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BLERD BINDER: Racebending in live action adaptations.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — In this article, we will talk about Zoe Kravitz’s casting, times when racebent casting was awesome, times when racebent casting failed, why it is an important conversation to have, and how it affects the audience and fans.

Published

6 years ago

October 30, 2019

Oakland Post

Zoë Kravitz speaking at the 2018 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. (Photo: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons)

“Holy Cow Batman! Aquaman is Catwoman’s stepfather!!!”

Blurb: The Blerd Binder covers nerdy news for the Black nerds of the world. We welcome all as we talk about subjects ranging from Movies to Music and Tech to Toys. Today, we will talk about racebent casting in the movie industry.

By Noah Washington, NNPA Newswire Contributor

HOLY COW! Last week, a historic moment happened in Nerd Culture: the casting of Catwoman for director Matt Reeves The Batman.

As far as Blerd Culture is concerned, the casting of Zoe Kravitz (Aquaman, Jason Moama’s stepdaughter) as Catwoman is big news on a number of different levels.

Racebending of fictional characters (changing of a character’s perceived race or ethnicity during the adaptation of a work from one medium to another) has become a hot topic in today’s age of comic book renaissance.

Sometimes, it heavily divides fans. Sometimes, it has fans screaming for joy. Sometimes, nobody cares. But each time the decision is met with commentary.

In this article, we will talk about Zoe Kravitz’s casting, times when racebent casting was awesome, times when racebent casting failed, why it is an important conversation to have, and how it affects the audience and fans.

Zoe Kravitz’s Catwoman casting brings me a feeling of nostalgia as I can’t help but think of Eartha Kitt’s turn as Catwoman from the Batman ‘66 show. Based on what Matt Reeves has said about his interpretation of Batman and his surrounding characters, the film will be a story that harkens back to the Dark Knight’s detective roots.

Kitt was one of the earliest actors who racebent a character when she took over the role from White actress Julie Newmar in the third season of the iconic TV show. The casting change was reportedly made because Newmar was filming another movie at the time.

It’s worth noting that Kitt was one of the most recognizable actors to appear the role during the show’s run. Her personification of the character is as close to perfect and unique as she could have gotten without literally plucking the illustrated character from the pages of a comic book.

Another example of racebending was Marvel’s casting of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, even though the race of the character has already been changed in the comics before Jackson was even cast.

According to the site, comicbook.com, “I still buy comic books, so I go to this store in L.A., Golden Apple, and I was in there one day and I’m passing the rack and I see this thing, The Ultimates, and I go, ‘Wow, it looks like me,'” Jackson recalled. “So I started looking, and it’s like, Nick Fury looks just like me, and I’m reading, and he goes, ‘Well, if they make a movie about us, who do you want to play you?’ and Nick Fury goes, ‘Samuel L. Jackson.’ I go, ‘I didn’t give anybody my permission to use my image in a comic book.'”

Jackson goes on to explain that, after calling his agent and explaining how and where he discovered his likeness in a comic book, “She said, ‘Let me call somebody,'” the actor shared. “So she calls Marvel and they say, ‘Well, we are thinking about making these movies and, hopefully, if we make them, he would play Nick Fury.’ I’m like, ‘For real?'”

When the news of Jackson being cast was revealed to the public, the internet went into a frenzy. However, after more than 10 years of playing the character, Nick Fury has become indelibly associated with Mr. Jackson.

Eartha Kitt and Samuel L. Jackson are just two examples of how racebending a character with the right actor can deliver amazing results for a television show or feature film.

These two performances were met with the type of acclaim and mainstream success that is indicative of blockbuster hits. Not because they look different from the original presentations of the characters they portrayed, but because they were the right actors to embody the characters transition from 2D comics to television and film.

However, Kitt and Jackson’s success hasn’t changed the underlying controversy and question: Why not just create new diverse characters?

While purists may always have issues with new interpretations of legendary characters, there’s often a business reason driving the decision to change an existing character instead of developing new characters with a focus on diversity.

At a time when comic book properties are seemingly optioned for television, film and theater projects on a weekly basis, the reason that producers and others don’t just go and make new characters is a matter of economics: Financing these projects is expensive, and to ensure adequate return on investment, the most popular characters with highest consumer awareness are usually chosen as the centerpiece of the show or film franchise.

Some existing characters are so popular that it’s almost be impossible to develop a new character with any reasonable hope of achieving a similarly high level of popularity without significant investment.

