actress tells minorities to stop stealing white super hero roles

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/01/michelle-rodriguez-superhero-movies_n_6778732.html

When TMZ asked Rodriguez on Friday if she was "going to be the Green Lantern," the actress responded, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Because of this whole 'minorities in Hollywood' thing ... It's so stupid. Stop stealing all the white people's superheroes. Make up your own."

The 36-year-old took to Facebook on Saturday to clarify the meaning behind her statements. In the video, Rodriguez first apologizes to those offended.

"I want to clarify about my comment yesterday. I stuck my foot in my mouth once again, and I said that people should stop trying to steal white people superheroes," she said. "I guess it got taken out of context because a lot of people got offended ... but I have a tendency to speak without a filter, so sorry about that."

The "Furious 7" star continued on to say that she wants to see more minority writers and producers create their own original characters for minorities.

What I really meant was, ultimately at the end of the day there's a language. And the language that you speak in Hollywood is successful franchise. And I think that there are many cultures in Hollywood that are not white that can come up with their own mythology ... I'm just saying that instead of trying to turn a girl character into a guy or instead of trying to turn a white character into a black character or Latin character, I think that people should stop being lazy, and that people should actually make an effort in Hollywood to develop their own mythology.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. Most of the 'hero' franchises are from comics that are many decades old.

Quite a few going back to the 1940s and 1950s. The 'newest' one I can think of is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and those came out what, 20-30 years ago? It's great to create new characters, but it takes time to get them established and to the point where they have wide enough appeal to make successful movies out of them. I'd be fine seeing minorities take over some of the hero roles, even if it's not 'canon'.

[el_bryanto]

2. Guardians of the Galaxy in their current form was from the 2008 but the characters go back

further than that (that said, the versions of Rocket Racoon and particularly Groot from before that time are so different as to be different characters). There have been some recent characters showing up in supporting rolls - the problem is that starting a new superhero is very difficult; and they need all the breaks they can get. Tying them into an existing mythology may seem like a cop-out but it gives them a bit more of a hook.

At DC there's Static - created by a black creator - He's still around in the DC universe (I think, I don't read a lot of DC).

Bryant

[AverageJoe90]

10. The cartoon version of Static Shock was one of my favorite TV shows.....

back when it was on.

[ND-Dem]

26. omg -- i'd never heard of it so looked it up -- 2 or the 3 creators are dead, both under 50,

both of heart problems, and one was homeless for a while after the comic industry contracted. he was apparently working in retail when he died. his friends had to fundraise to bury him. the two black creators died, the white one survives.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_L._Washington_III
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Leon

[Reter]

3. I'm all for having more minority super heroes

I'm not cool with actors playing comic book roles that look nothing like the characters they are playing. I'm sorry, but I'm not a racist because I think the premise of a black Aquaman is ridiculous. I think it would be moronic to have him played by an Asian, Indian, or even a white guy with dark hair. He's blonde, no matter what Hollywood says.

[el_bryanto]

18. What about having a white guy play Green Lantern, when the most famous version of that

character was the one from the Justice League Cartoon - i.e. a black guy?

Bryant

[TheKentuckian]

25. You think Jon Stewart is more GL than Hal Jordan? Based on what?

I'm gonna guess you aren't a long term Green Lantern fan?

[Action_Patrol]

29. Every incarnation before the current JL was all Hal Jordan.

There have been a lot of fill ins but Hal IS earth's green lantern.

[TheKentuckian]

31. Not exactly there is Kyle Katern and another major one and an old school Lantern

who's weakness was wood it seems like but Jordan was the main Green Lantern of Earth and is still the primary when Stewart holds the role as well with Hal being on special assignment for the corp.

I'd rather make Hal black than to elevate Stewart above him as GL, the character is not all ring and suit. Stewart is meh.

[Action_Patrol]

32. It feel the same about Spider-Man

I get nothing out of Miles. Spider-Man IS Peter Parker. I don't care of he's black. He just needs to be Peter. Color of skin has nothing to do with his character.

[Codeine]

36. Kyle Rayner.

The human GLs have been Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, and recent addition Simon Baz.

