the idea that someone had that Danny could be biracial with a white father and Asian mother. And that his entire journey to become the Iron Fist would also be an opportunity to connect to his Asian heritage that he hadn't had a chance to connect to as an American kid who had previously identified more with his Anglo and American heritage. This is an issue that lots of immigrants have when they have children and see their kid connecting more with the new country than their parents' country. In that way, Iron Fist could have been a story that was bigger than one about learning magic kung fu; it could have been a story about immigration, identification, and generations.

[festivus]

1 hour ago, HunterHunted said:

There aren't tons of Asian superheroes especially if mutants can't be used. That's why discussions about whether Danny Rand could have been cast with an Asian actor are important. I really liked the idea that someone had that Danny could be biracial with a white father and Asian mother. And that his entire journey to become the Iron Fist would also be an opportunity to connect to his Asian heritage that he hadn't had a chance to connect to as an American kid who had previously identified more with his Anglo and American heritage. This is an issue that lots of immigrants have when they have children and see their kid connecting more with the new country than their parents' country. In that way, Iron Fist could have been a story that was bigger than one about learning magic kung fu; it could have been a story about immigration, identification, and generations.

I really wish they would have done this. The show had good casting except for Danny himself. Also when I was watching I just got the general feeling that whoever was in charge didn't care much about the show. I think it could have been good if someone else had been in charge and if they had made Danny Asian.

[Dee]

Marvel could've solved a lot of the lack of Asian superhero representation had they cast Doctor Strange & The Ancient One with Asian actors. 

Daniel Dae Kim as Doctor Strange and Rosalind Chao as The Ancient One would've been pretty great IMO.