Is Netflix's "Iron Fist" racist?

SGT Christopher Churilla — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 14:22:38 -0400

Social justice warriors are at it again. They are complaining that the casting of a white actor in the upcoming Netflix series "Iron Fist" is racist, even though the character in the comics was written as white. Do they have a point, or is this just another case of PC run amok?

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 13 at 2016 2:27 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 14:27:31 -0400

Racist is too strong a word IMO, does it make sense to have an Asian represent a superhero who used Asian martial arts and Asian mysticism to fight crime? Yes. Comic books were targeting a specific audience back in the day and that audience has expanded considerably. Given the current audience, more effort should be made to diversify our superheros.

Response by SSG Stephan Pendarvis made Oct 13 at 2016 2:34 PM

SSG Stephan Pendarvis — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 14:34:40 -0400

Was David Carradine in KUNG FU racist???

Response by SPC Kevin Ford made Oct 13 at 2016 2:35 PM

SPC Kevin Ford — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 14:35:04 -0400

They didn't change anything around, seems like a non-issue.

Response by TSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 13 at 2016 2:36 PM

TSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 14:36:09 -0400

this is a damned if you do damned if you don't kind of thing. Just as many people were outraged when the new spider man cast was announced and it was not all white actors. if you race bend a character you must expect backlash, if you keep a character the same even though it stems from a less than integrated time period like Iron Fist you get the these kinds of arguments. I really think that we should all withhold judgment until the show is out and see how it actually is. Marvel might actually address this issue in the show. if anything, they have earned the benefit of the doubt for me by what they have done in Jessica Jones and Luke Cage.

Response by SrA Edward Vong made Oct 13 at 2016 2:37 PM

SrA Edward Vong — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 14:37:14 -0400

Danny Rand is indeed a Caucasian character. If they decided to make the character Asian, cool. If not, I don't care as long as the actor plays a good role. Type casting is usually "racist" but not in a hateful way (as racism is defined as superiority and directors are choosing one race over another). Directors are usually in search for characters of a specific race rather than have characters that can play the role well (and fit the role per some description).

An example of this would be, I once auditioned for a role (Power Rangers). The description was, Asian man with a small frame who looks oriental. It was for the blue ranger role. The red ranger role state something along the lines of, young white male with a baby face look, sometime along those lines.

Response by Sgt Kelli Mays made Oct 13 at 2016 2:37 PM

Sgt Kelli Mays — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 14:37:18 -0400

Oh my GOD! Give me a Break! Enough is Enough!!!

Response by SSG Carlos Madden made Oct 13 at 2016 2:46 PM

SSG Carlos Madden — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 14:46:25 -0400

Do you have a reference for context?

Response by Cpl Justin Goolsby made Oct 13 at 2016 2:55 PM

Cpl Justin Goolsby — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 14:55:51 -0400

I can't believe they chose a white actor to play a masked character. Anyone should be able to play that masked character. How is anyone going to know they aren't white... except for the jawline... the exposed chest... the hands... the legs...

Yes this is indeed PC run amok. My biggest issue is the sudden need to retcon all these established characters in the name of diversity. Why can't we invent brand new heroes or brand new villains or brand new characters period. Let them pass or fail on their own merits, not because they're riding the coattails of someone else's success. There are literally so many characters with similar abilities/powers, no one is going to notice is just one more were created. No one is going to throw a fit that "there's too many rubber men" because we introduce an Asian character with super stretchy powers.

Hell, half of the fun of comics is imagining what you would be like if you had these powers. No kid has read an issue of X-Men an gotten depressed because NightCrawler's skin isn't white. No, their thoughts are... wow... I wish I could teleport.

Yes... we need more characters... and if you are the type of person to complain about diversity in a comicbook, then why aren't you doing anything to fix that? Where are your character creations??? You could go to any elementary school and ask kids to make up a superhero or villain. What their powers are. What their weaknesses are. What their costume looks like. You'd get a dozen different responses, all different colors, different religions, different sexualities. It's not hard to think outside the box. Retconning established characters to fill a diversity checklist isn't thinking outside the box.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 13 at 2016 3:01 PM

CW5 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 15:01:26 -0400

Lets look at it this way. The movie Brewsters Millions is a wonderful comedy that we can all look back at as a Richard Pryor movie. It is in fact, one of several remakes from a silent film.

If we go buck wild crazy about the actors rather than the acting then we are no longer being entertained. Kind of like how we are not paying attention to Colin K's message but rather his delivery.

For further reading, look up Annie. Focus on acting and not the actors.

But let me edit one thing....Power Man and Iron Fist was a comic that focused on race. But not in a negative way.

Response by Candy Alkaabi made Oct 13 at 2016 3:02 PM

Candy Alkaabi — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 15:02:10 -0400

If the character in the book is white then why are they upset that the character in the series is white.....are they out of their ever lovin minds? there are plenty of non white heros but they don't look at them.

