Inverse: Danny Rand first graced Marvel comics in the May 1974 issue of Marvel Premiere #15. The Iron Fist, clad in a gold and green suit with a popped collar and gold slippers, was created by then-Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane. Over 40 years later, Danny is making the leap from Marvel’s comic pages, where he has dwelled as a little-known character, to the focus of its latest Netflix series.
3 comments:
I am excited to watch Iron Fist. After what Netflix did with Jessica Jones they have a high bar to reach. It’s interesting to see what Netflix produces, especially with all of the other heros they had to work with. The whitewashing is a huge issue and the timing couldn't be worse. With the recent Ghost in the Shell whitewashing and the poor interviewing Scarlett Johansson had is paralleled by the poor reaction Roy Thomas had and all I can think about is white-privilege. I'm surprised Netflix has such a big white-washing issue compared to some of their more recent and socially progressive productions it seems weird that they would take a project with the exact opposite their intentions have been for the past few shows. It's been on my to watch radar but after reading this and several other articles I’m definitely bumping it up the order and I want to see for my self just what all the fuss is about.
Do you ever read an article and feel your molars itching and trying to climb out of your jaw and down your throat? It’s a very similar feeling to watching someone deny their own privilege. Iron Fist is a very good television show. The characters and plot are well-written. The plot is captivating without being too anxiety-inducing (looking at you “OA”) so it’s an easy show to watch at the end of the day and ultimately not remember what the episode was about. Unfortunately, it continuously feels “off” because, unlike what the author says, in the context of what is currently happening in this country, you cannot help but think about race. For those who have not seen the show, the main character is a rich white man who, due to an unfortunate plane crash, is raised in a monastery in an alternate dimension (Kun-Lun), becomes a kung-fu master, and returns to New York to fix everything. And the character definitely can be eastern Asian. The secondary character is and handles the subject of loss of culture to assimilation rather well (but not as well as other productions like “Front Cover” which explicitly handle race and culture as a part of their “message”). I don’t understand why the actor who plays Danny (main character) was cast in that role (actually, I do understand because the default when you don’t specify race is white…). I just don’t think they talked or thought about casting a person of color in his role.
It’s obvious that trying to explain cultural appropriation to this guy would not work. He used the word “oriental” in the article, which I have only ever heard my grandfather use when describing a person, so I get the sense that he grew up in a different time. It doesn’t make it ok, but at the same time, he clearly was not involved in the casting decisions. I don’t blame him for the situation, but I don’t like his justifications. I would support that for a character of a “fictitious race” from a “fictitious place,” race doesn’t matter, but if he was also drawing from kung-fu movies, it’s not entirely imaginary. A character can be an “American superhero” without being white. I was also annoyed that he suggested just adding another character that could be Asian like that would solve the problem. Maybe he was just trying to explain that he doesn’t really care what Marvel does with his comic, but a casting an Asian actor in a bonus role and keeping a white actor as the lead is not successful casting diversity.
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