Putting the White in Red, White, and Blue: Colourblindness in 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'
- danielmcpeake
- May 26, 2022
- 9 min read
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Skogland, 2021) focusses on the rise of Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson (The Falcon) becoming the new Captain America following the events of Avengers: Endgame (Russo, & Russo, 2019). Wilson deals with an internalised battle in which he initially rejects the previous Captain America’s (Steve Rogers) wish for him to take over the mantle, as he believes, as a black man, Americans would not accept him as Captain America. This belief is furthered after meeting Isaiah Bradley, a black super-soldier similar to Steve Rogers who tells Wilson “they [Americans] will never let a black man be Captain America”. Additionally, this racial discourse is balanced through the reveal of a new Captain America, John Walker, played by white-American Wyatt Russell, who can arguably act as a metaphor for America’s white supremacy for the protagonists of the series to overcome. Through this, it can be argued that race becomes seemingly integral to the structure of the series, as the ethnicities of certain characters may be the focal point behind the discourse, which as a result could undermine colour-blind ideology.
Colour-blind casting can be defined as the “theatrical practice of casting actors from different racial or ethnic backgrounds in roles haphazardly” (Newton, 2021). The practice has been criticised in recent years, suggesting that colour-blind casting “effectively erases race and suggests that ‘we are all the same’” (Turner, 2014). In a sense, this argument implies that the cultural history, and long-term effects of oppression directed towards black Americans is erased by colour-blind casting, convincing audiences into believing we have entered a “post-racial” society in which race is no longer an issue. This notion can be observed in many American television series, such as Grey’s Anatomy (Rhimes, 2005-) or The Haunting of Bly Manor (Flanagan, 2020), in which there are next to no references to the cultural histories or economic positions of the Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) characters. Within the context of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), colour-blind casting has been somewhat varied. For example, the casting of American-Gabonese actor Samuel L. Jackson as ‘Nick Fury’, and subsequently appearing in over ten MCU films such as Iron Man (Favreau, 2008) and Captain Marvel (Boden, & Fleck, 2019), contrasts against his comic book origins, in which he was initially a white-American. On the other hand, in the film Black Panther (Coogler, 2018), the citizens of the fictional African country of Wakanda, such as T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and Shuri (Letitia Wright) are all cast corresponding to their ethnicity in the comic books (Lee, 1963). From this, it can indicate that the casting of specific characters only corresponds to the comic book origins if there is a significance behind their race relevant to the story at hand, as there is in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier through Sam Wilson and Isaiah Bradley.
Firstly, in the first episode entitled ‘New World Order’, we see Sam Wilson donating Steve Rogers’ Captain America shield to The Smithsonian Institution to feature as a museum exhibit. In one of the final scenes of Avengers: Endgame, Steve Rogers gives Sam Wilson his shield, to which he says it feels “like it’s someone else’s”. Two years prior to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series, Wilson’s internalised battle as to whether he is worthy to be Captain America is introduced, it is only in the series when the racial aspect is integrated. Although performance “in efficacy… is the pathway to racelessness” (Catanese, 2011), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier appears to invert this argument, in which Wilson’s ethnicity becomes vitally more significant over time, leading the pathway to colour-consciousness rather than colour-blindness. For example, in the second episode ‘The Star-Spangled Man’, Wilson is seemingly racially profiled by several police officers after having a verbal altercation with Bucky Barnes. This incident not only reminds the audience that Wilson’s skin colour has negative connotations of “danger and criminality” (Oliver, 2003) because of white-driven oppression against black men in particular, but also reinforces Wilson’s societal view. He already did not believe that America would accept him becoming Captain America, and the addition of authority figures targeting him based on his race heightens this doubt and self-deprecation. In previous MCU films, in the minimal screen time The Falcon had, nothing this overt was presented in regard to his race. This could imply that larger ensemble projects within the MCU tend not to establish race as a key narrative element, due to primarily focussing on defeating the antagonist at hand. Whilst solo, more contained, projects with fewer characters have the time to focus on race as a theme, thus to some degree undermining colour-blind ideology in this particular corner of the wider cinematic universe.
Expanding further on the dynamic between Wilson and Barnes, which could be utilising the common trope of the ‘Interracial Buddy’ format, where it is very common for the piece to follow “two men, one white and the other black, who are thrown together by circumstance” (Turner, 2014). Films such as Men in Black (Sonnenfeld, 1997) featuring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are known for this approach. This narrative setup does apply to the series, through Wilson and Barnes being somewhat obligated to work together to prevent a group of radicalised ‘terrorist’ Super-Soldiers called “Flag-Smashers”, however, it is often found that “the black character serves mostly to enhance the white one” (Donaldson, 2006). Applying this to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Wilson does not necessarily enhance Barnes’ character throughout the series. The clearest example of this can be seen in the series finale ‘One World, One People’, in which Wilson becomes the new Captain America, embodying the title through his new red, white, and blue suit, as well as using the shield. Plus, contrasted against the character growth of Barnes, the series ends with the title card that has changed from ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ to ‘Captain America and the Winter Soldier’, which shows that the most abundant example of growth as a character has been through Wilson, ascending to a position he initially did not believe was made for him, and he is in fact the one who has been enhanced.
