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‘Blue Beetle’: How grassroots backers are trying to boost the Latino-led superhero movie
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- Authors
- Aaron Couch,Rebecca Sun,Borys Kit
- Published
- Aug 16 2023
- Word count
- 1019 words
It probably doesn't help either that the trailer showed what looks to be a completely generic superhero movie.
I can almost predict the entirety of the movie just based on the trailer.
But will there be a bad guy with almost identical powers to fight and overcome or a skybeam of death?
Well... Yeah.
But it also looked kind of fun.
What would make this movie is that it would be unique among superhero romps. It doesn't even have to be "perfect" if such a thing even exists. Just fun good time. Barbie seems to have hit that perfectly but its advertising campaign was also really successful.
I don't know how unique it can be though. In my case, I've see all the glory CGI beatdowns can give me. At this point, a superhero movie entertains me if it does one of the following:
Other than that, I can't take one more origin story / MacGuffin chase / big baddie destroying the world.
It's not that I don't enjoy these flicks. It's simply because I have seen all the possible permutations that the standard hero arc can show me.
I get that people seem to really like the Spiderverse movies, but that animation is awful. It gives me a headache to look at.
I have an strong theory in my mind that it because certain movies are designed/shot/created with 3d showings in mind. There's usually at least 1 scene in a movie I watch in 2d that instantly shouts "This was made for the 3d release!" Usually I feel I can sense it because of the color pallete, the camera pan and/or the framing. The only example that comes immediately to mind right now is a scene in "Thor: Love and Thunder" where the goats fly right at the camera and up suddenly with bits of electric or neon green and purple bits around them. That just screams "this is one of those 'ooooooh' pop shots in 3d!" to me.
My partner said "So it's a rip off of Spider-Man?" When Blue Beetle beat Spidey to the punch by about two decades. Other than the trailer with lines about family, which I can't take seriously after Fast & Furious, it just looks like another superhero movie.
Do you mean the two previous Blue Beetles? Jaimie’s version is much newer, I think 2006? I’ve also heard the Spider-Man comparison for the past two decades.
I've never really paid attention to the Blue Beetle. I only noted the time difference after I looked it up on Wikipedia following that conversation.
Kobra Kai fans are seething right now
I'm admittedly not a huge DC fan, but I've read thousands of comic books in my lifetime, and I've still never even heard the name "Blue Beetle" let alone know anything about him. Which to me isn't a great sign.
It seems like the character has a spotty history, from what I can tell it was around way back in the day but passed between publishers until being dropped in the 60s, then DC bought the character in the 80s and did a run for like a year that nobody cared about, then brought the Blue Beetle name back in 2006 with a new character with several series since (which is the one featured in this movie).
George Lopez!
The low-rider—gets a lil higher!
That part of the article hit me hard. One of the worst part of the strikes, necessary as they are, is that the people who worked on the films are getting punished for the studios' hubris. The film can fail not due to the people who directly worked on it, but purely because of someone else. And this movie was already fighting a tough battle given DC's reputation, combined with general fatigue towards superhero movies.
This line sums it up quite well:
I don't plan to see it (not much of a theater or DC person), but if it is good, I hope it gets some measure of success. At least the character is apparently planned to continue appearing in other movies if James Gunn is to be believed.
Alternatively, if it succeeds, that will show there's a potential audience they can profit off of. Just this grassroots effort itself may get some studios to consider having Latino leads in future films, in hopes of snagging similar profits. If even one studio decides to hire a Latino actor for the lead instead of a white actor, that would be a victory.
That said, it still sucks that studios only listen to money. And even then, they have selective hearing and focus on what they think is the selling point. They need to be reigned in and the whole system overhauled, but for now, money is one of the only ways to get through to them.
Even as someone outside the entertainment industry, I can tell how out of touch the executives are. Mainly because their go-to move is to slap on romance subplots to appeal to women, along with the large number of cookie-cutter plotlines.