And there's Alan Scott from the old school/Earth2 days. And a couple of really obscure characters from other alternate universes; Waverly Sayre, anyone?

[TheKentuckian]

89. Good call. Gardner was the one I couldn't even begin to pull out.

[JHB]

60. At a guess, probably because Jon Stewart was the GL in the...

...Justice League animated series that ran in 2000-2004. Reached a far larger audience than comics have in decades, and the viewers who were kid then are now young adults. For them -- people who aren't necessarily "fans" but might go to a movie if they like it -- Stewart is a familiar and strong character.

[TheKentuckian]

88. Stewart is meh, he was strong because he is a Green Lantern not because he was that great a GL

or a character. Seems to mostly be a boring, hidebound lawful good type with middling imagination and will resulting in lame constructs and stiff interactions. The most interesting thing is how this was worked into a more identifiable and "human" character that despite Jon Stewart being extra two dimensional also seems more Jon Stewart than Green Lantern so I find that balance amusing.

[Codeine]

34. I don't care what actor plays him,

but as a certified DC fanboy I can assure you that te most famous Green Lantern is Hal Jordan. John Stewart is more famous to a group of fans of a certain age, but not among fans of the Lanternverse as a whole.

[el_bryanto]

37. It's just a shame htat Hal Jordan is such a desperately boring character.

I probably like Kyle Raynor best, but think the John Stewart one was just as valid a contender - and as more people saw the cartoon than read the comics, I would have thought he would have been the best shot.

Bryant

[Codeine]

38. Now on this we agree.

John Stewart is the better character. Guy Gardner could be great in the right hands as well; Jake Busey?

[zappaman]

46. Yeah, but Hal Jordan had a great sidekick.

[Codeine]

63. Ah, jeez.

I didn't read an issue with his little Eskimo buddy until a few years ago -- excruciating. Strange to think there was a day when that sort of thing was the norm.

[zappaman]

71. Me too.

Bought the collection of the first issues and right away... WTF?

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

53. GUY GARDNER!!!.....

Alas, Guy would not play to a mainstream audience. I'm trying to think who would even play him. Maybe if Phillip Seymour Hoffman were still alive.....

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

51. Sorry, but for the "Superfriends" generation, it was Hal Jordan

The cool thing about GL is that you can have the multiple versions. But I've never heard anyone say John Stewart IS THE Green Lantern.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

48. Blonde Aquaman has generally been lame

Unless he's rocking a Thor type mane and beard, that brand is generally going to be mocked.

[ZX86]

4. It's a frickin' cartoon people.

I can't believe anyone gets worked up over what a character in a comic book looks like.

[zappaman]

5. Who cares what color they are?

Nick Fury was originally white in the comics, but is portrayed by Samuel Jackson in the films.
Why?
I dunno, maybe cuz he's great in the role?

[AverageJoe90]

9. Yeah, this. A great actor can do wonders for a character.....

In fact, I can't really honestly imagine Fury as anything other than Samuel L. Jackson.

[Nevernose]

14. Because that's not really Nick Fury

In the main Marvel world, the one that goes back decades, Nick Fury is still white (and actually just got killed off a few months ago).

However, in the early 2000s, Marvel started another "parallel universe" called Marvel Ultimates. It was an attempt to hook new fans who were familiar with the characters but might have been afraid to go into the deep history of thousands of issues. They streamlined things, updated things (a younger, hip Aunt May that plays video games, for instance, or a long haired goth Dr. Octopus), and changed things for the sake of diversity.

Marvel has always been great about introducing diverse characters: the first mainstream black hero, the first Asian hero, the first gay hero, the first bisexual hero, on and on. However, it still seemed to be a little on the "token minority" side, so they made a few big differences: Peter Parker was killed off and replaced by Afro-Carribean New Yorker Miles Morales (for instance), and a black Nick Fury.

The movies and cartoons all borrowed heavily from the Ultimates universe, because it was seen as more approachable.

For the record, the original Nick Fury was white even in the Ultimates, back in the 1940s when it was still "Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos." The story goes that while he did go on to become the head of SHIELD, he had an illegitimate son by a black woman in the mid-60s, who followed in his father's footsteps and eventually became the head of SHIELD in his own right. Technically Samuel L Jackson is playing the role of a half-white bastard child trying to earn the respect of a man he only knew from news reports and books.

