No, no, no let's get things straight here. I did one interview about this and then the quotes get taken out of context by other media outlets that picked it up. Let's go back to zero here. Iron Fist to me is NOT a case of WHITEWASHING because the character historically has been white. I don't buy CULTURAL APPROPRIATION because it goes against everything the master, Bruce Lee, taught. White, black, yellow, brown, short, tall, skinny, fat Martial Arts are for everyone. Some of the best martial artists in the world are not Asian. George Saint Pierre is white as white can be. Anderson Silvia is black. They are both living legends and not Asians. So to say Iron Fist is a case of cultural appropriation is not right in my book. Could they have done the right thing and cast against race? Damn right they could have and that is a problem in Hollywood with producers and casting directors for not being able to think outside the box BUT what if they did cast Danny Rand as Asian? I remember reading a review of ep1s1 of Badlands by an Asian girl on Buzzfeed who said Sunny was basically a walking stereotype and the show was shit for it. Would the same community call Danny Rand a stereotype if he was cast as Asian claiming Asians only get cast as martial artists? I know my fellow Asian Americans are angry but we have to fight the right fight here. Iron Fist should be criticized for one thing only and that's mediocre action scenes. When the whole show is about the best "martial artist in the world" then, to quote myself here, "they need to step the fuck up". The actors on Badlands put themselves through the ringer for two years trying to be good martial artists. 6 hours a day for 5 weeks, 5 months of filming and then months of extra work in the off season. We kick ass because we work hard. So I have no respect for a "martial arts show" after seeing the literal blood, sweat and tears our cast puts itself through. And that is what is wrong with Iron Fist. I'll continue about Ghost In The Shell after I go see it in a few hours but my point here is we can't jump to point fingers at everything. We have to pick the right fight.
