Comments on: Can Ming the Merciless Be Redeemed?

By: Catching up with the D Elle « Dustin Elle

Catching up with the D Elle « Dustin Elle — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 02:18:17 +0000

[...] Can Ming the Merciless be Redeemed? on Sociological Images. I wrote this a couple of years ago, and I have mixed feelings about it now. Mostly I wish I’d left off the “how I’d remake Flash Gordon” part and stuck to the critique. Still, it’s the second Google result for “ming the merciless racism” and I’m pretty proud of that. [...]

By: Speed Reading: Joan, Posters, Kerschl Tour & More « Speed Force

Speed Reading: Joan, Posters, Kerschl Tour & More « Speed Force — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 21:30:42 +0000

[...] I write about rereading Flashforward.Speaking of other Flashes, Sociological Images wonders: Can Ming the Merciless be redeemed?//LinkWithinCodeStart var linkwithin_site_id = 186988; var linkwithin_div_class = "linkwithin_hook"; [...]

By: Thon N. Sang

Thon N. Sang — Wed, 05 May 2010 08:08:10 +0000

I agree with Dustin Collins as a whole. But as far as having a Chinese actor or a character to play or portray the part, I would not wholeheartedly disagree. But I believe that any Asian with any type of Mongoloid features will do. I’m not Chinese but a mixture of Cambodian Laos, And feel that I have the required Asiatic barbarian features and acting ability to fit the role. Not that we Asians all have that barbaric or savage look as we all know. But if Holly Wood is searching for that eye piercing Ming/Genghis Khan look, Then I hope you give me a call. I have never read the comic book nor knew of the movie. But from all that’s deduced so far, I feel that Ming’s character part sounds like that of my very own personal memoir. So if you or anyone is in need of the perfect Ming the merciless/wise/romancer/villain, than look no further!

By: Casting White Actors In Asian Roles: 1957 to Today | Racialicious - the intersection of race and pop culture

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:45:33 +0000

[...] also our post, by guest blogger Dustin Collins, on Ming the Merciless. Share and [...]

By: Casting White Actors In Asian Roles: 1957 to Today » Sociological Images

Casting White Actors In Asian Roles: 1957 to Today » Sociological Images — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 15:35:30 +0000

[...] also our post, by guest blogger Dustin Collins, on Ming the Merciless. Leave a Comment Tags: race/ethnicity, race/ethnicity: Asians/Pacific Islanders, [...]

By: Speed Reading: Joan, Posters, Kerschl Tour & More « Speed Force

Speed Reading: Joan, Posters, Kerschl Tour & More « Speed Force — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:14:33 +0000

[...] Speaking of other Flashes, Sociological Images wonders: Can Ming the Merciless be redeemed? [...]

By: Bagelsan

Bagelsan — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:43:37 +0000

I do kind of like this idea (partly ’cause I’m one of those women who would eat that up like nobody’s business!) Turning a stereotypical evil-Chinese-man into a total sex symbol might be really cool (if done right, obvs.)

By: Uncle Remus fan

Uncle Remus fan — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:08:17 +0000

There HAS been a revamping of Uncle Remus…kind of. Julius Lester retold the stories, which are actual African American folk tales. He stripped them of the uncomfortable “Uncle Remus” framing story that was invented by the man that collected and published them. In retelling them he also stripped away the awkward dialect, and wrote them in his own modern voice. With the framing story and dialect gone, they stand on their own as really wonderful, not at all racist folk tales. Lester did a wonderful job of reclaiming these stories as a valuable part of culture that should not be lost.

By: L. Meador

L. Meador — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:00:38 +0000

How to make Ming the Merciless work: I say, make him a magnificent bastard. Make him a villain that the audiences just can’t help but cheer for. Make him suave and affable, brilliant and… well, merciless. People will eat him up. Women will have uncomfortable yet totally hawt fantasies about him. Get an Asian actor with a deep, booming voice to play him.

And don’t forget the good Mongoans, like Ming’s own daughter Aura or Prince Barin. Make sure they’re both Asian, too, and make sure they’re heroic and smart and cool.

By: Jonathan Walton

Jonathan Walton — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:26:31 +0000

Chow Yunfat’s depiction in Pirates 3 is not a step forward. Casting an Asian actor in a clearly Fu Manchu-inspired role isn’t a solution.

By: Brendan Deneen

Brendan Deneen — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:15:09 +0000

Our recent FLASH GORDON comic book series reboot has a multi-faceted, morally-complex Ming the “Merciful” (as he calls himself!). So I think it can be done.

By: Ian Aleksander Adams

Ian Aleksander Adams — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:16:34 +0000

you know, it doesn’t seem that strange of an idea to me – it could be quite possible that both societies are in a bit of a retro phase concerning fashion.

By: Restructure!

Restructure! — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:59:46 +0000

“For Ming’s costumes, create a futuristic variation on what Chinese emperors actually wore, rather than just an American’s simplistic idea of the look.”

Why would Chinese people in the future wear Chinese emperor clothing? Would the Americans also wear fashion from several centuries ago?

If not, wouldn’t this reinforce the idea that “Western” culture is modern and advanced, and “Eastern” culture is ancient and backwards?

By: Jinian

Jinian — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:39:21 +0000

I think people here will generally agree with you, that would be great. In the reality we’re stuck with right now, though, there are too many racist and sexist attitudes built into our institutions and worming their slimy ways into our own minds to sidestep the issue by saying Ming’s just a character. Black artists making fluffy movies? All for it. Handwaving away a history of offensive yellowface integral to a character design? No thanks.

By: Kate

Kate — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:17:45 +0000

The trouble with this is that it is loaded with history. But there is technically no reason why a villian shouldn’t be of a different race than white. I mean, chinese people, black people, whoever, they are people too. And insisting that they not be put in diverse roles is a bit absurd. As long as they are not ONLY put in villain roles, or not put in villian roles BECAUSE of their race (all bankers are jews, all rapists and muggers are black, etc etc) then hopefully it could avoid the pitfalls, at least mostly.

There was some discussion ehre a while ago about a film made by an aboriginal man. It was a fun film, but not deep. And he got very cross at the media and asked why every film a black man makes has to be spiritual, or even good? A white person can make a silly entertaining film and it’s fine. Recently I came accross a quite by a feminist writer who of course I can’t remember, saying that women should be allowed to make bad art, film, write trashy books. Not ONLY bad, of course. But it’s the trap of the one representing the whole, which is where racism and sexism comes in. Either positively or negatively, I should be allowed to be a person first, THEN a woman. Ming should be a character first, THEN an asian man.