In many cases, a character’s race is completely irrelevant to the story being told, and the representation only matters to the visual aesthetics. Changing a character’s racial identity introduces new narrative dynamics that most media doesn’t account for. While the efforts toward an equal-opportunity entertainment industry are refreshing, colorblind casting often creates its own problems. The idea is to invite actors of all backgrounds to audition, and ideally to cast roles on the basis of performance alone. #Mk 11 omni man tvRecently, though, racebending in movies and TV usually comes from the popularization of “colorblind casting,” where a character isn’t written with any specific race or ethnicity. Racebending has plenty of potential to enrich existing narratives, particularly from eras where non-white characters barely existed. But the term has taken on a more positive, progressive meaning, in cases where traditionally white characters are re-interpreted in adaptations or reboots, to add diversity where it didn’t exist. #Mk 11 omni man movieThe show’s characters came from diverse backgrounds, but Shyamalan’s version subbed in white actors in key roles, while coding darker skin as villainous, in keeping with a regressive, historical movie tradition. #Mk 11 omni man seriesNight Shyamalan’s live-action adaptation of the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The term “racebending” was originally a pejorative, describing the casting of M. But the idea of Mark as the child of two immigrants emphasizes Kirkman’s themes, and creates a perfect case for the value of racebending through subtext that now feels indispensable to the TV series. Using actors of Korean descent for the roles may seem like a subtle change, particularly since the characters’ designs haven’t changed much from the comic to match the new interpretation. But in the animated version, Steven Yeun and Sandra Oh were cast to voice them. In Kirkman’s comics, Mark and his mother Debbie never had specified racial identities. As Mark develops powers of his own, he must juggle his life as an American teenager with living in his father’s shadow. Invincible follows Mark Grayson, an average teenager whose father is the mighty Omni-Man, the most powerful superhero on Earth. I found some of what I was looking for recently in Invincible, Amazon’s animated adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s bloody but loving superhero-genre pastiche series. Although my experiences as a social outcast at school and my upbringing in a working-class family reflected Peter’s, whenever I looked into a mirror as a teenager, I still longed for the day Peter would reflect mine. But even in the ever-evolving language of modern superhero comics, and even across seven films and nearly 60 years of comics, his racial identity has never represented all of those fans. A Japanese Spider-Man TV series and Spider-Man: India alter his ethnicity - but they alter his name and origin story to fit their respective cultures as well.) Fans can find comfort in Peter’s unflinching goodness, and relatability in his adolescent struggles to define his responsibility to other people. But the racial identity of original Spider-Man Peter Parker has been set in stone, even as his age, job, and marital and parental status have fluctuated. Recent iterations of Spider-Man proudly celebrate that “anyone can wear the mask,” with diverse new characters like Miles Morales, Cindy Moon, and Spider-Gwen taking up roles in the Spider-Verse.
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