WEBVTT 00:00:00.329 --> 00:00:02.809 Vlog Every Day in August, whoo! 00:00:03.440 --> 00:00:04.580 Los Angeles! 00:00:05.020 --> 00:00:07.980 A year and a half ago, it was announced that Sony and Marvel had gotten into an agreement 00:00:07.990 --> 00:00:12.320 so that Spider-Man could finally join the Marvel Cinematic Universe and I did a video 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:14.969 about that, which I'll link to in the doobly-do. 00:00:14.969 --> 00:00:19.789 Basically it was that Spider-Man doesn't have to be a white guy and, in fact, I thought 00:00:19.789 --> 00:00:21.960 it made more sense if he weren't one. 00:00:21.960 --> 00:00:24.740 Here it is August 2016 and there are rumors? 00:00:24.740 --> 00:00:25.740 Has it been confirmed? 00:00:25.740 --> 00:00:30.330 That Zendaya will be playing Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man: Homecoming. 00:00:30.330 --> 00:00:33.630 And my response to this is: Delight! 00:00:33.630 --> 00:00:36.570 I'm so happy about this possibility, it's gonna be awesome! 00:00:36.570 --> 00:00:42.000 But there's been a lot of backlash on the internet and I want to speak to that backlash. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:46.180 Back in February 2015, I talked about how the aspects of Peter Parker as Spider-Man 00:00:46.180 --> 00:00:49.460 that mattered had nothing to do with the color of his skin. 00:00:49.460 --> 00:00:54.530 Ah, and so now, I could, potentially, argue that the characteristics of Mary Jane that 00:00:54.530 --> 00:00:57.190 matter have nothing to do with the color of her skin. 00:00:57.190 --> 00:00:59.050 But if I were to make that argument? 00:00:59.050 --> 00:01:03.301 I would be saying that the premise of the backlash on the internet is valid. 00:01:03.301 --> 00:01:09.000 That there is something of substance to people saying that Mary Jane Watson should not be 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:11.720 Zendaya for x, y, and z reasons. 00:01:11.720 --> 00:01:16.100 I would say to you that because she's a made-up character, there are only a few reasons why 00:01:16.100 --> 00:01:21.600 you would want her to be specifically the white, redheaded character from the comics. 00:01:21.600 --> 00:01:25.510 And I wrote down some bullet points for myself, so I wouldn't forget. 00:01:25.510 --> 00:01:31.100 The first reason why you might be upset that Mary Jane in the movie would not be white 00:01:31.100 --> 00:01:36.780 with scarlet red hair is: You don't realize that Mary Jane Watson isn't real. 00:01:37.600 --> 00:01:38.100 I... 00:01:38.110 --> 00:01:41.530 If you have some sort of mental illness that makes it difficult for you to understand what 00:01:41.530 --> 00:01:43.820 is real and what is not, then I feel bad for you. 00:01:43.820 --> 00:01:45.040 I'm very sorry! 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:49.860 But that still doesn't change the fact: she's not real. 00:01:49.860 --> 00:01:55.450 Second possibility: Your demand for MJ to have red hair is actually disguising your 00:01:55.450 --> 00:02:00.570 racist distaste for anyone who is not white. 00:02:00.570 --> 00:02:01.729 I mean. 00:02:01.729 --> 00:02:02.729 Check yourself. 00:02:02.729 --> 00:02:04.690 Is that what's going on? 00:02:04.690 --> 00:02:11.980 Reason 2B: Your demand for MJ to have white skin is a not very disguised sign of your 00:02:11.980 --> 00:02:14.660 racist distaste for anybody who's not white. 00:02:14.940 --> 00:02:17.280 Again, check yourself. 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:20.800 Is it that you want Mary Jane to be white? 00:02:20.810 --> 00:02:24.560 Or is it that you want everybody to be white? 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:27.600 And the last reason that I could think of for you to protest this so hard? 00:02:27.600 --> 00:02:33.599 Is that you are so used to having an unequal representation in your favor, as a white person, 00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:37.980 that anyone who looks at all different from you getting any representation feels like 00:02:37.980 --> 00:02:40.650 it's an attack on you. 00:02:40.650 --> 00:02:42.370 It's not. 00:02:42.370 --> 00:02:47.620 It's making one character in a very white franchise not white. 00:02:47.620 --> 00:02:51.380 And if that upsets you so much, think about why that is. 00:02:51.380 --> 00:02:56.380 Is it because you've had so much representation of white people that that's what you're used 00:02:56.380 --> 00:02:57.380 to? 00:02:57.380 --> 00:03:00.680 And any change against that freaks you out? 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:02.450 Makes you feel uncomfortable? 00:03:02.450 --> 00:03:08.110 Makes it seem like all of a sudden, you are not the centered audience for this story? 00:03:08.110 --> 00:03:09.760 Maybe you shouldn't be! 00:03:09.760 --> 00:03:15.510 Maybe you've got a million other representations in media that are for you. 00:03:15.510 --> 00:03:22.130 And this one character in this one product, showing one part of a story, doesn't have 00:03:22.130 --> 00:03:24.349 to be about you. 00:03:24.349 --> 00:03:31.120 And I would say, "It's time for us to have fewer people representing white people in 00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:36.760 media and more representations of other types of people in media." 00:03:36.760 --> 00:03:37.890 It's time. 00:03:37.890 --> 00:03:44.730 If we get to a point where every single movie is majority or exclusively not white people? 00:03:44.730 --> 00:03:49.630 Then, you'll have been put into a disadvantageous position and I'll expect you to protest. 00:03:49.630 --> 00:03:51.069 It'll be very reasonable. 00:03:51.069 --> 00:03:52.830 But until that time? 00:03:52.830 --> 00:03:57.440 As long as people who look like you make up the vast majority of films? 00:03:57.440 --> 00:04:01.560 You can just choose not to go if you like, and the rest of us will enjoy it. 00:04:02.160 --> 00:04:07.459 So, as I said, I specifically wasn't going to try to justify MJ's potential non-whiteness 00:04:07.459 --> 00:04:13.560 in Zendaya to any of the flipping out fanboys, because their flipping out is inherently 00:04:13.560 --> 00:04:14.560 unreasonable. 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:21.250 Zendaya is a fun and excellent actor who looks like she could portray a model who has confidence. 00:04:21.250 --> 00:04:22.999 She's a great Mary Jane Watson character. 00:04:22.999 --> 00:04:25.490 Why would I have to defend that? 00:04:25.490 --> 00:04:33.069 Tell me in the comments your thoughts on WHY people are so upset about a potential not-white 00:04:33.069 --> 00:04:35.819 Mary Jane Watson. 00:04:35.819 --> 00:04:36.819 Are you one of those people? 00:04:36.819 --> 00:04:38.930 Feel free to give me your reasons. 00:04:38.930 --> 00:04:40.330 Perhaps I missed something. 00:04:40.330 --> 00:04:44.110 Or tell me anything that matters to you, because I want to know what matters to you. 00:04:44.110 --> 00:04:47.960 And we've come to the end of my video, thank you so much for making it this far. 00:04:47.960 --> 00:04:50.020 Here at the end is where I always say: 00:04:50.020 --> 00:04:51.099 Tomorrow 00:04:51.099 --> 00:04:53.580 will be even better! 00:04:53.580 --> 00:04:54.740 Hopefully not for racists.