If they would listen to an independent consulting firm, that would be great. But first you'd need to prove that you can collect good data that can guarantee successful films. With how bullheaded some executives can be, not sure how many would be open to paying for outside opinions. You'd probably need some big names attached to the company to get them to give you a chance to even build a reputation.
I’m really just playing with the idea in my head a bit more, but I can envision three pieces that could make it work without just being a scapegoat
This way, the production companies can see whether following the consulting advice ends up with a good movie or not, and because the auditor releases their predictions publicly, they can’t be a scapegoat for a bad run
Hollywood follows by example, hence all the superhero movies at the moment.
Please understand that I am not trying to poo-poo your friends goal/dream/idea. However if your friend believes in his business proposal the only way to get Hollywood on board would be for him to make a string of successful movies or even shorts using his own information. "Successful" could even mean any metric Hollywood cares about from "how many awards was it nominated for" to "how well it did at the box office vs budget". He could always release shorts/movies on YouTube (a la the underground/unofficial Mortal Kombat reboot staring Michael Jai White)
The film industry alone made $100 billion in 2019. Add in television, animation, direct to streaming and that number climbs. I am dubious that he isn't reinventing the wheel when that kind of money is involved.
It's interesting seeing all this, non-profits organizing theater buy outs, saying they're gonna do as much as they can to promote the film.
I'm Latino, specifically Mexican, both my parents are from Mexico but I was born and raised in the U.S. I don't plan on watching Blue Beetle, at least not in theaters. The positive reviews might sway me to watch it at home, but they're not that strong and I'm not gonna care about DC until Gunn's Superman comes out.
If this came out when I was a kid... I probably still wouldn't care. Growing up in the mid to late 00s diversity and representation wasn't even in the lexicon. My classmates would call other kids the f-slur if they were looking forward to Spider-Man 3.
I'm also not a fan of George Lopez at all or this type of comedy that he was popular for. Maybe it's because, even if I grew up around Chicano culture I wasn't really a part of it. I don't ever fully relate to Mexican-Americans who've been in the U.S for generations.
But, hey, if it makes people happy that's great. And if it helps the box office out I'm all for it.
Maybe I'm missing something but spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy out movie theaters (which is only going to line the pockets of studio executives) seems like the most out touch thing I've ever seen a charity try to do.
Like half the country can barely afford groceries and we're organizing funds to support theater sales?
Seems really weird to me as well.
I'm not American so I don't know what latino culture is like. It's very foreign. So maybe it's just me but is this reminiscent of rainbow capitalism for anyone else?
Come to think of it, the whole concept of latino as a separate race is foreign too. They are descendants of Mayans/Incans/Spanish/Portuguese, right? But here in Europe, everybody from Portugal and Spain to Italy and Greece are not considered some separate race from every other European. Even Eastern Europeans, despite being called Slavs, are not really considered a separate race. Everyone is just white.
The US (and Canada?) has definitely always had much more of a focus on racial minorities on account of the size of those minorities, but it's still super strange to me that just because Hollywood finally made an [insert genre] movie starring one of those minorities, suddenly there's grassroots campaigns and non-profit donations. Donations, as you say, that are going right into the pocket of giant studios. Very odd way of doing activism in my view.
Again, I may be missing a lot of cultural context. It all just seems so bizarre.
As an American, it's never struck me as bizarre to see Latinos as a separate race—or rather, ethnicity. Race is based on physical traits, such as skin and hair color, but ethnicity is based on people's cultural and geographical origins. To quote this site: Race is biological, describing physical traits inherited from your parents. Ethnicity is your cultural identity, chosen or learned from your culture and family. Usually they overlap, but people of any race can identify as Latino or Hispanic. Some identify as racially Hispanic/Latino, but you also get white, black, Asians and others identifying as Latino.
The US has always been known as a "melting pot" of various cultures, but Latino/Hispanic is the only ethnicity specifically recognized by the US Census Bureau. Actually, looking it up, turns out it doesn't even list Latino/Hispanic as a race, but only as an ethnicity. The only "other ethnicity" is non-Latino/Hispanic, which gives you an idea of how prevalent it is. (By the way, the Census treats "Latino" and "Hispanic" as interchangeable, but the definition can vary by individual/region. Some people specify that Hispanic only refers to Spanish-speaking countries, while Latino refers to all Latin American countries including those that speak Portuguese.)