Investing to make a completely new character popular enough to be a box office draw, just to cast an actor of color in a role, when there is an existing character that is perfect for the story, makes no sense. Especially since, in many cases, the goal is to find the best actor for the role and, frequently, an actor of color is cast that perfectly embodies role.

Of course, there are times when a racebending isn’t only controversial, it’s also wrong. I am talking about in cases of White Washing, where instead of replacing a white character with a minority actor, a minority character is played by a white actor.

I have two very good examples of this.

A significant portion of the cast of M.Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender, and the controversial casting of Tilda Swinton as the ‘Ancient One’ in Marvel’s Doctor Strange.

I’ll start with Doctor Strange. I do not have any problem with Swinton’s performance as The Ancient One. I thought the spin on the character was alright, but I did not appreciate the opportunity it took away from casting an Asian actor who could have been the live-action representation.

This signals a problem because most of the time, in fantasy films where magic is involved, the mystical and powerful elder has always been an old White man. I know that Swinton as a woman, is also a minority, so that is a plus, but what does this say to other minorities? Can only elderly White men hold great power and wisdom?

I love Dumbledore from Harry Potter, The Doctor from Doctor Who, Gandalf from Lord of The Rings, and Professor X from X-Men. But there comes a point when all of these characters tend to blend together. You need diverse casting, like in the case of Djimon Hounsou as “The Wizard Shazam” from Shazam to keep things interesting.

And now that most dreaded moment when the entire collective nerd community cringes: Whenever The Last Airbender is brought up in conversation.

Nearly all of the anime’s/cartoon’s superb characters — heavily based in Asian culture — were replaced with White actors that did not represent those original characters in characteristics, appearance, or even name.

When none of these qualities are present, then they might as well be new characters. This was one case of racebent casting that served no purpose and is insulting to the original material, the creators and the fans that truly love Avatar: The Last Airbender.

This is an issue that shouldn’t be happening in the 21st century. Scarlett Johannson’s casting in Ghost in the Shell should never have happened. I understand that actors should be able to do what they were hired to do and “act.” but some roles were not meant for certain people. We have to be inclusive of the actors that might not be able to find work outside of the roles that are in their perceived purview.

One of the most iconic rumors that ended with rage and fury is when Micheal B.Jordan was rumored to be cast as Superman after Henry Cavill supposedly left the role (these are just internet rumors that have not been made official by DC or Warner Bros).

The internet broke out in such a frenzy that somebody would have thought the world had ended. Numerous online fans said, “Superman can’t be Black.”

All I have to say to that is that Superman has had a history where he indeed was Black so it’s not a stretch to say that one day, we may see a live action adaptation. Calvin Ellis was a black Superman modeled after Barack Obama from the comics, as well as more recently, Val-Zod, who was created in 2014.

On the other side of things, there are times where storyline and lore of the original source material would truly stop a character’s race from being changed. One of the most notable examples is the iconic character, Bruce Wayne.

The Wayne family is said to have had a hand in bringing Gotham City to life and had wealth going back generations as early as the 1700s in America. It would be very hard for an audience to believe that an African American had Wayne family wealth in the 1700s during the period of slavery. That doesn’t mean that Batman can’t be black, but that Bruce Wayne shouldn’t be black.

There is also the old argument that “if you make a character who was already White suddenly Black, why can’t Black Panther be White?” I will happily give you the answer to that question. Some character’s lore and location make the character who they are. T’Challa, the Black Panther, is an African King who is native-born and, similar to the case with Bruce Wayne, it would be very hard to write that character as any other race.

We should save our criticism of racebent casting to situations where the casting excludes marginalized groups that would not have been represented otherwise.

We in nerd culture tend to make judgments before we see the final product. Good or bad, casting choices usually come down to the ability of the actors cast in the role and how they well they embody the interpretation of the character the director envisions.

This is an important discussion as we should just allow these actors to show us their interpretation of these iconic characters before we make judgments. But we also need to have cultural awareness so that we know when a culture is taken advantage of or appropriated, as is too often the case with white washing.

I hope that you keep this in mind the next time you watch a TV show or movie where a familiar character looks a little different. Remember, this is about who the younger generation can look up to with pride and see themselves in.

We now live in an age where superhero Films and TV shows are released in droves. There is plenty of room at the table for everyone to feel welcomed.

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COMMENTARY: The National Protest Must Be Accompanied with Our Votes

Just as Trump is gathering election data like having the FBI take all the election data in Georgia from the 2020 election, so must we organize in preparation for the coming primary season to have the right people on ballots in each Republican district, so that we can regain control of the House of Representatives and by doing so, restore the separation of powers and balance that our democracy is being deprived of.

