Right? Well, I'm pretty sure I'm right....at least on an academic level. It *isn't* hard to look at a story and identify potential red flags and work out solutions. Kids do that sort of thing in high school, grown professionals should be more than capable of the same. But obviously, as we've seen many times in film, television, and print, just because a story teller *should* be capable of recognizing possible problems doesn't mean they actually do. So maybe I'm not as right as I thought I was, and you've got more cause for concern than I was giving you credit for. I admit I often underestimate the power of the human condition and our ability to be pure morons.
That line I wrote earlier about the worst case "we hired all the wrong people!" scenario doesn't seem so wild and unlikely when I consider the movies DC has made and the people they've hired to make them.
Indeed. Technologically, visually, etc., they're pretty amazing. But you can easily showcase the negative aspects of Thanagar in a way that isn't completely overshadowed by any "cool" factor.
Is Andor's success overblown? I haven't seen any ratings data or anything, but the Star Wars nerds seem to love that show. "Star Wars for grown ups" and all that.
There really are. But most of the time it's just hot air and dissipates quickly while accomplishing nothing. A certain slice of the internet will always whine, but it usually doesn't go any further. Often, it seems to me, the fake scandals that pick up steam and actually become problematic do so because the people being accused immediately jump into denial/damage control mode, which makes them look guilty (what're you denying if you've done nothing wrong?), and then "normal" people start to wonder if the scandal actually has any merit, and things spiral from there.
So like, if I did recast the Hawkman actor I could easily generate some hate from folks saying I was some kind of bigot. That would happen no matter what honestly, even if I recast with another PoC like I've talked about. It's inevitable. But instead of waiting for the noise and faux outrage to start and then act like I did nothing wrong, I'd get in front of it and talk it up before any outrage could begin. "We're thankful for all the hard work the actor put in. We're proud of his performance and hope to work with him again. But this is a new DCEU/new Hawkman and we felt that clean breaks were best. It's a new take, new story, and new approach so a new actor felt like the right way to go and I'm here to introduce our new Hawkman, >insert actor here<! He's a great talent with >insert resume highlights< and we felt that, given Hawkman's Egyptian roots, casting an Egyptian actor was the best choice. And we're super excited for all of you to see the new Hawkman in action!"
There'd still be noise, there'd still be attempts to label me as some kind of racist because I replaced a black actor. But with a simple and obvious, inoffensive explanation already making the rounds I don't have to react to any faux outrage, I don't look like I'm trying to hide anything or cover up a mistake, and I can make those people react to me and put them on the defensive instead. Plus, by hiring another PoC actor I effectively refute the majority of "racist" accusations, and the only people left complaining will be the idiots who'd complain regardless and the people upset that I replaced the original actor because they liked him, and neither group offers a real threat as far as marketing goes.
Assuming I replaced him in the first place. Again, haven't seen Black Adam. Dude we have now might be fantastic, I don't know.
Even one of Hawkman's origins is a tough story to pull off in a movie honestly. Whether it's an entire alien culture or the winding paths of history, there's a lot to unpack. Which is why I'd do Hawkworld/Thanagar and end it with their arrival in ancient Egypt, saving that half of the story for a sequel.