• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Michelle Rodriguez: Minority Actors Should "Stop Stealing" White Superheroes

Status
Not open for further replies.
Weapxn

Weapxn

Mikkelsexual
Furious 7's Michelle Rodriguez on Superhero Diversity

Not everyone is on board with diversity casting for traditionally white superhero roles.

Michelle Rodriguez, who will soon be seen in Furious 7, told TMZ that minority actors deserve their own characters, rather than playing white characters.

"Because of this whole 'minorities in Hollywood' thing ... it's so stupid," said the 36-year-old actress, whose mother is from the Dominican Republic and father is Puerto Rican. "Stop stealing all the white people's superheroes. Make up your own."

Rodriguez was also asked about a reported Internet rumor that she may appear in Warner Bros.' new Green Lantern film, slated for a 2020 release, to which she replied: "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

On Saturday, Rodriguez posted a video to Facebook explaining her remarks, apologizing "if [they] came off rude or stupid" and saying her quote about "stealing" was taken out of context.

In the video, she added: "It's not about taking Catwoman or Superman or Green Lantern ... and trying to make them fit to whatever cultural background you are. I just feel like it should be more creative than that, and I think that people need to stop being lazy."

Diversity in TV and film has been a hot-button issue lately, with #OscarsSoWhite trending after this year's slate of Academy Award nominees was comprised only of white actors.

Several roles that were initially conceived in comic books as white characters have been recently played on film by black actors, including Samuel L. Jackson embodying Nick Fury in the Marvel films and Michael B. Jordan as the Human Torch in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot.
Click to expand...

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...-rodriguez-superhero-778430?facebook_20150228



Huh.

Cue the Peter Parker vs Miles Morales debate. Again.
 
M

maxcriden

Member
Seems like an odd comment. None of the traditional superheros have to be their already designated race or gender. No harm in reinterpreting the characters.
 
D

Dalek

Member
tumblr_nfys4xoq7H1rhu8igo1_500.gif
 
J

joe2187

Banned
Title is misleading, she explains it better in the next sentence.

And I agree with her.

( I dont know anything about comics) but making X established character all of sudden a different race/gender seems very lazy.
 
B

BronsonLee

Member
I totally agree with her. Make your own superheroes.

Like there's this one group that was a group of thieves, I think they siphoned gas or something from trucks. They were street racers too

Then next thing I know, they're fighting a fucking tank
 
Z

Zukuu

Banned
I agree with the notion that we rather need new diverse superheroes or focus on already establish ones that are female and/or non-white, rather than making Spiderman black, Thor a women and replacing Captain America, it's stupid.
 
J

- J - D -

Member
Title is sensationalizing her actual statement, but whatever.

It's not really stealing if those roles are being handed down to lucky minority actors by execs in a suit. I'm willing to bet they are mostly a white cabal, but that may not be the case for all circumstances.
 
M

Malreyn

Member
maxcriden said:
Seems like an odd comment. None of the traditional superheros have to be their already designated race or gender. No harm in reinterpreting the characters.
Click to expand...

The thing about reinterpreting characters is that it could turn its base against it...even without race changing, people will hate on it for "not being the same as the source." Great example is Superman, portrayed by Henry Cavill, as being a loner, and having a beard in his early days. Lets not forget the reaction to the ending of Man of Steel...
 
B

Bobby Roberts

Banned
I'm not sure she has a super-strong conception of why "just make up your own" doesn't really TAKE.

It's not laziness that prevents a large number of original superheroes of ANY race from finding purchase in the pop-culture landscape. It really isn't.
 
R

redmetal86

Member
I think I see what she's saying. More original characters rather than pallet swapping. Not exactly the best wording though.
 
E

EulaCapra

Member
Did FOX News make the OP title lol?

I agree with her. It's better to create new heroes of diversity and cultivate their own brand rather than having someone taking up the mantle.
 
C

Cartman86

Banned
Yeah I get what she is saying.

Is something a moron would say, and people who support it are the cancer at the heart of this whole issue. Not vocal bigots, but everyday people who think just doing well will cause everything to go right.
 
B

BronsonLee

Member
BobbyRoberts said:
I'm not sure she has a super-strong conception of why "just make up your own" doesn't really TAKE.

