The Book of Eli and the Black Male Hero

[captainduprix]

Let me begin by stating that I don't select films or television programs on the basis of race (if I did, I wouldn't watch much). However I have noticed that there is one quota that ALWAYS seems to be present in big budget films: with rare exception, a white male is usually the hero. This is because the audience for genre films is primarily white and male, I get that. But is it asking too much to have filmmakers consider the black male more often?

Denzil Washington and Will Smith are two of the biggest stars in the world. Their films are guaranteed box office. White people in American voted for Barack Obama as President. Colin Powell was Secretary of State. Michael Jordan was once the most popular athlete on Earth. If all these things are true, why aren't there more black action heroes, or even villains (the evening news perpetuates this notion on a regular basis)?

Why have there been so few black male superheroes? Anyone? And why can't a black actor be cast in a traditional white role? Why not have an international spy thriller staring Chiwetel Ejiofor orAdewale Akinnyoye-Agbaje?

Anyway, I'm sure this posting will prompt the usual racist vitriol, but hey, it's an open forum in a free country, right?

 

[Gojirob]

Don't be so sure about the vitriol--and while there are quite a few African-American and African-descented heroes, you have a point. My only offering will be that the breakthrough doesn't occur when an underrepresented group gets to have one or more 'name-takers who didn't bring a pencil'. It's when that group gets a truly memorable 'because I can' villain.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Why have there been so few black male superheroes?

Most of the popular super heroes were created between 1938 and 1965. So the chances of them being black was pretty slim.

Anyone? And why can't a black actor be cast in a traditional white role?

They can and have. No rule against it.

Why not have an international spy thriller staring Chiwetel Ejiofor orAdewale Akinnyoye-Agbaje?

Sounds fine to me. Didn't Wesley Snipes do a few films in that genre?

 

[captcalhoun]

Sam Jackson is playing Nick Fury in Marvel's movies. He will have a larger role in Iron Man 2, which also features Don Cheadle as War Machine. Fury's also slated for appearances of some greater or lesser extent in Thor and Captain America as well as Avengers. Reportedly, he will also have the lead in a SHIELD movie.

GI Joe: Rise of Cobra also starred two blacks as heroes: Adewale A-A and Marlon Wayans. Both had prominent roles and Adewale's character, Heavy Duty, served as team-leader in the field. Notably, the main white hero, Duke, had to be rescued by 2 black guys, a French-Arabian, a woman and a Japanese-trained white ninja commando.

EDIT TO ADD: lest we forget Blade, who had a semi-successful film trilogy.

there's also reports of a Black Panther movie being developed, but that's been percolating for a while, the same as Luke Cage/Power Man's flick.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

And why can't a black actor be cast in a traditional white role? Why not have an international spy thriller staring Chiwetel Ejiofor orAdewale Akinnyoye-Agbaje?

Ejiofor would make an *awesome* James Bond.

And don't tell me that Bond can't be black. Every new Bond is a reboot anyway, so this would be no different.

 

[Star Wolf]

Ice Cube as the second XXX, this one barrier has been passed long ago. Wesley Snipes' love interest was often a white woman as that barrier was also broken down.

 

[C.E. Evans]

As already mentioned, there are indeed examples of black male heroes in Hollywood movies. There may not be as many as some would like there to be, but they are out there. Personally, I think the number will only grow in the future myself because I think things will become more multi-cultural overall in the years ahead...

 

[bryce]

I think with actors like Will Smith we have seen that wall/barrier starting to tumble down and black heroes are becoming acceptable.

Like someone else pointed out, a lot of superheroes were made in a time where non-with heroes were just unheard of.

Now, the barrier that is falling is not just having a black hero, but having a black (or other minority hero) in a film that ISN'T seen as *just* "a black movie" - a niche movie and "urbanized" (or "blaxploitation") movie that just appeals to black people (and is re-do of a white hero story with a black person)...but as a *popular* movie...

Now we can *finally* have a movie with a black hero that appeals to *everyone* - and most importantly (to Hollywood) - make $$$.

