Zendaya's Casting Means More Than We Think.........

Zendaya's Casting Means More Than We Think.........

Spider-Man Homecoming: Zendaya's Casting as Mary Jane Highlights the Dark Cloud that Exist in Comic Book Cinema...................

Editorial Opinion
By theultimatefan - Aug 25, 2016 04:08 PM EST
Filed Under: Homecoming
Source: Moviepilot.com comicbookmovie.com

Comic Book Resources hit fans across the head with a ton of bricks when they reported that long time Disney star Zendaya Coleman (19) will take on the role of Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man Homecoming. This news comes as a major surprise and it’s sure to send a jolt through the veins of comic book and Spider-Man fans alike and may cause a bit of an uproar. Guardians of the Galaxy director James Dunn doesn't see why it should though.

Image result for James Gunn zendaya

Zendaya will be the first African American to take on the role of Mary Jane Watson. For some reason it seems like gingers are consistently being cast by black actors and actresses. Miss Martian will be played by an African American and Iris West is also played by an African-American actress see the pattern here? Anywho, race bending is all too common in Hollywood, but it’s usually the other way around and we call it "whitewashing.” So it kinda feels right for Zendaya to play Mary Jane despite the character historically being white. I’ll take a moment and give Disney/Marvel some props before I dig deeper into the bigger issue.

Reverse Whitewashing Has Happened Before

Fox tried to bring diversity to the Fantastic 4 remake, bless their heats. This isn’t a good example, but the failed Fantastic 4 movie saw Human Torch’s ethnicity go from white in the comics, and the portrayal by Chris Evans back in the 2005 Fantastic Four; to black, as Michael B. Jordan brought him to life once again in the box office disaster reboot. It wasn’t Michael’s lack of trying that made this an epic fail, however, it was the movie as a whole. But I give them some credit for pushing the boundaries casting wise.

The powers that be at Marvel have taken some flack over their lack of minority heroes, but with Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Black Panther (Chadwick Bosman) joining the Avengers Marvel has shown some improvement. Their work with Black Panther has been espeically great, and racially empowering. Not only have they inserted Black Panther into the MCU, but they did a wonder thing in hiring Ryan Coogler, an African-American director to bring the hero to life. Marvel also has Luke Cage set for a September release on Netflix and the rumored White Tiger series in development, for that I salute you.

Disney/Marvel Made the Right Call w/ Zendaya

Image result for zendaya red hair

It's obvious Disney and Marvel are trying to breathe new life and diversity into their newly acquired Spider-Man franchise with the casting of Zendaya two months after announcing that Donald Glover will join the franchise. Though, I can’t help but feel this was a political move considering the backlash they received in the not so distant past for a terrible casting choice they made in Doctor Strange (I’ll get to that later). So, this social and politically savvy move was one that Marvel felt they had to make and I’m not mad at them for making it from a marketing standpoint. I know that Mary Jane is a white therefore a white actress probably should have been cast. Now before you hit me with…“What if Storm were played by a White woman” let me explain.

Image result for storm x men

First lets take a look at the lack of characters in comic books and how that has lead to minimal opportunities for minorities in movies and TV in that particular genre. Think about the ratio of white to black heroes, not just in the movies, but in the comics as well. I’m not that good at math, but I’m sure it’s not even close.

Image result for all of marvel and dc heroes

Look across the landscape of comic book heroes and you’ll see the most notables are white. Lets look at DC: Superman, Batman, Flash (before the New 52), Shazam, Three Green Lanterns, and Green Arrow. Now lets look at Marvel: Captain America, Bruce Banner/Hulk, Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, and Iron Man, see what I mean. Look I’m not saying the heroes mentioned should experience a racial transformation, but it’s about time minorities get some love. Give me some Lady Shiva, Miles Morales, White Tiger, Miss America, Colleen Wing and Misty Knight whew-you get the picture.

Image result for non white heroes

On to my second point, Mary Jane’s nationality or race hardly plays a major role in what makes her Mary Jane; unlike characters such as Storm, Black Panther, Luke Cage, or White Tiger for example. All of those heroes nationality play a pivotal part in who they are. Mary-Jane isn't from another country never has her parents nationality been written or depicted in any facet as something that defines or even shapes the essence of Mary Jane. So yes a white actress cast as Storm would be and should be a problem. The roles are limited as it is, lets not take away from what little minorities do have.

