So a black actor is considering role of Johnny Storm and nerdrage has turned racist again.

MrGalactus

Elite Member
Sep 18, 2010
1,849
0
41
So yeah,
http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/will-chronicle-star-michael-b-jordan-be-human-torch-fantastic-four-88881
Michael B Jordan is considering being The Human Torch in the Fantastic Four reboot. Frankly, I think there's no problem here at all. A role, as far as I'm concerned, has nothing to do with the look of the character, but how well the actor can capture or interpret the character, but the comic book community is complaining all over the internet. Seriously, check the comments. It's not good stuff.

What does the Escapist make of this? Do you guys care about the race of a character in an adaptation?
 

Thaluikhain

Elite Member
Legacy
Jan 16, 2010
18,580
3,538
118
Depends on a number of things. Firstly, how strongly was the person's ethnicity part of their character. If he's always going round blathering on about how white he is, maybe not a good move.

Secondly, and this is more controversial, how many of those parts are around. If Hollywood found itself dominated by movies about black men, taking a movie about a black man and making it white would not be a smart move.
 

Private Custard

New member
Dec 30, 2007
1,920
0
0
Is it even possible to think this could be stupid idea, without shouts of 'RACIST' and a large amount of pitchfork wielding?? We live in a world full of people just waiting to be offended, and it's getting boring. If something's non-canon, how can it be racist to point it out?

In this case, I don't really care. But the switching ethnicity's of major characters could get a little tiresome if it appears to merely be for p.c. reasons (I'm looking at you Bond!).
 

Eddie the head

New member
Feb 22, 2012
2,327
0
0
I didn't read all the comments on that page, but they seamed much more civil then you are making it out to be. Sure there where some threats of violence, but I only saw like one of those to every 5 "I just think it would be a mistake" responses. I don't agree with them I don't much care if they cast a black guy for the roll, but it seams like a bit of an ad hominem to say people are turning "racist."
 

MrGalactus

Elite Member
Sep 18, 2010
1,849
0
41
thaluikhain said:
Depends on a number of things. Firstly, how strongly was the person's ethnicity part of their character. If he's always going round blathering on about how white he is, maybe not a good move.
Entirely true and agreeable. If you're casting for Crossbones or Malcolm X, then yeah, it's a big deal because it's a central part of the character.

thaluikhain said:
Secondly, and this is more controversial, how many of those parts are around. If Hollywood found itself dominated by movies about black men, taking a movie about a black man and making it white would not be a smart move.
Not entirely sure what you mean on this one. You mean casting actors of one race for a movie based around the lives of people of another race?

Private Custard said:
Is it even possible to think this could be stupid idea, without shouts of 'RACIST' and a large amount of pitchfork wielding?? We live in a world full of people just waiting to be offended, and it's getting boring. If something's non-canon, how can it be racist to point it out?

In this case, I don't really care. But the switching ethnicity's of major characters could get a little tiresome if it appears to merely be for p.c. reasons (I'm looking at you Bond!).
So I'm just sat here waiting to be offended? So when people cry for a man to never even be considered for a role based on the fact that he has one physical feature that differs from the original character, nobody should get angry about that? sorry, mate, but it IS offensive, and it IS racist.
Also, nobody want's Marvel or Fox or whatever to choose the character purely for "PC" reasons. They should choose the best man for the job based on acting skills. Oh, BTW, MGM picked a black guy to play Felix because he was the first to express interest and audition. You think that role wasn't highly sought after?
 

MrGalactus

Elite Member
Sep 18, 2010
1,849
0
41
Eddie the head said:
I didn't read all the comments on that page, but they seamed much more civil then you are making it out to be. Sure there where some threats of violence, but I only saw like one of those to every 5 "I just think it would be a mistake" responses. I don't agree with them I don't much care if they cast a black guy for the roll, but it seams like a bit of an ad hominem to say people are turning "racist."
Most comments on the page I linked to aren't too bad, but you should see some others, like on Cracked.
I don't think the people saying the stuff are racists, I just think the things they're saying is ignorant and offensive.
 

