MovieChat Forums > Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) Discussion > Significant characteristics of major cha...

Significant characteristics of major characters should never change. It's disrespectful and not racist to oppose it.

posted a year ago by cdb (46)
35 replies | jump to latest

Significant characteristics like sex, race, hair color, height, weight, personality - including historical films.

Spider Man is a geeky white man, The Little Mermaid is a naive white teenage girl (with red hair), Storm is an African woman, Blade is a black man, Bane is Latino.

Christian Bale is not Egyptian, Jake Gyllenhaal is not Persian, Scarlett Johansson is not Japanese, Anne Boleyn was white. Historical films in Europe should only have Europeans, India with Indians, Asia with Asians, Africa with Africans. Cleopatra was Greek, not black.

It's not complicated.

[–] BrandNewPoster (8513) a year ago

If the filmmakers want to tell a different story about the character and those characteristics are not a part of that story, then they can be changed. It is not necessarily disrespectful. It is all about the story that the filmmakers are trying to tell.

[–] cdb (46) a year ago

That's just lazy and disrespectful, like a white man playing Martin Luther King Jr. Would you be OK with that? Or a white slave in 1700's America?

Doing so offends and disrespects their most loyal fans of the characters.

[–] BrandNewPoster (8513) a year ago

It's not lazy trying to tell a different type of story or looking at the story in a different way/from a different perspective. What if a film was made with Martin Luther King Jr. as a white man in an alternate reality that was run by black women and he had to fight for the rights of white people and men? That could be an interesting, fictionalised take on him and his life. I would be fine with that. It doesn't change what he really looked like or the events of his life.

[–] cdb (46) a year ago

Alternate universes don't count at all. Unless the original character from an alternate universe like Spider Woman was changed, which is what they did in this film. Spider Woman is white, not black.

[–] BrandNewPoster (8513) a year ago

Why not?

[–] cdb (46) a year ago

There's this thing called reality. Not sure if you're aware of it.

[–] BrandNewPoster (8513) a year ago

But we are talking about movies here.

[–] cdb (46) a year ago

Suspension of disbelief can only go so far until it's contrived and violates established rules in storytelling.

[–] BrandNewPoster (8513) a year ago

Nah. A character's race or appearance can be changed if it serves the story and the film that the filmmakers are making. Spideman/Batman/Superman/TinkerBell/Little Mermaid/Whoever don't have to white.

[–] cdb (46) a year ago

Nah, they're immutable.

[–] BrandNewPoster (8513) a year ago

Nope.

[–] NorrinRad (5128) a year ago

That movie was actually made.

I think it was "White Man's Burden" with John Travolta?

[–] Kowalski (63764) a year ago

GOOD HBO FLICK.

[–] moviefanatic505 (6028) a year ago

Correction Peter Parker's Spider-man is a geeky white man. The main character in this series is Miles Morales.

[–] cdb (46) a year ago

I don't care about that at all or most "alternate universe" characters. I'm referring to movies like The Little Mermaid or the Cleopatra show. Do you agree?

[–] moviefanatic505 (6028) a year ago

Nothing about Aerials race is essential. I can agree on Cleopatra. Not Aerial sorry.

[–] cdb (46) a year ago

The Little Mermaid is a deeply cherished story by the Danish people, so Ariel should be Danish. Anything else would be disrespectful to the Danish people.

[–] moviefanatic505 (6028) a year ago

So then that means any change to the story is unacceptable. Then why is it okay what Disney's animation does with these stories then? Just so you know the Disney version is not the original.

[–] LanceDance (1133) a year ago

The character ScarJo played in Ghost in the Shell isn’t Japanese. She’s a light-skinned robot. As long as the actress is light-skinned too (and hot), it’s fine.

Everything else you said is correct.

[–] cdb (46) a year ago

I see what you're saying but it's like The Little Mermaid for me. It is an iconic Danish story cherished by the Danes so the mermaid should be Danish out of respect for the Danish people, just like Major the robot. Albeit robots have more leeway so ScarJo doesn't bother me as much.

[–] Kowalski (63764) a year ago

ICONIC DANISH STORY...NOT REALLY...MOST ONLY KNOW THE DISNEY VERSION...YOU KNOW...THE ONE WITH THE SINGING CRAB AND THE OCTOPUS LADY.

[–] cdb (46) a year ago

NOPE, THE DANISH CONSIDER THE LITTLE MERMAID STATUE AS DENMARK'S STATUE OF LIBERTY. SCREAMING ONLY HURTS YOUR CREDIBILITY.

[–] Kowalski (63764) a year ago

I AM NOT DANISH...MOST FOLKS AREN'T DANISH...YOUR HEADED FOR EXTINCTION BULLSHIT AND MY VALID POINT STAND....MISTER PISSYPANTS.🙂

[–] jk90us (5817) a year ago

Totally agree.

It’s pretty simple. Look at the majority of artwork representing iconic characters, look at their physical attributes including height, audition actors who LOOK like that, and cast the one with the most talent.

To not do that is just ludicrous.

[–] cdb (46) a year ago

Exactly! If they want more "representation", they can find characters that match the characteristics they want.

[–] Kowalski (63764) a year ago

THERE IS NO "THEY"...UNLESS YOU ARE REFERRING TO YOURSELF AND THE OTHER CREEPER ASS INTERNET JACKASSES.

[–] PaladinNJ (20658) a year ago

True

[–] clashwho (746) a year ago

Peter Parker is a geeky white man. They haven't changed Peter Parker. Miles Morales is some other guy who thinks he's Spider-Man, too, because he's too lazy or uncreative to forge his own superhero identity.

[–] cdb (46) a year ago

Alternative universes like Miles don't bother me as much but I always feel it's cheap writing and too contrived.

[–] Kowalski (63764) a year ago

THC >CDB

[–] cdb (46) a year ago

Don't you mean CBD? THC is > CBD.

[–] Kowalski (63764) a year ago

NO...I AM POWERD BY THC...YOU ARE POWERED BY COWARDLY DICK BAGS...THC>CDB

[–] clashwho (746) a year ago

Didn't bother me when he was in the ultimate universe. But now he's kicking around in 616 with the original Peter Parker. He's like the Spider-Man of Brooklyn or something. Dumb. And apparently he can defeat The Shocker by just webbing him up. That never worked for the original Spider-Man. Stupid writers.

[–] JFZ (1459) a year ago

So Miles is another appropriator like the rest? Makes sense.

[–] TylerAArse (2728) a year ago

All of this "cleverly" disguised racism is cracking me up.