Marvel Has to be More Consistent

Image result for tilda Swinton as 'The Ancient One

For every touchdown Marvel has thrown they have given up two (can you tell I’m in football mode?). Even when given the opportunity to dip into the diversity pool Marvel has fumbled the ball. Remember that recent backlash I mentioned earlier- well it happened with the casting of Tilda Swinton as 'The Ancient One'. Quite a few people took heat with Marvel over their choice. I can understand why, maybe I’m in the minority-but clearly they’ve opted for an East Asian "look-alike" instead of someone with an authentic East Asian background... tragic. They didn’t even get someone who was in the same continent; Swinton is Scottish for goodness sake… c’mon people. It’s a bit cold blooded if you ask me.

Marvel Doesn't Get It and Neither Does Netflix

Image result for death note netflix

It’s not just a comic book problem though it is a Hollywood pandemic. One example is Netflix’s Death Note movie which has been wildly criticized for their inability to cast an East Asian actors or actress.

Outside of Paul Nakauchi and David S. Jung who play small roles it looks like they didn’t even try to stay true to Japanese culture. Personally I think they should have given Asian actors an opportunity by mixing American and Asian actors. Netflix is hardly the first to whitewash an anime. Star Overseas did it with a terrible live action version of Dragonball back in 2009 with Dragon Evolution. I don't mean to knock the actors hard work, but that movie was dreadful and no one from the movie seemed to recover from the debacle- by the way we deserve a do over. Thanks to Paramount DreamWorks we have a whitewashed version of Ghost in a Shell to look forward to staring Scarlett Johansson. Can someone please help with the lack of equal opportunity.

Marvel is Dominating DC in All, but One Category

Image result for Kiersey clemons flash

DC is just getting their cinematic universe started so they are a bit behind Marvel who has absolutely owned comic book cinema as of late. But, to DC's credit they have been very proactive and beating Marvel in one-way, racial diversity. I guess you can say in some ways it started with the launch of the New 52 and the racial bending of Wally West. DC has historically featured John Stewart’s Green Lantern on a number of DC animated shows and film which lead to some disappointment when they opted to go with Hal Jordan's origin story. DC has also given us our first look at an African-American Bat-family member when they introduced Batwing in Batman: Bad Blood.

Image result for Batwing batman bad blood

DC has been truly impressive on the TV landscape. CW’s The Flash gave us our first look at Candice Patton playing Iris West who in the comics had previously been depicted as a white woman. It was only natural for Wally West to be played by a black actor for the series as well. Not to mention the introduction of Cisco Ramon aka Vibe, a Latino superhero. Martian Manhunter is also being portrayed by an black actor and so will Miss Martian on CW's Supergirl. Even with Legends of Tomorrow DC opted with the version of Firestorm they used Jefferson Jackson, an African American as the other half to Martin Stein.

Image result for jeffrey jackson legends of tomorrow

DC stuck to their guns once again with the casting of Kiersey Clemons who will also play Iris West in The Flash movie. They also opted to add Cyborg to the big screen and change Aquaman by casting Jason Momoa to play the under water hero. While Marvel has been blowing up the box office and leading the pack I give DC an A+ for taking some imitative.

Final Thoughts

Image result for zendaya

Minorities have been on the receiving end of whitewashing for years, so anytime a minority gets a role it's cause for celebration. I for one am excited and looking forward to Zendaya’s take on Mary Jane. Congrats to her for getting role and hats off to Marvel for giving her the opportunity to be the new face.

Stan Lee said it best, "If she is as good an actress as I hear she is, I think she'll be absolutely wonderful... The color of their skin doesn't matter, their religion doesn't matter, all that matters is that this is the right person for the role."

