Written by The announcement on Aug. 18 that Zendaya will play Mary Jane in next summer’s Spider-Man: Homecoming spread like wildfire across the internet. It wasn’t long before the usual suspects were attacking anyone who questioned the decision with charges of racism. Dan Slott, the man who once said that Peter Parker’s love for Mary Jane is “anti-Marvel,” joined in the fray to play “Captain White Privilege” (yes, he went there) in his twitter feed.
Since Marvel’s scribe for The Amazing Spider-Man has a habit of sliming long-time Marvel fans with attacks on their integrity, it seemed as if it were time to make a YouTube video on issue. Since Mr. Slott never is a magnet for controversy, I fully expect future installments to follow in the months and years ahead.
Check out the video and let me know what you think in the comments section below.
Douglas Ernst Blog 
Not surprised that Slott went there. I’m not surprised at all.
I don’t know if you saw, but he also linked to a Tumblr article where some moron used a dumb coffee or raisin metaphor to explain why it’s “okay” to change a white character’s race, but “wrong” to change a non-white character’s race. So apparently random SJWs on Tumblr are now experts on this sort of thing. People like that really boggle the mind,
Speaking of the Wrap, they published a follow-up article where they mentioned how “Twitter is excited about Zendaya’s being cast as Mary Jane, except for a few racist trolls.” At least one of these so-called “racist trolls” was a black dude and he didn’t like how Mary Jane’s race lift.
“I don’t know if you saw, but he also linked to a Tumblr article where some moron used a dumb coffee or raisin metaphor to explain why it’s “okay” to change a white character’s race, but “wrong” to change a non-white character’s race.”
I actually shared that with a friend last night. I didn’t see that until after I was done with the YouTube video. I wish I had seen that beforehand because its a tacit admission by Dan that his first argument (i.e., Luke Cage can’t be changed because his character is tied to a specific race) is bunk. Deep down he knows that it makes no sense to say race has nothing to do with a white character’s psychology but being black immediately makes them untouchable. It makes no sense.
I debated doing a blog post on the raisin link as well. That is completely specious because it rests on the false premise that is some sort of “idea pot” and we can only allocate the ideas to the “white” bowl or the “minority” bowl. In truth, the “idea pot” is infinite — if the creators want to come up with 100 new minorities characters tomorrow, they could do that. But Marvel doesn’t want to do that because it’s much easier to do a gender-switch of an iconic character and then yell “raaaaacist!” when people question the move.
I am not in favor of changing Luke Cage, Blade, James Roades, Cardiac, Deathlok, the Prowler, Black Panthers, or any other black character into a white person. I am not in favor of arbitrarily flipping the race of white characters. I want the source material honored, and apparently that is a “dog whistle” for racist machinations these days. Seriously, these PC creators and their fans have gone off the deep end.
First off, I think Zendaya is gorgeous, and if she’s truly playing MJ (this hasn’t been 100% confirmed yet, remember), it’s an interesting choice. I’ve never watched her in anything so I can’t speak to her acting ability. If true, I hope it’s good. We’ve had enough Spider-Man projects that have landed with a dull thud, from the movies to the comics, for the last several years.
But it’s almost starting to seem like they’re doing stunt casting at this point, to manufacture online outrage and get attention for the project. And then people like Slott can get up on his Twitter soapbox.
I think you bring up a great point, Doug–how many kids of all colors looked up to Michael Jordan? I know all of my friends did when I was growing up. How many kids of varied ethnicity look up to Lebron James, or Kobe Bryant?
I also love the “Dan Slott Challenge”. Hey Slott, put your money where your mouth is, step down from Spider-Man and let a minority have a chance at writing the title. But we all know he WON’T do that.
Good work with these videos, by the way Doug.
“First off, I think Zendaya is gorgeous, and if she’s truly playing MJ (this hasn’t been 100% confirmed yet, remember), it’s an interesting choice. I’ve never watched her in anything so I can’t speak to her acting ability. If true, I hope it’s good. We’ve had enough Spider-Man projects that have landed with a dull thud, from the movies to the comics, for the last several years.”
I totally agree. She is undeniably beautiful. Yes, I am sure a teenage Peter Parker would be floored just looking at her. Haha. She’s also a legitimate star, and Disney has a vested interest in elevating her career to another level.
“But it’s almost starting to seem like they’re doing stunt casting at this point, to manufacture online outrage and get attention for the project. And then people like Slott can get up on his Twitter soapbox.”
I had a friend who isn’t political at all send me a Facebook message today. He’s the nicest guy in the world. I don’t think there is a single mean bone in his body. Anyway, he’s essentially like, “Why are they doing this, Doug?! Why are people trying to turn me into a bad guy simply because I have a different opinion? I’m not racist. I’m all for diversity, but any time I disagree it’s like they’re trying to make it so my opinions aren’t valid.”
