The Fairy Princess was enjoying the summer.
WONDER WOMAN was very cool.
GOOK in theaters now – very cool.
Also, new film announced starring Ali Wong and Randall Park!
On Netflix and written by Michael Golcamo.
So relatively, the summer was looking fairly good.
Well, the parts of the summer that involved the sun, staying away from the news which everyday threatened the United States with a tsunami of public disasters – and for our poor Guam, actual destruction…
#RESIST!
In light of Charlottesville and the death of Heather Heyer, and the undeniable racism that rears it’s head higher and higher every day, with the full complicity of the White House and it’s minions of mayhem…getting upset about casting decisions may seem silly.
It may seem trite, and it may seem like ‘we’, People of Color, are being petty. Like – why does it matter that someone is Caucasian and playing Eva Peron (more on that later, so much more) or Caucasian and playing a person of mixed raced? Why does it matter?
It matters because when you allow your casting decisions to erase our images from the screen, we, the general public wind up thinking that Greece, and particularly Olympus is populated by Irish, Australian, and British people who throw PoC down wells!
When Greece is actually a country that can cited several strains of DNA in their general population because of wars and because they were seaside!
It matters because Egypt is not made of those British, Irish, Australian people either!
Because of Hollywood erasing the histories – the ACTUAL histories of People of Color from around the world into some Aryan nightmare – we, the pop culture imbibing world wind up with stories that we are NOT included in – even if we were there.
Even if they are ‘our’ stories.
What is the end result?
Oh, just our humanity and existence.
You know. No biggie.
Except it is a ‘biggie’.
When you erase people from stories in which they were included – you tell the world that their ability to be in those stories is conditional on white approval.
When you erase people from there stories it is very easy to throw them down and stomp on them, or shoot them, or rape them and knife them 32 times – because the people that do these things have been fed a diet that the lives of People of Color. LGBTQ, Disability are conditional.
To put it bluntly – Hollywood and Theater and their casting policies are partially responsible for the racism rising in this country.
It is not rocket science.
You want white people to acknowledge the sufferings of others? What if they live somewhere where they do not see ‘others’? Then they are fed a diet of a world in which only white people ‘exist’? On TV, on their stages, on their movie screens?
Think it does not contribute?
Anyway – let’s go with “whitewashing casting decisions for $200, Alex” and start this blog off right…so there is this comic book series called HELLBOY.
Perhaps you have heard of it?
Anyway, there is a character in there named Ben Daimio who is…wait for it – Hapa.
For those not from Hawaii where the term originated, he would be of mixed raced – he is Japanese/Italian and he is American. The author used Daimio for the last name which is a play on the Japanese term, Daimyo, which means ‘a vassal of the shogun’ in Feudal Japan.
So the name has meaning, of a specific term, but it has been changed in spelling to a more Italian looking name. Probably to be more American.
Because what says American more than a person of mixed race?
Absolutely nothing.
That is about as American as it gets.
Take a look at him.
Sadly, poor old Ben gets attacked on a mission – action movie, of course there is a mission – and gets half his face pretty much ripped off trying to rescue a pack of Nuns in the Bolivian jungle.
Because…comic books.
Therefore, because of course – Hollywood, they took a look at the source material and thought “Who could possibly represent a mixed race Asian American with some supernatural shapeshifting powers that honors the comic’s original intent?”
So of course, they chose this guy…
YES – Brit Ed Skrein will play the jaguar shape shifting Major Ben because… of course. The film is being directed by Neil Marshall, who helms GAME OF THRONES.
Just to be clear, they did not choose THIS guy:
Lewis Tan
Or this guy:
Ian Anthony Dale – who is actually OF Japanese descent, and currently on Hawaii 5.0
Or this guy:
Daniel Henney
Or this guy:
David McInnis
Or this guy:
Dwayne Johnson
Or this guy:
Jason Momoa, (who was ON Game of Thrones…)
Or THIS guy:
Keanu Reeves
and honestly…TFP is totally forgetting people, there are more – and that is because she is not actually awake at the current time.
She is pulling down racism in her sleep, because she is so DAMN TIRED of this bullshit.
(Just to be clear, Daniel Henney and Dave McInnis are of Korean descent, Jason Momoa is of Native Hawaiian and Native American descent, Dwayne Johnson is of Samoan descent, and Lewis Tan is of Chinese Singaporean descent.)
Look, they did not even call one of the O.G. Hapas!
Ladies and Gentlemen…the Vanishing Son himself – RUSSELL WONG!!!!
The point is of course, that the character is of mixed descent. That is the important part – while TFP totally agrees that every single thing about a comic book character origin story is specific and interesting (please don’t send her email) – in this case the requirements to be cast would be:
- Adept at Action Film Acting & Stunts
- Mixed descent Asian
- American – he is specifically American.
- Probably good looking – because…in films they like everyone to be good looking even if they have horrible scars and so on, underneath, they could stop traffic through their utter desirability.
TFP tried to stay within those boundaries – and that was the list she came up with.
And…they are still going to go with the British White Dude because all that really exists at the top of the Hollywood food chain ARE British White Dudes – so ask yourself, having seen the choices above where they could have gotten it ‘so right’ and chose not to – did they do their ‘due diligence’?
Did they stay loyal and true to the intent and spirit of the comic book as written?
Is almost everyone announced in this cast thus far British and white?
Now decide – are you going to support this film when it comes out?
Even if you are a giant fan of the comic?
Even if all your friends are going and you know, that is what the group chose to do?
No.
You are going to use your ticket and you are going to “vote”.
That is the only ‘power’ the consumer has.
What will be, will be – and if it has enough of an impact, maybe next time, they WILL cast a Person of Color where a Person of Color ought to be!
TFP out.
fairyprincessdiaries 