“I can’t imagine anything a black man would want to be more right now than bulletproof,” said Mike Colter, the actor slated to take on Luke’s role, according to the Huffington Post.
The show is supposed to depict a Harlem gang member who was framed for heroin possession before being thrown into the notorious Seagate prison. There, he was tortured and used as a subject in multiple scientific experiments until one of them went wrong, giving him super abilities. After breaking out of jail with no money to his name, he took on the name Luke Cage and became a “hero for hire.”
The storyline comes at crucial time as it shows a Black man being dehumanized by the American justice system something we can all relate to today.
“It’s a nod to Trayvon, no question,” says Colter. “Trayvon Martin and people like him. People like Jordan Davis, a kid who was shot because of the perception that he was a danger. When you’re a black man in a hoodie all of a sudden you’re a criminal.”
He continues:
“That’s something we shouldn’t have to deal with, but we do. It’s a double standard. We can’t cover our head when it’s cold and raining because God forbid someone sees us and puts our life in danger. We wanted to pay homage to that — it’s not something we were shying away from.”
Colter also talked about how the social climate was when they began shooting the series a year ago:
“When we were filming this, there were different things going on,” recalls Colter. “Eric Garner, the policemen were acquitted. No one was brought to justice. There was no handing out of any sentence. There are a couple other things that happened during the time we were filming. We were watching the news and it was always someone being shot who was unarmed, and there is no justification for it. It’s mind-boggling.”
He also goes on to say that Luke’s character hadn’t changed much from his ’70s self , siting that the times are still the same its just that it’s being captured more on camera today.
Regardless of the fact we are in love with the fact that America’s super heroes are now becoming more culturally diverse making it easier for minorities to tell their own stories of heroism.
“It was important to me, as the father of two black sons, to have a black man in a hoodie and have them not be a threat,” Coker said. “Black art has always tried to prove that black lives matter. Langston Hughes. James Baldwin. Richard Wright. Ralph Ellison. It’s always been about showing our humanity, showing that we exist, that our perspectives are important. Calling it a Black Lives Matter show erases the context that all black art, from the very beginning, from the evolution of the blues, has been about showing that our lives are equal and beautiful. The show is the personification of that. It’s not a hashtag.”
Source: http://m.huffpost.com/ca/entry/12202516?
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