Race + Comics: On Green Lantern’s Near-Death Experience

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Shaka Zulu, Mar 29, 2013.

  1. theenglish

    theenglish Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2001
    Location:
    Western Canada
    Care to give it a try?
     
  2. C.E. Evans

    C.E. Evans Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2001
    Location:
    Ferguson, Missouri, USA
    See post #18
     
  3. TREK_GOD_1

    TREK_GOD_1 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 24, 2006
    Location:
    Escaped from Delta Vega
    But they still do not know how to write a character like JS. To me, this could be read as a case of people with limited life experiences, where they do not really know any African Americans on an intimate level, so you get the aforementioned old Spike Lee nonsense, or worse, crap from Tarantino movies (or the caricature Sam Jackson has become in too many roles).

    Writers have built on Hal Jordan from his Cold War, by-the-book adventurer days, to the Denny O'Neil period, and forward, all based on his modest, space opera origins, so why not JS?

    His introduction was forceful, politically hot for its time, and provided an excellent template to use as the African American experience (in fiction), indeed, the comic book superhero experience both changed rapidly as the 1970s ran its course. But a significant level of growth simply did not occur then, or in the decades to follow, hence his fate today.
     
  4. theenglish

    theenglish Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2001
    Location:
    Western Canada
    Got it, thanks.
     
  5. Shaka Zulu

    Shaka Zulu Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2013
    Location:
    Bulawayo Military Krral
    The best way to depict John Stewart might be to base him on Will Smith, or Colin Powell; there are a lot of Afro-Americans to base John Stewart on. Or, they can simply write him like the writers on the Justice League show did, by studying the show and the episodes that he was featured.