OK, that's a fair point and well made, my friend. I 100% support better representation in the arts. If you have not heard Desert Island Discs with Chi Chi Nwanoku then try to (I'm retired and have too much time on my hands). She talks passionately about having ME young people having the opportunity to see role models "like them" playing in orchestras. She also comments on the 1970's racism that her Nigerian born father and Irish born mother faced. It makes one ashamed.
If you are arguing that films like this do something for changing views then that's fine. No-one who strives for an egalitarian society is going to argue that this is a bad thing. However, Imps' point is, think, that this is only a step in the process. It shouldn't be celebrated as an end achievement.
We must never be colour blind. I heard Lemn Sissay talk about this once. "Oh I don't notice that you're black" people say. Lemn responded "Why are you blind?" We must never be gender blind, or not "notice" people who don't live middle class white comfortable lives. It's about equal value, and if this film moves us a micron closer to this then great. But sadly, it is not the end game and Imps is right to warn of creating an exclusion as insidious as anything created by the likes of the East India Company and the days of Empire. My apologies, Imp, if I have misrepresented your views. I know you are more than capable of speaking for yourself.
It's the end goal I disagree with there.
People don't want to all be treated the same. In fact as a species we strive to find that speciality that sets us apart.
You said yourself we must never be colour blind.
Gay people generally want to be gay. And that includes having specialist places to meet others.
If gender was irrelevant the species would die out. Very few women want to be treated the exact same as a man at all times. And they have needs such as maternity leave.
And these differences create a different culture, although at different degrees.
With black people. It's not such much they are black, as that they often come from a different culture. Whether that be from Africa itself or from a from a poor area in the US due to 100's of years with a lack of economic and social mobility, or perhaps they come from bel air. Either way it creates a unique culture. People from Africa aren't always going to want to give up African culture which will mean that they will want to be treated slightly differently in some areas and I don't think that's a bad thing at all.
For me the aim is understanding of possible differences, accepting those diffences and learning to work with them and even making use of them within a larger society. And also understanding where they don't want to be treated differently.
For me that means you need media, whether it is films, news, music etc.
(I find music to be a great example of different cultures working to improve a larger society)
to show thesee societies and how they might be different and how they might be the same and how they might be able to work with society as a whole.
And since the marvel universe is large and diverse it is a great way to show this kind of thinking.
If you simply show a rainbow cast every film then that's simply not reflecting reality. And I believe that makes people feel more alienated. If black people feel they are not represented they might try to find a group that does, like IS. And that's a sadly familiar story. The same goes for white people from poor backgrounds who don't see the reality in that and turn to people like the EDL to represent them.
For me if you alienate people by not showing the reality, or at least something similiar to the reality of their situation then they will feel apart from society and that creates the them vs us situation Imp is trying to avoid while having a diversity OF films creates an us AND them which is what we should be aiming for.
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