Rather than use the obvious choice of The Musketeer as the new French Batman, I wanted to come up with the kind of hero I would want to see in a comic book if I were French. The process of developing a story is complex and there are all kinds of things I looked at. The urban unrest and problems of the ethnic minorities under Sarkozy’s government dominate the news from France and it became inevitable that the hero should come from a French Algerian background. The Parkour element was maybe a little obvious, but it fitted very well with the concept of a hero from the streets. Clichy-Sous-Bois, as you point out, is the flashpoint for rioting in Paris, so again was the obvious location for Bilal.Okay, let's see what we have here. First, of course calling a French vigilante "Musketeer" would be too obvious; he could've made him an indigenous Frenchman and still kept the name already used. Second, I think his citation of Sarkozy's government should be enough to tell that he's got a problem with it, maybe because he doesn't like conservatives?
Third, if he really had to use someone other than a regular Frenchman/woman, why couldn't he have cast, say, an Arab of Christian faith, or even an Armenian in the role? Or a Bulgarian? Or even a man or woman of Ainu descent from Japan? What's so wrong with them?
He can say whatever he likes, but for now, what's apparent is that he made the mistake of allowing his leftist political biases play into all this, and exploited a famous vigilante's book all for the sake of something that's been taking the enjoyment out of a considerable amount of comics.
Avi Green,
ReplyDeleteIf Mr. Hine was French, he might actually be a bit less inclined to make his hero a Muslims, due to all the trouble Muslim who have entered the country but refuse to accept enlightment values, are causing. The values they reject are values that Mr. Hine himself probably claims to champian. If the Muslim fundamentalists who are living in France right now had their way, it would not be a nation of liberty, justice, or equality.
You're correct. This reminds me that there may have been a movie earlier this year called "Taken", that may have been made by a French writer, and dealt with the subject matter a lot better than Hine's story.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I just thought of another thing: I wonder if Hine and company at DC would pull a stunt like this if the setting were Denmark, suggesting they consider Kurt Westergaard the scapegoat, and that they don't want to Buy Danish (I sometimes buy delicious Danish-made butter blocks for home cooking and spreading on rye bread). Well, with the way they're going, it wouldn't surprise me if that turned out to be the case.
Avi Green,
ReplyDeleteI saw "Taken," it was a good movie.
Good stuff, Avi. You're pissing off the right people.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this.