They Say, I Say in Comics

Well, here we go again. Please stick with me throughout this post maybe you’ll gain a new stance in comic books and race. In my previous blog, I talked about how there is a reasonable justification for predominantly white characters in comics. Now, I am here today to talk about why there is a reasonable justification for white actors. In this blog(http://www.wired.com/2015/06/new-spider-man-cast/?mbid=social_twitter), the author talks about how Spider-Man should have been African-American/Latino. Overall he states, that this was Marvel’s opportunity to bring a new twist in the story, that the ongoing online series about super hero Miles Morales would be amazing on the big screen. Yes, that might all be true but lets take a look at a bit of key points. They say it's racist to have only white characters, I say its a reasonable strategy. To begin with they are two completely different characters. It’s not like as if Peter Parker’s story was altered or changed, NO its a completely new person. And Peter Parker has an amazing story already. Yes, he is white but that does not mean that his overall story is below Miles Morales’s. “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” Why change the Peter that many people young and old have grown to love, I’m not saying that they wont love Morales but this Parker is strong and known. A good suggestion would probably be to create a story in which Miles takes over Peter’s role but to completely get rid of the him just because he is played by a “Fresh-Faced White Dude” is also racist. In addition, if one wants to change the skin color of an actor you will most likely have to change the background. To keep a story rich, a director or a writer would have to conform to the changes in race. It’s not that there are a huge difference in names or likes and wants but the back ground story changes a bit. Then it would not be the same Peter Parker we have read in the comics as in story and the film would not have much meaning to comic book fanatics. Im not trying to say that this is the case in all films. Fantastic Four recently released and had the “The Human Torch” as an African American. It was nice to see a change in faces and race but “The Human Torch” is not a stand alone hero. It isn't as challenging to manipulate his story. I would like to see more diversity in stand alone movies but maybe we would have to wait until new stand alone comics are released with diverse characters. Either way, I think we should just be patient and let writers and directors figure out how they will do this after all it is a challenge, we hope to see the change real soon but lets take a couple of points into perspective before we call anyone racist. I hope you guys enjoyed and can have new insight on the topic wether you agree or disagree.