Thaluikhain

Elite Member
Legacy
Jan 16, 2010
18,580
3,538
118
MrGalactus said:
Not entirely sure what you mean on this one. You mean casting actors of one race for a movie based around the lives of people of another race?
I mean if movies in general are dominated by one race, then changing a character of an under-represented race into the over-represented race might not be the best of ideas.
 

Tombsite

New member
Nov 17, 2012
147
0
0
Well if they also make Sue Storm black then I don't really have a problem with it. But I can see where some people are coming from. If you really want your superhero's to look like they do in the comic then switching race is something you will disagree with. Same with different hair colour (Imagine the reaction to a blond Jean Gray) or costume.
 

Scarim Coral

Jumped the ship
Legacy
Oct 29, 2010
18,157
2
3
Country
UK
Seeing how I don't give a danm what the hardcore comicbook fans think (they keep forgetting that comicbooks film does not canter to them but to other audiences aswell who know little to none of the source material), I fine with this just as long he can played the role well (like Idris Elba as Heimdall from Thor).
The better question to asked is if this reboot will be successful?
 

MrGalactus

Elite Member
Sep 18, 2010
1,849
0
41
thaluikhain said:
MrGalactus said:
Not entirely sure what you mean on this one. You mean casting actors of one race for a movie based around the lives of people of another race?
I mean if movies in general are dominated by one race, then changing a character of an under-represented race into the over-represented race might not be the best of ideas.
I'm not really bothered about that, either. That's a little more questionable, but so long as they just choose an actor based on his ability to capture the personality of the original character, it should be fair game.

Tombsite said:
Well if they also make Sue Storm black then I don't really have a problem with it. But I can see where some people are coming from. If you really want your superhero's to look like they do in the comic then switching race is something you will disagree with. Same with different hair colour (Imagine the reaction to a blond Jean Gray) or costume.
Why should Sue Storm have to be black, too? There's such a thing as a "throwback" child. So long as somewhere in your lineage there is one family member of another race, a child can be born with a similar skin pigmentation in any generation afterwards. It's a recessive gene that's more common than you might think. Also, adoption is common there days.

Not sure about the Jean Gray thing. They made Lois Lane a redhead in Man of Steel. There's been no reaction.
 

Private Custard

New member
Dec 30, 2007
1,920
0
0
MrGalactus said:
It's not the Felix thing, it was the talk of Idris Elba being Bond a while back that I was thinking of. Don't get me wrong, I think he's awesome, I just think a black Bond would be silly (for want of a better word).

I'll ask something else, seeing as I'm here.

If a black guy thinks it's a bad idea, is he a racist?
 

Shadowstar38

New member
Jul 20, 2011
2,204
0
0
This is not about racism. This is about being accurate to the source material.

Aang, Katara, and Sokka aren't white.

Bane isn't British.

Johnny Storm isn't black.

These are not hard things to avoid fucking up.

Also, Famke Janssen had to die her hair red to play Jean grey. So this would would logically...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiteface_(performance)

Yeah...fuck no.
 

YuberNeclord

New member
Jul 15, 2012
96
0
0
I don't really care if you change the ethnicity of a character, as long as it is done for the right reasons. Meaning that if someone comes in and auditions for a part and totally nails it or brings something to the character that no one was expecting that is awesome, then you should cast them regardless of ethnicity(or sex for that matter).

If you go out of your way to purposely cast an 'ethnic' character for a part so that you can call yourself progressive or to try to appeal to a target market then you should go and die now, because you are everything that is wrong with the industry/world.

From what I read of the article(I skimmed it mostly) the Director Josh Trank has worked with Michael B. Jordan in the past and he wants to work with him again. I'm going to be optimistic and assume that Josh Trank made this decision not only because he has a good working relationship with Michael B. Jordan but because he believes that Michael can bring something to the table that would make the role his.

Assuming of course Michael B. Jordan gets the part. From what I read all that's happening at the moment is that his name has been thrown into the mix.
 

MrGalactus

Elite Member
Sep 18, 2010
1,849
0
41
Private Custard said:
MrGalactus said:
It's not the Felix thing, it was the talk of Idris Elba being Bond a while back that I was thinking of. Don't get me wrong, I think he's awesome, I just think a black Bond would be silly (for want of a better word).