Because, we are *finally* at a time where a black hero can be seen as not just "a black hero" - but as a *hero* - but as an *everyman*.

And that's an important step in society....seeing a person not as a color (or even gender) - as and "other" - but as a person, just like "me".

Most superheros are, sans costume, the "everyman" - and that's what appeals to regular people - the idea "that could be me up there"...and now we are finally entering an age were a white - or whatever "race" - person can see someone on screen of another "ethnicity", and think "he's like me", as opposed to "he's that *black*/Asian.whatever guy..."

And when that happens films with black (or other minority) leads become profitable...and from Hollywood's perspective, *that* (and not "social justice") is what REALLY matters...

 

[Mr. Adventure]

oh, not again...

 

[FreezeC77]

If you look at the racial make-up of the US 70%+ of the population is White and there's actually a larger percentage of Hispanic/Latino's then there are African-American's.

so technically there should be more Hispanic superheros and movie stars then African-American if you go strictly by proportions.

 

[Michael Chris]

Hispanic is not a race...

I think the reason is because so many of the superheroes and action film characters that we have were created in a time when black people had little to no power in the mainstream creative arena. These characters have been deeply rooted in the national psyche. Modern societal tastes are much more niche based than previous years that I think it is very hard to introduce a character that really makes an impact that is not based on an existing character.

 

[Kegg]

If you look at the racial make-up of the US 70%+ of the population is White and there's actually a larger percentage of Hispanic/Latino's then there are African-American's.

so technically there should be more Hispanic superheros and movie stars then African-American if you go strictly by proportions.

Why does it have to be framed like that? Can't we have Hispanic superheroes as well as Africans, hmm? Let's not whip out our calculators and play a numbers game with this (and remember folks, foreign box office!)

But yeah, Will Smith was Hancock or something when he could have been Superman.

Ejiofor would make an *awesome* James Bond.

And don't tell me that Bond can't be black. Every new Bond is a reboot anyway, so this would be no different.

Bond's been Glaswegian, Australian, Irish and Blond. Black's not such a big shift.

 

[T'Baio]

I've seen a few black stand up comics make fun of little white losers and their superheroes and how Black people don't give a shit about that nonsense. Maybe there's something to that.

Of course, maybe they don't care because no one ever made one with a black hero.

Then again, most likely no one ever made one because there was such a small percentage of black people who bought them.

But then, maybe they didn't buy them because no one ever made one with a black hero.

Of course, since.......

 

[FreezeC77]

I've seen a few black stand up comics make fun of little white losers and their superheroes and how Black people don't give a shit about that nonsense. Maybe there's something to that.

Of course, maybe they don't care because no one ever made one with a black hero.

Then again, most likely no one ever made one because there was such a small percentage of black people who bought them.

But then, maybe they didn't buy them because no one ever made one with a black hero.

Of course, since.......

I didn't mean that we have to say "ok there's X number of African-Americans so we need to have the proportionate amount of comic characters. I just meant it makes sense that there isn't a huge amount of African-American comic book characters compared to the population.

I think Marvel has always fared better than DC in presenting a more diverse universe. Most of the major teams usually have black characters represented on them.

Now could you swap races on a character and not have it matter? Probably. Kingpin in the movies was made Black and I don't think it made any difference to the character. Nick Fury in Ultimates is black and 616 is White, does it really matter?

I always thought Batman could easily be black and that wouldn't be a bad take on the character for the next reboot IMO.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I've seen a few black stand up comics make fun of little white losers and their superheroes and how Black people don't give a shit about that nonsense. Maybe there's something to that.

Of course, maybe they don't care because no one ever made one with a black hero.

Then again, most likely no one ever made one because there was such a small percentage of black people who bought them.

But then, maybe they didn't buy them because no one ever made one with a black hero.

Of course, since.......

I didn't mean that we have to say "ok there's X number of African-Americans so we need to have the proportionate amount of comic characters. I just meant it makes sense that there isn't a huge amount of African-American comic book characters compared to the population.