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comiccow6
comiccow6 - 8/25/2016, 6:35 PM
I don't care one way or another, but calling her casting "reverse whitewashing" doesn't do wonders for my expectations.
theultimatefan
theultimatefan - 8/25/2016, 6:54 PM
@comiccow6 - Oh it wasn't to change your expectations by any means, I have an article that I think helps https://creators.co/@TheUltimateFan/4043781
Utopian8418
Utopian8418 - 8/25/2016, 6:59 PM
I have a problem with race changes for the same reason that I would have a problem with the Flash suit being green instead of red. I just want the characters I know to look like the characters I know. Its not asking a lot. Hollywood execs know that a lot of people have problems with race changes (both whitewashing and blackwashing). Why do they have to be such a-holes.
CavalierTunes
CavalierTunes - 8/26/2016, 6:25 AM
@ManMan - just curious:
Were you upset that Wolverine was played by an actor over 6 feet tall, when the character is supposed to be 5'1"?
Were you upset that Ra's Al Ghul and Bane were both played by white actors?
Were you upset that Daniel Radcliffe has blue eyes, despite J.K. Rowling making it repeatedly clear that Harry Potter has his mother's green eyes?
CavalierTunes
CavalierTunes - 8/26/2016, 7:16 AM
@CavalierTunes - 5'3"
Utopian8418
Utopian8418 - 8/26/2016, 3:19 PM
@CavalierTunes - I haven't read the HP books and I only started reading comics 3-4 years ago so I didnt know a lot about the original versions of Wolverine, Ra's Al Ghul and Bane before the movies came out (Im 20 y.o.). I was kind of upset about Bane being small, and I really really want Logan to be recasted with a shorter actor and with the suit.

But I don't think those changes are comparable to Mary Jane, Johnny Storm, Wally West, Aquaman, Barry Allen or Lex Luthor.

I get it if it is for diversity, it just angers me when people say appearence doesn't matter at all.

Now I'm curious. Would you care if Superman was blond? Or if Luke Skywalker was chinese? Or if Tomb Raider was a man? Or are you sexist?
CavalierTunes
CavalierTunes - 8/26/2016, 3:47 PM
@ManMan - Well, first of all, we completely disagree.

Wolverine was always depicted in the comics as 5'3", it was always essential to him, that he was short, yet muscular and angry: like an actual Wolverine.
Ra's Al Ghul was always Middle Eastern, yet he was portrayed as white in Batman Begins. Bane was Caribbean in the comics, yet he was white in the film. I don't understand how you think that that's not comparable to Mary Jane.

You need to read what I wrote below about the "default." I don't feel like retyping, so I'll copy it below:

"I like to view this through the lends of 'default' race. Whenever you create a new character you start with certain defaults. Most people begin with assumption that their character is human, male, of average height and build, and whatever the predominant race of the region their story takes place in is. In the United States in the last century, that default meant 'white.' When a character wasn't white it was done for a purpose. When a character was white, generally speaking, there wasn't any thought behind it. They just kept the default.

For example, if Wolverine was always drawn as being of average height, people would often overlook his height: average is the default. The fact that he's always been depicted as short is a departure from the default and therefore significant. Scarlet Witch was always depicted as a woman, a departure from the 'default' superhero archetype which is male. Therefore her gender is important. However, unless a character was specifically chosen to be white, or male, or average height (maybe being average is important to the character for some reason; maybe, like Captain America, there's a specific, in text reason for why a character must conform to a specific default) any deviation is important. This is why, in my opinion at least, race is important to characters like Black Panther, but not important to characters like Mary Jane."

So, to answer your question, I wouldn't mind if Superman was blonde. Or if Luke Skywalker was Chinese. However, if Lara Croft was changed to a man, that would bother me: because she was clearly created as a departure from the default. Her gender was important to her creation, because it was unusual to have a female video game lead character.
CavalierTunes
CavalierTunes - 8/26/2016, 3:54 PM
By the way "Or are you sexist?" Really? First of all, that's creating a false dichotomy, and a variation of the "Do you still beat your wife?" question. Second of all, I never called you racist: why would you try to imply sexism in me?
Utopian8418
Utopian8418 - 8/26/2016, 5:11 PM
@CavalierTunes - First, I was being sarcastic when I said 'are you sexist'. You are obviously not sexist, but I tried (and failed) to make a point about people who think that disagreeing with a casting choice means discriminating. I don't think you are one of those people though.

Your point about being default is not different from the usual argument of people who defend this castings. You believe that only certain character's appearences are essential to the characters, while others are not.

I think that appearence (e.g. red hair) IS part of the character. Mary Jane IS a red head. I want to see that character on a big screen. The same character of the comicbook. Not just the personality/story of the comicbook character. Otherwise its just an alternate version. What if they made a movie about a blond Abraham Lincoln? The story wouldn't change. But Abraham Lincoln has black hair.