Published

7 hours ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper. File photo..

By Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper

As thousands of Americans march every week in cities across this great nation, it must be remembered that the protest without the vote is of no concern to Donald Trump and his administration.

In every city, there is a personal connection to the U.S. Congress. In too many cases, the member of Congress representing the people of that city and the congressional district in which it sits, is a Republican. It is the Republicans who are giving silent support to the destructive actions of those persons like the U.S. Attorney General, the Director of Homeland Security, and the National Intelligence Director, who are carrying out the revenge campaign of the President rather than upholding the oath of office each of them took “to Defend The Constitution of the United States.”

In California, the primary comes in June 2026. The congressional races must be a priority just as much as the local election of people has been so important in keeping ICE from acquiring facilities to build more prisons around the country.

“We the People” are winning this battle, even though it might not look like it. Each of us must get involved now, right where we are.

In this Black History month, it is important to remember that all we have accomplished in this nation has been “in spite of” and not “because of.” Frederick Douglas said, “Power concedes nothing without a struggle.”

Today, the struggle is to maintain our very institutions and history. Our strength in this struggle rests in our “collectiveness.” Our newspapers and journalists are at the greatest risk. We must not personally add to the attack by ignoring those who have been our very foundation, our Black press.

Are you spending your dollars this Black History Month with those who salute and honor contributions by supporting those who tell our stories? Remember that silence is the same as consent and support for the opposition. Where do you stand and where will your dollars go?

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Why Black Parents Should Consider Montessori

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — I have found that there are some educational approaches that consistently provide a safer, more enriching, and more affirmative environment for Black children. The Montessori method, developed by Italian physician Maria Montessori and introduced to the U.S. in the early 20th century, is one such approach.

Published

2 days ago

February 9, 2026

Oakland Post

By Laura Turner-Essel, PhD

As a mother of four children, I’ve done A LOT of school shopping. I don’t mean the autumn ritual of purchasing school supplies. I mean shopping for schools – pouring over promotional materials, combing through websites, asking friends and community members for referrals to their favorite schools, attending open houses and orientations, comparing curriculums and educational philosophies, meeting teachers and principals, and students who all claim that their school is the best.

But keep in mind – I’m not just a mom of four children. I’m a mom of four Black children, and I’m also a psychologist who is very interested in protecting my little ones from the traumatic experience that school can too often become.

For Black children in the United States, school can sometimes feel more like a prison than an educational institution. Research shows that Black students experience school as more hostile and demoralizing than other students do, that they are disciplined more frequently and more harshly for typical childhood offenses (such as running in the halls or chewing gum in class), that they are often labeled as deviant or viewed as deficient more quickly than other children, that teachers have lower academic expectations of Black students (which, in turn, lowers those students’ expectations of themselves), and that Black parents feel less respected and less engaged by their children’s teachers and school administrators. Perhaps these are some of the underlying reasons that Black students tend to underperform in most schools across the country.

The truth is that schools are more than academic institutions. They are places where children go to gain a sense of who they are, how they relate to others, and where they fit into the world. The best schools are places that answer these questions positively – ‘you are a valuable human being, you are a person who will grow up to contribute great things to your community, and you belong here, with us, exploring the world and learning how to use your gifts.’ Unfortunately, Black children looking for answers to these universal questions of childhood will often hit a brick wall once they walk into the classroom. If the curriculum does not reflect their cultural experiences, the teachers don’t appear to value them, and they spend most of their time being shamed into compliance rather than guided towards their highest potential, well…what can we really expect? How are they supposed to master basic academic skills if their spirits have been crushed?

Here’s the good news. In my years of school shopping, and in the research of Black education specialists such as Jawanza Kunjufu and Amos Wilson, I have found that there are some educational approaches that consistently provide a safer, more enriching, and more affirmative environment for Black children. The Montessori method, developed by Italian physician Maria Montessori and introduced to the U.S. in the early 20th century, is one such approach.

The key feature of Montessori schooling is that children decide (for the most part) what they want to do each day. Led by their own interests and skill levels, children in a Montessori classroom move around freely and work independently or with others on tasks of their own

choosing. The classroom is intentionally stocked with materials tailored to the developmental needs of children, including the need to learn through different senses (sight, touch/texture, movement, etc.). The teacher in a Montessori classroom is less like a boss and more like a caring guide who works with each child individually, demonstrating various activities and then giving them space to try it on their own. The idea is that over time, students learn to master even the toughest tasks and concepts, and they feel an intense sense of pride and accomplishment because they did it by themselves, without pressure or pushing.

