The Green Lantern Colorism Controversy is More Complex than You Think.

[@Joyful_Smiles]

I see commenters are repeating the same excuse Asians say about their colorism. I highly disagree it started as discrimination against people working outside 5,000 years ago. But rather the horrific invasions they had 5,000 years ago of pale skinned invaders from the west. Followed by the hierarchy of oppression we have seen repeatedly throughout history from other pale skinned invaders.

[@sunkissedkhala]

Please, spill this tea of the “pale- skinned invaders” bc I haven’t heard about this 🤔

[@Lastofthefreenames]

Yeah please do tell

[@KidArkx]

The japanese?

[@fryingpanvan]

​@@sunkissedkhala Northern Indians are an example. Genetically they are Indo-Aryan. They are more likely to have lighter skin.

[@LonelyGamer4]

I’m gonna need a source on that pale western invaders 5,000 years ago claim.

[@TheCompanyMan]

Wait... Shang Chi is considered a "darker skin asian man"? Brand new thought for me. Yeezus.

[@MZRTMusic254]

I get the colorism with Indians and South Korea, but China? That's new to me😂

[@Anthonystark63]

​@MZRTMusic254 gotta remember that China is a big as country and most of the lighterskinned Asians are in the urban centers or to the east but look at the fringes that are closer to west and southwest (mongolia, uyghers, and areas closer to India, Vietnam, laos, bhutan, nepal and thailand).

[@KoiAndDope]

think about k pop idols

[@jawzdeadeye]

Check out one of Ali Wong's bits. She said her and her ex husband are half Classy Asian and half Jungle Asian... They be hating on each other like crazy.

[@jordandemetrius87]

Yeah this one blew my mind I thought he was gonna say disappointed because he was too light

[@Changing_Subjects]

Viola Davis should have been Nina Simone. Physically more appropriate and also, Viola is 10x the actress. I’m praying for the day a Black director will do another Nina Simone biopic.

[@NickW855]

Yeah, but a Hollywood exec sees that Zoe Saldana is the most bankable actor ever by an insane margin and that's why these things happen.

[@Alx1116]

That movie would’ve been amazing with her

[@mooseratt]

Biopics are 9/10 trash anyway

[@dionjones6300]

​@@AirGee true. But those types are always around. ADOS/FBA types would think I wasn't their kin without me telling them

[@tahtz20]

Michaela Cole would do amazing, she actually resembles her a bit more, and it's an amazing actress.

[@shortfuse75]

I’m a lighter skinned black man. It has been an advantage and a hindrance. Yes, white people are more comfortable with me and I do not get the same level of suspicion from white people as my darker brothers do. However, having to prove my masculinity and toughness to other brothers is an issue I’ve had to deal with my entire life, especially while playing sports. Light skin men are assumed to be softer or less aggressive by the black community. It’s tiring.

[@jaydaynonchalant5910]

I'm looking at your pic my man. You do not look light skin at all. Are we just throwing this word light skin around loosely bc there are a lot of ppl calling ppl or themselves lightskin when they are not.

[@Zeek509]

​@jaydaynonchalant5910 He didn't say light skinned, he said lightER skinned. There is a difference believe it or not.

[@Phoenix-md8sh]

I'm a light skinned black man and I can relate to colorism. I've been treated differently by black and white people due to my skin color. Growing up, I had an awesome mom who is dark skinned , a light skinned father, a twin brother the same tone as me, and a dark skinned sister. Colorism wasn't tolerated in our household but it exists in the black community.

[@jaydaynonchalant5910]

@@Zeek509 i didn't catch that observation but Good point

[@Zeek509]

@jaydaynonchalant5910 I only mention it because I'm "lighter" skinned myself. Not quite caramel, but not what we call "yellow" either lol. But some people still call me light skinned for simplicity sake. So what you said is true in some cases. Some ppl throw terms around more loosely than others.

[@jackdoyle7453]

I have to disagree with John Stewart being B tier at least for anyone who grow up in the 2000s with the amazing justice league cartoon. He is the Green Lantern to us.

[@johnv7968]

You right. When i think of green lantern, John Stewart comes to mind.

[@Run-Riot]

He'll always be the best Green Lantern to me because of that show, voiced by the legendary Phil LaMarr. He didn't get possessed by a yellow space bug like that bitch-ass Hal Jordan either, lol

[@Zain94336]

he is b tier only you 90's cartoon fan boys care about him. Him and kyle rayner suck. Guy gardner and hal are more interesting. And there's a reason hal jordan got a solo cartoon series and not john stewart.

[@strangerealityonyx]

​@@Zain94336 Yeah, I only liked Kyle during Marz run. He got boring after awhile. I like John Steward tho. But you're right also, people seem to forget that Green Lantern in the mid to late 2000s was huge mainly because of Hal.

[@mercurystarr]

He's MY Lantern 🎉

[@tora0neko]

What we really need is live action Static Shock

[@LanerGuy]

I remember hearing word about this becoming a thing. Until that word never got any follow-up. T_T

[@leanysealvarado7499]

Indeed!!

[@BellesView]

This!

[@claudiabcarvalho]

​@@LanerGuy the project was not cancelled, it's still in development

[@WESsential]

^Static. It's just static outside of the cartoon

[@_lavenderdawn_4022]

2:59 I've never heard of this character but I just want to point out that one of the symbols on her shoulder tattoo is actually an adinkra symbol, a symbol that comes from Ghana. Considering thafshe is South African, it sorta makes me think they just wanted any old African symbol to slap on her without digging to find rhe originsof it. But that's purely specularion (I say this as a Ghanaian who grew up in Ghana).

[@lainroseheart]

while colorism has inarguably been bolstered by global white colonialism, it's worth mentioning that colorism within south and east asian cultures goes back thousands of years before any contact with anglo people. this doesn't contradict with anything you say in the video, just trying to add more nuance. i invite anyone with more familiarity on this topic to chime in. it's a topic which is admittedly beyond the scope of this video, as colorism seems like a widespread 'human' problem which has been dogging us for generations... great video!

[@fkdkidie]

That's is true and it's more of a white that's not even human. It's like literally white paint out the tube color versus fair skinned human.

[@Deus_ex_lucifina]

A Korean friend of mine, who tends to be well educated in these things, said that fair-skinned people back in the day were usually upper class, because they didn’t have to toil in the sun. It originally was less about racism against African people or dehumanizing darker people for the purpose of justifying colonialism/enslavement, but was systemic prejudice that European colonialism easily co-opted.

[@carlisborgon]

Yea I grew up in Dubai, which has a high density of philipino and Indian communities, and one of the most popular billboard ads were skin lightening creams. Colorism is very built into southeast Asian culture, but as a light sking black dude surrounded by "dark" skin se Asians (dark as me lol) I was pretty isolated so I never understood those ads. Maybe is more of a shameful discrimination or something, or just different in how that's expressed in different cultures 🤷🏾‍♂️ Edit: nvm just remembered I had a class with one darkskin dude from Sudan and he was blasted constantly for it. "Coal boy", "lost in the dark", shit you'd expect from white people but it's all Asians lol

[@wrestlinganime4life288]

The cast system in Asian countries specifically specifically southern is wild

[@itsnevertoolatetodotherigh3271]

Yep even down here in Africa it's a "pandemic"

[@calcifur]

This casting was 110% to save CGI budget on the eyes

[@ErasingToxicity_89]

💀💀💀

[@MrJerks93]

Dead

[@astrocade9541]

Ppl think it’s a joke but it probably isn’t 😂

[@PotatoPatatoVonSpudsworth]

@@astrocade9541| You forget contact lenses?

[@Ciorno2K]

Could've just used contacts 😂😂😂

[@mansplane9838]

I’m tired of dissecting black people into further minority groups. I understand the issue, but us black folks are marginalized enough without our own inner marginalization.

[@Pk223-r1t]

I agree, black people complain so much. This dude barely fits the light skin stereotype. He's not that light at all. To a white person, he looks no different than Kanye west.