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 13 at 2016 3:05 PM

Cpl Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 15:05:51 -0400

Choosing a different ethnicity to rebrand an established character is in and of itself microaggresive racism. Diversity simply for the sake of diversity is racist by today's liberal standard.

There are even those on the left that would suggest you are racist simply for seeking out foods outside your own ethnicity.

http://www.dailywire.com/news/1337/left-stop-eating-authentic-ethnic-food-you-racist-amanda-prestigiacomo

“I think it’s so stupid… because of this whole, like, ‘minorities in Hollywood’ thing… it’s so stupid, it’s, like, stop stealing all the white people’s superheroes. Make up your own, you know what I’m saying? What’s up with that?” - Michelle Rodriguez

The Left: Stop Eating 'Authentic' 'Ethnic' Food, You Racist!

Cancel your dinner plans at that new Mexican restaurant down the street for Friday’s date night; since according feminists: eating “authentic” “ethnic” food is “culturally appropriative” and exploitative.

Response by PFC Jim Wheeler made Oct 13 at 2016 4:11 PM

PFC Jim Wheeler — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 16:11:13 -0400

It appears we all need a quick racism check in here:

Are you white?

Did you breathe today?

If the answer to those two questions is yes, then you are confirmed to be a racist.

Thanks for playing!

Response by MSgt James Mullis made Oct 13 at 2016 5:11 PM

MSgt James Mullis — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 17:11:17 -0400

As I recall, from reading far too many comic books in my misspent youth, he always looked kind of orange or pink to me. Power to the orange peoples of the world.

Come to think of it how did the Norse God Heimdallr end up black? Not that I don't think that Idris Elba does a great job with the character, because he does. I guess that if you create your own "Fictional Universe" of characters (the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be exact), they can be whatever color you want them to be.

Response by SFC George Smith made Oct 13 at 2016 7:38 PM

SFC George Smith — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 19:38:19 -0400

My Question is...
What does the Word really Mean...
How many People use in the correct context...
How many times is it used to Hide or to just silence the words or Ideas they don't approve of... Because at that point they become the Racist...

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 13 at 2016 8:42 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 20:42:51 -0400

The ilk the likes of Melissa Harris-Perry believe it to be racist? Doesn't even register on my Giveacrap-ometer and I just had it recalibrated.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 13 at 2016 10:04 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 22:04:37 -0400

EVERYTHING IS RACIST!!!!!!!

Response by Cpl Mark McMiller made Oct 13 at 2016 10:18 PM

Cpl Mark McMiller — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 22:18:58 -0400

You know, this really hits home for me. My favorite comic book when I was a kid was Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos. Nick Fury was white, but Marvel allowed Hollywood to hire Samuel L. Jackson to play him in all the movies. I was not too happy about that.

Response by CMDCM Gene Treants made Oct 14 at 2016 1:43 PM

CMDCM Gene Treants — Fri, 14 Oct 2016 13:43:45 -0400

Hollywood goes with the flow and changes races and genders at whim of the producers of the movies. There is NO rhyme or reason the anything as it relates to the old comics where everyone was white and almost all of the heroe were men with a few female exceptions. AT least until the first serious competitor to DC Comics, Marvel, made its appearance! By the we had seen Wonder Woman and even Cat WOman, but it took Marvel to open the door to other serious race and gender entrances.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Oct 15 at 2016 1:57 AM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Sat, 15 Oct 2016 01:57:03 -0400

I haven't seen it yet.

Response by SFC Joseph Weber made Oct 15 at 2016 3:28 AM

SFC Joseph Weber — Sat, 15 Oct 2016 03:28:35 -0400

I suppose since most of these cartoon characters were created when overt racism was acceptable and having a non white hero would not make money we ought to look for way to change things up. I would call it racist if you say that Spider-Man, Captain America, this Iron Fist guy, or Richie Rich have to be played from now until eternity by white actors. I probably don't care too much since I stopped reading comic books forty years ago and wouldn't know what race they were supposed to be anyway. Just like most adults and all children. I think the people who are mad that they didn't cast an Asian are no sillier than the people here who are so determined that this cartoon character has to be white.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Oct 15 at 2016 1:02 PM

Capt Richard I P. — Sat, 15 Oct 2016 13:02:02 -0400

So this is complex. Is the comic about a white dude? Yep. Does that fact represent endemic bias and subtle racism in American culture? Yep. Could an equally compelling character and storyline be created around a non-white character? Absolutely. Should it be? Probably. Will it be? Eventually. Should government force be marshaled to compel it to be? Nope. Should the economic markets and the marketplace of ideas be leveraged to influence it to be? Yes. And that's what this is.

Response by SSG Chris Watson made Dec 29 at 2016 12:16 PM

SSG Chris Watson — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 12:16:41 -0500

If the SJWs have their knickers in a knot, then someone is probably doing something right ;)

Response by SSgt Boyd Herrst made Jan 10 at 2017 6:08 PM

SSgt Boyd Herrst — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 18:08:03 -0500

Bunch of whiners... go find s'thing worth whining about..Geez!