This is from an old series I collect (and makes me want to earn more money!):

[zappaman]

17. I forgot about all those ridiculous multi-universes.

Seems like they came up with that crap so no superhero dies.
"He's dead on Earth one, but on earth two, he is actually a woman and on earth three, he is a talking lizard."
Honestly, it turned me off to most superhero comics, but I still love the golden age and especially the Bronze Age!

[Marr]

44. They're ending the Ultimate universe now, aren't they?

It's too bad, because those original Ultimates series were fantastic. I loved how Thor was portrayed as likely just a lunatic for most of the first story arc.

They really screwed that universe up over time, imho-- but it was fun when it was starting out.

[Number23]

39. That man was MADE for that role.

I can't imagine anyone ever playing Nick Fury again after the way that Sam has absolutely killed that role.



He owns every scene he's in, no matter who else is in it.

[zappaman]

42. Well...

[Number23]

43. Oh. God. NOO!!!!!

I need a screaming at the top of my lungs smiley!!!! Or a faints dead one...

After seeing that man in the SpongeBob Squarepants movie, it's no surprise that he had to leave his superhero days behind him.

[Xyzse]

90. Buahahahahahahaha

I knew this was going to come up sooner or later.

[Number23]

92. You knew about this, huh?

Who's bright idea was it to make Da Hasselhoff Nick Fury??!!

I can't think of anyone LESS Fury-like than that man

[Xyzse]

94. Yes, I saw it got put in network television.

I never saw it, but I just found it funny as heck.

I mean, as a kid, I loved him in Knight Rider, but that's pretty much it.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

49. Because Marvel actually decided to model Fury after Jackson to troll him into playing Fury

They made Nick Fury to look like SLJ when they rebooted the Universe in the early 2000's because they knew if they ever made an Avengers/SHIELD movie, they wanted him to play Fury. SLJ is a huge comic book fan, so he of course jumped at the offer. And a ton of money didn't hurt either.

Other than Avery Brooks, no, I couldn't see anyone else in that role. I pray that if SLJ ever gives up the role, they don't get lazy and just say, "Let's get Denzel".

[Number23]

75. Cool info! Thanks for that

Last edited Mon Mar 2, 2015, 07:41 PM - Edit history (1)

I can totally understand trolling Sam to play that role. He is magnificent in it. Who is Avery Brooks?

Have you ever seen Afro Samurai? SLJ did the voice of the all too annoying sidekick on this show too. He is bringing lots of flavor to the animated world.



A really graphic, almost kind of horrible cartoon if you ask me. The violence is unreal. But I can understand that there are people into that kind of thing.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

78. Avery Brooks was Captain Sisko on Deep Space 9

Not a Star Trek fan, I knew him from playing Hawk on Spencer For Hire with Robert Urich.

He was also the principal Dr. Sweeney in American History X.

When they started the SHIELD TV show, I figured you'd need Fury and Jackson wouldn't do TV, so Brooks would have been a good stand-in.

[Number23]

80. Oh yeah, he definitely has a bit of the SLJ flavor

I've never watched any of the shows you mentioned which is why I'd never heard of him.

I updated my post above. It was a bit incoherent.

Samuel J plays the voice of the annoying sidekick in Afro Samurai.

[Xithras]

93. It's not so much the color as the culture.

Most white super heroes are portrayed in comics and cartoons as being culturally white, and many of their life experiences are the result of existing within a greater white culture. When actors of other ethnicities are cast to play those roles, they usually maintain the culturally white backstories, behaviors, and personalities established by the original comics. As a result, the characters still tend to be "culturally white", even when they're actually being played by minorities.

What Rodriguez was saying, albeit poorly, is that the genre needs superheroes that aren't just PLAYED by minorities, but which are actually products of minority culture and integrate minority storylines into their characters. She believes that casting minorities as traditionally white characters does a disservice to minorities by keeping representations of genuine minority figures out of the movies.

