There's the argument that you can relate to someone who's completely unrelatable. In the way that a director shows you his imagination on a film then I get to show you my imagination in a big dumb character.
I'd rather a young black actor read about success as opposed to how tough it...
Television contracts the imagination and radio expands it.
There's definitely a large fan base for the 'Twilight' and 'Harry Potter' movies that need their next fix.