[@seanm7539]

Yeah, but here’s the thing is black. People are so concerned to shut other Black people out of the community because they’re not black enough by their standards so then they get casted out into this group of other Black people that never got validated and so now they go out of their way to avoid other Black people Personally for myself, I have never felt that I couldn’t do not belong in black peoples spaces

[@Imxel21]

@@seanm7539if you’re mixed you’re mixed. In places like the Uk it’s a separate racial category

[@Billiepippen]

@@seanm7539use grammarly.

[@EternityxForever]

I see what you're saying, but at the same time tho just like with racism, colorism (and therefore the further 'dissecting', as you put it) can't be tackled until the issues that are causing the problem are first. We can't skip to all Black people are treated equal and fairly within and outside the community and are on equal footing until...well, all Black people are all those things regardless of complexion, and not just those in closer proximity to ytness. However, whether one is dark skin, brown skin, or light skin, Black people still tend to stick together against yt supremacy in the grand scheme of things generally. It's a huge flaw in our community, just like in other cultures with colorism, but it hasn't destroyed us after 4 centuries, but it does need to be addressed and tackled.

[@orlandodurr13]

Im glad you brought up Michael B. Jordan, because to me, Aaron P. is a summer afternoon walk away from being the same shade as him. Yet I've never heard a single person call Killmonger lightskin. Its got to be the eyes.

[@chillin5703]

They haven't said it, but tbh ive noticed the attention Michael B got from everyone and I wouldn't be surprised if part of that was because his character played into that kind of "pretty boy" trope that lighter skin definitely helps you with.

[@dinitis]

Really. Yet killgrave in Jessica Jones was white, but go on

[@C-Bee]

I don’t think Michael is really that light skin. Hes not Idris dark but not Will or LL light either. He’s medium brown, the shade they usually give to all black characters in comics.

[@MelMelodyWerner]

​@@dinitis ... Killgrave and Killmonger are two different characters...

[@fangal12]

Yeah, I'm about the same shade as Michael B Jordan and I have never been considered light skin. Growing up I always thought if you aint light you're dark so for the longest time I considered myself dark skin, until I was told otherwise as an adult.

[@shouta1255]

Simu Liu got a lot of heat because he's not considered handsome by Chinese standards. A lot of Asia prefers slim, soft looking men more than anything, think K-pop boy band. It's wild because even I, as a straight dude, think Simu is objectively hot regardless of type preference, lol

[@josefagomezschmeisser8356]

He even got to be a Ken!

[@acudaican]

Really? Asian who grew up in the West, but I think he's a bit of a butterface... He's definitely no Tony Leung or Gong Yoo. He's not handsome in a rugged way either, like Hiroyuki Sanada. Dude just kind of has a muffin face.

[@maschaorsomething]

@@acudaican He is just a guy. He looks like an average person. And I think people who aren't used to a diverse set of asian features think he's still exotic enough to be considered hot or handsome. Reminds me of when pretty Asian girls have mediocre white boyfriends. They aren't used to white people's diverse features, so even an average white person is exotic and thus hot enough to pursue.

[@maadtee6281]

Lol what it's insane like I would understand him looking like Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Jet Li because they were lean but muscular in their prime

[@shouta1255]

​@@acudaican Yeah, he's definitely hot. I'm Asian too, born and raised in the west but lived in Asia as well. Simu is definitely handsome when looking at the spectrum of Asian men. He might not be as handsome if we limit the list to the top end but there's no way he'd be considered a butterface. It's actually kind of funny that you mention Hiroyuki Sanada because I thought he had a generic handsome look in the 90s, not too dissimilar to Simu, but got even better looking as he aged.

[@dniks3508]

This is so true. As a dark African woman all “black women” I see in movies are mixed. If it’s the flash’s’ black wife: she’s mixed. If it’s a bold black woman who’s a supporting character she’s not black she’s mixed. The only time in recent days that I’ve seen a fully black or dark skinned black woman in a major blockbuster was the last transformers movie which was refreshing. Let’s just stop mix-washing black women and give them their roles.

[@obsidian3136]

You are lying

[@shamrock5725]

Idk if it's a "major blockbuster" but keeping a long with the line of comic characters DC Suicide Squad was played as Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. Unsure if that counts in your book or not.

[@Boatanga]

Have you’ve seen Black Panther? People talk about Jon Stewart colorism but don’t mention the fact that the MCU has done some pretty phenomenal casting of dark skin black actors for that series.

[@obsidian3136]

@@Boatanga Actresses* not Black Actors. There are no men in Wakanda. Except the giant Ape of course. As long as it's not black women being called apes right? I noticed that people only care about racism/colorism when it effects black women, and only bring up black men when they are already dead or gone or old. This video is about how dark skin black men should ignore the lack of opportunities and accept bad jobs... but for some reason black women are brought up.

[@seankhoyle3168]

This was my comment when they started changing all of the redheads, what good does that do by changing them from a redheaded white person to a black person? You’re literally gonna wash away the white with a new black person, but they the same person in name and history? Like it sounds like they’re doing something cool like uncovering our racist, history and acknowledging that. But they not. That’s not what they’re doing. If that was the case, I’m all for it, but it’s not, and we know it. So with that being said, Wouldn’t it be better to introduce a new character from the beginning being black, with their own heritage and backstory?

[@ajtaylor8750]

*"White at night, but Black in light"* is an insane line 😂 Jayden going through some things I see

[@thickcocogrl79]

I got a little giggle from that😅

[@hjblacdes61]

I wrote some shit like that too when I was like 16 he'll grow outta it

[@Purplepalace22]

So reverse colorism,,,.,lol jokes

[@KCJaguar8-6]

😂

[@Bemused247]

Reminds me of Trever Noah’s story about being caught on a surveillance tape as a kid.

[@blkloislane]

Honestly, having lighter eyes probably helped as John Stewart is often depicted with bright green eyes.

[@Guiquipedia]

Isn’t that just because of the ring? I guess going with a naturally green eyed man would probably look better on screen than contacts or CGI tho

[@BagheeraCalvary]

You’re not wrong but I did always love that contrast of John’s dark eyes before the ring and his eyes when he has it, just a personal thing

[@blkloislane]

@@Guiquipedia I think it was because of the ring but I remember them always being green in the show whether he was using it or not.

[@cruztastrophe]

@@blkloislane In the animated show, his eyes are the standard black dots when he's depowered. There's an episode or two where he loses the ring and his eyes turn black. I think his eyes are still green when he's still powered but going incognito (regular clothes). The episodes I'm thinking of: the one where the league is hiding from the Thanagarians and the episode where he goes to Vixen's fashion show.

[@zstrikerlol]

Cgi is a thing

[@gingerbreadorgingerbell1045]

Thanks for the breakdown. When I have a hour or so to knit/crochet, I load up 1 or 2 of your “lectures “ 😊 and get to work. It helps me stay awake ‘cause the crafty stuff is so relaxing but your topics are very engaging. Thanks and keep it up! 💜🧶

[@NickolasNameolas]

They pretty much use the same shade for every black comic book character 😂

[@TheMadPickler01]

Lightskin people don't really get represented in comics outside of hispanic characters. I cant think of one lightskin black comic character off the top of my head

[@lightspaceman5064]

FACTS. Nobodies checking.

[@statelessfgc1069]

iirc back in the early days the coloring process was much more difficult and the publishers accepted poor color fidelity in order to print cheap. until the 90s they only had around 60 colors to choose from

[@lagransu]

😂😂 true

[@dahliaherrod4301]

That's my immediate thought. Aaron gives that intense, no-nonsense, militant energy of a green lantern.

[@oh-him]

Time to be That Guy: colourism in China and Japan has definitely been influenced by white global supremacy, but it dates back thousands of years, well before white colonialism, and is linked (as it was in Europe, until the 20th century made international travel more accessible to celebrities) to tanned skin being associated with outdoor work and pale skin being associated with wealth and aristocracy.