There's a LOT more complicated history involved (you can read here if you're curious), and as a white non-Latino I am most definitely not qualified to speak for them. But, as far as cultures go, Latino/Hispanic Americans are probably one of the most unique since they're tied so closely to the history of the modern Americas. It exists purely because of immigration, it's a blending of various races and cultures to create new traditions and combine others—and the culture is strong. A lot of immigrants in America lose their culture over generations as they assimilate, but you can find Latino/Hispanic people who openly celebrate and indulge in their culture all over the country.
All of that is to say that they're a big part of modern American history and fairly common throughout the country, but they're still fighting for decent representation in media like most minorities. A lot of the time they appear in minor or supporting roles, but rarely as the lead role unless it's specifically about Latino/Hispanic culture. Think Coco, Encanto, In The Heights, West Side Story—those are the first ones I can think of, and they're heavily rooted in Latino culture. I'm currently trying to search for films starring Hispanic/Latino actors, and I'm mainly finding lists of films about Latino/Hispanic people and culture, or else filmed in Latin American countries. And even then, the original West Side story didn't star a Latina actress.
As stated before I am white and non-Latino, so I can't speak for them or other minorities, but I personally would find it tedious to have a majority of media with representation be specifically about the representation. Like, I'm a woman, so I would be annoyed if the vast majority of movies with female characters in the lead role are films that have feminism and female-centric experiences as a heavy theme. I want to see awesome women in all genres, not just dramas about fighting for equality or dealing with family issues. I imagine there's a similar attitude for other minorities.
So that's why they want Blue Beetle to succeed. While the character's Latino heritage and family is a major part of the story, it's not the main point. It's a mainstream film telling a story about a Latin American character without it being the primary focus. It can open the door for other mainstream films about Latin American characters, or just open the doors for other Latino/Hispanic actors to get starring roles instead of being cast specifically as a Latino/Hispanic character.
And that opens the doors to non-Latinos being able to identify with them more easily. The best way to combat racism and discrimination is to get to know people of other races and ethnicities, and when that isn't an option, fiction is the next best thing. That's why representation matters so much, especially good representation. A lot of people's exposure to other cultures and races comes through fictional portrayals of them, so it's important to have a variety of good representations across a lot of genres. If it's in a film about that culture, you'd have a lot less people interested in watching it unless it has some other genres tacked on (e.g. fantasy, horror, sci-fi, mystery, or crime).
I quoted this part of the article in another comment, which sums up the non-profits' goal quite well:
Basically, even if this is lining the pocket of studios, it can ultimately open the door for other mainstream films to feature representation in the future—or rather, prevent the door from closing. If Blue Beetle fails, there's a decent chance studios will just outright reject other major film ideas that feature a Latino lead character or actor. If it succeeds though, it WILL catch the attention of studios since so many movies have struggled this summer. Even just the current coverage of non-profits buying up tickets may be enough to get some studios to consider more movies with Latino/Hispanic leads since there would be a chance of a similar grassroots effort leading to profit. Which could have mixed results as most cash-grabs do, but hey, at least Latino/Hispanic actors will have more opportunities!
This got way longer than I intended, but I hope this helps explain some of the sentiment behind this move! It all boils down to wanting more representation, and not wanting this movie's potential failure to stall future opportunities.
Different charities have different goals. In this particular case, the goal is to try to prevent this film from being viewed as a flop by movie studios, so that they won't be adverse to making other movies about Latino characters in the future. Which means more jobs for Latino actors, as well as more positive representation that can not only encourage Latino children, but help non-Latinos relate to them more.
It's annoying that the money goes to the executives and studios, but the goal of having more representation is a good one at its core.
Miles Morales was the star of two enormous superhero movies in the past few years. I guess that they were animated, but still.