[Wella]

6. I think Rodriguez was misinterpreted: she understands the need for superheroes in all races

She just thinks that new ones need to emerge, who are, from the beginning of their comic book lives, minorities. Why redo Superman when you could create a whole new character that starts out African American or Latino or Asian? Create the icon and you elevate the group that icon represents.

[AverageJoe90]

11. This is rather the impression that I received myself.

[Wella]

15. I don't know enough about the superhero world to know which ones are popular and which ones are not

These are some quick wiki links to Superheroes of Color.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_black_superheroes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latino_superheroes

[CTyankee]

12. but she could have said that, right?

[Wella]

16. When you're saying things on the fly, they often come out a little different than you intend

I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt. I think her heart was in the right place.

[CTyankee]

19. I guess it is true, but really, there are agents out there who can moderate views in such

a way as you suggest...just by giving he other side of the discussion, not by smothering thought and dissent...

[Wella]

20. Yes, but agents can't cover 100%. That's why they have PR people to smooth things over

I wouldn't read too much into this. There are far more important people whose words we should parse: like Presidential candidates. Their speeches, in particular, are crafted not to offend but to signal (to the knowledgeable) what they intend to do.

[CTyankee]

21. I don't know but I think they can advise...if they are intuitive they know what to say to

their clients. But of course any agent can be blindsided...maybe that's what happened here...

[Wella]

22. Yes, they can advise, but they can't be everywhere at once and public figures say things on the fly

Think about the person who has to deal with Joe Biden. The man's heart is in the right place, but he is real train wreck sometimes. His quote about Obama was classic:

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1895156_1894977_1644536,00.html

(Can you imagine Biden's campaign advisors when they heard this?)

Now at the time, Biden was vilified as being a racist, but eventually he was given the benefit of the doubt and put on the ticket as Vice President.

The least we can do with this young actress, who really does seem to want to advance the cause of superheroes of color, is to give her the same leeway that we gave the Vice President.

[CTyankee]

23. yes, I always would advise a generous spirit...

[JonLP24]

45. Michelle Rodriguez isn't that type of actress

"Oh man, I was typecast the minute I did a film called Girlfight years ago. You allow yourself to be typecast. If I decided I didn't want to be typecast tomorrow, I'd just do an indie film where I play some poor girl who goes through some excruciating experience and win myself an award for crying or being raped. But at the end of the day, I'm not in it for the acting. I only wanna be someone I respect or someone that I consider interesting or fun. I'm here to entertain people and make a statement about female empowerment and strength, and that's what I've done for the last 10 years. I pigeonholed myself and I put myself in that box by saying no to everything else that came on my plate. Saying no to this, no to that, and eventually I just got left with the strong chick that's always being killed, and there's nothing wrong with that."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Rodriguez

She is going to speak her mind more than most

[justiceischeap]

58. You're right, she's often in trouble for speaking her mind

or, you know, being drunk. She lost her gig on LOST because of her drinking. Most of the times I see paparazzi images of her, she's drunk. So she's actually been pigeon-holed in other ways too.

[alcibiades_mystery]

7. "apologizes to those offended"

Oh for fuck's sake.

[AverageJoe90]

8. I do think her wording was a bit problematic, to be frank.

However, I'd like to say that I also think she managed to make a good point-creativity does seem to be a bit on the short side with the big publishers these days, by and large(there have been a few hopeful exceptions to that rule, however), and it wouldn't hurt to have more original POC superheroes out there, for sure.

With that aside, though, I certainly don't have a particular issue with the idea of minorities playing characters that used to be "white" in their original background, not at all.....it's the quality of the remake that counts, in my view(FYI, I think Kamala Khan made a *great* Miss Marvel, and Miles Morales is rather interesting as Spider-Man as well.).

[Baitball Blogger]

13. And shame on Zoe Saldana for stealing roles from green and blue people!

Seriously, I chose to believe that Rodriguez' words were ahead of her main point. I am all for minorities being allowed to promote more works in Hollywood. If only that was possible.

And if you want to be technical about it, Anglo-Americans "steal" more roles from minorities than vice-versa. As we speak, I'm watching Argo, for example.

[romanic]

24. She didn't say what she meant in the right way

But her clarification I agree with 100%. I'd love to see original minority characters (superhero or not) take centerstage in Hollywood instead of traditionally white characters being written as Asian or Black just for the sake of it.

