The Avengers: American Nationalism, with a Just a Pinch of PoC

Coming in at number 2 on the list of the top-10 highest grossing movies since President Obama took office is "The Avengers," the 2012 superhero movie from Marvel and Disney.  The Avengers took in an impressive $1.519 billion, though only a comparatively modest 59% of which came from international sales (boxofficemojo.com).  The lack of international sales could be explained by The Avengers' strong American theme.  In addition to the mostly American Avengers superheroes, the major battle scene is set in New York City.  The only non-Americans are either extraterrestrials or a handful of minor and stereotypically portrayed characters.

The Avengers is an ensemble film, featuring characters introduced in movies that featured them as solo stars.  In addition to Marvel's most popular character Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.),  the Avengers brings together Captain America (Chris Evans), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).  This film is all about star-power.  Even when Marvel/Disney lost the original Hulk actor (Edward Norton), they went with Ruffalo to avoid any fall-off in star-power.

As has been discussed in this blog previously, Disney's other top-10 films have been largely, if not exclusively, white.  While there aren't many People of Color in this film, the good news is the most senior officer in the film, Nick Fury, is played by an African American (Samuel L. Jackson).  Jackson plays Nick Fury as a smart, no non-sense head of SHIELD, who holds the respect of each of the Avenger superheros.  The bad news is there won't be a Nick Fury - superhero movie, effectively shutting-out PoC from starring follow-up roles.

Hollywood is making fewer films, with a higher percentage coming from non-original material.  With Disney and other studios taking very conservative approaches to casting, PoC may continue to struggle to gain heroic roles in blockbuster movies.  As such, PoC may have to turn to television if they want to see prominently featured characters that look like themselves.

Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 2 - The Other White Wizards

Number 3 on the list of Top 10 highest grossing movies since President Obama took office is "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. " ("HPDH2")  As one of two Warner Brothers movies to make the Top 10 ("The Dark Knight Rises" is the other), HPDH2 garnered $1.342 billion in worldwide sales, with a tremendous (but not entirely unexpected) 71.6% of sales coming from international markets (boxofficemojo.com).  HPDH2, the last of 8 movies in the Harry Potter series,  setting numerous records including the highest grossing film of 2011, highest grossing children's adaptation of all time, and pads the record already held by Harry Potter for highest grossing movie series.

As discussed with previous entries in this blog, filmmakers dealing with non-original material are loathe to make casting changes, especially for the prominent characters.  HPDH2 is no exception, returning every key actor/character pair who is still living from even the first productions.  It's truly remarkable that Warner Brothers was able to hold this large of a cast together for 11 years.  But that also spelled curtains for correcting any lack of diversity, and the lacking was plentiful.  Apparently in Great Britain, virtually all those who can speak are white.  A quick check on IMDB shows the first non-white actor is #28.  Not too many lines afforded to the 28th most important character in a film.  Warner Brothers did do a credible job filling-in crowd scenes with more diversity than remembered from earlier films in the series, but absolutely zero diversity in any memorable characters.

On a personal note, I absolutely loved the Harry Potter stories and was irrationally upset when they ended.  With such a gift for writing, I can only hope that J.K Rowling will continue, albeit in a different direction.  Maybe next time she could feature a PoC (Protagonist of Color)!  Now that would be magical!

Iron Man 3: At last a Disney PoC role model

"Iron Man 3" ("IM3") occupies the number 4 spot on our list of highest grossing movies since President Obama took office (boxofficemojo.com).  Like "Frozen," IM3 is a 2013 release and is still adding to its sales numbers, currently at $1.215 billion.  Yet another Disney movie in the top 10, IM3 has taken in an impressive 66.3% of its revenue from international sales, showing that Disney knows how to bring in crowds worldwide.

Disney only returns a few of the "good guys" from the previous two Iron Man installments, principally the hero Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.), his girlfriend Pepper Potts (played by Gwenyth Paltrow), and Stark's best friend and quasi-sidekick Colonel James Rhodes (played by Don Cheadle).  As with most superhero stories, Stark must battle powerful foes.  What makes the IMs so endearing is Stark's personality flaws.  He is a charismatic genius, Playboy, gazzillionaire, but his ego drives him to be a solo act.  Stark has to overcome his desire to be a Lone Ranger in order for his friends to provide him the assistance he always needs.

While not exactly loaded with people of color, IM3 is definitely a departure from the previously reviewed Disney movies on this blog.  IM3's most prominent supporting actor is non-white - Don Cheadle.  In addition to being a terrific actor, Cheadle's character is very bright, emotionally strong, and in a position of authority - Colonel in the Air Force and head of a special weapons program. While he doesn't get a ton of screen time (it's really the Robert Downey Jr. show), what time he does get reflects very well on him and creates a potential role model for a younger generation.

We can only hope that Disney recognizes the marketing power and social impact of strong, diverse characters when planning future Marvel comic movies.