I think Marvel has always fared better than DC in presenting a more diverse universe. Most of the major teams usually have black characters represented on them.

Now could you swap races on a character and not have it matter? Probably. Kingpin in the movies was made Black and I don't think it made any difference to the character. Nick Fury in Ultimates is black and 616 is White, does it really matter?

I always thought Batman could easily be black and that wouldn't be a bad take on the character for the next reboot IMO.

DC has had Black Lightning, GL John Stewart and Vixen in the JLA. Mister Terrific in JSA and Cyborg in the Titans. Static is a Teen Titan. So they've represented. Even the minor teams like the Doom Patrol and the Forever People have had a few non-white members. DC also published the Milestone line which featured a number of non-white heroes.

 

[zakkrusz]

Acting is universal, it doesn't really matter what the color their skin is. What matters is whether the actor in question can pull off a decent performance. If they can do that then it's all good. I don't really care what the person playing the role looks like, if I was interested in the story I'd see the movie. Simple as that.

 

[Star Wolf]

I've seen a few black stand up comics make fun of little white losers and their superheroes and how Black people don't give a shit about that nonsense. Maybe there's something to that.

Of course, maybe they don't care because no one ever made one with a black hero.

Then again, most likely no one ever made one because there was such a small percentage of black people who bought them.

But then, maybe they didn't buy them because no one ever made one with a black hero.

Of course, since.......

I didn't mean that we have to say "ok there's X number of African-Americans so we need to have the proportionate amount of comic characters. I just meant it makes sense that there isn't a huge amount of African-American comic book characters compared to the population.

I think Marvel has always fared better than DC in presenting a more diverse universe. Most of the major teams usually have black characters represented on them.

Now could you swap races on a character and not have it matter? Probably. Kingpin in the movies was made Black and I don't think it made any difference to the character. Nick Fury in Ultimates is black and 616 is White, does it really matter?

I always thought Batman could easily be black and that wouldn't be a bad take on the character for the next reboot IMO.

The original batman could not have been Black because then Bruce Wayne and his family before him would not have had the Gotham City connections. Spiderman as just another kid at school might be a perfect fit.

 

[Kegg]

The original batman could not have been Black because then Bruce Wayne and his family before him would not have had the Gotham City connections. Spiderman as just another kid at school might be a perfect fit.

I dunno. According to the Nolan films Gotham is basically Chicago. Is it so hard to believe there are affluent black people in Chicago? That in itself would be a nice progression, I think.

But yes, of the Big Three Spiderman and Superman are easier choices (you basically have to change nothing about Superman, also.)

 

[T'Baio]

Spider-Man.

Spider-Man.

One more time...Spider-Man.

That's really bugging me lately.

 

[DarKush]

I think there is a lack of black male heroes in sci-fi and many other films/TV shoes. But the heroes that are depicted are often made eunuchs and a bit too willing to sacrifice themselves for my taste.

For the lack of black male hero, I think there is still the inability or difficulty for many in the mainstream (i.e. white) to identify with a black male, and by extension black people. The 'everyman' in many people's minds is a white man. So, it's not easy for some to see a black male, to understand them, to root for them. For some, I wonder if blacks are still something of the 'other'. Unless of course you make that black male largely safe, which to some extent are the hero roles that Denzel and especially Will Smith play.

There are black male heroes in literature, in comics, but these film adaptations/projects aren't just being made in large numbers. And in the comics, these characters aren't getting consistent support. Though I give DC and particularly Marvel credit for at least making more of an attempt recently. There are more blacks on teams, but a lot of times they play supporting roles and aren't the POV characters or have major storylines or character development. Unfortunately, only one black character to my knowledge headlines a Marvel book, Black Panther. War Machine was recently cancelled and Dr. Voodoo is on the way out. As for DC, there's Azrael and the Vertigo Unknown Soldier series. That's really paltry considering the amount of comics out there, particularly put out by the major companies.

The idea that color plays no role in Hollywood denies a lot of history, and that history which I think still plays a part in the images of blacks and the roles that they get.