Seemed to work out just fine for Thor.
Except for those people whom it pissed off. Fuck those people.
http://comicsalliance.com/racists-thor-idris-ebla-racism/
If race and gender are irrelevant the character (and sometimes it is relevant, but often it’s just not), how can it be “artificial”? If the actor or actress is good at their job and is able to portray the character in a believable and interesting way, then it’s by default not artificial.
One can assume though that even in the Marvel universe, they at least had non-British or American accents can’t we? Maybe if Idris Ebla had pulled off a decent Swedish accent, no one would have minded. (laugh)
One should note of course that in Norse mythology, people from Asgard weren’t human either. They were the Æsir tribe of gods.
For it to work well, you will need more non-white men writers.
Yes, yes, yes. And it does matters – just look at the word “diversity”. If you have a diverse pool of writers, then you are more likely to have a diverse pool of experiences and points of views, thus making for more diverse and varied story telling. This is a good thing! A positive thing! And diversity should include not just race and gender, but different sort of class backgrounds, too, and in a way the internet should (in theory) make that a little easier.
But studies show white men still dominate the writers rooms:
http://www.wga.org/subpage_whoweare.aspx?id=922
@Aloisius The accents are actually all over the place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I’ve noticed, and I quite like it. I mean the guy who plays Thor is Australian and has an Australian accent. He’s also not British!
The near majority of those dominating the rest of us? WHITE MEN.
Are you a person of color or a woman or transgender person, I wonder? Let me make a further distinction in who is dominating our country : RICH WHITE MEN. There is a difference in White Men and Rich White Men; The Rich White Men treat everyone like they are shit, including White Men.
Are you talking to me? Or Kimmo? I am in fact a queer woman. Yes, it’s rich white men dominating, but it’s still white men. As is the case throughout history.
Diversity in class is also important, though, I agree.
Because they can…write? Or write better? Or can they find an audience for their work better?
Yes, I am talking to you. I find the term Queer derogatory; if you mean Lesbian, then I get your meaning; i have a niece who is a Lesbian, and i don’t consider her queer. All i really ask is that you widen your perception of the white man. Not all of us are rich and evil.
Do you really want to go down this road? Because Jews dominate in Hollywood. If you want to start blaming the Jewish men for dominating us*, uh, feel free. I’m sure that will work out just great for you.
It’s not quite the same thing, but when I registered my daughter for kindergarten they took exception to the fact I’d checked both “White (non-Hispanic)” and “Hispanic or Latino” in the ethnicity section. They said she can’t be both, which is news to her one-generation-from Mexico father and French/English ancestry mother. I don’t see why one half should count for more than the other.
Race and gender are absolutely NOT irrelevant to the characters. If Joss Whedon had decided to make Tony Stark Asian, or decided to make Bruce Banner black, it would be extremely artificial and be an obvious ditching of decades of comic canon for the sake of racial diversity. In the established canon, a black character (James Rhodes) becomes Iron Man, and we also get a black Captain America (Falcon). As Brainspore says, though, casting a black Heimdall was a non-issue, as they aren’t humans.
So, you don’t like Jews? I am not one, but if I was, I might be offended; being Lesbian, I would think you would be a bit more sensitive. Diversity should be all inclusive, and yes, that means white folk and Jewish people.
I answered your first two questions in the very comment you’re replying to.
Yes, yes, yes. And it does matters – just look at the word “diversity”. If you have a diverse pool of writers, then you are more likely to have a diverse pool of experiences and points of views, thus making for more diverse and varied story telling.
Do you understand the concept of “diversity”?
Or can they find an audience for their work better?
I don’t know what you mean by this. Diversity is important because, yes, people of color, and of different genders and sexualities deserve to be represented in media. This representation should include both the characters on screen (and in text), as well as in the creation process.
Diversity needs to be not just in writing and acting, either – There needs to be more diversity when it comes to directing, producing, etc.
How many female directors have won Oscars? The first (and so far only, I believe?) woman to win an Oscar for directing was in 2008.
Say there, I like the cut of your metaphor! 
Or, gee whiz, a hetero Latina pals up with a lesbian Eskimo and her group of fascinating friends, one of which, the garbage man, is a white male. Sounds diverse to me.
All i really ask is that you widen your perception of the white man. Not all of us are rich and evil.
Also, BINGO! No one has said this or even implied this straw man. This isn’t about you, stop taking things so personally.
If women want to win more best director Oscars, they’ll just have to get out there and create and make more films that appeal to conservative old white guys.
They only have themselves to blame.
You mean like when they cast Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury?
I’m Jewish and I’m pretty f’ing uncomfortable with you implying that my people are dominating you.
I agree to some extent with what you are saying, and the only thing i can tell you is what i tell my own children: The world will be a lot better off when the Baby Boom generation retires or dies out completely. The corporate entity pays only lip service to diversity, and until we get a better cross section of the country working in the industry, we won’t have better representation. Writers are important; the first line in creating a viable character, regardless of what kind of character, is to create a story that will sell, about a character that someone wants to read about.
How relevant race is varies on a case-by-case basis. For example, it would be insane to cast a white person as Black Panther because being a sub-saharan African person is critical to his character. Making Cyborg white would work as far as the storytelling goes, but would be needlessly insensitive to take the opportunity away from a black actor since there are so few black superheroes to begin with. Making Tony Stark black would be a bigger departure from canon since being a “privileged billionaire playboy who takes his position in society for granted” is central to his character and there are almost no black people who fit that description. (Almost no black billionaires at all for that matter.)
But making Bruce Banner or Peter Parker black or Asian or Latino? I don’t see any reason why not.
