The Big Picture: Skin Deep

[ZeoAssassin]

wow a lot of people seem to be missing the point here

its not about "white guilt" or what making up for what our ancestors did several hundred years ago...

its about recognizing that the origin to many of our societies core norms (in this case one involving works of Fiction) we follow out of tradition have a foundation knee deep in racism and our general thought of minorities back then.

the double standard is a necessary evil in order to correct and break the norms in order for us to achieve true homeostasis as a culture freed of racism.

granted i have exceptions to this reasoning which involve historical accuracy and whether race defines a given character, but white guilt is not a part of Bob's point.

to think that American Slavery and racism from back then hasn't directly or indirectly effected our society is just silly people.

 

[paintman]

Well two things, first off nick fury wasn't "turned into Samuel L. Jackson" for the movies. The marvel movie versions of the superheros are heavily influenced by Marvel Ultimate universe. That said one of the biggest differences in ultimate universe if that nick fury is seamlessly transitioned into a black guy that yells a lot (so Samuel L. Jackson).

Second. That said I am with you that if a proper actor is cast, and a character doesn't not factor racial identity into their persona (black panther for example), then it is entire acceptable to change the race to keep thing new and interesting.

The example I will give that is unacceptable is taking the world of Avatar: the Last Airbender, which is primarily Asian and turning into a movie where all the good guys are coincidently white and all the bad guys are coincidently not.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

I have to say that I don't care for Bob's argument. I don't care that they swapped the race of a character I'd only heard of in the context of Norse mythology for the purposes of filling a role in a film adaptation of a comic I have never nor will I likely ever read. The problem I have is that Bob is dismissing this on the basis of "a double standard has always been the way it works". When your defense of something is "sure, it's bad, but things are always bad", perhaps you might be on to something were it not for the simple fact that resolving this instance of a double standard was trivially easy. As a general rule, when trying to support something, pointing out that it is obviously wrong is a silly move especially when the solution required zero effort.

A better defense might hinge on the merits the actor brought to the role, because that is almost certainly what matters in this case.

 

[AssOnFire]

Screw those nay-sayers! Black folks need representation in the Norse pantheon too!!! However else will they get into Valhalla?

 

[JoeThree]

So you're saying that you're pro-reparations, so long as the returns paid are roles in TV and media and not anything that might benefit a majority of the members if any races previously subjugated by whites? In short, racism was bad, and now only those that no longer suffer from the effects on a socioeconomic level (the poor, under-educated people in ghettos, for example) should benefit some form of Affirmative Action. Wait, right, you're pretending it's not that, it's just a reversal of privallage based solely on race, and so you're right, that's not even an instance of POLITICAL CORRECTNESS, it's just racism. You can argue all day that whites have it better, and you know what, in most instances you're right, but that doesn't mean a damn thing at the end of the day in regards to what it is. So to add another question to the mix, are we now saying the ends justify the means? An end that is stupid at best, illogical in reality, and racist at worst. But shit, at least you get to rant on against whitey, and maybe appease some of your liberal guilt.

 

[Anacortian]

This double standard is still racism. Personally, I don't care which race depicts a fictional character of another race, so long as the casting was based on acting ability (and Thor's example was).

Non-fiction is a different matter, but I would hazard to guess that even a George Washington played well by a bushman would be a fine thing. The double take upon hearing it might break my neck, but the applause come from it working would break my hands.

In short, who cares. Anybody who cares for either reason is not the color-blind of which Dr. King dreamt. Damn the imperfect past and live in a better present by forgetting all that shit.

 

[Sean Deli]

Well, points to Bob for explaining his position clearly. At least he has a position to consider.

The black Heimdal character (!!!) raises over 9000 questions to the movie universe. Is he the only black guy in Asgard? Does it mean he has any special powers? Does it indicate any special origin of his character - did he (like Loki) is an orphan of some other race than Asgardians?
None of it explained. None of it even mentioned.
In 30 years someone like Nostalgia Critic would review Thor and scream "Why? Explain, movie! EXPLAIN!"