[@VoiceInHisHead]

That definitely existed in reference to gender relations (women stay indoors, men fight wars outside), but its also more complicated than that. For example, we have an ancient Roman emperor thinking that an Ethiopian soldier in their army is an ill omen, or when Aristotle (maybe Plato, can't remember) says that the Greeks are the perfect color since they are neither too dark nor too pale. Then we have medieval Arabs justifying enslaving black Africans b/c they're "children of Ham" like this was 1800s America. As well as Latin crusaders parading around a black slave in imperial regalia when they captured the baggage train of the medieval Roman emperor Manuel I, who is described as being swarthy in primary sources. It's honestly shocking and sad when you realize this prejudice ain't some modern invention, especially, like you mentioned, when it comes to China.

[@NeverGoLucky]

We know.

[@DKdrop]

I do think that's a fair point; it seems likely (to me at least) that some amount of intra-ethnic colorism does have a lot to do with class disparity. I can't speak much to other ethnic groups, but from a white perspective, I think the term "Blueblood" is a good example. It actually started as a white supremacist term (though I guess "white" wasn't really a racial identity yet? So slightly different) used in Spain to distinguish Castilian nobles from the darker-skinned moors (pale skin means veins are colored blue, or that's the idea). However, it came into broader use in Europe for basically the same reason you say; pale skin is associated with wealth and aristocracy, and tanned skin is associated with outdoor labor.

[@atmo1839]

asian colonialism is definetly a complex issue in of itself, but it was most certainly influenced by european colonialism, especially the japanese empire who were directly inspired by and had conflicts with european empires and the consequences of that still have a big impact on japanese society today

[@positronicbeats7496]

Someone watches Azan

[@JamFish728]

I appreciate you bringing up the UK vs US casting and how it plays into this.

[@merrymachiavelli2041]

Might have been worth mentioning that black british people are generally darker than black americans. While there are mixed race black brits, most are 100% West African or Caribbean in terms of heritage.

[@TheOnlyTaps]

"Before you finish the dissertation finish the video" 😭 lol. Great watch as always!

[@johnwerner69]

@@TheOnlyTaps crazy how there was already ten comments before the video ended, all trying to be first.

[@TheOnlyTaps]

@@johnwerner69 yep, but thankfully no wild dissertations like FD was laughing about coz usually the people who disagree be ready to argue back any points before actually digesting the video and then yeah the usual "first" comments and occasional random bots

[@rollthedice.5973]

yes he’s of lighter complexion but the uncanny slight resemblance he has to the animated john stewart character is something that can’t be passed up i say. just like they say some people “were made for this role” not to be cliché but it’s kinda true. he has the deep voice and the look why make it a fuss. i don’t really think i can see anyone else in the role now that it’s in my mind.

[@Imthatoneboy]

Yes I thought he looked like him too

[@mostmost1]

He not very light either. I haven't read the comic either so I'm not a good judge on the matter.

[@Echo-nn8dt]

@@mostmost1people act is if he's walking around looking like Drake

[@maadtee6281]

If not him the actor who played John Diggle was a good candidate until they scrapped it for unknown reasons

[@JasonBoyce]

He has the same skin tone as me and I’m Black. He looks well-suited for the role

[@pedrolinathetropicaldragon5481]

I'm brazilian and colorism is a very common discussion here. We have a lot of specific terms to deal with the difference between dark skinned and light skinned black people. A lot of concepts have gone through resignification and reapropriated to empower the black community but this is the first time I see an american talking about the subject. You got my following. Good luck with the channel, I hope you keep speaking your mind. And the moment you said capitalism, Black Marxism jumped into my mind. And the first I saw open prejudice on TV was in the 90s. There a black soccer player here that had blue eyes. Everybody called him "two pools in the slums" and everybody would laugh. Like it was normal and natural. My skin is darker but since I saw that I learned not to minimize what people with light skin go through. He had to sit through that, on a show... His blood must have been boiling the whole time.

[@TheMovies102]

Thank you so much FD for your Nuance take... I will admit that I was one of the people that gave the announcement of his casting the side eye.. but listening to your take has changed my opinion a bit. .. I still think they should have found a darker-skinned actor but I'm no longer as annoyed as I was when I first heard about it... you brought up nothing but valid points as always... this is why you're my favorite KZbinr/ content creator... sending nothing but love and respect your way❤

[@intellectualsmoke]

So racism is acceptable?

[@GullibleTarget]

​@@intellectualsmokelet thr connent stand. You add mothing by replying with an ad hominem attack. Just read the comment as it was intended. Dont drag it down to your understanding of what you read. It will only start a dumb discussion.

[@satyr_9]

The only lightskinned black superhero I can think of is sunspot, and it is extremely controversial because he originally had dark skin and got lighter in the 2000s because of a different artistic interpretation (sunspot is afro brazilian so the artist wanted him to look whiter/ mixed because I guess they didn't realize that you can have brazilians with dark skin)

[@j.albuquerque9274]

There's also the idea of latino as a race that Americans have. Beau DeMayo's bullshit response on Roberto's blackness for instance and turning his white mother the same color as him and no sign of his unambigously black father on the cartoon comes to mind.

[@stopgenduh1690]

Yeah for a long time I had literally no idea what Sunspot was meant to look like cause he changed skin color every time I saw him

[@ericosagie3046]

He’s supposed to like 80s Michael Jackson with the darker brown skin and curly hair, that’s how he was in his debut

[@booksvsmovies]

Currently reading 1980s New Mutants and the lightening of sunspot decades later is crazy because he’s very much an unambiguously dark skin black boy through this entire run. His origin is even directly tied to being dark skinned because his powers are first revealed when he gets mad after being called a racial slur

[@Kusotario]

And in the New Mutants movie he was white

[@Spadaforza]

Thank you for this video. I once had a Korean boss who had a really interesting conversation with me about colorism in her culture and it really opened my eyes to concepts that I was never personally exposed to at that time. Hearing it now from the perspective of another culture has given me insight into how complex the topic is that I hope others can recognize and hopefully can be overcome in terms of how people are treated and represented.

19:59 "low key i think some of ya'll woudn't have complained if it was michael b jordan, but i'mma hold that" Don't hold it! lmao, f*ck the peace, open the can of worms

[@chance757]

tell him again! he ain’t say nun but a word

[@JFirecracker]

Deadass, negative peace is worse than discord

[@WhizPill]

Oh no

[@lamimijae]

Black woman here, I don’t understand the Michael B hype… like at all 😂

[@darriusrankin3586]

They would have, but it wouldn't have been because of his skin tone

[@TheAwesomeness1123]

It’s funny cause as a kid John Stewart was my first green lantern through Justice League and I never even knew there was the white one until way later.

[@MZRTMusic254]

I'm finding this out just now

[@shipsallships]

Same! I remember being so mad at my dad for trying to tell me that Green Lantern was some dude named Hal. Like lmao no??? His name is John Stewart and I love him. I still consider him to be the “main” Green Lantern. I never picture anyone but him if someone brings up Green Lanterns.

[@HadesWTF]

Yeah. All us 90s kids know the Green Lantern as black. Was massively confused when fuckin Ryan Reynolds was cast in that first movie.

[@T33-y8b]

@@HadesWTFsame bruh. I was like, “who is this white man?” Little me was confused lmao

[@TheMysteryDriver]

It's cause FD is old

[@MOEZANDERS]

Your level of understanding and compassion is super refreshing, clarifying an eye-opening. If people don't glean some understanding from you, they're lost in their souls. Absolutely. Love this video. It sucks that we even have to delve into the topic because of the particular vibration of world that we live in. But a great many people should hear your statements. I truly do appreciate your time.Thank you very much.Keep doing what you're doing🎉👏🏽👏🏽💯❤️

[@kalka1l]

Just going to mention Princess Weekes made a spectacular video on ‘Tall, Dark, and Handsome’.