[dilby]

27. I agree with her that Hollywood is being lazy.

It's like there is not a single original thought left in Hollywood, they are either taking old comic book characters and turning them into a movie or they are taking already successful movies and remaking them. Don't get me wrong I thought the new star trek was great but it was still lazy and if they would have taken a little effort and created all new characters in the star trek universe it would have been just as good or even better.

[bravenak]

28. Idris Elba.

Played a Nordic God. And I love him forever.

[Brigid]

30. I dunno . . .

I rather like the idea of non-whites creating their very own superheroes. Wasn't there one called the Black Panther many years ago?

[Action_Patrol]

33. Still here.

BlackPanther is amazing. Soon to be an Avenger on the big screen plus his own film starring Chadwick Bozeman (who was just James Brown in Get on Up)

[mythology]

35. He's still around

He's going to be in the next Captain America movie next year before getting his own film the year after.

There are interesting minority characters, I generally like the ultimate universe Spider-man Miles Morales, but I don't know if the world needs another Spider-man origin story or if the character would work without first establishing the original Spider-man in the Marvel cinema universe.

Storm from the X-Men is another.

Cyborg, the half-man/half-robot could be really interesting as less of a pure super-hero movie and more an exposition on what it means to be human.

Scalped which focused on an Indian Reservation wouldn't make a good movie, but it would make a good tv show.

Steel could be good as a follow up on Superman.

One problem is that a lot of the minority superheroes are spinoffs of a character. Like Steel is from Superman, or Miles Morales is from Spider-man. I think it would be more interesting if there were more stand-alone minority characters.

[Number23]

40. Honey, get Hollywood to actually DO something with the black superheroes that already exist

and we'll talk. I know about a hundred sistas ready for this movie to get made about a decade ago:



And I remember Asian and Native American and Hispanic superheroes from The Superfriends, like 100 years ago!

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

50. A stand alone Storm movie?

It could have happened....but not after this....

[Behind the Aegis]

52. Get them to do anything with ANY female superhero!

One of the most recognizable and popular female superheroes...WONDER WOMAN. Nothing! Well, supposedly something is coming in 2017. There have been supporting ones, but none really on their own except the dreadful "Supergirl" and "Catwoman" movies from a bit back.

Storm would make a great central character for a feature film. I'd line up to see it (as long as the casted correctly). Vixen would be another one which would be unusual and quite fun.


(old costume)


(newer costume)

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

54. Supposedly, there will be a Black Widow film

I hope so. With Scarlett. She's been so damn good, especially in Winter Soldier.

As for Wonder Woman, yes she will be in the Batman vs Superman film to set up the JLA. I chalk the lack of a standalone movie up to DC's complete cinematic incompetence, which will possibly be exposed with it's new rush to get all the Justice League characters on film now in one film to start competing with Marvel. Bad, bad move, IMHO.

[Behind the Aegis]

55. I have heard that about the Black Widow too.

Yeah, DC has really dropped the ball! Some of the problems with WW has been licensing issues.

[Number23]

76. Oh, I am SO with you! WONDER WOMAN should have been done 20 years ago

considering the success of the tv show in the freaking 19 SEVENTIES! What the hell is wrong with Hollywood?? They'll do fifty iterations of Batman/Spiderman/Superman but just ignore everything else.

I was so in love with Wonder Woman as a kid it wasn't funny. I thought Lynda Carter was the most beautiful woman in the world...after Jayne Kennedy. I even had the Underoos!

We all know that Angela Basset should have been cast as Storm in the Xmen movies. Putting Halle in that role was a disgrace. But I am really intrigued by Vixen too. She is so bad ass and she had Green Lantern wrapped around her finger in the Justice League cartoons.

[JustAnotherGen]

56. I think Rodriguez needs to re direct her angst towards

The white males who have been producing and directing these films.

Shouldn't her beef be with them?

[JonLP24]

57. Isn't it?

Who else is she referring to when she means creating your own mythology? Specifically mentioning Hollywood.

Who else would the angst be toward when the TMZ cameras jumped at the opportunity to ask her the question?

