*Sigh* You can’t win with Hollywood anymore. People get ticked when people of color are cast as white comic book characters and now people are mad because a white actor is playing a white character.
The latest racial Marvel controversy surrounds the casting of Caucasian English actor Finn Jones as Iron Fist, one of Marvel’s top martial artists. It appears some folks feel that the part could easily have gone to an Asian actor, nevermind the fact that the assumption that a martial artist should be played by an Asian is racist as hell.
Recently, Jones addressed the issue, saying:
“What I would say to that is, people should wait, and watch the show before they pass judgment… The comic books were written in the ’70s. 1970s was a very different world to 2016, and we’re going to reflect that. We have an incredibly diverse cast; incredibly talented. What I would say to that is, wait until you’ve seen the show, and then pass judgment, before you make comment, because people will be very, very, very pleasantly surprised with what we’re doing in the show.”
This hubbub comes on the heels of the recent social media uproar that there aren’t enough white people on ‘Luke Cage’ and the controversy surrounding Tilda Swinton playing The Ancient One in ‘Doctor Strange’, a character that was depicted as Tibetan in the comics.
Once again, the Danny Rand in the comics is a blond-haired Caucasian man and he has long been romantically linked to African American woman Misty Knight who is currently seen on ‘Luke Cage’ played by Simone Missick. This interracial relationship was quite groundbreaking at the time.
Personally, as an Asian American, if I never see another Asian actor karate kicking across the screen, it will be too soon. (Not to mention as wise zen mentors, Yakuza gangsters, mathematicians and computer whizzes.) Can we get more characters like Glenn on ‘The Walking Dead’? Y’know romantic, brave, multidimensional characters that don’t speak in a stilted accent or know how to chop boards in half with their hands?
And as Jones said, maybe people should wait to actually see the show before getting up in arms.
If it’s any consolation, reportedly Shang-Chi the (Chinese) Master of Kung Fu will appear, so there’s that.
What do you think? Should ‘Iron Fist’ be Asian?
Source: Cinema blend