[@eyekantspele9548]

"Tall, Dark and Racially Ambiguous"

[@joelman1989]

She is so underrated. Truly a KZbin HOFer

[@gil5885]

love that girl

[@Alex-ph5ir]

Every time I see her mentioned I have to comment to add my voice to the recommendation. She makes some of my favorite media/culture analysis content on the platform.

[@linasayshush]

And right after that video came out, they announced the casting of Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff 😭

[@othelliusmaximus]

They calling him High Yellow Lantern now 😂😂

[@33up24]

Considering Lantern's weakness is literally the color yellow, it's fucking hilarious

[@taerikee]

Ouch, I had a mean Aunt that called me high yellow growing up

[@countrysleaze7962]

LOOOOOOL

[@MrGrandure]

​@taerikee that's wild. I have a high yellow aunt

[@romeod7549]

They should of just went with Hal Jordan rather than a black lantern then they could of avoided all of this

[@D415h4n34]

I was confused why I wasn't already subscribed 😅 then i clicked this and realized it's literally your B Sides channel. Thank you for your content!

[@brooklyn_geek]

I met the artist who created John Stewart the "black" Green Lantern, Neal Adams years ago and he and I ended up becoming friends with me dropping in on him a few times a year at the various conventions and he and I would talk to the point where his wife would complain😂 He had a great deal of respect for people of color and he was aware of why the black character had to be presented with a certain respect even though it was being done by white creators. He made sure to give him black features, he made sure that he didn't have a street stereotype back ground. He gave him a military type, very serious personality and he also suggested John Stewart as the initial thing the DC editor suggested was Lincoln Washington...I'm not even joking...point being even the white guy who invented the character was aware and respectful of the seemingly unimportant aspects of a character. Particularly when they are black and American

[@de132]

You got the "Go home, Roger" treatment 😭😭😂😂

[@brooklyn_geek]

@@de132 nah she was on Neal to do more drawing and less talking to me😂 he did a lot for creator's rights, helped the creator's of both Superman and Batman get money and credits years after they got beat in the head by DC and Marvel

[@moustik31]

Proposing to name a Black superhero "Lincoln Washington" is crazy!

[@brooklyn_geek]

@@moustik31 to be fair it was 1971 and they were at least trying to be somewhat progressive. I'm just glad Neal .Adams talked them off the ledge...and I forgot he was initially an architect, the military thing was a retcon

[@Ceesky00]

What bothers me is nobody that is mad about this casting cares about Aaron Pierre. This is a breakout role for him and I know it can’t be nice seeing this shit. Let homie do his thing goddam

[@tomimpala]

I know, you see a black brother getting a huge role and it's "mm, not black enough" like don't make it about him, just say "more roles for dark skin actors". It's like he's being made the villain

[@jeremybstudentpilot5315]

I was happy that the brother got the role and surprised all the hate he’s been getting.

[@sakurahex4998]

He sounds like Jon from the JL animated series

[@4cuttime]

The 💩 is ridiculous

[@CowsRdumb]

It's crazy because the actor looks just like the character so what is the problem?

[@rafaelmoreno9597]

I'm new to you, and I love the way you held this conversation. I especially appreciate how you tied in gender as well as different international narratives to reinforce how it is that we are choosing to visit this particular issue of colorism. Great job.

[@VanAlexi]

Damn why did you remind me of the Zoe Saldana casting as Nina Simone. I just forgot that this morning.

[@Joyful_Smiles]

I didn't. I still can't stand to see her on any screen and I refuse to watch or support any of her work including commercials.

[@anangryaustralian8518]

​@@Joyful_Smileswhat'd she do? Genuine question

[@bleepbloop101010101]

@@anangryaustralian8518 They covered it in the video, she played a dark skinned musician. She was evidently okay with the casting, but to make her look more like the actual person she was portraying (a real person) the darkened her skin significantly with makeup (which she as also evidently okay with).

[@simplybeautyfull]

All of us! Brought out real real bad feelings with the Nina Simone reference.

[@xmiunax4385]

I didn't know about this at all now i have to wish i didn't 🥲

[@mamikgibar]

22:55 of a video on colorism: "We shouldn't take this lightly." That's prime.

[@signifiedbsides1129]

😬

[@mamikgibar]

@@signifiedbsides1129 To be clear, big fan! Not quite back to Hamilton but since Edgelords or Beau Burnham.

[@ANTIStraussian]

​@@signifiedbsides1129back in the days of old Twitter you would need 500k retweets and tens of thousands of replies to get something going. When I look up this colorism green lantern debate I can only find a few tweets here and there with few replies. Is this a real story or have standards for viral gone down?

[@LelynMac]

kino

[@eoa363]

On Sydney Poitier not appearing with white women or dealing with black issues on screen, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" seems like a remarkable exception then.

[@rpenm]

It's not an exception, most his films were explicitly about racism and Black issues. Eg. No Way Out, Cry the Beloved Country, Edge of the City, The Defiant Ones, A Patch of Blue, A Raisin in the Sun, Paris Blues, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and In the Heat of the Night. He starred across from white women in films like A Patch of Blue, Paris Blues, The Slender Thread, Lilies of the Field, and Guess Who's Coming. FD is just wrong.

[@eoa363]

@rpenm Thanks. I'm not super familiar with Poitier's filmography so wasn't aware of all the examples you listed.

[@christianpowell1871]

Sydney Potier is his daughter. You mean Sidney Potier.

[@Janelorn]

To sir with love was my first introduction into older cinema, and even that addressed racism and classism.

[@chance757]

it should be the bare minimum fr but i’ll always be grateful to my favorite lightskin actor zendaya for declaring that she’ll never take a role meant for a darker skinned woman. that’s the kind of mentality you can’t help but respect even if you don’t like her. white women are fair game though lol (see mj).

[@4lifemusiclova]

I respect her so much for this. Love her too!

[@PHlophe]

Amanda Sternberg said the same thing also . i respect her for that too and she faced insane r.acism for having the nerve to have african genes on the hunger game thing

[@hitsugayatoshiro3331]

And yet, DSBW are still obsessed with putting her as the face of the whole "biracial/light skin women are replacing/stealing all the acting jobs from DSBW” false agenda.

[@chance757]

@@PHlophe amandla don’t always practice what she preaches though so I don’t have the same respect for her. the main character for ‘the hate you give’ was supposed to be darkskin; as was rue tbh but i don’t blame her for that one. i remember that hunger games drama happening when i was in school though. all of us book readers knew from the beginning that rue was supposed to be black so the outrage was so confusing. not that i cared at the time but if anything, she wasn’t “black enough”!

[@thobileluthulifrankers7612]

Zendaya did take a blk role tho the challengers character she played was based on Serena williams who is a monoracial blk woman who's on the darker end of the spectrum.

[@Ayadayadaada]

What!?!?!? They cancelled Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur 😭 !!!

[@johnwerner69]

I'm shocked! That show was amazing

[@jameseglavin4]

Goddammit I just got into it

[@BABILA.]

i’m actually so upset, you have no idea 😭

[@ladytrue1154]

🗣️THAT PART!!! This is news to me!😩 Condolences, everyone.🫂😔

[@DaysHaveTheirOwnStruggles]

SUIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

[@npf_dragon]

Bro 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿 I knew where you was headed at the first two minutes. I’m at 11 mins in now and now im sure you bout to hit the nail on the head!!!!!!

[@EtruskenRaider]

I just want Luke Cage Visits Wakanda. Not even a super hero movie, just him walking enjoying restaurants and sight seeing. Maybe having tea with M’Baku.

[@rosewrath_s_revenge]

Honestly, this would eat

[@EtruskenRaider]

@@rosewrath_s_revenge bonus if he’s traveling with Bushmaster from season 2.

[@d2dar459]

😂

[@willisj1515]

@@EtruskenRaider that's my one gripe with the Marvel Universe..I know we try not to compare it to real life too much but I honestly think every black American that could leave the US for good would move to Wakanda. Best, schools, jobs, health care and they don't even have poverty.

