Adventures in Nerdery
So, pursuant to this, which I had read and Ben hadn't, Ben and I had a couple-hour-long, multi-part conversation on, well, who we'd cast for various roles in various comic-book-'verses, including Captain America.
(My first answer? Not John Krasinski -- for the reason someone says in the comments. His current affect is NOT superhero. After that, not Matt Damon -- with the spectacular failure of the last zillion Capt America movies, I don't want to kill MD's career -- and not Chris Pine -- Captain Kirk AND Captain America? I don't have an opinion on the rest of the men mentioned either in the article or the comments because I don't recognize the rest of 'em, but they're all, you know, white dudes.)
So why does Captain America have to be a white dude? There's canon and then there's canon, y'know? If they're not setting the beginning of the Captain America story during the '40s -- and if we've got Iron Man in the aughts, who knows -- then he doesn't have to be white. If they can re-cast movies and stories with white actors playing known-to-be not-white roles -- see The Last Airbender and 21 -- then why can't we recast white characters as not-white characters?
Oh. Right. Institutional racism. Ha. Silly me. I thought for a moment because we have a black president that we lived in a post-racial society or some such bullshit like that. /sarcasm
Well, whatever.
Ben likes Rosario Dawson better as the Green Lantern, though. Says it would fit canon better and not creep out the fanpoodles so much.
(I'm using 'fanpoodle' so as not to have to use 'fanboy' and 'fangirl.' Fen, the actual plural of 'fan,' is too complimentary for the people I'm referencing.)
In the comments of the above-linked entry, I learned that women only held about 29% of the speaking roles in all the movies made last year. Can we please do something about that? It doesn't necessarily have to be with a superhero/comic movie, but . . . something that isn't a rom-com? Please?
Also, I think Rosario Dawson is still underused.
And before anyone flips out about my lack of adherence to canon (even though I'm usually a giant hard-line purist about most things like this), may I point out that they're only screen-testing white dudes, so this is all just a giant thought-experiment? WHAT IF they cast Captain America as a woman? WHAT IF they cast Captain America as a not-white man? (C'mon, I can't be the only person who wants to see Taye Diggs in spandex . . .)
(My first answer? Not John Krasinski -- for the reason someone says in the comments. His current affect is NOT superhero. After that, not Matt Damon -- with the spectacular failure of the last zillion Capt America movies, I don't want to kill MD's career -- and not Chris Pine -- Captain Kirk AND Captain America? I don't have an opinion on the rest of the men mentioned either in the article or the comments because I don't recognize the rest of 'em, but they're all, you know, white dudes.)
So why does Captain America have to be a white dude? There's canon and then there's canon, y'know? If they're not setting the beginning of the Captain America story during the '40s -- and if we've got Iron Man in the aughts, who knows -- then he doesn't have to be white. If they can re-cast movies and stories with white actors playing known-to-be not-white roles -- see The Last Airbender and 21 -- then why can't we recast white characters as not-white characters?
Oh. Right. Institutional racism. Ha. Silly me. I thought for a moment because we have a black president that we lived in a post-racial society or some such bullshit like that. /sarcasm
Well, whatever.
Ben likes Rosario Dawson better as the Green Lantern, though. Says it would fit canon better and not creep out the fanpoodles so much.
(I'm using 'fanpoodle' so as not to have to use 'fanboy' and 'fangirl.' Fen, the actual plural of 'fan,' is too complimentary for the people I'm referencing.)
In the comments of the above-linked entry, I learned that women only held about 29% of the speaking roles in all the movies made last year. Can we please do something about that? It doesn't necessarily have to be with a superhero/comic movie, but . . . something that isn't a rom-com? Please?
Also, I think Rosario Dawson is still underused.
And before anyone flips out about my lack of adherence to canon (even though I'm usually a giant hard-line purist about most things like this), may I point out that they're only screen-testing white dudes, so this is all just a giant thought-experiment? WHAT IF they cast Captain America as a woman? WHAT IF they cast Captain America as a not-white man? (C'mon, I can't be the only person who wants to see Taye Diggs in spandex . . .)