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From Stereohyped:
I’ve been reading about the new movie "Wanted" with Morgan Freeman, Common, and Angelina Jolie, but I confess I had no idea what it was about. I figured I would wait for the trailer. To my immense surprise, I find out that the movie is based on a comic book series by a guy named Mark Millar, and Angelina Jolie will be playing a Catwoman-esque character named Fox.
I’ve been reading about the new movie "Wanted" with Morgan Freeman, Common, and Angelina Jolie, but I confess I had no idea what it was about. I figured I would wait for the trailer. To my immense surprise, I find out that the movie is based on a comic book series by a guy named Mark Millar, and Angelina Jolie will be playing a Catwoman-esque character named Fox.
This was all well and good until some comic book-obsessed bloggers realized out that Fox was a black woman in the original comics. Now she’s Angelina Jolie. Well, she famously admitted that there was a shortage of roles for people of color, but that her portrayal of Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart was not a good example of the problem. And now? I’m fully aware that this sort of thing is often done in film adaptations of comic books. But Angie again? I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to notice a pattern here.
[AfroGeek via Racialicious]
From Invisible Woman: No comment necessary....in one of my very first posts I stated how I felt about St. Jolie and the blackface.
7 comments:
I personally think it's the lips. They figure if they cast a full-lipped caucasian, then maybe us people of color won't protest toooo much about the roles being mis-cast!
But that's just me...
...And Elektra was a Latina but Ben Affleck's wife was 'right' for the part despite her complete lack of latin heritage, as far as Hollywood is concerned.
This trend will end when Black Filmmakers and other filmmakers of color (Robert Rodriguez did a little something with Spy Kids thankfully, though the wife's role wasn't offered to a Latina...) take on the fantasy genre and create positive archetypes.
I am bound and determined to make that happen with my fantasy lit and I see a few others who seem to be looking in that direction.
It's important that our kids have Black Heroes. Psychologically it's unhealthy that even anime has a distinctly European stamp.
I over looked it for the movie about Mariane Peal but now it seems like it's getting a little sad, with so many talented black woman looking for a good role they seem to overlook them and go for the sexy big lipped white woman.....maybe it's affirmative action reversed (Jolie Style)
People can have puffy collagen lips and Sunset tans all day, and they can play us...if we flat iron our hair can we play Wonder Woman?
That's really weak. As a huge comic nut back in the day with residual levels of that geekiness in me, I hate when creators alter ethnicities. For the most part, its not needed.
For example Baxter Stockman in the original Turtles was brother from what I recall, and was turned White for the TV series. I hated when Michael Clarke Duncan was given the role of Kingpin. He has the physical stature, but that wasn't enough to skirt the race change.
As for Elektra, in the original Marvel run (which may have very well have been retconned over the years)she was Greek, so the Alias chick didn't steal a minority role.
I've heard several times that people didn't dig MCD as Kingpin. I didn't know the backround, and enjoyed the movie, so I guess ignorance is sometimes bliss....
But now there are too many folks out there that aren't ignorant to the fact that the small amounts of mainstream parts for us are going elsewhere, and it is, indeed weak.
Having just read WANTED the comic, and NOT having Fox in the movie as a black anti-heroine, this just pissed me off.
All this really looks like is yet another chance for Angelina to show off more [permanent?] ink. Feh.
Blogged here with my sentiments and with links to the comic.
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