I think the studios are exploiting some of these issues for the ensuing media coverage.
“I think you bring up a great point, Doug–how many kids of all colors looked up to Michael Jordan? I know all of my friends did when I was growing up. How many kids of varied ethnicity look up to Lebron James, or Kobe Bryant?”
I was telling my same friend that the people who are behind a lot of these controversies are wannabe knights with no dragons to slay. The solution: Create dragons!
Most guys our age really do not give a rip about race and we looked up to many, many minority athletes, actors, and celebrities as children. But the wannabe knights need a dragon, and since there is no way to disprove the “raaaaaaaacist” allegation when it’s leveled, they use it. How can I prove that I’m not a racist other than saying, “I’m not a racist, dude. You’re kind of a jerk for going there,”? I can’t because no one can read my mind or look into my heart.
“I also love the ‘Dan Slott Challenge’. Hey Slott, put your money where your mouth is, step down from Spider-Man and let a minority have a chance at writing the title. But we all know he WON’T do that.”
Didn’t Dan once say that he obtained his internship at Marvel by lying about when he graduated? What minority applicant missed that internship so Dan could have gain a Marvel internship via deceptive means? No wonder he lectures others on “white privilege”…
“Good work with these videos, by the way Doug.”
Thanks, man. I’ll try and get a least one new one up per week. We’ll see how it goes.
I also looked up to Michael Jordan when I was younger, so I’ve always found it weird how SJWs claim that specific groups need role models who looked exactly like them. “Space Jam” was one of my favorite movies growing up, and still is. Haha.
I think it’s stupid how people talk like white people can’t have hard lives and like it’s somehow wrong for a white person to be confidant and proud of the fact that they’re white. Like, how dare you be happy that you’re white? How dare you read a book and image a character as white when it was never specified? How dare you even suggest doing anything different to a POC character? Like, ew. I hate that!
“I think it’s stupid how people talk like white people can’t have hard lives and like it’s somehow wrong for a white person to be confidant and proud of the fact that they’re white. Like, how dare you be happy that you’re white? How dare you read a book and image a character as white when it was never specified? How dare you even suggest doing anything different to a POC character? Like, ew. I hate that!”
Adam Carolla talked about this kind of thing on a podcast. He was saying how, in a vacuum, we all will innately “root” for people who look like us. He said that if he knows NOTHING about a white boxer and a black boxer, he has an instinct to want to root for the guy who looks like him. BUT, the moment that he finds out the white boxer is 42-0, he immediately wants the black guy to knock him out. As he points out, we don’t really live in a vacuum. We immediately start learning details that influence how we feel, and the vast majority of people in the U.S. are simply not racist.
The “white privilege” thing really grates on the nerves of any white guy who worked his butt off to get to his current station in life. When someone throws that out there to me it’s like, “Wait. Were you the one who was in the field with me for months…with no sleep…covered in mud…when I was in the Army? Were you the one who worked the overnight shift at Target and then went to classes the next morning? Were you the one who put yourself through college and then graduate school? Were you the one who emptied his entire bank account to move out to a new city where he knew no one … and then slept on a ‘mattress’ of his own clothes? Weird…because I don’t think you were.”
Everyone has their own unique story. It only serves to divide people and cause resentment to say someone is successful because they are “privileged.”
“We immediately start learning details that influence how we feel, and the vast majority of people in the U.S. are simply not racist.”
I agree. I don’t have a racist bone in my body, and was taught to treat everyone with respect. I’ve always subscribed to MLK’s colorblind philosophy, but these days even that can get you called a “racist!” It’s ridiculous. They keep changing the definition over and over again, to the point where the word has lost all meaning. Same with “privilege” and “bigot.” They started using those words to describe people who simply disagree with them, and they’ve lost all meaning.
“The ‘white privilege’ thing really grates on the nerves of any white guy who worked his butt off to get to his current station in life. When someone throws that out there to me it’s like, “Wait. Were you the one who was in the field with me for months…with no sleep…covered in mud…when I was in the Army? Were you the one who worked the overnight shift at Target and then went to classes the next morning? Were you the one who put yourself through college and then graduate school? Were you the one who emptied his entire bank account to move out to a new city where he knew no one … and then slept on a ‘mattress’ of his own clothes? Weird…because I don’t think you were.”
Same here. I also bring up, “where was my so-called ‘privilege’ when I was being bullied in middle school and called names like ‘retard?'” Especially when you consider that the leader of the bullies was a Hispanic kid. It’s amazing how these clowns think because you’re white that you’ve never experienced hardships.
Again, it’s ridiculous. Everyone experiences hardships. Everyone has to overcome adversity. It’s not limited to one group of people. It seems like the SJW wing of liberalism subscribes to the belief that some people are more equal to others, which is ironic because they claim to be for equality.