The laboured diversity of Eternals
In its search for lucrative new markets, Hollywood is doing what it never had to earlier: trying to make viewers in other parts of the world feel like they’re included. It’s been particularly evident in the buildup to Eternals: every piece on the new Marvel film has mentioned diversity, and all the cast members have spoken of its importance. As a comic beat in an action sequence later, Kingo says “dhishoom”—the word isn’t subtitled, so we can assume it’s there for the benefit of Indian viewers. But having Emirati-born Lebanese actor Haaz Sleiman play his husband is a decision that screams diversity, as if Marvel had listed all the demographics covered and then added one they’d missed. Little White Lies noted in 2017: “Brian is still the all-American white male hero throughout, but from 2009’s Fast & Furious to 2015’s Fast & Furious 7 he’s the only white male hero in a large, increasingly diverse crew comprising Korean, African-American, Israeli and Brazilian actors.” Nine films in, the series’ selling point remains its gleefully silly action—diversity is a side benefit.
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