this is not a duet

Daughter of the Dragon

Daughter of the Dragon.

There was a huge push from Asian-Americans to cast an Asian-American actor as Iron Fist, and it would have made this story more compelling for precisely the reasons you’re saying: The narrative of having an Asian-American going back to Asia after losing his parents as a metaphor for regaining power is a really great one. It feels like a missed opportunity. It is a missed opportunity. That’s exactly how I feel about it, word for word. It would’ve been a brave thing to do, for sure, for Marvel. I can see how that was difficult to make that decision. I think, personally, it would’ve paid off. But I think it’ll come next because people are feeling underrepresented. People are like, “Yo, this was a perfect opportunity to represent us.” They chose not to, and it’s not even their fault. I see why they stuck to the source material because it’s very risky to move away from that, but they’ll move away from it in other areas and in other shows where they’ll take an Asian character and make him white. So you can’t really win with that argument. Because we’ve seen many times when they’ve taken Asian characters and made him white.

I love how marvel fanboys are pretending like the only issue people have with Iron Fist is the casting. Bruh, critics have been bashing this show for more than just the casting. The acting is bad, the fight scenes are bad, the writing and dialogue are bad. Iron Fist is currently at 19% on Rotten Tomatoes and 36% on Metacritic. Doctor Strange was terrible when it came to cultural appropriation and representation too, but the critics still managed to like it. Stop pretending like this is a good show that’s only being bashed because the lead is a white guy. The show is genuinely bad.

Just in case people think criticism about Danny Rand’s whiteness, the lack of Asian protagonists, and cultural appropriation is brand new… “Very interesting letter, published in Marvel Premiere #17 (1974), in which cultural appropriation is criticized.” (x) 

You know you done fucked up when people are removing receipts from 1974

I watched the first six episodes of Iron Fist, and IT. IS. TERRIBLE. 

I watched the first six episodes of Iron Fist, and IT. IS. TERRIBLE. 

okay I think I’m going to have to blacklist Iron Fist since just seeing gifs of it makes me feel kind of ill.  Ser Loras Iron Fist can fucking bite me.  We could have had an Asian-American Iron Fist, but instead we just get an evil Asian sidekick.

i hate this

People who defend the casting of a white man as Iron Fist in the name of “accuracy” and “faithfulness to the comics” can eat my entire yellow ass.

Danny Rand’s narrative can be adapted to fit an ASIAN-AMERICAN story.  Not Asian, but Asian-American.  Asian-American tries to connect to his roots while in America, ends up becoming Iron Fist.  Walks the line between being too Asian for America and too American for Asia.  Embraces and rejects aspects of both cultures.  Fights stereotypes of Asian men in media.  Ends up not being the white savior for all Asian people (who are somehow all Chinese?) everywhere.

Seriously, if you think Danny Rand could never be Asian - if you think this inherently racist white savior character should stay white - you are bad and your opinions are bad and you need to find a corner for yourself and feel bad.

Marvel, Please Cast an Asian American Iron Fist | thenerdsofcolor

“Yes, I am proposing that a major comic book institution change the race of one of its popular characters as it transitions to a new form of media. In this case, I want Marvel Studios to cast an Asian American actor to play the lead in the upcoming Iron Fist show it is developing for Netflix.

It seems logical enough to me, though as always, there are fans who are urging Marvel to resist changing his race. Now, I know the topic of cross-racial casting has come up time and time again here at The Nerds of Color. And while there are a contingent of fans who don’t think such things matter — or worse, are vehemently opposed to such casting choices — I can’t help thinking that Iron Fist gives Marvel a chance to add even more diversity to its interconnected cinematic universe.

Not to mention that this is a case where changing the race of the character has the potential to actually add layers of depth to the story of said character. First, let’s get a couple of misconceptions out of the way. My call for an Asian American Iron Fist is not meant to displace Danny Rand from the story. It is, in fact, the opposite…” 

Keep reading Keith Chow’s article at thenerdsofcolor

There’s also a petition for Marvel Studios to cast an Asian American as Iron Fist at 18 Million Rising.

“My call for an Asian American Iron Fist is not meant to displace Danny Rand from the story,” wrote Keith Chow, a contributor to the site. “It is, in fact, the opposite. In my mind, casting a young Asian American in the lead role does nothing to change his classic origin: He can still be the son of a wealthy businessman. He can still accompany his family on an expedition to seek out K’un L’un. He can still train under Lei Kung, the Thunderer. He can still seek revenge against the man who killed his father. Danny being Asian American precludes none of these things. What does change, however, in making Danny non-white is that it removes the white savior syndrome of the original story.”

“…If Danny is Asian American, the scenes of him embracing the ways of K’un-L’un can be viewed through the lens of cultural reconnection.”

Please keep reblogging this!

Marvel honestly makes me so fucking tired. Like….it’s honestly so upsetting that I have to yell and fight for roles like the Ancient One or Iron Fist to be played by Asians when…these aren’t even good roles. They’re still steeped in orientalism, and making sure they’re played by the proper race doesn’t change that. Like I’m literally here fighting for scraps, exotic, orientalist, scraps. I can’t even dream about a well developed asian/asiam superhero making their way to the MCU, the best I can hope for is not yellowface. How pathetic is that?