Review: Marvels Iron Fist Comes to Netflix
You know the feeling when everyone disagrees with you? You’re going along in your daily life, you think your views are pretty well balanced and then suddenly Trump gets voted in, or we decide Brexit is the answer. Well, that’s how I feel today. After a lot of negative backlash about Iron Fist, I have to stand up and say I enjoyed it a lot!
What’s Wrong With Iron Fist?
Ok, so there has been a lot of negative comments about Iron Fist and the main ones are; the fight scenes are lackluster, and it’s just a tad racist. So shall we deal with the racism first?
Is Iron Fist Racist?
Some appear to think that the show is a little racist and outdated in its story. Why? Because it is a white guy, a privileged white guy no less, that goes to East Asia and bests all the native people to become the Iron Fist before he returns home to wield his newfound powers.
The example given of something similar would be Hollywood’s tendency to cast white guys as Heroes in any story, no matter where it is based. Think Last Samurai, Dances with Wolves, The Great Wall, etc.
For me, the problem is that in most examples the change in casting can radically change the story. Imagine Dances With Wolves had nothing to do with a white man trying to reach out to the Sioux, gain their trust and eventually become a welcomed ally. It wouldn’t work in the same way, maybe it can be a different story, but it’s too different to call it the same story.
In Iron Fist, Danny’s character doesn’t go to China, but K’un-Lun, which is one of the seven capitals of Heaven and not, in fact, any country in our mortal realm. So in many ways, the idea of racism is a moot point. The series even suggests that Kun-Lun would accept anyone, from any country as it is Heaven. Not, in fact, China.
Is Iron Fist Too Rich?
I enjoyed the first few episodes of the series because it didn’t welcome Danny back from death within 5 minutes. It was dragged out over the course of a few episodes with Danny even being placed in psychiatric care because he returned after 15 years saying that he was a person presumed dead for so long. Now, I don’t have any experience with this, but it’s done in a believable way and allowed time to unravel.
When Danny finally makes it back to Rand and his Billionaire status, it does change a bit of the perceived struggle, but it also shows that anyone with power can be brought down. Mirrored in other parts of the story where the Meechams are thrown off the board, another member of the council is blackmailed, before his untimely demise, and even one of main bad guys Harold Meecham is usually at the mercy of the Hand.
No matter how much power you have, it can be lost. There are always people with as much, if not more power than you. You can be brought down with a photo or an Excell file. So even with Billionaire status, the struggle is still real.
It is another moot point, because; Batman. Do I need to say more? We never really question that Bruce Wayne’s struggle is real, just because he is a billionaire.