[@EtruskenRaider]

@@willisj1515 that’s a topic worth exploring. If Wakabi was hesitant to bring refugees from their neighbors, how do the Wakandans react to Black Americans, especially wealthy ones, trying to immigrate? It’s curious to see how a nation whose entire existence was based on hiding to suddenly be so prominent and that was a thread not deeply investigated by Wakanda Forever. That’s why I’d love to put Luke and Johnny in a room with M’Baku to talk with some nice food and drink, since each represents a different facet of the Black experience (African, North American, and Caribbean).

[@StellarAvenger]

Yeah, this controversy was way overblown. And it's not like light skinned actors are taking all of the black superhero roles. Blade, Black Panther, War Machine, Captain America, Black Lightning, Luke Cage, Spawn, hell, even Steel are all played by dark or brown skinned actors.

[@baronvonsatan]

...Captain America? Did I miss something while I was actively not watching Marvel stuff??

[@StellarAvenger]

@@baronvonsatan Yeah. Sam Wilson, the Falcon, is the new Captain America.

[@Bob-fj7lr]

There's sort of a similar thing going on with Narcissism right now, as a concept. Everyone is on the lookout for narcissists and don't want to be a narcissist and it becomes this thing where there is a Narcissism panic, and I think that's what's going on with this topic. All of this has been really put into the public sphere in a new way - racial inequality is discussed on morning shows, KZbin, Reels and shorts and all over social media - when 30 years ago there was only so much media you could find on this, in 2024 there's thousands of hours of video being uploaded online about this topic, to varying degrees of quality. So now you're kind of in this place where every single casting is being scrutinized for possible racial bias, when there's a chance it just isn't there or you might even be looking for the entirely wrong bias and fuck up there. And also on top of that now you're in a world where you have factions of black people of different shades arguing that "this person isn't black enough", which is not a far cry from Donald Trump going on stage and asking if Kamala Harris is actually black. Like sometimes a rock is a rock, and I feel for the actor too who like probably stressed out and worked hard as shit for this role and then you have literal nobodies and the media being like "this guy's not black enough", like I could understand a guy not giving a fuck about civil rights or equality and just caring about his check because you can be black and still not be black enough and you don't owe shit to the people saying the "you're not black enough" crap.

[@baronvonsatan]

@@StellarAvenger Oh wow. I had no idea... I'm so out of the loop

[@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan]

@@baronvonsatan and there was an old Captain America, they tested the serum on a black soldier first before giving it to Steve

[@trudy_triad]

My favourite part of this video is when you listed the multiple symbols of representation for ds men vs the one LS casting and pointing out how crazy it is for them to cry erasure for the latter. Ds men have generally been the biggest perpetuants of colorism against ds black women so if this casting is colorism against them, the chickens have come home to roost. Cock-a-doodle-doooooo

[@heralds]

I would love to say how great a job Phil LaMarr did as a VA for green lantern, he's honestly such a prolific dude. When I realized he was just one of the mad TV cast, and he was getting all these good ass voice roles I was blown away at the dudes range.

[@lacy144320]

Samurai jack too right? Talented dude

[@heralds]

ya

[@DanialTarki]

I’m taken back to Injustice.

[@y.g.mwangi1430]

And Static Shock. And Hector con Carne 😅

[@lorenzoshelby6061]

Some of the Madtv cast members went on to be prolific voice actors: Phil Lamar,Debra Wilson, Nicole Sullivan etc.

[@codyaldor8219]

For the algorithm, Thank you for helping me identify and understand the depths of my ignorance of these topics. Thank you for promoting Nebula. Thank you for showing me other creators with different perspectives, helping me broaden my understanding, and deepening my empathy on topics I would otherwise not have been aware of. With every video of yours both here and on the main channel, as well as the Nebula cuts, you have helped me identify and combat the prejudices and conditioning I received growing up.

[@JahmBProducts]

Will Smith IS LIGHT SKIN (same goes for Michael B. Jordan)... but he's him, that's why he gets a pass. He's considered black full stop no questions asked... even though he's light skin in reality. If he was cast as Green Lantern, no one would care about colorism, because he's accepted and seen as a black man even though he's not dark. People have conditions for who they like, and break rules for them.

[@funkyfreshkid08]

All I know is NOBODY but my lightskin ass was wondering why Chadwick Boseman chocolate ass, pause and rest in peace, was playing a light bright like Thurgood Marshall.

[@MacMars3000]

And Denzel played Malcolm lol 😂

[@funkyfreshkid08]

@@MacMars3000 "was the performance good/great?" Is honestly all that should matter.

[@fangal12]

@@funkyfreshkid08 Naw, that Nina Simone disrespect was egregious. If the skin color and features of the person you're playing actually factors into who they are at their core then you casting someone who is the antithesis of them is mad disrespectful

[@funkyfreshkid08]

@@fangal12 how did you feel when a dude that was cast as James Brown and Jackie Robinson, 2 dark-skinned black men, also played Thurgood Marshall?

[@fangal12]

@@funkyfreshkid08 was Thurgood Marshall really outspoken about embracing being light skin and learning how to love his skin and features because of how much hate he received because of it? That was how Nina Simone felt about her skin tone and full features.

[@limephoenix7428]

This was an interesting video. As an albino person who grew up in Nigeria, I find colorism kinda interesting here because on one side having lighter skin is seen as more appealing but as the same time being albino isn't considered to be sn appealing thing. I guess it probably has to do with the things that come with albinism like nystagmus and the squinted eyes but I also feel it's more than that

[@lavasharkflowers]

You know that light skinned to this people mean "mixed race" right? I am an actual light skinned Nigerian (no white parents or grandparents). A lot of Nigerians are ridiculously obsessed with light skin thinking that they would become finer after they bleach😂😂😂. Like as a fair person I have been praised and also been insulted for having this skin colour. I feel bad for the albino people in Africa as a whole. Y'all really have it hard. No it's not just the squinted eyes. It's because you guys look different and that's usually a problem across different civilizations in the world. I think ginger haired Nigerians might have the similar issues with the albino population; feeling like outcasts. I pray Africans in general learn embrace all skin tones.

[@anonymousprivet1227]

@@lavasharkflowers Correct, as a FBA my family is a mixture of dark and light skinned individuals, mostly light-skinned -red bone if Caribbean- to what the FBA US community call, white-passing. We are maternally from Cajun, Creole, Native American, East-West African, Asian, Irish, British decent like most southern FBAs from the region of the US that my maternal line stems from. I inherited the mixed race version of BA red hair which is usually called sandy brown when on the head of someone non-Anglo despite how light, dark, blonde, or red the hair is. We also refer to those who carry more of the Asian undertone as yellow. Bless all red-haired, albino, and other people who are born different in certain regions. I watched documentary of them being hunted for parts to be used as ritual magic and more. I wish I could bring you all to the US or a more suitable location for your health and safety. Ignorance is very dangerous and it's a country's reigning leadership that is responsible for putting an end to the ignorance.

[@NeroTheAntiHiro]

I don't believe it's not appealing. I think it's just so rare that its shocking/fascinating to see. Especially if you have red eyes. I've only ever known one, Jon. We called him the Albino Rhino cause he was just a large human and honestly, Im pretty sure he created the name. He embraced it and always gave EVERYONE a hug or at least offered. Blind as a bat too. By the time we kids all hit high school, he didn't get bullied, just teased but he seemed unaffected and nothing was ever out of pocket that, Im aware of. He had blue/grey eyes and whiteblonde hair though... Maybe that small difference made kids not notice his rare features as much. Not sure where I was going with this.

[@anonymousprivet1227]

@@NeroTheAntiHiro Trust and believe he was affected. He couldn't battle the ignorance of the world so he had to battle his internal insanities. He was forced, like many in his situation; including blacks amongst yt ignorant societoes, to reinvent himself mentally over and over again in order to remain sane and wholesome. You should be apologizing to him instead of pretending that you did no harm. He may never openingly admit his wounds because he has built so many walls.

