It’s Not Racist to Want a White Superman

(Warning: This is going to be more of a rant than a cohesive essay, but hopefully I can get it to flow good enough.)

This morning I woke to see a huge rumor that Henry Cavill was out as DC’s Superman and that in his place Warner Brothers was eyeballing Michael B. Jordan to take his place. I resisted the urge to enter the extremely heated argument going around online about it, and retreated instead to the relative safety of my blog.

Where do I even begin? I’m sure there is some alternate reality in the DC Universe where Superman is African American. I don’t follow those comics enough to know one way or the other. However, in every single reality I know of Clark Kent (or his various foreign personas) is a white male who doubles as the Man of Steel. Cavill has been highly praised for his role in the franchise, and anticipation has been high for his return in potential future DCEU movies.

Political correctness has no place when it comes to casting classic characters. Hollywood and the media seems to be hell bent on diversifying every aspect of entertainment that they possibly can, to the point where they care more about political agendas nowadays than they do creativity and originality. Why on Earth would they want to replace Henry Cavill with a black actor like Jordan? Do they not remember what happened the last time he played the role of an iconic, traditionally-Caucasian character? Mind you, there was plenty more wrong with the latest Fantastic Four than just a black Human Torch, but still. That was one of the fiercest criticisms the movie had, and the film was the worst superhero movie in modern times on so many levels. Does Hollywood not have the brains to learn from its mistakes?

There is an international image of what Superman is and what he looks like, an image that has remained untouched for nearly a hundred years. Michael B. Jordan is just about the furthest away from the character that you can get without making him as large as Fat Albert. Especially if his character is a replacement to Cavill’s exact same character in the films? How can you even begin to explain that drastic change?

A lot of hardcore liberals will cry out and say that I’m being “racist” because I have issues with a black man playing Superman. I beg to differ. Even the thought of casting Michael B. Jordan as Superman is racism in Hollywood and Warner Brothers’ part. Why change an iconic character like that? Politics. Catering to one sect of people over another. Racial favoritism, that’s what that is. Superman needs to stay white. I guarantee you there would be an outrage if Black Panther ever got rebooted with a white actor in the role. This is no different. If they want diversity, make the cast diverse. But don’t change a character that doesn’t need to be changed. That will NOT bode well. At all.

15 thoughts on “It’s Not Racist to Want a White Superman”

  1. Superman, or any other character in any movie for that matter, should be given to the person who is most qualified and best depicts that persona, regardless of color or ethnicity. The color of one’s skin does not make the man, or the character. It is the character of their soul that makes the characters, both on and off the screen, come to life or not.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Soul is the last thing Hollywood is concerned about. It’s all part of an agenda, nothing more. If this agenda of political incorrectness didn’t exist then they would never think of making Superman a different race than what he’s always been depicted as. Like I said, try casting a white Black Panther or a Mexican Captain America and see how fast shot starts flying. Some characters just should not be messed with

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Personally, I agree with ajeanneinthekitchen: whoever plays the part best should get it. Although I have a certain feeling that’s not Hollywood’s credo, though…

        It’s all starting to turn into political correctness and whenever the focus of something shifts onto that, in my experience, not a lot of good comes from it. You can’t ever do right by all, so focus on what’s most important. In this case, the story and the acting.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. The fact is when Superman was first cast, there NEVER was an opportunity for him to be any other race but white. So to believe he can be only white, it’s because that’s what you know and grew up with. That’s what you were told was a “Superman”, not a man of color. The false belief is that its a politically correct only agenda. That’s very one sided thinking. If things are NOT following the norm as you know it, then it has to be due to everyone trying to be politically correct. Just not true.

    It’s like any other thing in this world, until you’ve been treated unfairly or less than someone else because of your race or your beliefs, you will choose not to see their side because you only see what affects you.

    It’s not being “politically correct” to make changes. Because you believe MBJ had bad movies, that doesn’t rule him out as option for this movie. Captain America and Black Panther could also be any race. Not all, but many men and women, of many colors now have the opportunity to be all they want to be, and they should be just that. Superman included.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  4. Pingback: It’s Not Racist to Want a White Superman – Swords of the Forgotten

  5. I am not sure I agree with you, however myself and my partner have plans to talk it through. I agree that Superman, in the comic books was white, he is unlike fictional characters like James Bond and Doctor Who, who can be changed, because its never sure who they might be.

    He is an alien yes, but he was like those that bought him up, that they considered him their baby. You would then have to assume that his parents where black, in a mid western town in 1938. Having said that, there is no reason why he could not be black other than the time he was created.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Being a product of a visual medium, one that has stood the test of time for almost a century, I don’t think it’s right or proper that is skin color should be changed. Why should it? Why change who a character is just for a certain demographic?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. Good ole Hollywood….why black? Why not Asian? What’s wrong with Indian?
    It’s all for political correctness and ratings—they are looking for a shock value and it’s so predictable 🙄🙄🙄🙄

    Like

    Reply

  9. The original Superman comic was a white dude. End of story. Superman has to stay white. I don’t give a damn about political correctness and I’m not white. Btw, I watched black panther and it truly is LAME. I would be enraged if I was black for trying to portray black people like that. I’m happy that Ben Aflek is not Batman anymore, worst Batman ever on par with George Clooney.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment