Luke Cage: Putting People In Boxes

Luke Cage has all the dressings of the rest of the Netflix Marvel shows. They have a pacing and tone to them that, if maybe a bit predictable, is enjoyable. The fight scenes are wonderfully choreographed, and the editing is tight. There is a devilishly likeable villain. Luke Cage is, in many ways, just another arm of the behemoth that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With an ever expanding list of shows and movies, it’s becoming a monster. What’s interesting is not the similarities that Luke Cage shares with its counterparts, but the difference. Luke Cage places an unprecedented focus on color. Now that’s a double entendre.

The show has vibrant and recurring hues that it creates its own meaning for through repetition. The foreboding red and heroic yellows are ever-present, and stylistically this sets it apart from the pack. However, this isn’t the focus I mean. Luke Cage is the first black superhero to grace the face of the MCU. That’s not a problem; a black hero is a wonderful change of pace from the rather monotoned lineup. It’s the manner in which race is portrayed in Luke Cage that seems out of touch to me.

From the beginning, I felt something was up. The opening starts with flashing images of Malcolm X boulevard and Harlem, set to a soulful groove. In the first scene we are shown a barber shop in which a group of black people are arguing about basketball. The rich villain has a giant painting of Biggie. Luke Cage is not a superhero who happens to be black, he is a black superhero. The extreme focus on race makes Luke Cage feel like a token character, rather than a well developed individual. In the dramatic scenes of Daredevil or Jessica Jones, the music is reflective of the context. With Luke Cage, it is invariably soul, funk, or rap. Things like this cheapen the show, making it and the characters somewhat one dimensional.

The inclusion of black culture is not a problem. However, they employ a set of stereotypes that I find very limiting. The line between showing black culture realistically and making race seem to define people is thin, and tricky to navigate. People are not just the color of their skin, but it is a part of what makes them who they are. To deny any racial focus would be just as unrealistic to the setting of Harlem. There is a middle ground that should be strived for, in between pretending culture doesn’t exist and making caricatures of people.