If you didn’t know I am a huge nerd fan of everything in the realm of nerd culture. I grew up on the strong influx of superheroes and watching their stories be told. The strong narratives and diverse cast of characters from the stories blended themselves well to the imagination of a younger me. The recent roll out of comic movies from Marvel and DC (they aren’t touching movies, but I felt the need to put them in here) has been a dream. The fact that the writers and creators have put a lot of effort into the characters and the stories is a love letter to every nerd out there. We are living in the golden age of nerdom of the superhero variety, and well, it only gets better.
The recent influx of superhero movies overall has been great, and the attention to details has started to quell some of the overall diversity issues that Hollywood has been facing. The most recent problem has revolved around the Dr. Strange movie (which I am excited about because he ranks in my top 3 superheroes). Marvel, in an understandably questionable business move, decided to cast a white woman in a role that is meant to be played by a Tibetan man. The casting choice and the problem behind it is more nuanced than you would expect, and I don’t have the patience to explain the problem. Instead, I encourage everyone to check this video:
The guys over at Double Toasted do a great job of explaining the situation, as well as giving the reason behind the choice. Sorry about the little Segway, I’ll get back to my main point.
Overall, what I am trying to say is that this new golden age of comic book characters has opened the big swinging door of diversity. Marvel is someone that I think we have to thank for that. In their latest movie Captain America: Civil War, they were able to highlight three main black superheroes (Falcon, War Machine, and Black Panther).
These three heroes did not exist as stereotypes or the oh-so-sh**ty token black guys, but they served their purpose by being independent and pushing the narrative. Black Panther, at one point, steals the show from everyone else by beating the sh*t out of everyone and being a downright interesting character. The writing for these characters was smart, dynamic, and funny. They weren’t a walking stereotype, they didn’t shuck and jive, and they weren’t a character who switched race (That’s right, I’m looking at you Michael B. Jordan for playing the Human Torch).
The characters that I just mentioned were strongly written and felt human. The fact that they look like me is the plus I’ve (and a lot of other multicultural nerds) have been looking for. That was the strength, they were created existing close to the personalities from the comics. It’s almost as if the source material was a written script for the writers (read that last sentence with a lot of sarcasm). Marvel didn’t treat them as throwaway characters, or some played out trope. There are a ton of smart characters out there who can be used just like these guys were such as Static Shock, Green Lantern (Jon Stewart), Kamala Kahn, and Cyborg (who is going to get his own movie in 2020),
Maybe it is the huge suspension of disbelief with comics, but they lend themselves to being open. Comics push the boundaries of our imagination and have created a subculture within the movies. Maybe the issue of diversity and inclusion will be found within the pages of an old comic somewhere. All I can say is as a fan, I enjoy it because I grew up diverse and for once, my entertainment is reflecting that.