[JustAnotherGen]

62. She put the onus on minority creators who might not even be interested in writing the script

What's a simple writer in Hollywood? They don't make the big decisions. And maybe no one who is 'minority' is interested in telling these stories?

If she wants that 'key' role to be created - then shouldn't she write, produce, star in, and direct?

She's been there long enough - if she would put down the booze bottle for five minutes she could be 'the change she wants to see'.

[JonLP24]

70. Booze bottle for five minutes?

I'm not aware if she even has those issues but she is more familiar with Hollywood but she probably notices this huge Comic book movie push & it is getting a little out of hand. Basically she was asked if she was going to do a role and her response went from there, probably a no but made a statement out of creativity. I learned a lot about comic book character history in this thread so she may not have a deep knowledge of the history. However, while I liked the 2 Batman movies, I really have 0% in the rest of the comic movies.

While a simple writer does not have power, I doubt she has much power & don't believe she has much history if any as a screen writer so I don't see if she could do all that you suggest. She is one of the most typecast actors out there. She could certainly speak her opinion, turning down a role (if it was offered) & giving an opinion has an impact but she isn't a major player out there.

On edit -- the headline is very misleading & isn't the same headline the article uses but mentions parts of Hollywood that could come up with their own stories but I'm sure the more she elaborated the more reasonable her opinion is rather than a few things taken out-of-context & asked with TMZ cameras stalking her & asking a question about a role she obviously did or would turn down.

[JustAnotherGen]

72. I've read two articles on this

Not at DU - and not at TMZ.


And I'm in a discussion elsewhere on this same topic with other writers.


Thanks for the explanation but I'll take my explanations from the woman who wrote the script for Juno instead thank you very much!

ETA - this didn't post

While a simple writer does not have power, I doubt she has much power & don't believe she has much history if any as a screen writer so I don't see if she could do all that you suggest. She is one of the most typecast actors out there. She could certainly speak her opinion, turning down a role (if it was offered) & giving an opinion has an impact but she isn't a major player out there.

She could if she wanted to. Her being typecast is what it is. Once upon a time- Robert Redford was considered 'just another california blonde'. 20 years later he had founded Sundance and won an Oscar for Directing.

If she doesn't like the system - change from within.

[JonLP24]

73. who wrote Juno?

I don't see Michelle Rodriguez as a writer so I'm not sure as a typecast actress she has much power to write, produce, direct, & star. TMZ was the one that asked her a question regarding the Green Latern role (though I didn't see the clip, I imagine they spotted her on the street & asked her a question while following her given that this where the vast majority of their interviews happen and you get a lot of off-the-cuff responses & it isn't really designed to get know the actors or actresses.

[Number23]

77. Girl, this thread is Heaven for me. I may live in here forever

Combining two of my favorite topics -- the deplorable depictions of minorities in media and SUPERHEROES!!

I do think that her comments are indirectly aimed at the white guys that make these comic books and films but in a roundabout way. Perhaps instead of castigating minorities for "stealing" white superheroes, she should have aimed at the white folks so myopic that they only see superheroes as white in the first place. And at the film industry for only putting out the stories of white superheroes and ignoring the many others that already exist.

[Marr]

41. Eh, it's done in comics all the time. Miss Marvel is currently a teenage Muslim girl.

And it's the best version of the character in years. Blue Beetle was restarted as a Latino boy a few years ago, too.



I liked it, personally. Then there's one of the new versions of Spider-Man, a black teenager. Captain America is black now, too.



Doctor Strange was replaced with a black character for awhile recently, too. I was so bummed that they killed him off... he looked so much cooler.

[Dr. Strange]

66. You are wrong, of course.

THIS was my coolest look, ever:

[Marr]

67. lol!

My apologies-- I must have blocked that memory out for some reason. Er I mean, forgotten it.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

47. She has never struck me as being too bright. n/m

[DetlefK]

59. Have you even read her reasoning?

These franchises/stories/characters she is refering to are old. They were written at a time when race mattered, so race is a part of them.

Superman was written in the 50s. Can you imagine a black Superman from the 50s? Can you imagine a black Clark Kent from the 50s becoming a newspaper-reporter? Can you imagine a black Wonderwoman from the 50s?
Can you imagine an all-black team of Ghostbusters being dragged into court for being frauds?
How about King Kong climbing to the top of the Empire State building while holding a black woman?