I think that this aspect of the Montessori method is good for all kids. Do you remember the feeling of having your creativity or motivation crushed by being told exactly what to do, when to do it, how to do it, and why? The truth is that when presented with a new challenge and then given space, children actually accomplish a lot! They are born with a natural desire to learn. It is that spirit of curiosity, sense of wonder, and excitement to explore that Montessori helps to keep alive in a child. But that’s not the only reason that I think Black parents need to consider Montessori.

Fostering a love of learning is great. But more importantly, I think that Montessori students excel at learning to love. It begins with Montessori’s acknowledgement that all children are precious because childhood is a precious time. In many school systems, Black children are treated like miniature adults (at best) or miniature criminals (at worst), and are subjected to stressful situations that no kids are equipped to handle – expectations to be still and silent for long periods, competitive and high-stakes testing, and punitive classroom discipline. It’s easy to get the sense that rather than being prepared for college or careers, our children are being prepared to fail. Couple this with the aforementioned bias against Black children that seems to run rampant within the U.S. school system, and you end up with children who feel burned out and bitter about school by the time they hit 3rd grade.

In my experience, Montessori does a better job of protecting the space that is childhood – and all the joy of discovery and learning that should come along with that. Without the requirement that students “sit down and shut up,” behavioral issues in Montessori classrooms tend to be non-existent (or at least, the Montessori method doesn’t harp on them; children are gently redirected rather than shamed in front of the class). Montessori students don’t learn for the sake of tests; they demonstrate what they’ve learned by sharing with their teacher or classmates how they solve real-world problems using the skills they’ve gained through reading, math, or science activities. And by allowing children a choice of what to focus on throughout the day, Montessori teachers demonstrate that they honor and trust children’s natural intelligence. The individualized, careful attention they provide indicates to children that they are each seen, heard, and valued for who they are, and who they might become. Now that’s love (and good education).

As a parent, I’ve come to realize that many schools offer high-quality academics. Montessori is no different. Students in Montessori schools gain exposure to advanced concepts and the materials to work with these concepts hands-on. Across the nation, Montessori schools emphasize early literacy development, an especially important indicator of life success for young Black boys and men. Montessori students are provided with the opportunity to be

successful every day, and the chance to develop a sense of competence and self-worth based on completing tasks at their own pace.

But I have also learned that the important questions to ask when school shopping are often not about academics at all. I now ask, ‘Will my children be treated kindly? Will they be listened to? Protected from bias and bullying? Will they feel safe? Will this precious time in their lives be honored as a space for growth, development, awe, and excitement? Will they get to see people like them included in the curriculum? Will they be seen as valuable even if they don’t always ‘measure up’ to other kids on a task? Will they get extra support if they need it? Will the school include me in major decisions? Will the school leaders help to make sure that my children reach their fullest potential? Will the teacher care about my children almost as much as I do?’

Consistently, it’s been the Montessori schools that have answered with a loud, resounding ‘Yes!’ That is why my children ended up in Montessori schools, and I couldn’t be happier with that decision. If you’re a parent like me, shopping for schools with the same questions in mind, I’d urge you to consider Montessori education as a viable option for your precious little ones. Today more than ever, getting it right for our children is priceless.

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LIVE from the NMA Convention Raheem DeVaughn Says The Time Is Now: Let’s End HIV in Our Communities #2

Set against the backdrop of the NMA conference, Executive Officers from the National Medical Association, Grammy Award Winning Artist and Advocate Raheem DeVaughn, and Gilead Sciences experts, are holding today an important conversation on HIV prevention and health equity. Black women continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV despite advances in prevention options. Today’s event […]

Published

1 week ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

Black women continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV despite advances in prevention options. Today’s event is designed to uplift voices, explore barriers to access, and increase awareness and key updates about PrEP, a proven prevention method that remains underutilized among Black women. This timely gathering will feature voices from across health, media, and advocacy as we break stigma and center equity in HIV prevention.

Additional stats and information to know:

● Black women continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV, with Black women representing more than 50% of new HIV diagnoses among women in the U.S. in 2022, despite comprising just 13% of women in the U.S.

● Women made up only 8% of PrEP users despite representing 19% of all new HIV diagnoses in 2022.

● Gilead Sciences is increasing awareness and addressing stigma by encouraging regular HIV testing and having judgment-free conversations with your healthcare provider about prevention options, including oral PrEP and long-acting injectable PrEP options.

● PrEP is an HIV prevention medication that has been available since 2012.

● Only 1 in 3 people in the U.S. who could benefit from PrEP were prescribed a form of PrEP in 2022.