To further your argument in regards to reactions to casting choices in geek mediums, I think there's something to be said that even within fandoms that are marketed towards younger folks these reactions stay consistent
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Exactly. And yes, queer characters are treated much the same way. There's tokenism there, as well, though the tokenism is much more recent, really starting in the 90s.
You make a good point that some in fandom are doing it right, though. Yes, we have a long way to go, but we're far from a hopeless case.
I admit, and am not proud of, the fact that I still struggle with the idea of casting POCs in roles that originated as white characters in other media. I would not want to cast a PoC as, say, Spider-Man or even Pete Ross, but by the same token, I would not want to cast a white man as Luke Cage. (I also have no problems with reimagining Watson as Lucy Liu or Johnny Depp at Tonto, so... yeah)
I am also reminded of when the Last Airbender movie's casting was announced and pictures first started showing up. I had to have it pointed out to me that something was wrong with the casting.
So needless to say, I have a few blind spots when it comes to issues of race and gender. I'm a middle class white boy.
But the ignorance and hate I've seen expressed towards cosplayers or PoC fans is just... Even if attitudes like that still existed, it amazes me that people are willing to be so blatant in their hate and bigotry in these days.
I understand your reluctance to recast white characters as PoC. I share the reluctance, if only because when you change certain people's race, you're changing more than just their skin-tone. (Reluctance is not refusal to accept, of course -- I'm willing to be convinced, if the shift is done respectfully.) But it's important to note that it's not the same thing as recasting a white man as Luke Cage. Consider how many PoC there are among important characters in comicdom, or fandom in general. The answer is... not many.
If I were a Hollywood actor, I'd have a plethora of characters in my favorite genres I could draw from to play. If I were a PoC, that number would shrink significantly.
Yes, exactly. Now, the other way around -- swapping a white character to a minority character -- makes me nervous, too, but it can be done right, in my opinion.
People wigged out at the idea of Fishburne as Perry White, too.
and you just don't even want to see the reactions to Miles Morales -- who isn't even a real person. The whiniest reactions were all "aaaa, why can't white children have anybody to look up to?"
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You make a good point that some in fandom are doing it right, though. Yes, we have a long way to go, but we're far from a hopeless case.
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I am also reminded of when the Last Airbender movie's casting was announced and pictures first started showing up. I had to have it pointed out to me that something was wrong with the casting.
So needless to say, I have a few blind spots when it comes to issues of race and gender. I'm a middle class white boy.
But the ignorance and hate I've seen expressed towards cosplayers or PoC fans is just... Even if attitudes like that still existed, it amazes me that people are willing to be so blatant in their hate and bigotry in these days.
Reply
I understand your reluctance to recast white characters as PoC. I share the reluctance, if only because when you change certain people's race, you're changing more than just their skin-tone. (Reluctance is not refusal to accept, of course -- I'm willing to be convinced, if the shift is done respectfully.) But it's important to note that it's not the same thing as recasting a white man as Luke Cage. Consider how many PoC there are among important characters in comicdom, or fandom in general. The answer is... not many.
If I were a Hollywood actor, I'd have a plethora of characters in my favorite genres I could draw from to play. If I were a PoC, that number would shrink significantly.
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People wigged out at the idea of Fishburne as Perry White, too.
and you just don't even want to see the reactions to Miles Morales -- who isn't even a real person. The whiniest reactions were all "aaaa, why can't white children have anybody to look up to?"
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