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Essay / A constant comparison of racist characters to the originals
Answer One of the most vibrant and vocal movements so far in the 21st century has been the push for diversification. You can see this movement everywhere; in films, in government, in workplaces, but also in colleges and universities. One effort that has been proposed is race editing, changing white characters to a different race in order to appeal to new audiences or diversify a character. We've seen this in recent superhero films, like The Amazing Spiderman 2, where Electro is racist and transformed into a black character. Is addressing race an effective way to diversify comics and attract a larger, increasingly diverse audience? In cases where a new version of a character is created (like Miles Morales becoming Spider-Man), I think race fluency is helpful in attracting new audiences. In situations where there already is a white character, changing race is not effective because it leaves readers feeling unoriginal while constantly leading the audience to compare the new racially inclined characters to the originals . Say no to plagiarism. . Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In 2014, there was a remake of the classic 1982 film Annie. When the trailers were released for this film, it was quite common to see people asking why the character's race had changed on social media, with many media outlets and blogs offering their views (and rushing to avoid those who asked) (D Vina, 2014). To many people, these characters are considered unoriginal, which Adilifu Nama (90) discusses in his book Super Black, stating that "the trope of racial inversion draws criticism as disappointing and derivative and suggests that the Black cultural training has very little to offer in terms of originality." People grew up with Annie and the film became one of those films that parents pass down to their children. Annie, her red hair and her attitude are all known Transforming Annie into a young black girl, while certainly diversifying the character, does not make her new. The “new” character does not offer much different from the original redhead character, and even those who have seen the original film. if they haven't been paying attention, probably won't view him as a redheaded character's original take on the story, reinforcing the idea that black culture has little to offer in the way of originality. race also forces the audience to constantly compare the original character with the new, racially inclined version, especially if one was able to identify with the original character. Often, against our own will, we compare the people and places around us to what we know. Du Bois mentions these kinds of comparisons in his book Souls of Black Folk. He speaks of a “double consciousness, of this feeling of always looking at oneself through the eyes of others” (Du Bois, 2). Although the prejudices that existed in Du Bois's time have, in many ways, lessened or disappeared, we can still see his perspective in these situations. Du Bois said that he and all black people of the time viewed not only themselves, but also as white people of the time viewed them; it gave white people a distorted view of what black culture had to offer. In the modern era, this can happen just as easily with comic book superheroes. If a previously white superhero were of a different race, we would constantly compare them to the character we.