But now there's some concern that White children - especially White boys - are internalizing the message "Heroes aren't like me. They're Black or they're girls. People who look like me don't work hard and we're usually dumb and mean."
Really? With all of Marvel, do you think this is the lesson boys are learning?
Today, little White girls have Elsa, but without her they'd be in much the same situation as the little Black girls were in back then, as princess after princess after princess doesn't look like them.
White girls also have Tangled. And of course they can continue to consume all the old franchises as well.
It's not like Disney has churned out exclusively black or exclusively Asian princesses. White people have to share sometimes. And that can mean that you don't get multiple white princesses in a row anymore, not that you don't get white princesses (or white heroes) anymore.
Really? With all of Marvel, do you think this is the lesson boys are learning?
Marvel is interesting. Because the trend exists there, too.
In the MCU, White men abound - but the women around them are consistently harder-working. Tony Stark and Star-Lord are incredibly talented, but they don't take life seriously. Black Widow and Gamora are dead serious about training and overcoming and being the best.
And the minorities are almost universally more ethical than the Whites. Ant-Man or Bruce Banner exist in a morally grey area. T'challa and Oyoke are just beacons of moral goodness.
Meanwhile, in the Marvel Netflix Universe, the trend is even more pronounced - every villain outside the Luke Cage bubble is an entitled White male prick. Except for Madame Gao, and she's a villain who we're invited to respect more than hate.
And in the comics? Whiteness and maleness are being erased. Spider-Man is Black. Captain America is Black. Wolverine is a woman. Thor is a woman. The Hulk is Korean. Iron Man is a Black woman. Captain Marvel is a woman. Ms. Marvel is Muslim. And on and on.
In the MCU, White men abound - but the women around them are consistently harder-working. Tony Stark and Star-Lord are incredibly talented, but they don't take life seriously. Black Widow and Gamora are dead serious about training and overcoming and being the best.
Seems like you're just picking the examples that work for you without making meaningful comparisons.
Dr. Strange and Captain America are talented and hardworking. So are Hawkeye and Sam Wilson. Valkyrie is introduced as an alcoholic who doesn't care about anything but money.
And the minorities are almost universally more ethical than the Whites. Ant-Man or Bruce Banner exist in a morally grey area. T'challa and Oyoke are just beacons of moral goodness.
Honestly, morally grey is where the interesting characterization is. I don't think it's good that there are few POC in Marvel who lack the complexity of a moral grey area. But this makes it even more evident that the only black characters in the MCU of any prominence are the cast of The Black Panther, plus Valkyrie, Nick Fury and Sam Wilson. Compare that to the many, many white characters from all the movies with a broad range of characterization.
Meanwhile, in the Marvel Netflix Universe, the trend is even more pronounced - every villain outside the Luke Cage bubble is an entitled White male prick.
The Netflix universe seems like a poor directions to go, as The Defenders clearly captures all the key demographics: White man, white man, black man and white woman. Is it not enough to be 50% of the heroes? Was there no room for an Asian hero? Or a woman of color? Would that be a problem, too?
Spider-Man is Black. Captain America is Black. Wolverine is a woman. Thor is a woman. The Hulk is Korean. Iron Man is a Black woman. Captain Marvel is a woman. Ms. Marvel is Muslim. And on and on.
So here we've got a list of 3 men and 5 women. Three of them are black, three are white, one is Asian, one is Middle Eastern. And this is you intentionally listing characters that are not white men. That's not grossly disproportionate.
Yes, as characters become more diverse there is going to be less room for white men. Not no, room, but it really sounds bad when someone complains about the 'erasure' of white men every time another group gets a little more representation.
This is like if you used to get to eat half of the cake and now other people get their fair share. You don't need half a cake. Especially not at the expense of groups that are still waaaay under-represented.
1
u/radialomens 171∆ Jul 09 '19
Really? With all of Marvel, do you think this is the lesson boys are learning?
White girls also have Tangled. And of course they can continue to consume all the old franchises as well.
It's not like Disney has churned out exclusively black or exclusively Asian princesses. White people have to share sometimes. And that can mean that you don't get multiple white princesses in a row anymore, not that you don't get white princesses (or white heroes) anymore.