'Iron Fist' Comic Creator Defends Show Over Cultural Appropriation
Netflix's "Iron Fist" series has faced criticism for cultural appropriation, because its central superhero is a white man who returns from Asia with martial arts abilities. But the original creator of the comic books is defending the show.
In an interview with Inverse, Roy Thomas said he was "vaguely aware" of the whitewashing controversy. "I try not to think about it too much. I have so little patience for some of the feelings that some people have. I mean, I understand where it's coming from. You know, cultural appropriation, my god. It's just an adventure story. Don't these people have something better to do than to worry about the fact that Iron Fist isn't Oriental, or whatever word? I know Oriental isn't the right word now, either."
Critics and viewers have suggested that an Asian-American actor would've been a better choice to play the character (instead of Finn Jones). In fact, Lewis Tan, who plays a villain in the show, auditioned to play Danny. Thomas would've been fine with that.
"If they wanted to kill off white Iron Fist and come up with one who wasn't Caucasian, that wouldn't have bothered me, but neither am I ashamed for having made up one who was," he said.
But really, this whole controversy strikes Thomas as overblown. He said, "I just think some people have too much time on their hands, I guess. They have an infinite capacity for righteous indignation."
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