Anyone who knows me knows that I love reading books and would gladly live in a library if I could. Joking aside, books reach hundreds of people every day and if made into a movie, they reach an even bigger audience. Making a book into a movie can be challenging, especially when choosing what details to incorporate and who to cast for each role. In my opinion, casting has the greatest impact on audiences because characters are much more identifiable than small details. In addition to having a huge impact on audiences, characters should be diverse and reflect the world around us. Often many people criticize pop culture for not being diverse enough, and in many ways, I agree. If we incorporate more diverse characters into books and movies, then hopefully we can celebrate it and be united, not divided. Lastly, writers and directors should not be afraid to stick to traditional gender roles, but rather change them up and challenge peoples' perspectives.
Recently, both the Harry Potter and Marvel franchises have chosen to celebrate diversity and challenge traditional gender roles by changing their cast. In the new play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hermione is portrayed by black actress Noma Dumezweni, while Marvel has announced that the new Iron Man for their comic is Riri Williams, a 15-year-old black girl.
Starting with Harry Potter, any fan of the movies knows that Emma Watson made a great Hermione. So when news broke that a new Hermione would be black and not white, many people criticized this choice. BBC reports that "director John Tiffany was 'shocked [that] people couldn't visualize a non-white person as the hero of a story'". In addition, J.K. Rowling, the author of the acclaimed series, "has described people who criticized the casting of a black actress as Hermione...as 'a bunch of racists'". Evidently, in the critics' minds, any new Hermione should look exactly like Emma Watson's portrayal, even though Hermione's ethnicity was never specified. No character should remain the exact same over time, but rather be dynamic and bring in a new perspective. Personally, I am looking forward to hear how actress Noma Dumezweni will add to the development of Hermione as a character.
Another character making waves is Riri Williams, Marvel's new 'Iron Man' comic book character. Since Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr in the films, is best known for being Iron Man, many people criticized the new character. As reported on BBC, one critic tweeted, 'How is iron MAN going to be a woman? I'm all for equality but come on that's legit not what the character is'. In response to the criticism of the new Iron Man, Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis tells Time that the creation of Riri Williams was "inspired by the world around me and not seeing that represented enough in pop culture". Personally, as a fan of comic books and the superhero movie franchise, it is great that to see an increase in diversity and a challenging of traditional gender roles. Is there a rule against a woman being a superhero? Definitely not and I am excited to see more of Riri Williams as the new Iron Man.
Whether it be in literature or real life, how both diversity and gender roles are perceived and challenged impact everyday life. How can we ever unite as a society if we do not represent all those part of it? What is wrong with making these changes? Absolutely nothing. We need to celebrate diversity and break down gender stereotypes, not shy away and just stick to tradition. I applaud both the Harry Potter and Marvel franchises for daring to make changes and encourage more companies to do the same.
