DC's Live Action 'Titans' Show Casts Black Actress For Character Who Is Not Black

Bryan Michalek | August 24, 2017
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DC Comics recently announced that it would be creating a live-action version of the popular comic series "Teen Titans," giving die-hard fans plenty of reasons to jump for joy.

But it looks like DC might be more concerned with appearing diverse than staying true to the series.

In the show's most recent casting announcement, the character of Starfire -- originally an orange-skinned, green-eyed, red headed warrior princess from another planet -- will be played by Anna Diop. Diop has played roles on shows like "24: Legacy" and "Quantico," as well as starring in several movies, which definitely gives her the acting chops to play a main character on a DC show. The problem is that historically this character, although never referred to as Caucasian, has never been black.

While this may seem like my attempt to quell diversity, it's actually a plea to include some. This casting only does one thing: appeal to social justice warriors who think that production companies that don't change the race of their characters are inherently racist.

The Titans series features an incredible list of characters from several racial and ethnic backgrounds that deserve to be shown on a live-action series. Some of the series' most popular characters are African-Americans, including Cyborg, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Tanya Spears (Power-Girl), and Static Shock. All these characters have been featured on DC's animated series because they are seriously awesome characters. Beyond that, there are characters who are Hispanic, Middle Eastern and Asian, not to mention the number of characters who are from other worlds and dimensions. 

Instead of appealing to this crowd that simply wants to change characters for diversity's sake, why not include any one of the popular characters who actually bring diversity to the team? If "whitewashing" gets a bad rep in Hollywood because it changes a character's ethnicity, then this is no different. Comic book fans want to see the characters come off the page into live-action creations, they want to see these heroes and heroines brought to life, but not in this way. 

That's not to say that diversity is a bad thing, and changing a character's looks often works just fine. For example, the fan-campaign to hire Idris Elba to play James Bond works because he is a suave character who is known for his wit and effectiveness at getting the job done, not the color of his skin. Starfire, on the other hand, is known for her signature look. 

Unfortunately for die-hard comic book fans, it looks this time around, staying true to the character isn't in the cards.

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