How To: Make Million-Dollar Movies

Racial casting in film - The commission for racial equality

  
        I first glanced at this piece by Adam Simpson as I was looking for a different drawing of his to write a blogpost about. Instead, I found myself being drawn to this piece, because of its direct connection to the TV Tokenism presentations we finally completed in class.
        My first question is: how would this movie have been treated differently if the classic Clark Kent/ Superman icon were portrayed as an African American? In my head, I am envisioning confused viewers of movie trailers not wanting to ask the obvious question: Why did they make Superman black? due to the fear of being perceived as racist or otherwise insensitive.
        The movie would be growing closer and closer to its premiere date as advertising would be getting more and more aggressive. Soon someone might let slip the question, and the next day it would appear in all the daily magazines, criticizing the ignorance and closed-mindedness of whomever might have even thought this ridiculous question. Racial equality activists and the African American community would be in uproar, cast members of SNL and talk-show hosts alike would joke about the tension caused by the casting of this film, and pretty much all hell would break loose, forcing people to face the still ever present but suppressed feelings of racism some still feel towards non-Areans.
        But would that be a bad thing?