The answer is actually simple - the movie was not expected to provide immersion. The movie was not expecting the viewer to pay attention to the detail. The movie was not expected to be viewed seriously - because the movie was afraid of being serious (directors should have considered the Fifth Element - the movie is completely ridiculous, yet every detail in it is exactly where it should be).
Thor was just a bottle of maple syrup given to an ADHD child.
Ok, I get it. I just don't agree with it.

P.S. "...he rocks the role" Ok, I had enough of it.
This guys's role had no emotions, not a single facial expression or body language, no voice acting. The only hint at internal conflict (Does he accept the new king or does he resist) was completely botched in execution by movie producers. I don't think you can say ANYTHING about Elba's acting skills with such a stupid role, but then again the movie in general requested little to no actual acting from the cast.

So saying that he was awesome in playing his character is wrong.
His character was awesome, or rather his character was "awesome" - meaning that Heimdal had certain simple characteristics that immediately makes your character "good" in front of teen and tween demographic. It's the same stupid cultural phenomenon, that is responsible for "ninja, robot, zombie, pirate" or "bacon makes everything better" or multiple other example we all know and hate.

 

[minimacker]

The social difference between race seems to be pretty big in the North American continent when comparing to Europe, it seems.

None the less, I'd like to see Isaiah Mustafa as the next Superman.
"The Man of Steel has a new smell."

I do want to speak of the whole fairness between races, though. The thing is, there shouldn't be a fairness. If we keep looking back at the whole British conquering and oppression, the industry is going to favour different races from source material to "make up for history", which is a bad thing.

In an age that's trying to correct it's mistakes and be a better place for everyone, we're making progress. But then again, it's a double-edged sword. By favouring one race over the other to be more correct, we won't let it even itself out, but we're forcing the issue and only causing more misconception and, well, stereotypes.

 

[Saint of M]

The casting of the character wasn't so much a problem as the practice. In this case it makes since, as the actor's talent is well apparent. However I don't like it when there seems to be no apparent reason, or they did it for no reason at all, which is where most of the race lifting in Hollywood happens.

And going back to the slave boat thing...Africa had slaves long before pale skins came to them, and it is estimated that a good chunk of slaves were sold by other Black Africans. Should we blame Africa for that as well while we go on the White guilt thing?

Give black people decent roles, and then we'll talk.

 

[notimeforlulz]

I think the best point in this article is probably about the lack of available roles for a great number of actors. I could guess he just did an article on that, but I would like to see an article on exactly how that can be fixed... "The Brave One" even thought it stars a white chick, is probably a good example of colorblind casting, and it was a good film with performances that were much better than I expected given the source material.

 

[Gentleman_Reptile]

As intelligently worded as this video was, I got completely sidetracked when he threw up the picture of the My Little Pony gang. Whether its just pandering to the obsession or not, I'm glad you did that Bob! Ponies are awesome.

This makes two official escapist contributors who have had pony in their videos.

I also loved the throwout to Idol from Killer instinct.

Getting back on topic, I'm actually a little mad at Movie Bob now. It seems he keeps entering my brain and stealing my muddy, incoherent thoughts, only to churn them out as eloquently worded and interesting pieces about social commentary.

It's Bobception.

 

[Typecast]

PLEASE DO A SAMURAI PIZZA CATS EPISODE!!!! :3

 

[fgdfgdgd]

Nic Fury wasn't just cool for being placed by a black actor, he was nearly the best thing because he was played by Samuel L. mother-fucking Jackson.

OT: Frankly I thought he was damn near the best actor in the joint, besides of course, Anthony Hopkins, but I may be biased there, my man crush for Anthony Hopkins rivals those of most women.

 

[fgdfgdgd]

Screw those nay-sayers! Black folks need representation in the Norse pantheon too!!! However else will they get into Valhalla?

By being brave and skilled warriors! Just like anyone else, the Norse gods are very accepting that way, so long as you have the heart of a warrior, you're welcome in their heaven.

 

[Lou]

Hi Bob. I'm not here to argue, I'd like to thank you for posting some ponies.

You're awesome.