If you’re reading this hoping for a detailed history of the comic book canon of the baffling Marvel super hero ‘Iron Fist’ you may be disappointed. (Also, that means you’re a really weird kind of nerd, and it takes one to know one.) But the discussion around the casting of a white guy (Finn Jones from ‘Game of Thrones’ fame,) to play ‘Iron Fist’ in the upcoming Netflix series has brought up the concept of white privilege.
When Marvel and Netflix first announced they would be rounding out ‘The Defenders’ team of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage (aka Power Man) and Iron Fist, those of us who had read a comic book or two (vicious understatement) were a little concerned about what they were planning on doing about the cringe worthy awkwardness of Iron Fist.
Basically, in the comics Iron Fist is a rich white guy named Danny Rand who gets totally into asian culture and martial arts with a weird, mystical, fantasy vibe. He and his black girlfriend go to a place in Asia that only exists sometimes and the nice folks there give him magical punching powers. Eventually he meets this super cool black guy (Luke Cage,) they become besties and decide to fight crime together in Harlem.
Aside from how ridiculous and nerdy the story itself is, perhaps you can already see why people might raise an eyebrow. Immediately after it was announced, many people, myself included, thought it would make more sense to just make Mr. Rand be of asian descent. It seemed like an easy fix to the stickiness of a white guy pretending to be asian and saving black people, while also getting an asian actor on a super hero team.
But apparently it’s more important to stay true to the silly nonsense of the pre-established literary canon. Since that decision seems to already have been made, it seems like it may be important for Netflix to take this opportunity to address the undeniable fact that being a wealthy, straight, white man in America is, without a doubt, the least stressful and most obnoxious type of person to be.
As a straight, white man, I am the problem. I believe that to be true because of, yunno, all of history. We have successfully positioned ourselves as the standard against which any deviation is compared, and we’ve made sure that the comparison always portrays us favorably. Straight, white men have maintained their standing as the de-facto decision makers in government, the media, the economy, entertainment and organized religion for centuries, through oppression, slavery, subjugation, genocide and any other nefarious methods at their disposal. And yes, this absolutely makes me feel ashamed and guilty about who I am, what I represent, and that I benefit from hate and bigotry on a daily basis. And I think it should. But does that mean I should be complacent and sit by in shame while I watch the people who have disgraced me continue to commit atrocities that are in direct opposition with what I believe? While there is a case to be made for straight, white men just shutting up because our voices have been heard far too much for far too long, I absolutely could not live with myself if I did not use my privileged position to fight for what I know to be right.
I realize that I am not the first straight, white man to be “woke” or aware of his implicit obligation to do everything in his power to attempt to repair the damage that his ancestors have wrought. But nor will I be the last to be embarrassed into complacence for fear of being a part of the problem or offending the very people he stands in solidarity with.
So, how should someone like myself go about making a difference in a productive way without making people cringe? Essentially, in the same way we learned to care in the first place:
Exposing yourself to the realities around you, getting out of your comfort zone, listening, learning and paying attention with respect and humility.
Humility in this case involves realizing that you are starting from a place of ignorance and being open to changing your opinion when you find out you are wrong.
Reading and listening to the way people who are Not straight, white or male talk about themselves and discuss the issues that effect their lives allows you to stay informed and aware of how best to contribute to the conversation. Perhaps you could even go and make friends with people who are different than you. And when you do, if they roll their eyes at you, or throw shade or remind you of your priviledge, shut the fuck up because you deserve it. Sorry, you just do, and if you can’t be humble and deal with it, then it turns out you ARE part of the problem.
My hope for how Netflix and Marvel go about dealing with the uncomfortable dynamic that Iron Fist creates is this: directness, mockery and condescension.
When characters like Luke Cage and Jessica Jones are confronted with Iron Fists privileged, ignorant cultural appropriation, I’d like to see them deal with Danny Rand in a similar way that liberals will have to deal with our new President elect when he tweets something like “I love hispanics!” accompanied by an image of a taco bowl: eye-rolling, laughter or flat-out anger.
As long as the unfortunate perpetual hegemony is reminded of their privileged status, perhaps we can all continue to make cultural progress, despite the compounding set-backs we have been subjected to lately. Considering there has been such a massive push-back from white men in America as of late, most obviously with the election of the KKK supported Presidential candidate, it is more important than ever to maintain a level of disgust with the racially imbalanced status-quo that continues to perpetuate itself. While some of us may have grown a bit complacent after eight years of a well-intentioned, liberally-minded black man as President, that is all very much over now and battle lines must be drawn and the fires of passion must once again be stoked against the fast approaching onslaught of bigotry. And while perhaps my suggestions for how a juvenile, super-hero tv-show should be written may seem inconsequential, every little bit counts.
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