I'll ask something else, seeing as I'm here.

If a black guy thinks it's a bad idea, is he a racist?
I'm glad you brought the Idris Elba Bond thing up, actually. I honestly wouldn't be happy if they'd cast a black man to be Bond unless they rebooted the franchise, because if you didn't then you'd have a continuity error. The timeline or continuity of Bond has never really been important, so the main character looking different really has never mattered until now the movies are treated as direct sequels again.

doesn't matter what colour they are, I don't think all people who think not changing it are racist, it depends on their reasoning.
 

MrGalactus

Elite Member
Sep 18, 2010
1,849
0
41
Shadowstar38 said:
This is not about racism. This is about being accurate to the source material.

Aang, Katara, and Sokka aren't white.

Bane isn't British.

Johnny Storm isn't black.

These are not hard things to avoid fucking up.

Also, Famke Janssen had to die her hair red to play Jean grey. So this would would logically...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiteface_(performance)

Yeah...fuck no.
But why is it a fuck-up at all? Why does it matter?
 

Xukog

New member
May 21, 2011
126
0
0
I'm not opposed to the idea,although I will admit I find it a little odd simply because the image in my head of Johnny Storm is a hot-headed young,usually blond-haired white guy. For me,it's kinda like how for me Commander Shepard is a space-born war hero who treats all races equally,loves peaceful solutions and has the default look. It's pretty much the only way I have seen the character represented. In any case,if the guy can pull off the character then that's cool.
 

Tombsite

New member
Nov 17, 2012
147
0
0
MrGalactus said:
Why should Sue Storm have to be black, too? There's such a thing as a "throwback" child. So long as somewhere in your lineage there is one family member of another race, a child can be born with a similar skin pigmentation in any generation afterwards. It's a recessive gene that's more common than you might think. Also, adoption is common there days.
Um yeah that just sounds stupid to me. Just make both sibling black if you want a black human torch. There are plenty of talented black actresses out there. While those two things you mentioned are possible it would just bring too much attention to those insignificant details in a movie that would most likely have far to much stuff in it already.
 

Shadowstar38

New member
Jul 20, 2011
2,204
0
0
MrGalactus said:
Shadowstar38 said:
This is not about racism. This is about being accurate to the source material.

Aang, Katara, and Sokka aren't white.

Bane isn't British.

Johnny Storm isn't black.

These are not hard things to avoid fucking up.

Also, Famke Janssen had to die her hair red to play Jean grey. So this would would logically...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiteface_(performance)

Yeah...fuck no.
But why is it a fuck-up at all? Why does it matter?
Because Johnny is white. In every form of media he's in. What are you not understanding?
 

MrGalactus

Elite Member
Sep 18, 2010
1,849
0
41
Shadowstar38 said:
MrGalactus said:
Shadowstar38 said:
This is not about racism. This is about being accurate to the source material.

Aang, Katara, and Sokka aren't white.

Bane isn't British.

Johnny Storm isn't black.

These are not hard things to avoid fucking up.

Also, Famke Janssen had to die her hair red to play Jean grey. So this would would logically...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiteface_(performance)

Yeah...fuck no.
But why is it a fuck-up at all? Why does it matter?
Because Johnny is white. In every form of media he's in. What are you not understanding?
I'm not understanding why it matters. Surely his character is what's important, so whoever can interpret the personality best on screen should be given the part. Why should they compromise the character because of an unimportant aesthetic difference?

Tombsite said:
MrGalactus said:
Why should Sue Storm have to be black, too? There's such a thing as a "throwback" child. So long as somewhere in your lineage there is one family member of another race, a child can be born with a similar skin pigmentation in any generation afterwards. It's a recessive gene that's more common than you might think. Also, adoption is common there days.
Um yeah that just sounds stupid to me. Just make both sibling black if you want a black human torch. There are plenty of talented black actresses out there. While those two things you mentioned are possible it would just bring too much attention to those insignificant details in a movie that would most likely have far to much stuff in it already.
I'd be fine with them making both characters black, but if they didn't I don't think they'd have to bother explaining it.