This is a very mild frustration, but I wish that directors/lead actors would just say "I'm really excited to do an [X] movie" and not "this has never been done before!" when that's only very narrowly true.
I don't understand why it has to be superhero movie. I'm sure there's been more than enough films about Latino culture or Latino characters that aren't superhero movies, why aren't they elevating/celebrating those?
Because superhero movies were a really popular genre for a while, even if it's now declining.
I think it's because superhero movies are more mainstream. If you're not Latino, you're not as likely to watch a film specifically centered around Latino culture. Similarly, Latino actors (and generally most non-white actors) have limited opportunities to get starring roles outside films that specifically relate to their culture.
More Latinos in starring roles in mainstream films means non-Latino people can relate to them better. One of the best ways to combat racism is to get to know people of other races to help hammer in that you're all human—and if you can't do that in person, representation in fiction is the next best thing.
I think that's more of a human failing than a cinematic one. I watch lots of films from different countries and viewpoints.
It is absolutely a human failing, but not everyone wants to go out of their way to watch films from other countries. Either due to not wanting to deal with dubs or subtitles, or just not being interested in the genres associated with the biggest films.
That said, I was talking about domestic films made within the US. The vast majority of films with a Latino lead tend to be specifically about the Latino community and culture, to the point my attempt to search for lists of films starring Latino actors brought up lists of films about Latino/Hispanic life. And those tend to fall into the drama genre more often than not, not something that appeals to everyone. I like films that are thrillers and have some edge to them. My mom had to basically wear me down into watching In the Heights because I'm not interested in slow-paced musicals about neighborhoods struggling to overcome poverty and class barriers.
I think it would get tedious to have the vast majority of options with representation being about your community, for both the audience and the actors. Sometimes you just want a good action flick or comedy that doesn't center around some familial spat or coming of age story.
As someone who loathes romance, drama and musical films, I can understand that.
Well part of the reason people are saying the movie won't do well is that Blue Beetle isn't a recognizable character. This is how you make him a recognizable character.
The Justice League cartoon series had John Stewart as the Green Lantern, and for lots of people today that's THE Green Lantern. Hal Jordan is just one of the other ones.
My introduction to Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes was Young Justice, and he actually had a very important role and arc in season 2. Though I do identify as Hispanic, he quickly became one of my favorite characters because of his story and character, and him having a relatable background to me was a bonus.
I haven't really seen him in anything since though, which is huge shame. Maybe I just haven't been paying enough attention, but the character deserves better. When I heard they were doing a Blue Beetle movie, well, I thought it would be dead in the water. That it's releasing at all is good, but it needs to actually be a great movie too to have any significant impact.
All that to say, I don't know if I'm going too see it in theaters or not. I want it to be good, I want to see more Jaime Reyes, and I want to see more Latino representation as a whole, but I just don't see how this film enables that if they lean on established superhero tropes. I have to ask if this film is worth my dollar and I just don't know. The characters seem fun, but the CGI looks questionable and the story looks predictable.
Even without the strike though, I wonder just how well they would market this film. Sure the actors would definitely help, but I think to how Disney had such little faith in Coco that they stuck a 20 minute Frozen "short" before the film to try and draw in a crowd.
Then they removed it because it turned out people wanted to see Coco. Point is, these companies don't cater to Latinos because they think it won't appeal outside of the demographic. Like the article mentioned, this is a lot of pressure to put on what's supposed to be a fun superhero film, to the point that it's really unfair. Outside of being an absolute smashing success, I just don't see how Blue Beetle manages to break those barriers.
So I figure I'll drop in here as im in between a double header of the Blue Beetle Movie and TMNT on this wonderful Friday.
I really enjoyed it! Not groundbreaking by any means, but deffo one of the stronger movies that DC has put out since probably the first Wonder Woman. The message of "Family=Strength" might resonate stronger with someone who identifies with it, but even as someone with a slightly more tenuous family experience, there were parts that "got me", choked me up. If anyones on the fence about it, i'd say give it a shot!
I'm on the fence about the TMNT movie. What are your thoughts on it?