Last Thursday, the official cast of the Fantastic Four reboot that nobody asked for or was expecting was announced, spreading like wildfire in forum circles among disturbed fanboys.
Individually each actor –Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell–is phenomenal at their craft; however, several factors contributed to the emotional distress that fans of the canon were thrown into upon hearing the list.
Not only did the producers cast actors in their late twenties but also had the audacity to assign Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station, That Awkward Moment) to the role of the Human Torch/Johnny Storm.
What has happened here is a wonderful example of racebending.
While this may sound like a super awesome elemental power it is defined as the act of changing the ethnicity of minor characters to prevent the entire production from being homogeneous–or diversifying if you will. But the role he is claiming is a rather large one.
The main cast is composed of mostly white actors, what would it hurt to slip a token black guy among their ranks? So yes, it could be viewed as a cop out. This form of political correctness is as equally, if not more, controversial than gender swapping.
To the contrary, what if it had nothing to do with being politically correct. What if every actor that the casting directors saw before Jordan weren’t what they were looking for? What if, despite his race, he personified every one of the Torches’ attributes? Of course, there is the issue of him having a Caucasian, full blood sister. Some argue that if producers were going to go so far as to change his race while keeping the sibling continuity, why not cast an African American actress as Sue Storm as well?
Well, slow down now; let’s not go changing too much. Next thing you know, Hollywood will start flipping ethnicities without justification. Well, it may be too late to raise a protest to that–think Avatar: The Last Airbender and Dragon Ball-Z: Evolution (however, this is more of an example of whitewashing than anything).
This brings me to my next point. There seems to be an inherent double standard ingrained in debates regarding race lifting, especially if a non-white character has been whitewashed.
The fact that a black actress is playing the titular role in the Annie reboot adds an element of uniqueness. We can talk about the possibility of a black James Bond or a non-white Time Lord (Doctor Who), but heaven forbid if Channing Tatum was cast as the Black Panther; then it suddenly becomes an issue of racism.
Within reason, as along as the ethnicity, race or gender is not vital to the setting or the character, then the shift in such a thing should not affect the essence of who that character is. If Jordan’s role doesn’t require him to recite some cheapened Home on the Range stereotypical black dialogue, then all should be well.
Zhana Johnson
Features Correspondent