[@pearlosibu]

Nigerian here. This is so real. I’d also never thought of this in the context of colorism. Funny enough, I have a friend who has albinism in his family. All he and his sister got is really light skin (not albino-like, just light) and grey-hazel eyes. We joke that they narrowly escaped. As you can imagine, they are incredibly rated. Whew.

[@EdertheJust]

The fact that we separated one black from another based on their shade of black is a straight colonialist mindset.

[@14ssjgoku]

Not FD calling John Stewart B List 😭😭

[@faith-by-faith]

It hurt more than I expected it to.

[@YetiCoolBrother]

Yeah nah, there is whole generation of people who grew up on Justice League & JL Unlimited so John is who they think of first when you say Green Lantern.

[@NickW855]

Go ask a grandma to name five superheroes. She won't say Green Lantern. B list.

[@husseinrose4883]

​@NickW855 Given iron man is B list and is carried by the movies, this metric means nothing

[@gir2195]

Hal is still too respected despite dating a literal child and becoming Parallax. It's not right!

[@Revellius21]

In another universe, Johnathan Majors is playing Green Lantern and FD made a video about that instead lol

[@AllMoneyInNoMoneyOut]

The movie we never got 😢

[@seeing-real]

Literally. I do wish we had that universe. I really enjoyed Johnathan Majors in all of his roles. I was so gassed up for Kane.... I liked that he had a "civil rights face". To me, that's a compliment!! I liked seeing people be mad that he was considered handsome because their anti-Black featurism was being directly challenged and featurists were made to feel salty daily. I expected that to expand out to Black women and hopefully Black ness in general. *sigh*

[@amigadecachorros]

Jonathan Majors definitely saw the future you laid out above. He had already planned out his entire career. There is another genius content creator Jessie Woo who calls him Jonathan Martin Luther Majors and loves to make fun of how delusional and self entitled he was. 😂😂😂😂

[@panashe5268]

Nah in another universe Damson Idris is playing Green Lantern. Stop recycling the same 2-3 actors in every major role when there’s talented actors who could use more exposure

[@jon-cx7jq]

​@seeing-real god this is so real. Really hope someone else takes the mantle

[@NANINani-wg6df]

0:50 lesser heralded is the only part I disagree on. Anyone who grew up even slightly nerd adjacent in the 2000s and saw the Justice League animated series fks heavy with John Stewart (and wally west low key) I feel like he was a lot of people's 1st exposure to green lantern. But idk this could be nostalgia talking

[@Newjerseydestroyer]

Unc from the Hal Jordan/Kyle Ranier era in terms of how long they've been in the spot like John Stewart is technically lesser heralded

[@somniumlucidus969]

1992 here and my first green lanturn was black

[@pyrosianheir]

​@Newjerseydestroyer which is wild, because John's usurped Kyle at this point for one of the two leading Lanterns in comics. Like, there's a reason they went to Hal and John for the show, and it's because they're the two that get the most page time. Kinda super frustrating for me, having read enough comics by now to know that Kyle and John would be the better lead off pair.

[@pyrosianheir]

No, you're right. The only reason I knew about Hal and Kyle first was because my dad used to buy the event collections like Crisis on Infinite Earth's and Infinity Gauntlet. A lot of the JLA stuff he got in the late 90s/early 00s had Kyle in it, and anything before that I only ever saw Hal.

[@YungNic]

Exactly! Im a 90's baby and i always thought Jon Stewart was THE Green Lantern, i didnt even know who tf Hal Jordan was until that Ryan Reynolds movie came out 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@mikeuniturtle3722]

Growing up in the 2000s watching the Justice League Animated series and only knowing John Stewart as the Green Lantern. I was surprised when I learned that he wasn't the first Green Lantern and that all the others were white.

[@drmajalis1583]

Same

[@YurinanAcquiline]

I knew about Hal Jordan only. So I was confused as a kid, when the Green Lantern was black. I ended up loving John Stewart. I also felt that way when we got Hawkwoman instead of Hawkman. 😂

[@meghanhenderson6682]

I still haven't come to accept that the "default" GL most people think of is Hal Jordan. When I hear "Green Lantern", it's always John Stewart in my head, and I'm always disappointed to see Hal.

[@crazy_leonean]

@@meghanhenderson6682I see

[@MortimerSeptimus]

I see that we are about the same age

[@wadesmart6708]

Great video my guy! Really loved how you broke it down, even the comparisons to other races and how they viewed. I watched Black Panther here in Los Angeles, then again in Poland, and the difference in the crowd reaction was noticeable when cheering for Black Panther, crowd, here cheered, crowd there sat on their hands. And also keeping it 💯 about how to get more eyeballs and money for your videos, love that part as much as the video. Keep up the great work❗️P.S. I don’t have a problem with the guy they chose to play Green Lantern by the way.

[@MCXL1140]

I was kind of hoping that you'd bring up Vin Diesel's independent film that he made before his mainstream success about the struggles of being a light skin actor that likely has some black heritage because while you're right he doesn't identify as black he also doesn't really know if he's black or not and doesn't want to collapse that and it's just a generally a good guy about it but went through a ton of casting struggles because everyone was like well you're not white but you're also not black enough.

[@TheHappybunny671]

I think he does identify as Black but yeah still it is really interesting

[@Honestly_Sisi]

“Doesn’t know if he’s Black”? Like he’s not clear ethnicity background?

[@tychodancer]

@@Honestly_SisiFrom what i just quickly googled it says he didnt know his biological father and even his mother wasnt sure on his father’s ethnicity.

[@loadishstone]

@@Honestly_SisiAlso black is not an ethnicity; ethnicity is pretty shakes itself but it definitely has more scientific legitimacy thank modern race categories.

[@d2dar459]

His film school movie 'Multi Facial'. 💯 Yeah, Vin Diesels case is a little more complicated than people care to grapple with.

[@alwayskozy]

The only issues I have with this casting, or any case of lighter skin actors being casted for dark skin characters, is when the darkness of their skin is tied to their character. When Jon Stewart was being created by Neal Adams, he fought to make John darker skin as there weren’t many (any) dark skin Black superheroes at the time. He used a skin color that hasn’t been used on any Black superhero up to that time. I like Aaron Pierre as an actor and he will do an amazing job as a Lantern. But I do understand the kickback.

[@shippendales8543]

I th8nk the colorism conversation is odd because 😂 Literally all black male superheroes I can think off are dark skinned Black women have it harder because they are usually always lighter And James Gunn cast Edi Gathergi as a dark skinned Mister Miracle So James isn't really casting one type of black male characters Adebayo the female lead of Peacemaker is a dark skinned plus size black woman So I appreciate James having some black diversity

[@seanm7539]

Are you freaking kidding me yes they were plenty of black dark skin superheroes. What are you talking about? Look at the Black Panther dark skin superhero Luke Cage black superhero OK light skinned Black people are still black. They might not be very dark, but they are still very much black because that’s what society sees biracial people as we are not white we will never be considered anything but black.

[@nine7403]

@@shippendales8543 black panther is darkskin woman tho, the next iron man is a dark skin women

[@foolishgenius]

As a black man who is in between dark and light skin I am so sick and tired of discussing colorism and race when it comes to my entertainment at this point let's just let the people who auditioned and beat out other people play the character he's still black therefore I do not care😂 that his skin is lighter he's still a black man and this isn't coming from some super young guy I'm 28 I'm so past this s*** it's annoying

[@Daboistax]

Having Hazel eyes is gonna help him when he says the Lantern's Oath.....gonna be good, big dawg....

[@CASdeDP]

I was having a conversation with my father this weekend about colorism, we live in the Dominican Republic and it's definitely a thing here and in all Latin American countries, my dad (who is a 70 year old black man) said that there actually isn't any of that or racism here and that when people "joke' about people's complexion it's all tongue in cheek and nobody actually feels any kind of way. I didn't wanna debate with him cause obviously age plays a huge factor into the perception of these things being a serious issue cause it's been normalized in most communities, but you just got to look at our presidents, TV personalities, etc. You'd think most people here are either white or atleast white passing.

