How many A-list fictional characters are there who are non-white?

[KRYPTON INC.]

You do realise there's a fairly small group of fictional characters that would tick all of these boxes regardless of race or gender anyway don't you?

An A-list fictional character would be a character in which I could take a picture of the character out into the street & walk up to people of all different ages, races, cultures, genders & sizes with 99.9% of them knowing exactly who it is & not getting them confused with someone else. There are only a handful of characters you could do that with.

All of that is true however that still begs the question of why so many decades after the civil rights era and the dismantling of Jim Crow, the unyoking of so many countries from colonial European control and on and on that you have such a dearth of widely recognized non-white fictional characters.

 

[B]

All of that is true however that still begs the question of why so many decades after the civil rights era and the dismantling of Jim Crow, the unyoking of so many countries from colonial European control and on and on that you have such a dearth of widely recognized non-white fictional characters.

It's a tough question & it's hard to exactly pinpoint as to the exact reasoning. There are popular & widely recognised non-white fictional characters, but there aren't any I can immediately think off, that I'd class as being A-list & widely recognised everywhere on the same level of (sticking to superheroes) the likes of Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Captain America or Wonder Woman, at least off the top of my head.

 

[Lantern Venom]

Dad was raised on a farm literally in the middle of nowhere in Puerto Rico. Mom was born in Manhattan. Both dirt poor as children (and both still had TV sets as youths in the family). Grew up in New York City until I was 13 then went to High School in rural Pennsylvania, and I mean, people still hunting for sustenance purposes rural.

Perhaps with your last stop you might have gotten a little of the culture in which I grew up. There were varying degrees of hostility from adults toward TV, particularly fictional television. The first use of the word "boob tube" (boob as in stupid) originated in the '60s, and I heard a lot of that sentiment from Boomers, and even worse from the Greatest Generation. Kids were supposed to hunt/fish/hike/mountain bike etc in their free time. As you might expect, I didn't exactly fit in.

All that aside, even the shows that you mentioned in your previous post are far removed from the TV/cinema/printed fare of today. The kind of characters on which current grandparents and great grandparents were raised, for the most part, are far removed from the characters of the last 25 years.

You do realise there's a fairly small group of fictional characters that would tick all of these boxes regardless of race or gender anyway don't you?

An A-list fictional character would be a character in which I could take a picture of the character out into the street & walk up to people of all different ages, races, cultures, genders & sizes with 99.9% of them knowing exactly who it is & not getting them confused with someone else. There are only a handful of characters you could do that with.

Yes, there are only a few characters who can come close to universal recognition.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

You do realise there's a fairly small group of fictional characters that would tick all of these boxes regardless of race or gender anyway don't you?

An A-list fictional character would be a character in which I could take a picture of the character out into the street & walk up to people of all different ages, races, cultures, genders & sizes with 99.9% of them knowing exactly who it is & not getting them confused with someone else. There are only a handful of characters you could do that with.

I'm pretty sure the list of universally popular white heroes is fairly long.

 

[Breogan]

Zorro
Sinbad the Sailor
Mulan
Carmen
Esmarelda
Anansi
Mowgli
Aladin
Othelo
Captain Nemo

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

If video game characters like Kratos would count as A-list, then I think Goku could, too.

yeah I was about to say I don't see Goku as white at all. Asian to me

 

[wampa1]

Shaft

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Mr. Sulu? Is he recognized mainly as George Takei?

 

[B]

I'm pretty sure the list of universally popular white heroes is fairly long.

Fitting your listed criteria for being A-list? Widely popular/well known heroes across all ages (& genders) & instantly recognisable by everyone? That list isn't going to be that long.

 

[chaseter]

So the entire cast of Fast and Furious are household names and can carry their own 300 m dollar blockbuster?

The Rock, Tyrese, Ludacris, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez are big names....they are all huge stars.

You seem to be moving the goal posts to a)criticize something and b)have another Black Panther praise thread

Or both. How do we know if someone COULD have a $300m movie? I named household names as per your OP...what’s your point? Do you only want established movies with the top billed star? AND global reconginition? AND be familiar to a 6 year old and a 60 year old? That list would be like 10 characters total of any race.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

The Rock, Tyrese, Ludacris, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez are big names....they are all huge stars.

You seem to be moving the goal posts to a)criticize something and b)have another Black Panther praise thread

Or both. How do we know if someone COULD have a $300m movie? I named household names as per your OP...what’s your point? Do you only want established movies with the top billed star? AND global reconginition? AND be familiar to a 6 year old and a 60 year old? That list would be like 10 characters total of any race.

I'm moving the goal post or are people ignoring my 2nd post after OP?

I mean some of these suggestions are scrapping the bottom of the barrel or simply a don't qualify as A list by any barometer.

Also...

A list actors =/= A list fictional characters

Though you should ask the Rock if he thinks Tyrese is an A list actor, lol.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Fitting your listed criteria for being A-list? Widely popular/well known heroes across all ages (& genders) & instantly recognisable by everyone? That list isn't going to be that long.