Similarly, in episode two of the series, entitled ‘The Star-Spangled Man’, the character ‘Isaiah Bradley’ (Carl Lumbly) is introduced. Bradley tells Wilson that he was injected with Super-Soldier Serum without consent during human trials carried out by the American government during the Korean War in order to “figure out why the serum worked”. It can be argued that “modes of performance… play equally significant roles in constructing the lived experience and political possibilities” of African Americans (Catanese, 2011), and the construction of Bradley’s character in the series can be seen to highlight this notion. The backstory given to Bradley, taken directly from the Marvel comic series ‘Truth: Red, White & Black’ (Morales, 2003), is deeply grounded in racial politics, suggesting that the reason why Bradley was subjected to these experimentations was because he was seen as lesser because of his race. In episode five, entitled ‘Truth’ (referencing the original comic series), Bradley recalls the time in the 1950s when a number of his fellow soldiers were captured on a mission, and in order to prevent the facility being blown up to “hide the evidence”, Bradley broke out and “brought them boys back”. This mirrors the events of Captain America: The First Avenger (Johnston, 2011), in which Steve Rogers did almost the exact same during the Second World War. This contrast would have been deliberately introduced to highlight Rogers’ privilege as a white man, as he continued to act as Captain America and was praised for his actions, whilst Bradley was later imprisoned for thirty years despite his service for the United States. In a number of American-produced series, an apparent lack of interest in “ensuring their diegetic story worlds reflect the real world and audiences of colour… illustrate[s] the current post-racial moment” we are currently living in (Warner, 2015). That being said, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier disproves this notion of colour-blindness, by acknowledging the fact that black Americans have been oppressed throughout history, by using Bradley as a vessel, and have intertwined it with the established lore of the cinematic universe as well as the narrative of this particular show. The casting of Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley was not only done in order to parallel his comic book origins but was also done to act as a racial discourse tool in the series, reminding the audience that this is not a colour-blind world, thus significantly opposing colour-blind ideology.
In addition, the casting of white-American actor Wyatt Russell to portray the ‘New Captain America’ John Walker is also therefore quintessentially relevant to the outcome of the series. Not only is Walker’s ethnicity significant in the sense that the internal battle Sam Wilson deals with throughout the series is heightened by Walker being appointed as Captain America, but his character can also arguably act as a physical representation of the white supremacy that is rooted in America which could not have been achieved had someone of a different race been cast as John Walker. “Oppression is not a minor addition to U.S. society’s structure” but is in fact “systemic across all major institutions” (Feagin, 2006). Walker is debatably constructed in a way to embody the decades of white-driven oppression, being referred to by Isaiah Bradley as “blond hair, blue eyes, stars and stripes” referring to how it benefits to be white-skinned in the eyes of the American public. Plus, Walker states that the reason he was chosen to be the new Captain America is because he “put in the work”. This statement actively disregards both the abundance of work Sam Wilson put in over the course of his time in the MCU and ignores the fact that the government chose Walker to represent what they believe are pure American values; “blonde hair, blue eyes, stars and stripes”, highlighting his privilege as a white man. On top of this, in the moments after getting his title revoked in episode five, Walker declares “you made me!” to the government officials, which although on face value simply refers to how he was chosen to be Captain America, it also can reflect how America acts as a breeding ground for white supremacist ideology, being “explicitly founded on racial oppression” (Feagin, J. 2006). Therefore, through the careful construction of Walker’s identity on screen, his role in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier evidently opposes colour-blind ideology.
Furthermore, although it is argued that “characters emblematic of white power… render white racism outdated” (King, 2014), the real-world parallels of Walker’s actions can remind the audience that America’s white supremacy and imperialistic nature is ever-present. For example, it can also be suggested that the reason why Walker had his title stripped away from him in the fifth episode of the series, following the revengeful murder of one of the Flag-Smashers in episode four “The Whole World is Watching”, is because the act was committed in a public area of Latvia in broad daylight, with dozens of members of the public onlooking and filming the incident. Had this occurred behind closed doors, without witness, it could be argued that Walker would have continued acting as Captain America. This could have been actively paralleling America’s history of war crime on foreign soil, in which accountability was only initiated because the public began to become aware of their crimes, with organisations such as WikiLeaks (Assange, 2006) acting as a focal point. The series, and Walker in particular, acts as a mirror to America’s impact on the world, and its internal functioning, implying that racial progress is being made, or will be made, once accountability for the actions of white supremacist, imperialist figures is carried out.
In conclusion, it can be determined that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier does undermine colour-blind ideology through its on-screen representation of characters such as Sam Wilson, Isaiah Bradley, and John Walker. The construction of a narrative fundamentally interwound with racial discourse, such as Sam Wilson’s belief of Americans not accepting him to represent the country because of the colour of his skin, or through John Walker’s characterisation paralleling that of the racial injustice embedded in America’s foundations. These narrative choices, and the casting behind them, could not have had the same impact had there been colour-blind casting, thus securing this series as a piece that undermines the colour-blind ideology.
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