By Lindsay Parsh
Do you consider yourself raciest? Neither do I. But think about this. Think about all the superhero movies we’ve been watching lately and tell me, are any of the superhero’s black? Are any of them Asian, Mexican, or any other minority here in America? No. Now think about all the villains in these movies. They’re minorities or they have some sort of physical or cultural deformity. In the past few years multiple superhero movies have come to theater and many of them portray minorities as the bad guys. The portrayal of minorities in these movies adds to our Nations’ growing xenophobia. You might say to me “But these are just movies. They’re just for fun!” but if every movie we watch shows a white person being the good guy and the minority being evil we come to believe it. Through watching a multitude of superhero movies, I believe that minorities and people with cultural or physical deformities are always portrayed as the villain and that this affects our society.
Ironman is a prime example of superhero villains who are minorities. In beginning of the movie Tony Stark (Ironman) is held hostage by Raza, who is a Middle Eastern terrorist. Ever since 9/11, America has been more xenophobic than ever before. Casting Middle Eastern terrorists as the villains in the movie reinforces our ideas that minorities are bad and Americans are good. Another villain in Ironman is Obadiah. While Obadiah is not a racial minority, he is a cultural minority. By cultural minority I mean, people who do not fit societies norms, such as baldness and psychosis. Another evil superhero villain who was bald was Lex Luthor, Superman’s arch nemesis. It is wrong that these movies reinforced the ideas that people who don’t look like society wants them to are shown as evil. Throughout Ironman, the villains are cultural and racial minorities.
Throughout The Dark Knight there are many villains and most of them are minorities. The man villain, the Joker, is displays some sort of psychosis, wears clown makeup, and cut his face. He is another cultural minority. People fear what they do not understand, so they fear mental illness. This kind of illness needs treatment and understanding, but the Dark Knight reinforces the negative stereotype that having a mental illness makes you bad. Another character in the Dark Knight is Harvey Dent. In the beginning of the movie he is a hero but after the Joker burns off half of his face and he seeks revenge on Batman. His physical deformity represents his descent into evil. The impact of his decent from Gothem’s “white knight” to evil would have been less without the visual deformity. This says to the audience that white is good and deformed is evil. In the mod scene, the Joker meets with Gothem’s crime leaders. Most of them are black or other minority. The white crime lords are bald, balding, and dirty, which are looked down upon in society. This reinforces the stereotype that minorities cause the crime. This needs to change because we cannot continue to let race and stereotypes separate us as a nation. The Dark Knight villains are stereotypical and reinforce the ideas that people have about physical and mental problems.
In most superhero movies the hero is white and male, this needs to change. If there were more diversity there would be less separation among races and the ideas that these movies put in our minds could be erased. One movie that came out recently was Hancock. Will Smith plays the hero in it and this is the first of the superhero movies to feature a black man as the superhero. This is the step in the right direction but the movie did not review very well and it wasn’t a Marvel or D.C. comic superhero. There has been talk of a Green Lantern movie coming out in 2009 or 2010. The Green Lantern has been portrayed as both a white and black man. But who will probably be cast for the part, Ryan Gosling (Williams 2008), a white man. It’s important to have diversity among superheroes and super villains because it will counteract the previous stereotypes we had and help us come together as a nation.
Superhero movies have been casting minorities as the villains for a long time. Casting minorities and those with physical or cultural deformities as the bad guy reinforces our growing xenophobia. This is a problem because we need to be working together not hating or fearing each other just because what we look like. If super hero movies started casting minorities as the heroes it would counteract the stereotypes that are put into our mind by these movies. People with physical or cultural deformities and minorities are portrayed as the villain in superhero movies, while white men are always the heroes and this needs to change.
Sources
Ironman. Dir. Jon Favreau. Perf. Robert Downey Jr. Film. Paramount Pictures, 2008.
The Dark Knight. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Perf. Christian Bale, Heath Ledger. Film. Warner Bros., 2008.
Hancock. Dir. Tony Smith. Perf. Will Smith. Film. Columbia, 2008.
Williams, Jamie. "Will Brandon Routh Appear In The Green Lantern Movie?" Screen Rant. 10 Oct. 2008. 19 Dec. 2008.
Holtreman, Vic. "Is Ryan Gosling The Green Lantern?" Screen Rant. 8 Oct. 2008. 19 Dec. 2008.
No comments:
Post a Comment