Representation is a wonderful concept. The most validating aspect of the human condition is having the feeling of community. It's validating knowing that you are not alone in this world and that there are others that experience pleasure, pain, etc, exactly the way you do. Being unique is okay, but finding others with your unique quirks is arguably better.
Cuteness: Kids who look like Tip from #Home. pic.twitter.com/ptn9ksadHP
— Cartoon Brew (@cartoonbrew) March">https://twitter.com/cartoonbrew/status/58213779341... 29, 2015
Like these cuties. My heart. Representation is fabulous.
So why are we making movies about the same type of people? And by the same type of people, I mean straight white abled people? And how come when we branch out, these actors and actresses play someone whom they have no admittance to.
Hollywood has been continually criticized over the recent years for their lack of diversity in its casting process. The Oscars controversy, where not one person of color was nominated for an award, was a wake-up call to examine the issues of expanding equal opportunities in a broken society. We've heard the story before, as it's the root problem for probably everything that's wrong ever, is underlying colonial racial projects prevent people of color from rising to the same opportunities as those who have never felt oppressed.
As the industry strays farther from a purposed exclusivity, studies show they should be doing just the opposite. A February UCLA study revealed that films and television shows that portray a true reflection of American diversity draw higher ratings and higher global box-office receipts. Yeah, film and television are fake, but I prefer an authentic phony. And apparently, most Americans agree.
Actors such as Aziz Ansari has publicly condemned the industry for their lack of perspective and clear racism in his one-season Netflix series, "Master of None". Specifically, the notion that Fisher Stevens, a white guy, portrayed an Indian scientist in the move "Short Circuit 2". A clear violation of fair representation, in my opinion.
People are also upset over Scarlett Johansson's casting over a Japanese actress in "Ghost in the Shell", and rightly so as it becomes a Hollywood white-washing trope. To enjoy cinema is to automatically think of whiteness as a default. It's the issue that Hollywood decides who gets to tell these stories best, and it is often not the ones who live true to the story.
What prompted this initial rant was sparked over Sam Claflin's role as William Traynor in "Me Over You", a romantic, ugly-cry film, a man paralyzed from the waist down. Instead of choosing a disabled actor, which, you know, definitely exist, they chose an abled white man who can only relate to the story so much.
The beauty of storytelling is its vast diversity. White people aren't the only ones who have stories worth telling.
