Luke Cage’s hoodie worn in series is a nod to Trayvon Martin
Mike Colter, the star of "Luke Cage" isn't shying away from the political nature of the series about a black superhero in a hoodie.
Mike Colter, the star of “Marvel’s Luke Cage,” the latest of Marvel’s superhero shows, isn’t shying away from the political nature of Luke Cage, a black superhero in a hoodie.
Luke Cage, who is bulletproof, first appeared in Marvel’s “Jessica Jones,” and Colter is well aware of the symbolism of Cage’s outfit being a hoodie as well as the symbolic nature of his powers as Marvel is putting out its most political show yet.
“I can’t imagine anything a black man would want to be more right now than bulletproof,” Colter said.
He then spoke specifically about the choice to put Cage in a hoodie. “It’s a nod to Trayvon, no question,” he said. “Trayvon Martin and people like him. People like Jordan Davis, a kid who was shot because of the perception that he was a danger. When you’re a black man in a hoodie all of a sudden you’re a criminal.”
“That’s something we shouldn’t have to deal with, but we do. It’s a double standard. We can’t cover our head when it’s cold and raining because God forbid someone sees us and puts our life in danger. We wanted to pay homage to that — it’s not something we were shying away from.”
At the time the show was being filmed, a year ago, Colter said that the writers and cast were very aware of what was happening around them.
“When we were filming this, there were different things going on,” he said. “Eric Garner, the policemen were acquitted. No one was brought to justice. There was no handing out of any sentence. There are a couple other things that happened during the time we were filming. We were watching the news and it was always someone being shot who was unarmed, and there is no justification for it. It’s mind-boggling.”
“The writers aren’t immune to the society that they live in, they are acutely aware and I’m sure it helped inspire them,” he explained.
“The show isn’t just Black Lives Matter, that’s not what the whole show is about. That being said, it will strike a chord with some people because you can’t help not think about it. The people who are watching will tell us what having a bulletproof black man means to them.”
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