What if a movie production company decided to make a Paul Bunyan movie.
And it decided to cast this mythical American folk hero as a black man!
What if another production company decided to make a Johnny Appleseed movie.
And what if it decided to cast a black actor as the iconic figure.
How about if Billy The Kid was simply changed into a black man.
Or...
See where I am going with this?
Is is racist to want iconic characters of myth, and reality, to keep their race and ethnicity?
What an absurd question, producers of the 2015 The Fantastic Four movie!
RLJ
WHY RACISM IS NOT THE REASON I WILL NOT SEE THE 2015 FANTASTIC FOUR MOVIE
Michael B. Jordan, the actor portraying The Human Torch in the reboot of the upcoming The Fantastic Four movie is, understandably, standing up to the critics of him being cast as the formerly Caucasian character of Johnny Storm, sister to... also Caucasian... Sue Storm.
The stance that young Mr. Jordan has decided to take centers around calling the fans who disagree with casting an African-American man... changing the race of an establish white Marvel Comics character into a black man... racist.
I, a 56 year old black American man born in the deep south in 1959 KNOWS racism when he see it, believe that young Mr. Jordan's stance is patently ridiculous. I hate his casting as Johnny Storm... and I have no racist reason for my hatred of his casting in this part in the movie.
The Fantastic Four has had several added members over the years. One of these added members was one of the few African-American characters in comics back in the early days of Marvel. His name is... LUKE CAGE, POWER MAN!
I, to this day, cannot fathom why the writers of this movie, the producers of this movie or the director of this movie did not cast young Mr. Jordan as Luke Cage to introduce Power Man to the movie audience at large.
I do not understand this casting screw-up!
There are so few black characters in the Marvel Universe, why not be smart about casting black actors in black acting parts... not taking well established white characters, like Nick Fury for example, and changing his character into that of a black man! What about ALL of the history of a white Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos. What about all the back history of a white Nick Fury and his dealings with S.H.I.E.L.D and Hydra and all the rest of that history? How am I, a black man, suppose to just throw out all that Marvel history that I have read for decades!
I WANT young Mr. Jordan to be a Marvel superhero! He could have been cast as Black Panther! How about Black Goliath! How about Brother Voodoo! How about Night Thrasher, or Cloak, or Patriot, or even Gentle!
No, the producers and the other powers that be for this new Marvel project have to take the straight controversy route and allow the bombs of racism... from the movie's camp and from the fan's camp... to be lobbed at each over from over the fence of a very stupid argument.
Are some people racially motivated by their dislike over the change of race in The Fantastic Four movie? Perhaps! People sure have gotten over the the change to Nick Fury! But, I ... a black Marvel Comic Book Fan... want black actors to portray black characters. Come on, young Mr. Jordan, you should have fought to be one of the excellent BLACK characters in the Marvel universe, instead of throwing accusations at the fans of being racist... just because the fans want Johnny Storm to be the white character that he is!
I will not go to see your movie because of all I just explained. I will not tell anyone else to not go to see your movie. If my son wants to go support The Fantastic Four this summer, I will not say a negative word to him. But me, on the other hand... I am old school Marvel. A black character is a black character!
PASSING is a relic of the racist past! Reverse-Passing is just plain perverse... even in a movie about fantasy superheroes!
Oh, and to let the world know... I feel the same way about Will Smith being cast as Deadshot of the Suicide Squad movie!
