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The whole equal opportunity in America is just like affirmative action. It's never about equal opportunity. Its always been about where ever it's convenient to insert _____ actor into a role without consideration of the impact.
I just don't understand why non-whites but get upset when whites portray non-white persons, but they think that the reverse is just fine (for non-whites to portray whites), Imo, that is one more double standard that I don't like, although one or the other would be just fine with me (although I confess that I would prefer Japanese actors to portray Japanese characters, for example, and for Euro-whites to portray English kings and queens).
I will also say that some shows do get it right when they present a non-white character in what most people, I think, would consider an "all whites" setting. For example, a black woman was presented as a lady-in-waiting who was descended from royalty in the mini-series The Spanish Princess* (about Catherine of Aragon) -- and this was based on a real person. However, I doubt whether many people would know that, and would think that the mini-series just invented such an important black character.
Interesting subject that I have wondered about too, but was not brave enough to bring up. I have seen several shows lately that made me question the accuracy or believability of the roles. Like, it would be great if every other judge was actually an older minority woman, but really. They're "all" old white men in real life....
On a related subject, we are enjoying "Billions" on Netflix and find it sort of beyond logic that the "non-binary" character, Taylor, has somehow convinced everyone to call her "them/they", even the Russian guy who speaks sub-par English. It would be more believable if the characters screwed that up occasionally, or that some of the less-savory characters would refuse to alter the language just for this androgenous character. Apparently that's how she is in real life too. Good for her, just kind of beyond belief....
I'm glad to find out about the black Britons, because I did find that hard to believe too, but now it makes sense. In this new Sherlock Holmes show, Watson is black. But he's fictional anyway, right?
Anachronistic portrayals do bother me, because they remove me from the moment and force me to look at the actor, instead of focusing on the character. Hamilton is the example I often think of. Alexander Hamilton was an historical figure, and he was a white man. Thus, I think that he should be portrayed by a white man, in the same way that Martin Luther King should be portrayed by a black man, or Emperor Hirohito should be portrayed by an Asian man.
Even in historical fiction, I still want things to be generally accurate for the period. There was a Star Trek Next Generation episode where they went back to 1800s San Francisco, and Guinan (played by Whoopi Goldberg) was some prominent person in high society. This just didn't work for me, because I highly doubt that a black woman would have been socially prominent in any American city in the 1800s.
Now, if we're talking about alternative history, then anything goes. If someone wants to create an alternate world in which the first U.S. president was a black woman named Georgina Washington, I'm fine with that.
Anachronistic portrayals do bother me, because they remove me from the moment and force me to look at the actor, instead of focusing on the character. Hamilton is the example I often think of. Alexander Hamilton was an historical figure, and he was a white man. Thus, I think that he should be portrayed by a white man, in the same way that Martin Luther King should be portrayed by a black man, or Emperor Hirohito should be portrayed by an Asian man.
Even in historical fiction, I still want things to be generally accurate for the period. There was a Star Trek Next Generation episode where they went back to 1800s San Francisco, and Guinan (played by Whoopi Goldberg) was some prominent person in high society. This just didn't work for me, because I highly doubt that a black woman would have been socially prominent in any American city in the 1800s.
Now, if we're talking about alternative history, then anything goes. If someone wants to create an alternate world in which the first U.S. president was a black woman named Georgina Washington, I'm fine with that.
I could accept Guinan's being a prominent person in San Francisco because, as I remember the multi-part story, she seemed to be hanging out with artists and intellectuals, rather than politicians or women of 'high society'. Or she could have been viewed as a curiosity, i.e. an intelligent, charming black woman of wealth and discernment must be seen and visited to be believed, perhaps more in keeping with attitudes of the 1800's, as racist as they were in the general public at least.
Hamilton should be portrayed as a white man; but what the hey, Hamilton is a musical, with singing/dancing politicians, so it's already thrown reality out the window. The story and songs were good.
Interesting subject that I have wondered about too, but was not brave enough to bring up. I have seen several shows lately that made me question the accuracy or believability of the roles. Like, it would be great if every other judge was actually an older minority woman, but really. They're "all" old white men in real life....
On a related subject, we are enjoying "Billions" on Netflix and find it sort of beyond logic that the "non-binary" character, Taylor, has somehow convinced everyone to call her "them/they", even the Russian guy who speaks sub-par English. It would be more believable if the characters screwed that up occasionally, or that some of the less-savory characters would refuse to alter the language just for this androgenous character. Apparently that's how she is in real life too. Good for her, just kind of beyond belief....
Its funny how its fine for historical dramas to be racially diverse in ways that were often not the case at that time but a new sit-com called the United States of Al got blasted for creating a fictional character that is suppose to be from Afghanistan but is really of heritage from India. Growing up I remember westerns who cast white people in brown face to play the parts of native americans. Which even then I thought was way out of line. But racial diversity is a one way street. White people now are never going to be cast today in historical dramas where the characters were at that time and place non white.
Regarding Taylor and Billions. Well you are calling Taylor "her" which you accurately stated would not be done by any cast member of Billions who always get it right. But you do prove your own point that saying "they" correctly every time is not likely to happen.
A good actor rises above his race. Hamilton is just such an example. After 5 minutes, you did not notice.
Same with actors with disabilities as with the most recent Oklahoma.
Maybe it’s easier to accomplish with live theater because of the intimacy.
A good actor rises above his race. Hamilton is just such an example. After 5 minutes, you did not notice.
Same with actors with disabilities as with the most recent Oklahoma.
Bridgerton wasn't really meant to be historically accurate. It was a fictional story set in a quasi-historical/"utopian" version of the past.
It seems to me that a lot of these "historical" films on Netflix are not intended to be historically correct.
But rather politically correct.
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