|
07-09-2014, 01:50 PM | #1 |
Emperor
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Stockholm
Posts: 9,461
|
Black April
So wanna talk about it? See every time I bring up the depictions of April O'Neil as a black woman on the internet someone always pops up snarling, insisting that she never has been depicted as a black woman outside of fanfics and when I give concrete evidence like this they make up some excuse like non-canonicity or that's it's just a colorised version and does not count or something else like. Now I know these arguments usually come from rather unpleasant people and I'm not one of the people who claim she was always intended to be black (the details behind her creation are fuzzy) and thus she should always be depicted as black. But I still find it a bit confusing why it would ever really be a big enough deal to either rage against or demand everything else to correct itself after it. April O'Neil is a fictional character and nothing about her suggests that she'd have to belong to one racial group or another so what's the problem? |
07-09-2014, 01:56 PM | #2 |
Scatter the nuns!!
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,981
|
I seem to recall that when Eastman and laird were first coming up with April, they toyed with the idea of making her black...either that, or they named her after a black friend(?)...or something else. I can't place it exactly, but I do know for certain that there is something in the past that connects April with a black woman, just for the life of me can't remember the details right now
|
07-09-2014, 01:59 PM | #3 | |
Space Cowboy
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Speed Force
Posts: 7,043
|
Quote:
__________________
|
|
07-09-2014, 02:09 PM | #4 |
Scatter the nuns!!
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,981
|
could be...but I just can't shake this thought about a black friend, or classmate, or something when they were first thinking her up....
|
07-09-2014, 02:52 PM | #5 | |
Team Blue Boy
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: U.S., East Coast
Posts: 15,242
|
Quote:
Harmless imo. Hell, Baxter has been both black and white, right? Though I suppose few people are too emotionally attached to him to really care. |
|
07-09-2014, 02:56 PM | #6 |
Overlord
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 41,056
|
The world isn't ready for a black April.
|
07-09-2014, 03:01 PM | #7 |
Space Cowboy
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Speed Force
Posts: 7,043
|
And you know this how, exactly? If it were pulled off well, I wouldn't be opposed to it.
__________________
|
07-09-2014, 03:06 PM | #8 |
Overlord
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 41,056
|
After suffering through a white Eric Sachs Shredder, you really think we can handle a black April?
|
07-09-2014, 03:08 PM | #9 |
Space Cowboy
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Speed Force
Posts: 7,043
|
If we can handle Stockman being a white guy in the OT, we can deal with April returning back to being an African American.
__________________
|
07-09-2014, 03:12 PM | #10 |
Mad Scientist
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Everywhere
Posts: 1,060
|
Shredder being asian is part of his background, April's race isn't very important to her character.
__________________
Why I love Mikey. He looks into the face of a giant, killer, mutant alligator with this face. |
07-09-2014, 04:21 PM | #11 |
Foot Elite
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Central Virginia (Back in the US)
Posts: 4,697
|
|
07-09-2014, 03:06 PM | #12 |
Scatter the nuns!!
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,981
|
Alright, found the reference I was thinking of...
In Eastman's "Artobiography" he says that April was concepted in Pete's notes as an Asian character and then named after a black woman that Kevin once knew. So I think that's about as black as she's going to officially get. The idea of an Asian April, however, seems like it would've fit nicely with the whole Japan/martial arts angle. Though thinking about it, that may have been exactly why they opted not to go that route - perhaps it'd make the book even more "asianish" then they were looking for. |
07-09-2014, 06:41 PM | #13 | |
Technodrome Technician
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: third earth
Posts: 4,737
|
Quote:
__________________
GT:Reedeamer THE TECHNODROME REDESIGN 2015 http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=51594 |
|
07-09-2014, 10:05 PM | #14 |
Foot Soldier
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: NC
Posts: 119
|
The only skin color I'm concerned about when it comes to the TMNT is green! The skin tone of any other character changing wouldn't phase me at all, though I will admit I have a thing for redheads, so the original animated April will always be my crush.
|
07-09-2014, 10:14 PM | #15 | |
trash
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Australia
Posts: 4,546
|
Quote:
__________________
Creator of the Technodrome After Dark Discussion Group. PM for an invite (must be over 18 - no exceptions). |
|
07-09-2014, 10:29 PM | #16 |
Mad Scientist
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 1,090
|
Everyone knows her ethnicity is "paper and ink".
__________________
Final Boss of translation group Opentrain. We do videogame comics and TMNT stuff. http://opentrain.theyear199x.org/ |
07-09-2014, 11:55 PM | #17 |
Mad Scientist
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Huntsville
Posts: 1,484
|
__________________
|
07-10-2014, 12:07 AM | #18 | |
Foot Elite
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Central Virginia (Back in the US)
Posts: 4,697
|
Quote:
|
|
06-16-2016, 01:27 PM | #19 |
Big Blue Boy Scout
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: New Bark Town
Posts: 4,484
|
I wonder how people would've reacted if Whoopi Goldberg was cast as April instead of Megan Fox in the PD movies.
|
06-23-2016, 07:20 AM | #20 |
Foot Elite
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 2,514
|
|
Tags |
april, april o'neil, curious (black), cybercubedtheracist, dc comics, everything is racist, im offended, mirage, plastroncuckold, racist |
|
|