Anyway, if you would be ok with a blond Superman I just can't understand how you think. But it seems to be that at least half of fans think like me and studios are a-holes for doing unnecessary stuff like making Barry Allen have black hair knowing this.
CavalierTunes
CavalierTunes - 8/26/2016, 6:34 PM
@ManMan - as I said elsewhere in this thread, "maybe she'll dye her hair red by the end of the movie. To be honest, I never assumed MJ was a natural redhead anyway. Real redheads don't have RED hair, like MJ does, they have more orangish hair, similar to Pepper Potts in Iron Man."
Utopian8418
Utopian8418 - 8/26/2016, 7:10 PM
@CavalierTunes -
Well, why would she dye it if it wasn't important?
I didn't read the whole thread.
We just have different tastes. I want my characters to look like they look in the comics, you don't. Lets agree to disagree.
theultimatefan
theultimatefan - 8/27/2016, 12:12 PM
@ManMan - Race for certain comic characters matters to some extent. If a characters nationality or race doesnt definitively impact that chracter it's ok to give it a switch especially since comics were written during a time period where racism was a clear cut palpable thing.

In the case of Wally he's black in the comics so it's not racebending for the Flash casting.
Utopian8418
Utopian8418 - 8/27/2016, 1:27 PM
@theultimatefan - You are talking about the personality, not the character. Appearence is part of the character. I want to see the SAME characters I grew up with portrayed in live action. You just want the stories/personalities of the characters. We just want different things.

Black Wally is only a 4 year old version of the classic character.
theultimatefan
theultimatefan - 8/29/2016, 3:25 PM
@ManMan - Yeah I feel you and I was once on that side of things, but honestly it just depends on the importance of the characters race and how it affects that character. Again I get what you are saying though and you make some great points.
TomSolo
TomSolo - 8/30/2016, 1:11 AM
@CavalierTunes - I know you didn't ask me, but I was and still am upset that a such a tall actor plays Wolverine. His short height is essential to his character in the comics. While Hugh did okay with the material that was written for him, the character in the movies only vaguely resembles the Wolverine in the comics, and his height is a big part of it.
MileHighRonin
MileHighRonin - 8/25/2016, 7:44 PM
I agree very much on a lot of points. Especially with the fact that certain characters ethnicity is essential the character.

This is the way I see it, if race is the reason you are upset with a casting choice, then it's time to look in the mirror.
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 8/26/2016, 5:35 AM
@MileHighRonin - I looked in the mirror, and I am still the racist bastard I was yesterday
MileHighRonin
MileHighRonin - 8/26/2016, 7:10 AM
@malsemarcel - at least you can admit it. I admit I love racist jokes, cause that's what they are jokes. Maybe I am racist due to that too, I guess that's for society to decide.
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 8/26/2016, 7:29 AM
@MileHighRonin - There is no fixing. Everybody has a little bit of a racist in there **points at place where heart is supposed to be**
theultimatefan
theultimatefan - 8/29/2016, 3:26 PM
@MileHighRonin - For some people its not being racist its just that they were used to seeing a character in a particular light.
theultimatefan
theultimatefan - 8/29/2016, 3:27 PM
@malsemarcel - Nah man everyone has a little bias in them racism is entirely different story.
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 8/26/2016, 5:34 AM
But there is one thing missing and that is that zendeya isnt that sexy redhead what mj is
CavalierTunes
CavalierTunes - 8/26/2016, 6:27 AM
@malsemarcel - maybe she'll dye her hair red by the end of the movie. To be honest, I never assumed MJ was a natural redhead anyway. Real redheads don't have RED hair, like MJ does, they have more orangish hair, similar to Pepper Potts in Iron Man.
theultimatefan
theultimatefan - 8/29/2016, 3:28 PM
@CavalierTunes - Exactly
BloodyBed
BloodyBed - 8/26/2016, 10:30 AM
she's not even mary jane YOU FOOLS!
theultimatefan
theultimatefan - 8/29/2016, 3:35 PM
@ALostCause - She's totally Mary Jane man.
BloodyBed
BloodyBed - 8/29/2016, 3:46 PM
@theultimatefan - isn't this all based off of some script where she is "michelle" and people are just assuming she is mj?
theultimatefan
theultimatefan - 8/29/2016, 8:57 PM
@ALostCause - Naw reports came out about a week or two ago that her role was going to be MJ. Thats why Stan Lee made an official statement
BloodyBed
BloodyBed - 8/30/2016, 9:22 AM
@theultimatefan - well that blows for me. officially less hyped.
Darkknight2149
Darkknight2149 - 8/28/2016, 2:32 PM
I hope everyone is aware that this Mary Jane thing is still a rumour.
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