Foreign representation in "Logan" and "Wonder Woman"

American films do not always properly represent or cast foreign roles but improvements have certainly been made in the industry regarding foreign representation. One of my favorite films this year, Logan, is set in the United States for the most part, however, the first act is set by the Mexican-United States border which does feature Latino actors. These actors portray members of a gang who are trying to vandalize the main character’s, Logan/Wolverine, car which leads to an action sequence of Logan taking out each gang member. Having a Latino actors play gangbangers may seem stereotypical, especially on paper, but that was not the case in this film. Logan is a grim film set in a dystopian-like world so this opening scene is used to establish the film’s tone; the filmmakers just happened to decide that Mexican gang members would fit the situation better as the setting is the Mexican border. This is not the only foreign representation in the film as one of the supporting characters is played by a Latino actress and her character helps the heroes begin their journey so Logan treats its foreign characters as both friend and foe.

Another film I saw earlier this year was the wildly popular, Wonder Woman, which featured a plethora of foreign characters played by foreign actors fit for the part. Wonder Woman, the hero, has a small team of soldiers with her throughout the second and third acts which are set in World War I and the film also features German actors portraying soldiers of the German army to maintain historic accuracy.  A Frenchman, a Scotsman and a Native American make the superhero's fighting force and each is represented in a respectful manner that acknowledges the cultural differences as well as applying each character to the narrative in a meaningful fashion. Both films present foreign characters that represent good and evil to sincerely add to the film’s quality. These foreign characters relate to the American audience just as much as their native crowd because movie goers enjoy likable and relatable characters regardless of the color of their skin.