ASMSG Scifi Fantasy Paranormal Emagazine March 2014 | Page 19

TOKENISM: Why I'm

Furious at the
Fantastic Four
Casting
M Joseph Murphy

In the reboot of the Fantastic Four movie, Johnny Storm will
be played by Michael B. Jordan. Some will ask why I’m not
satisfied with Hollywood increasing diversity. But that is not
what this casting choice is about.

I could just imagine the Hollywood executives sitting in a room saying “We need a black character in the movie black people won’t see it.”
This is not creating diversity. It is token-ism.
If studios were concerned with creating
diversity, they could focus on any of the
interesting and complex persons of color in
comic books. Michael B Jordan would
make a great Luke Cage. He is not Johnny
Storm. Johnny and Sue Storm are supposed
to be brother and sister. Why isn’t a black
actor playing Sue Storm? Are we really
supposed to believe Michael B Jordan and
Kate Mara are brother and sister?Some
people claim when fans are upset at casting
decisions it is because they are racist.
Bull. I’m not the racist one. It’s the studios
who think I will be placated because they
stick a random black actor into a cast.

I’ve also heard the argument that making a
white character black is not the same as
making a black character why. Why? A
change of race is a change of race. I know
when I’m being pandered to. Fundamental
to the character of Johnny storm is that he
is Sue’s brother. I supposed they could
make him an adopted brother but all that
says is “Hey we wanted a black person in
the script so we shoved one in.”
Nothing against Jordan. He was great in
Chronicle which may be why the director,
Josh Trank, wanted him in the movie.
Chronicle is one of the best written
superhero movies I’ve seen. Which is why I

am so disappointed with this lazy, insulting
casting.

I: Photo Source: http://collider.com/chronicle-review/

HOW STUDIOS COULD TRULY CREATE DIVERSITY
I’m a geek. I’ve read Marvel Comics for other 35 years. I know there have been black
members of the Fantastic Four including, at various times, Black Panther, Storm, and
Luke Cage. Why aren’t we seeing them in this movie? If they wanted diversity, they
could include Wyatt Wingfoot, a First Nations character, or another woman in the
cast. Instead, we get another token black guy. And we’re supposed to be happy about
this?
I’d like to say no one is fooled by the studios. Unfortunately many people are. They see
this as a sign of inclusion.
WHO IS DOING DIVERSITY CORRECTLY
I have much more respect for how Marvel introduced the new Ms. Marvel. Rather
than turn Carol Danvers black, they introduced a completely new character, Kamala
Khan. By focusing on Kamala, a 16-year-old Muslim from New Jersey, we get to heard
different stories, hear about life from a different perspective.

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