In defense of Laurence Fishburne as Perry White…

Yesterday, when Laurence Fishburne was announced that he is officially on board to play Perry White for Zack Snyder’s Superman “Man of Steel” film, this news got mixed reactions of course. Some love it. Some hate it. For those who hate it, just don’t like the idea of a black Perry White. I’m reading other blogs and message boards with fans giving feedback on this news, and I’m seeing so much hateful and racist postings about this news.

Seriously people?  This isn’t the first time the Superman movies experimented with a black character. Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) from “Superman III” anyone?

I think turning Perry White into a black man is a great idea. It’ll bring in a whole new audience and will bring in more black people to see the movie.

Jackie Cooper as Perry White was pretty good, but he wasn’t mean and aggressive enough. In the comics, Perry is supposed to be a mean and tough guy to get along with. I think Laurence will fit the mean and tough guy role just perfectly.

The new “Spiderman” comics just turned Spiderman into a black and bi-sexual guy after Peter Parker was killed. I’m sure other comic book superheroes experimented with black characters too. So there’s nothing wrong with turning Perry White black. Keep in mind that Perry White wasn’t a very big character. He was just a supporting character. You can make changes with other characters, all you want, but you can’t change Superman himself into a black person.

Perry White have been the same character for over 30 years, so it don’t hurt to change him around a bit. I think Laurence would give the Perry White role a powerful performance that might be good enough for an Oscar nod, possibly.

I mean, this isn’t the first time Zack Snyder “Man of Steel” has been making changes with the other characters in the Superman franchise. Like Ma and Pa Kent for example. Ma and Pa Kent were meant to be an elderly couple, but Snyder hired Diane Lane and Kevin Costner to play them who are both a little younger. Lois Lane is not a redhead, yet they got Amy Adams to play her. Henry Cavill is a British actor and yet Christopher Reeve/Brandon Routh were both American actors to play Superman. See? They’re making changes with all the characters, not just Perry White.

When they cast Jimmy Olsen which I assume which will be next, don’t be surprised if Jimmy could be black, Asian, Mexican, etc. Jimmy could even be much older too. He could even be a little teenager.

I bet they just want this Superman movie to be more realistic so it can feel real and believable. I think Laurence Fishburne is fine casting. I really love the casting to this movie so far. I haven’t been disappointed with any of them yet. Hopefully they cast someone good for Jimmy Olsen.

Kev

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