[@demetriusmorris8436]

You’re looking good dude! Great work in the gym!

[@MilkyCao]

just wanted to briefly share my own experience on the subject of colorism, i'm hispanic. both parents are from different ethnicities, me and my sister are very light skined, my mom gets mistaken for Filipino all the time, with darker skin, and my dad gets mistaken for white. Back in highschool i went to a fairly mixed school (but still very white leaning) i used to see my friends of darker skin get stopped and pulled over frequently, where as my sister and myself didn't have this issue because of how light our skin color were. I never took this for granted and recognized immediately my skincolor put me in a safer position in life which annoys the heck outa me for various reasons, I talked to my dad about this and he shared similar experiences growing up in sf in the 70's yeah no being lighter skinned definitely affords you a ton of privileges, even if your friend group gives you shit for it. on a darker note, back in the mid 2010's the president of the philipines started a program that legalized the killing of darker skinned members of society if they were out late at night. they encouraged vigilantism. Colorism is a thing. Colorism scares me. Period.

[@FredTheRed27]

Legalized the killing of darker skinned people at night?? can you give a source for that so i can read more about this?

[@erikeulenstein8710]

​@FredTheRed27 I believe this is referencing the war on drugs that their president did in 2016. It basically gave incentives to cops and vigilante groups to kill suspected drug users mostly in the inner city. They would pay cops per person they killed. This resulted in more darker skinned people being killed, hope that helps and is accurate from what I remember.

[@loadishstone]

hispanic means you speak spanish or come from cultural background of spanish speakers at most. Also white latinos exist because whiteness is based on social and cultural perception. If you look white, pass white, you are white. Why do we keep forgetting race ISN’T a real biological marker.

[@Joyful_Smiles]

​@@FredTheRed27 The news reported it as him eliminating Dr*g addicts and Muslim extremists. Very little was reported on his bombing his own citizens but he did that as well. There is an elimination going on of indigenous black Asians but it's happening in multiple countries.

[@Joyful_Smiles]

​@@FredTheRed27 I think Vice did a report on it or it was one of the younger media platforms. The US military was supporting the former president for going after Muslim extremists. But they were just young men who had no access to power or weapons.

[@mcnooj82]

I don't recall the Simu Liu stuff being at all about the shade of color his skin was. It was more about general attractiveness to the tastes of Chinese audiences and the way their homegrown male movie stars tend to look Like, I know how light-skinned male Chinese stars are is an important part of the beauty standards accepted in China.... but I just don't recall that trait specifically being called out regarding Simu Liu. It was more about facial structure (face, eyes, nose, etc) Could be wrong though (shrug)

[@mrbabyears]

Excellent vid fam. Very accurate and informative. Well done Sir.

[@blerdster8448]

There’s a reason why the running joke throughout the 90s and 2000s was the phrase “lightskin brothers are making a comeback.”

[@josesosa3337]

????

[@Heleous281]

I was about to write that dissertation....but you cooked on this one

[@denimamerican679]

Im watching till the end because this is enlightening! God gift.

[@ABenAbides]

I never recognized the association of darkness with masculinity before, but now that I think about it you see it in characters like Batman and Superman. It also makes sense of my experiences in dating where as a dark muscular man a lot of the women who have pursued me expected me to be more stern than I actually am. Like... I'm driven and all of that, but I'm pretty gentle when it comes to other people and I always wondered why that was a surprise to them haha

[@simongrant1015]

Watching B-Sides on my B-Day. The world may be healing

[@Flow_Easy]

Happy B day 🎉

[@corneliahanimann2173]

Happy happy birthday!!

[@drakemoon4298]

happy birthday!

[@MrGrandure]

Happy bday, mine was yesterday fam

[@banonKING]

Happy Bday!

[@mags6346]

I know it was probably a lot of extra effort to show your work and provide the background for your take, but i really appreciate how grounded this was. Thanks for sharing your take

[@JuniusJones]

I'm light. I'm tired of us only getting roles in Tyler Perry-esque B movies.

[@duttreacts4780]

Man shut up John is dark not light

[@DrewbattleTheGreat]

@@JuniusJones cry about it

[@JuniusJones]

@@DrewbattleTheGreat lol. My statement was tongue-in-cheek, but go off Trumper.

[@ZStephens]

Blame Shemar Moore my guy 😅😅😅😅

[@JuniusJones]

​@ZStephens i remember when i was younger and still accepted him as our social avatar 😅😅😅

[@J.A.M.-xg7cy]

Having lived through the “Morris Day to Morris Chestnut jump”, I’m not worried about darker skin Black male representation, despite what I see on the women’s side of things. We’re somewhat covered per the points made. He was Black enough in Rebel Ridge.

[@adey126]

I didn’t want him bc he’s British. Like there are no black Americans to play a black American superhero. Same thing with Henry Superman plus Henry can’t act, anyway. Cause I thought he was good in Rebel Ridge. How dare you say John is a B lister as if he isn’t the first green lantern the majority of ppl know of from the 90/2000s Justice League. I didn’t know the white ones existed until the DC animated movies.

[@KevlarNinja]

I hate the fact *this* is how I found out Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur was cancelled. 😦

[@johnwerner69]

@@KevlarNinja same!

[@savlosavage]

The thing is ... people have to realize scheduling along with other projects not being done .... causes a casting like this .... hes PERFECT for this casting.... he has the eyes ... they spend less on CG ... and they auditioned literally whoever wanyed the part ... he obviously has the voice and build ... the man is 6-4 and built like a damn pro wrestler .... i mean he has the face of john stewart ... his acting is on range with the character.... there simply wasnt anyone else who could do it after seeing him in rebel ridge

[@legoshirocha]

Great response 😎👍

[@weeznaz8195]

Disclaimer I’m a white guy, but this Green Lantern controversy is the dumbest thing I’ve heard in a long time. Jon Stewart is a black character, and black people are mad that he’s milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate… this actor is probably the best actor who auditioned. He looks good for the role to me.

[@sav1938]

Because the black phenotype is so diverse there's honestly no way to please everyone I'm a African American man btw

[@Ryukachoo]

Where in the good GOD DAMN is my Lupita as Storm

[@aristotle6510]

Lmfaooo

[@christineherrmann205]

Honestly, she'd be awesome as Storm.

[@hitsugayatoshiro3331]

It’s sad that Beyoncé is not a great actress because she would’ve been the perfect Storm.

[@brianthekillabro5534]

That’s not even dc

[@Eniggma39]

Asking the real question

[@Red_Von]

Colorism in movies mostly affects women in movies and that goes into beauty standards. Dark skin women are very underrepresented. Especially if they are supposed to be desirable and attractive. Men on the other hand don’t have this problem. If anything it’s the opposite. Men are usually dark skin when it comes to comic book/action movies. So I don’t really care that the green lantern is light skin.

[@annmariebusu9924]

Agree it's kinda of a positive.

[@b_dockk]

Thisssssss

[@GenoSegersGSWOW]

Hey I work in the industry and let me start with this, I believe it has very little to do with colorism. I also believe that most really don't understand that most of the people making the content have no idea about skin tone in the so-called black community. It's about money, if they think one actor will gain more eyeballs, that's who will win the role. it's not show business, it's business show. Sure, there could be some issues for some people who are insecure about their complexion, but these issues are beyond the thought process for the Hollywood casting world. I just don't believe they actually care, for example, nobody say's a word about the entire lite complexioned cast of "Fresh Prince of Belair" being recasted as darker skinned actors in the remake. Yet, when Vivian Banks was recasted by a lighter actress, people went off. When Chadwick Boseman playing the role of Thurgood Marshall?......NOTHING, Where is outrage for Chadwick playing a man who could have been mistook for so-called white? I just think if the people who are in control of telling these stories couldn't care less. Kinda like so-called black people not caring about a darker skinned actor playing a role of a person who was lighter. Thoughts?

[@tesmith47]

You are wrong

[@GenoSegersGSWOW]

@@tesmith47 Please explain..

