Such statements aren't racist; the motivation driving them may be, however.

If you want Shaft to be white because you think that such a depiction would be an interesting exploration of race in our culture, then that's not racist. If you want Shaft to be white because you're white, that's racist.

They just did Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" in Central Park in New York. They updated it to be - not about ancient Romans - but about a modern day saviour/strongman leader who wears ties that are too long, too much self-tanner and has too much hair swirled around on his head.

You could remake, for example, "The Color Purple" but set it in ISIS-controlled Syria and still maintain the core story of violence towards and suppression of a young girl.

You can remake anything into anything - more often than not to a lesser end. So, if you portray Bond as a modern figure in the modern era - as the current Bond is - the character can played by anyone as long as you stay true to what makes the character work, not the superficial look.

"I prefer white people to black people."

That's a statement of preference; is it racist?

What if that white man was a Russian, or French, or Norwegian, or American. Did you identify with the German bomber pilots in "Battle of Britain"? They're white; very much so in fact.

Did you object to when the Craig-Bond movies took a white character - Felix Leiter - that had been written as white and always played by a white man - and turned him black?

Edited by Ray in Houston (18 Jul 2017 8.10pm)

Yeah, I'd say that is all valid.

Art, for art's sake, doesn't have to hold true to boundaries.....I suppose if I see something as tokenism or as just being done to push ideologies it pisses me off a bit....But art as a pure art form of expression shouldn't be told what it can and can't do....Yeah I'd agree with that.

Still, it's also perfectly valid to criticise it from pretty much most perspectives as I suppose that is the core of what art is....viewponts and perspectives.

I like the fantasy of Bond as this British strong representative of anglo saxonism....But I know that it is what it is....just a fiction designed to entertain a demographic and pass leisure time for them....It won't be to everyone's tastes and I don't think any art form can be...Or really should try in a perfect world....Though we know that commercial art forms are obviously under massive pressures to make their investments back.

The skin colour is more an aesthetic.....more important to some more than others but I'm fine with however people feel about it.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."