Superman
Batman
Spider-man
Iron Man
Thor
Captain America
Tarzan
Sherlock Holmes
James Bond
Harry Potter
Mario
Jason Bourne
Ethan Hunt
Captain Kirk
Spock
Neo
Wolverine
Sarah Connor
Katniss
Han Solo
Obi Wan
Luke Skywalker
Rocky Balboa
The Terminator (T-800)
Forrest Gump
Marty McFly
Captain Jack Sparrow
The Dude
Tyler Durden
John McClane
Ellen Riply
Indiana Jones
Homer Simpson

VS

No name characters from Fast and the Furious
Sinbad the Sailor
Carmen
Esmarelda
Anansi
Mowgli
Othelo
Storm
Sailor Moon
Ash Ketchum
Lando Calrissian
Alex Cross
Lincoln Rhymes
Tonto
John Coffee
Agent J
Murtaugh
DJango
Maria from the West Side Story
Vixen
Mr. Terrific
Amanda Waller.

I omitted several minority characters mentioned who exist in a gray area to point out that I'm not exactly the one moving goal posts.

 

[Fincher]

Well, I'd definitely kick Tyler Durden or The Dude off the list before I'd kick off Goku/Sailor Moon/Dora the Explorer. I'd be really surprised if my mom had heard of either of them.

 

[Donner]

You're missing a few.

Mulan
Pocahontas
Lilo (from Lilo and Stitch)
Jay from Men in Black
Tony Montana can be debated as Latino
Nick Fury (movies)
Zorro
Blade

 

[Donner]

Also, some of the most popular fictional characters of all time aren't even people. Yoda, ET, Mickey Mouse, etc etc.

A lot of this depends on the time frame. Today's kids wouldn't know Indiana Jones or Ethan Hunt. Those movies will fade away.

 

[Iron_Stark]

Zorro is pretty well known as far as I can tell. Even without mentioning the Banderas movies.

The hat, the mask, the cape, and especially the sword.

 

[B]

Spoiler

Superman
Batman
Spider-man
Iron Man
Thor
Captain America
Tarzan
Sherlock Holmes
James Bond
Harry Potter
Mario
Jason Bourne
Ethan Hunt
Captain Kirk
Spock
Neo
Wolverine
Sarah Connor
Katniss
Han Solo
Obi Wan
Luke Skywalker
Rocky Balboa
The Terminator (T-800)
Forrest Gump
Marty McFly
Captain Jack Sparrow
The Dude
Tyler Durden
John McClane
Ellen Riply
Indiana Jones
Homer Simpson

VS

No name characters from Fast and the Furious
Sinbad the Sailor
Carmen
Esmarelda
Anansi
Mowgli
Othelo
Storm
Sailor Moon
Ash Ketchum
Lando Calrissian
Alex Cross
Lincoln Rhymes
Tonto
John Coffee
Agent J
Murtaugh
DJango
Maria from the West Side Story
Vixen
Mr. Terrific
Amanda Waller.

I omitted several minority characters mentioned who exist in a gray area to point out that I'm not exactly the one moving goal posts.

The vast majority of characters you've named don't fit your own criteria that you listed for being A-list characters & some of them are arguably quite generation specific.

You could strike off about 70% - 80% of those characters for not being widely recognised/known by kids or by not being recognised/known by grandparents & even some parents depending on their age.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

The vast majority of characters you've named don't fit your own criteria that you listed for being A-list characters & some of them are arguably quite generation specific.

You could strike off about 70% - 80% of those characters for not being widely recognised/known by kids or by not being recognised/known by grandparents & even some parents depending on their age.

Nitpicking aside I think the white characters that fit most my criteria far outnumber the non-white ones that do.

 

[B]

Nitpicking aside I think the white characters that fit most my criteria far outnumber the non-white ones that do.

Oh there are more that's for sure, I don't disagree on that, but I don't think the list of characters that fit that sort of criteria is that big to begin with in general.

 

[chaseter]

And according to population statistics, white characters should outnumber non white characters. What is important is making those movie statistics mirror population statistics. That certainly wasn’t true 50 years ago but it’s vastly improved for the better today.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

35% of the US population is white male.

35%.

 

[chaseter]

You said race. I didn’t know we have now delved into gender. Women are definitely under-represented.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Most protagonist are white male.

Especially the A-list.

There are about the same amount of white women (around 35% again) as there are minorities.

I'm not sure why one deserves more representation than the other.

 

[chaseter]

Again, what is your end point/goal for this thread?

There should be more white protagonists as whites represent a higher % of the population. The issue is fair representation of minorities. The % of minority protagonists in movies should = the corresponding population statistics. That is equal statistical representation. I do not think that where are exactly there yet but I think we are moving in that direction...the right direction. If you are wanting true 50/50 representation then that will never happen and should never happen.

 

[Greens]

So, as expected, you made this thread just to point out that there are more white A-list characters than black. Something everyone knows.