[@alma6six]

Chadwick playing Marshall was RIDICULOUS 🤦🏽‍♀️

[@GenoSegersGSWOW]

@@alma6six Let me be clear, I love his work. I think he could have been even greater had he lived. That said, I believe casting him as Marshall was simply a money grab.

[@JawnLouis]

I’ll support it as long as it seems like a competent show but I had being fan casting a bald darker GL since I’m of the generation that only knew of a black GL outside the awful Ryan Reynolds’s movie I skipped watching Edit: I also have Martin Man hunter as a black man because of that one JLU episode he retired on a farm with an older black woman

[@faith4657]

@@JawnLouis what was so bad about the GL movie. How was it so bad?

[@ShadyLife101]

As a light skin man, thank you for explaining this complicated dynamic.

[@bwbh117]

Same here. Although I do find it unintentionally funny that even in the definition of colorism he read, it completely ignores us light-skin people being discriminated against. 😆

[@jeremybstudentpilot5315]

@@bwbh117I hate how we divide ourselves even more. I’m happy the brother got the green lantern role. He’s a handsome, marketable, charismatic actor.

[@Greyraven21]

So glad u addressed this❤❤

[@MatthewNewman]

Need a blue lantern movie, they're a bunch of space psychiatrists and civil workers.

[@angelicthecaretaker777]

Love the versatility of topics you bring. Your content is always so refreshing and entertaining.

[@UnpopularOpinion3000]

New to your channel. Love hearing you break down all of this. 😘

[@tkm1875]

4 things that need to be kept in mind... 1. Non-black people see all of us as darker skin. 2. Comic book artists rarely depict the nuance of skin complexion of black people with black characters so casting Aaron is not wrong at all, it's appropriate and realistic because we all don't look one way. 3. Most of the black onscreen heroes (and villains) so far, especially on the Marvel side of things, have all been of darker skin and it's important for all of our shades be seen. 4. Aaron is not that damn light to be making all this fake-fuss, lol.

[@crimeman5587]

Fun fact: Green lantern rings are normally incapable of lethal force, making lanterns infinitely more ethical than any American pig

[@crazy_leonean]

I see

[@MarkyMark1221]

Notably during Sinestro corp wars they turned it off, thus Fig kinda dry snitched on himself not reading comics calling Green Lantern copaganda

[@BarefootCM]

​@MarkyMark1221 if you think copaganda and issues around police begins and ends at lethal force you don't really understand either. You can do copaganda without ever even depicting physical violence.

[@crimeman5587]

@@BarefootCM agreed, it's absolutely still copaganda

[@CheckandCheque]

Wow just discovered this channel and subscribed so fast I left hand prints indented on my phone. Love how you covered this topic intelligently.

[@Magnesium-BasedLifeform-i9e]

I’m south asian, but I always saw dark skin as more masculine and light skin as more feminine. I recognize that as inherently problematic, of course. But the skin color and gender role thing has cultural considerations

[@pixiel1xie]

@@Magnesium-BasedLifeform-i9e Yeah i mean that’s why dark skinned black men are far more represented than dark skinned black women. On men, it makes them strong and masculine and desirable in the heterosexual paradigm. A masculine woman, on the other hand, is completely undesirable. I’ve heard a similar problem from my Indian friends, where the South Indian women said they were perceived as more masculine and less attractive bc of their dark skin.

[@lezlieanne21]

In brightest day In blackest night

[@ericosagie3046]

No evil shall escape my sight

[@thejenkinsfamily7179]

Let those who worship evil’s might, BEWARE MY POWER GREEN LANTERNS LIGHT!!!!

[@atticusv668]

I think it's interesting seeing this from a UK perspective. Lighter-skinned and biracial black actors tend to have a much easier time getting roles (or particularly good ones for that matter) over here than their darker-skinned counterparts. It's why we see actors like John Boyega and Daniel Kaluuya go to America to get their big breakthroughs, because the UK entertainment industry just doesn't give them any favours. In contrast, their lighter-skinned peers don't tend to have the same luck moving to the states, in fact they get comparatively less good parts (see Regé-Jean Page for example). Aaron Pierre really does seem to be a huge outlier in this.

[@jazmineabelard3397]

Add Damson Idris and Idris Elba into the list of British actors that got their big break in America.

[@emilyonizuka4698]

if I'm understanding correctly, I'm seeing some overlap with my own experiences as an east asian woman. dark skinned black men getting representation in a very fetishized way, much like my own (don't get me started on memoirs of a geisha). it's still very problematic representation, but it is representation that a lot of others don't get. we can discuss better representation while also getting our bag that we can get.

[@Lastofthefreenames]

I mean if your getting the bag you are probably being complicit

[@pixiel1xie]

@@emilyonizuka4698 The complication is that East Asian women are fetishized for a characteristic that is uncomplicatedly a privilege. Light skinned Asian women get better treatment period, and the fetishization plays into that. Dark skinned black men exist in a quandary where the dark skin makes them more masculine and attractive, which are certainly desirable traits in a patriarchy, but simultaneously casts them as violent, unintelligent, brutish, and immoral, which is obviously less desirable and plays into the imagery that gets them killed by racist institutions like the police.

[@emilyonizuka4698]

@@Lastofthefreenames anyone: *works and makes money* "omg you're complicit in the system"

[@dmoffitt1914]

Darker Black men usually play action heroes or villains. Lighter skin black men usually play dramatic, and romantic roles

[@kareem8250]

What works of entertainment are you referring to?

[@dmoffitt1914]

@kareem8250 movies and tv since this is the scope of the controversy and video

[@MadeByDW]

Y’Iann Noel (or however you spell it) was definitely my personal choice for John Stewart, but I feel like Aaron Pierre will do a good job. I like the casting, and I’m excited we’re finally getting a live action John Stewart on screen. Really glad you took the time to breakdown everything, I agreed with everything you said, except John being a B-Tier superhero. That’s insane 😂

[@MrGrandure]

Jonathan Majors made a way for Aaron when he ran from that woman in Manhattan

[@henriettebopda5895]

That's it!!

[@4lifemusiclova]

😂😭😭😭 cause otherwise he’d probably be playing it lol

[@MrGrandure]

@@4lifemusiclova right

[@Goddess_Infinity]

But JM is unattractive compared to Aaron . Soooo

[@razatiger22]

@@Goddess_Infinity Nah, he had charm to him. A lot of woman thought he was attractive. Watch Love Craft Country, he was great in it.

[@sebastiangorka200]

Agree with almost everything except "tall dark and handsome". The "dark" in there is about hair color, not skin color and that is not only true almost universally, it becomes more true the further from the US one is. For example in Russian(and I assume most other slavic languages)saying someone is light or dark without further qualifications is generally understood as being about hair color.

[@razatiger22]

It's true, but the saying was very easily co-opted by darker skin men who are "tall dark and handsome".

[@sebastiangorka200]

@@razatiger22 thats not what i meant nor do i agree with that

[@YungNic]

My thing is... Im a 90's baby... And i never thought of Hal Jordan when i thought of Green Lantern... i think we All thought of Jon Stewart 🤷🏾‍♂️ Cuz he was the one that u always saw on the animated tv shows back on WB and Fox 👌💯

[@eridejj]

I didn't know that's why so many British actors play Americans, wow

[@kingrix]

Not to be that guy, but Black Panther was created more than 5 years before John Stewart. Sam Wilson Falcon may essentially be a sidekick, but he first joined Captain America in 1969. John Stewart did beat Luke Cage by about 6 months, Storm by over 3 years, and Black Lightning by almost 6 years. So not quite the first black superhero, but pretty damn close, and certainly the first one for DC.

[@jayconstantine3762]

Keep up the good work 💯

[@GrapplerGray1209]

Don't forget Vanessa Lewis from Virtua Fighter! Her debut in Virtua Fighter 4 made her a powerful and beautiful piece of dark chocolate cake. Virtua Fighter 5 they took out a few ingredients.

[@rubyreduxx]

😂🤣