I have been reading comics for a VERY long time. A lot of my love for learning and reading and a bit of my world view came out the comics I read and even more from the ones I loved. Even as a little kid I was drawn to comics that dealt with outsiders or other strong social issues.
It was very easy to pick out the themes of self vs. other in the x-men. It was easy understanding the lessons about racism and hatred of those who are different. It was also easy to pick up on things like self-acceptance. The sad statement that such negative things aren't likely to go away was pretty much balanced out by the idea that there will always those who rise up to challenge to fight for the good in all, no matter what. The idea of a character like Wolverine, who is so often compared to a wild or rabid animal, was able to find love (though keeping it, in the hand) and to fight to protect those who would curse him was mindboggling to me (in a good way.. if that makes sense). As a child that felt out of place everywhere, this was a wonderful thing to discover.
Then came Marvel Team-up, featuring your friendly neighborhood Spiderman. Not sure why, but I loved this title more than the Spidey titles. In this case, there is a teenage brainy nerd having to come to accept changes and learn how to deal with them. When I first read the line ".. with great powers...", I read it not only from a societal perspective, but also on a deeply personal level; responsibility to yourself and others. There was also the them of dealing with those different from yourself. There would be lots of times that he would be in as much of a battle with local people as he was with the villains. Even though there were down times for him, he remained a mostly light but snarky character. That appealed to me as well
Next, I must make a confession: I have never been a fan of the Fantastic Four, with the exception of Ben Grimm, The Thing. Marvel Two-in-One was another title that I loved and had a big impact on me. I identified a lot with The Thing growing up. Every time a point came in the comics where someone reacted badly upon seeing him, I felt the hurt as well. It was no easy thing being pretty much the poster child of an outsider. He was big and scary and powerful, but he was a thoughtful, sensitive, best friend you could ever have type of guy. Best of all, even when it was at its worst., he was still willing to be a hero and protect those who would shun him.
Now, I bring up two titles that impacted me the most on certain levels: Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu and Power Man and Iron Fist. More on that in a bit, but I need to give a little historical perspective to my opinion in the casting of Danny Rand.
When I was very young, my family co-worked a couple of fields with another family. You may not think this has much of anything to do with...well, anything or would have gotten much attention. However, the other family was black. We worked together. We ate meals together. We had no problem being seen working together. The best part, or worst depending on perspective, was that we treated each other as equals. There were quite a few people though that had serious issues with it. A number of times on the school bus, I got to hear a lot about it through insults and comments more than likely just parroted from parents. When I would go up to the store above where we lived, quite often I got to hear just what horrible people we had to be. Even though I was young, I noticed that there wouldn't be much lip or trash talk when I was there with my other members of my family (No one would say anything in front of my father or sisters, my father had a temper and a reputation, and a couple of my sisters also had reputations and I am pretty sure the issue of 'what if that is the crazy one' may have stilled some tongues. My brother was pretty much universally liked, but he had a bit of a temper when it came to talking trash about his family. The one time I ever heard anyone say anything when my mother was in the store, it was said so she couldn't hear it, but there were a couple of others in the store that did and they laid into the guy. The general rule was that you didn't say anything bad about Miss Emma in front of people who knew her and a LOT of people knew her and loved/respected her). There were several times and and I would hear some hateful crap when I was at the store by myself. Sometimes they would talk around me, make comments like I wasn't even there, or even worse, they would have a conversation amongst themselves, but clearly using it to take pot shots at me or my family (so if they elicited a response, they could say that they weren't talking to me; I was just being a snoop and overly sensitive)
Anyway, getting back to the comics. There were a lot of adult issues that were dealt with in the Power Man and Iron Fist and Shang-Chi comics. Most I picked up rather quickly but the most obvious one was racism. I remember in one issue Luke Cage ends up rescuing a group of 'white citizens' *ahem* in the aftermath of a major battle with a villain. Said citizens had earlier been threatening Cage and making comments about his skin color and hair (putting this a lot nicer than was conveyed in the comic). That group would have readily killed him given the chance, but he saved them anyway. The fact that he also gave them a bit of a shaming when he reminded them of the earlier behavior. I remember a scene where Danny Rand was attacked because he was working with Cage. Reading these comics helped me put quite a lot into perspective.
Reading how these guys faced such hatred and ignorance and still played on the side of the angels was an inspiration to me. If they can be tough and deal with it, I could to. Of course, I also learned that a smile and a lot of snark can be just as effective as a punch in the face sometimes to help someone get a little taste of what they have been giving (and allows you to not have to stoop to their level).
When I finally started coming out of my shell and trying to make friends, my circle of friends Tended to be quite eclectic. Pretty much the only real criteria was to be and act like a friend (even all that time ago, the realization that so many either wouldn't or couldn't meet that minimal criteria saddened me). I got a lot of grief every now and then due to who I was friends with, but I could care less. But insult or hurt one of my friends and it could get ugly.
As sappy as it sounds, those comics did impact me deeply.
When I read those comics, it helped me deal with a lot of stuff. The hullabaloo over the Rand casting has made me go back what I loved about the books. I wonder if a different combination would have affected me differently. Would a group without a white guy, or black guy or an Asian guy have affected me the same way? I honestly think that while you can still tell the same type of stories, the dynamics of the group wouldn't be the same. Cage was as important as Rand and so was Shag-Chi. I am looking through a lens tinted by my experiences at the time, I admit that, but to take one leg away from a three legged table and the table falls.
Yes, you can change the characters and it could still be a great show, but to me, changing one character just for the sake of inclusion would be a mistake. One of the ways I measure how successful a movie/show is for me is how much it makes me feel like I did when I first read the comic. It raises the bar even higher when I am crazy about the characters or title. To me, a successful show would involve Danny, Luke and Shang-Chi in the same configuration as the comics. As it should be considering a show with Iron Fist and Shang-Chi, it is about balance. Back when I was young, I saw not just a Caucasian man fighting evil or just an African-American man or a Asian man. I saw them as equals. I saw them as a statement that we can work together even in the face of hatred and racism. I still see them that way.
I know I am just a lone voice (though very vocal about some things), but I am honestly not sure I could buy into a show (or shows) with a different dynamic. I probably could accept it as just a generic superhero show if it is absolutely incredible, but I am also less likely to give it that much effort or interest.
I have no problem with a Miles Morales Spiderman or a female Norse Goddess of Thunder, a Sam Wilson Capt. America, a female Joker or even, for that matter, a non familial fantastic four. There are very, very few examples where a gender/race/orientation/etc swap would bother me (actually, upon thinking on it, this is about the only example that I have had an adverse reaction to) So take it for what it is worth,
No comments:
Post a Comment