Fragmented_Faith said:
From the images ive seen said black actor looks good. The only thing I'm having trouble getting my head around is the explanation as to why this particular double standard is ok. "its fine because we wronged them generations ago" feels like a loose connection at best. But then this might just be because over here aussy "natives" are still using that excuse for every little thing under the sun and we just keep paying up.
Just saying, feels odd to see that particular defense brought up over a movie
A quick Ctrl+Fing later, I wanna say: The point is not that "we" wronged "them" generations ago, it's that the societal effects of that terrible time and situation are still around. Even if there're no segregation laws here in the States, there still exists some general sense of "black" subculture being largely separate from "white" subculture", and such. Yeah, there's bleedover into these subcultures by those who don't quite fit a given stereotype, but the reason this is around at all if because during the long amount of time that there WAS a distinct line drawn, people were still living, and forming communities, and raising children. We
grew into these walled senses of identity, and within those walls, things like comics were also made. And the staple character of those comics are largely white, because that's who made those comics: white people, in the white sub-culture.
Now, I don't
really have any stats or know-what to back this up, but to me, this seems the case. And part of getting past that is to allow these previously white characters to be not-white characters. That, or get new characters to catch on in the public consciousness. But that would take a damn long while.
Maybe one of the reasons Spongebob is so popular (especially among black people, or at least young black women in very casual attire (oh please, please don't let me be racist for that)) is because he isn't human, and thus isn't part of any particular race, even though he's almost painfully supposed to be a scrawny, nerdy little white "boy". No roles or expectations are made of him because he's not people. He's a walking, talking sponge, and just happens to have the personality he does. He's not stereotyped, or reverse-stereotyped, or a poser, because we don't have generations-long imposed expectations of a
sponge.
Still, I will concede that a black Norse god is a bit of a weird place to take this, considering that those gods were, y'know, "made" by white people. Did the Norse ever even encounter black people? Not to say the role wasn't badass (haven't seen the movie yet...and prolly won't, given my theatrical track record), but still: mythology. At least Nick Fury is supposed to be actual people, and thus whatever the hell ethnicity is alive at that time (because Geico commercials break my suspension of disbelief).
...Have we had an ancient-Egypt-based superhero flick yet? There's a perfect opportunity for mythologically appropriate not-white casting (as in, AT ALL, thank you).