It's not laziness that prevents a large number of original superheroes of ANY race from finding purchase in the pop-culture landscape. It really isn't.
Click to expand...

In her defense, she likely thinks that way because Vin Diesel literally did it :p
 
K

Kinyou

Member
Several roles that were initially conceived in comic books as white characters have been recently played on film by black actors, including Samuel L. Jackson embodying Nick Fury in the Marvel films and Michael B. Jordan as the Human Torch in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot.
Click to expand...
I can only think of Idris Elba as the final example. I mean, I also think it's better to make original characters, but it's also not like minority actors are sweeping up every second super hero role
 
V

Volimar

Member
hateradio said:
She's calling people of color lazy . . . oh shit.
Click to expand...


She's calling the creative teams behind heroes lazy. And I agree. Actually, I think the Miles Morales Spider-Man is a good example of getting it right. Instead of having heroes that were traditionally of a certain ethnicity be played by a different one, put some effort into making an entirely different character, even if that character dons a similar or identical name/moniker. In a perfect world, creators would be able to make marketable heroes of a wide range of ethnicities, but it seems rare that they crack that nut.
 
F

Frog-fu

Banned
I'm inclined to agree with her. I don't care about supporting characters like Nick Fury or fairly minor characters like Deadshot, but when it comes to iconic characters, adapt at least that much faithfully.

I'm happy af they're making a Black Panther film. It's long overdue. Blade was a long time ago. I'm also glad a Cyborg film is coming eventually. I hope more black comic book and movies based upon them are created.

hateradio said:
She's calling people of color lazy . . . oh shit.
Click to expand...

More like she's calling the execs that make these decisions lazy, which I'd say they are.
 
D

Dai101

Banned
joe2187 said:
Title is misleading, she explains it better in the next sentence.

And I agree with her.

( I dont know anything about comics) but making X established character all of sudden a different race/gender seems very lazy.
Click to expand...

Completely agree. And since it was ignored and keep being ignored here we go


( I dont know anything about comics) but making X established character all of sudden a different race/gender seems very lazy.
 
S

Sandfox

Member
Volimar said:
In a perfect world, creators would be able to make marketable heroes of a wide range of ethnicities, but it seems rare that they crack that nut.
Click to expand...

Comics have been doing a better job of that lately but the movie people are trying to adapt the more established characters first.
 
P

Poodlestrike

Banned
Making more minority superheroes rather than repurposing old ones would be great, but part of the problem is that minority superheroes are fairly seriously devalued on account of the existing numbers disparity.
 
T

The Return of

Banned
Anyone who calls it lazy simply aren't aware that these new characters don't do all that well. I would love New heroes in general from DC/Marvel not just minorities but yeah
 
C

CyberpunkGod

Member
Zukuu said:
I agree with the notion that we rather need new diverse superheroes or focus on already establish ones that are female and/or non-white, rather than making Spiderman black, Thor a women and replacing Captain America, it's stupid.
Click to expand...

Couldn't have said it better.
 
S

Sandfox

Member
The Return of said:
Anyone who calls it lazy simply aren't aware that these new characters don't do all that well. I would love New heroes in general from DC/Marvel not just minorities but yeah
Click to expand...

I don't think that's really all that true anymore. female and minority characters seem to be doing pretty well for themselves these days.
 
E

Einhander

Member
Marvel and DC suffer from the Nintendo complex, reusing the same handful of franchises repeatedly until they're no longer marketable. Changing the race of a superhero is rather tacky, I agree.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

How Ms. Marvel became Marvel’s most important superhero
Clickbait Cringe
38
4K
AJUMP23 replied
Happy 40th Anniversary to The Empire Strikes Back (World Premiere May 17, 1980)
2
60
7K
kunonabi replied
Michelle Rodriguez: better quality + quantity for Fast 9 female characters or I quit
2 3 4
197
24K
SeanC replied
  • Locked
'We're the geeks, the prostitutes': Asian American actors on Hollywood's barriers
2 3 4 5 6
263
34K
Dram replied
Does 'Game Of Thrones' Help Keep Hollywood Blockbusters White?
2 3
122
13K
wandering replied
Top Bottom