Race is part of their identity. Change the race and the character changes. That's what Michelle Rodriguez meant: The characters get a new skin-colour and we are to pretend that it doesn't matter. It matters.



Imagine if the gritty reboot of Fantastic Four had a black Reed Richards. Super-smart guy, but it doesn't matter, because he's black.
He will face the same profiling and statistically elevated level of police-brutality as other African-Americans.
And he might get arrested for jaywalking on campus, just like that black professor in real life.
He might get shot at while trying to enter his own laboratory late at night.

Do you think, this would change Reed Richards's character???

[kwassa]

87. Superman was created in 1933. Batman was created in 1940.

These franchises are older than you think.

[DetlefK]

91. Which only reinforces my argument.

[Orrex]

61. IMO they should make both Johnny AND Sue Storm black

I don't know how it will play out onscreen, but much of their dynamic in the comics has always built on the fact that they're biological siblings. Not sure why they'd recast one but not both characters for the upcoming film. It seems like a deliberate (and successful) ploy to generate controversy.

On the other hand, Jessica Alba credibly played Sue Storm in the generally uninspired 2005 film, so who knows?

Certainly the legendary comic artist John Byrne doesn't know. He famously asserted:

Personal prejudice: Hispanic and Latino women with blond hair look like hookers to me, no matter how clean or ‘cute’ they are.

Long story short? If the actors play their roles well, I don't really care about their ethnicity.

[Javaman]

64. who the fuck cares...

I'm a comic book geek.

who ever is able to play what ever the fuck superhero the best is all that matters. Black, white, brown, yellow or red. If you can act and pull it off, who cares what race the superhero is?

we really need to get past this comic book racism, because that's exactly what it is.

everyone in comic book geek land freaked out when it was found out that the torch was going to be played by a black guy. Why? because there is a really stupid section of the comic book geek world that believes that a white superhero drawn in the 1960's is "canon". I say bullshit on that.

just get the fuck over it.

have a good story, good actors and good action and who the hell cares who plays what roll.

[taught_me_patience]

81. Maybe some of us minorities are sick of the myth of the white superhero

It's a relic of the 50's and 60's when these franchises were developed, but in the modern era, seems to perpetuate the myth that white people have to come to save the world. We live in a multi-cultural society... superhero movies should reflect that.

[Javaman]

82. I agree.

I just get bent out of shape over the nerd rage racists who go crazy if saddening one of their "teenage comic idols" is cast as a minority. They need to get the fuck over themselves.

[taught_me_patience]

84. Ok yeah agree

misread your post. sorry.

[Javaman]

95. No worries. cheers! :) nt

[yuiyoshida]

65. Right now my current favorite, its the JAPANESE VERSION of WITICHBLADE!

both Anime and Manga are great

[ismnotwasm]

74. That looks great

I just started "Saga"-- not much into superheroes, but Image comics carry's Witchblade so I'll check it out. It will have to be in English--alas

(I also love, love, love Japenese horror movies--subtitles, not dubbed, so many are terrifying!)

[ismnotwasm]

68. She's trying to make a jump that doesn't exist yet

I wish I could ignore celebrities, but their words DO have impact unfortunately.

[Adrahil]

69. Made me think of this....

[Phentex]

83. It fits...

she's just backpedaling at this point.

[alarimer]

79. Superheroes are made-up so who cares what race they are supposed to be.

I know Idris Elba got some flack for playing a Norse god, but so what? They're as fictional as superheroes, so what possible difference would it make?

[Orrex]

85. You'd be fine, then, if Tom Robinson were played by a white man?

[Glassunion]

86. I can't believe that she used the Green Lantern as an example.

As any nerd knows, the Green Lantern is not a single person and can in all truth be anyone.

Past Green Lanterns:
Alan Scott - white American male
Hal Jordan - white American male
Guy Gardner - white American male
John Stewart - black American male
Simon Baz - Arabic American Muslim male
Jade - white American female
Sinestro - red alien from Korugar
Jediah Caul - silvery alien from somewhere