Navigating Representation, Race-Swapping, and the Battle for Inclusivity in Media
keelyreeves posted: " One of my favorite shows is Sense8 on Netflix. It is a beautifully filmed show with a fantastic and original concept and multifaceted characters who all have diverse backgrounds. The entire show is incredibly diverse when it comes to race, ethnicity, gen" The Inner WorkingsRead on blog or Reader
One of my favorite shows is Sense8 on Netflix. It is a beautifully filmed show with a fantastic and original concept and multifaceted characters who all have diverse backgrounds. The entire show is incredibly diverse when it comes to race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. Sense8 is a show that truly shows good representation. It isn't contrived or stereotyped. Fans loved this show so much that we brought it back after it ended on a cliffhanger. Yeah, that's how much we liked it. We bullied Netflix into bringing it back. Go us. Having shows like Sense8 and Pose (which I haven't watched but I've heard is so good) is incredibly important. Representation does matter. Even if certain people seem to believe that it doesn't. They get stuck on a character being race or gender-swapped. Don't get me wrong, the Ancient One is originally an Asian man, but Tilda Swinton playing him is problematic. However, there are times when a character's race--and perhaps even gender--doesn't matter, yet it suddenly becomes a major issue.
Consider the amount of hate Anna Diop got for playing Starfire in Titans. Starfire, of course, is an orange alien from the planet Tamaranian. Diop got hate because she is African-American and she's playing an orange alien. So much so she had to block anyone from making comments on her social media platforms. How ridiculous is that? Personally, I think she is a gorgeous choice for Starfire. I haven't watched the show (it's on my list), but I've heard that it's pretty good (even if apparently season two retcons season one??). I digress. My point is. . .Why does it matter that she is black? Again, Starfire is an alien. From another planet. So why does her race matter? It doesn't, that's what.
Leah Sava Jeffries, who was cast to play Annabeth Chase in Percy Jackson and the Olympians show, received so much harassment. Why? Because she is African-American and she plays a character written as Caucasian in the books. Annabeth is described as blonde-haired and gray-eyed. She's often seen as less than because she a blonde and you know, 'dumb blonde' schtick. I personally didn't care about her race. Who cares? What does that matter? It doesn't affect the story. Yet, she was still harassed. Think about that for a minute.
People were harassing a fifteen-year-old girl.
Rick Riordan, the author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, came out and condemned all the haters, supporting Jeffries as Annabeth. Good for him. I'm glad he showed support.
I've watched the show, and let me tell you, Jeffries is a perfect Annabeth. Annabeth is smart. There's no lie about that. One of her failings is that she does have too much faith in the gods and goddesses. That is something she learns as she befriends Percy. Jeffries captures Annabeth's struggle with realizing that her mother (Athena) really doesn't care and that she has to forge her own path.
Side note: if you haven't watched Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+, stop reading and do it now!
What about the hate that Halle Bailey got for being cast as Ariel in the live action The Little Mermaid?
The internet blew up. Seriously, it trended on all social media platforms for weeks. It was ridiculous.
Half were like this is so awesome!
The other half were disgusted.
Ya'll, she is a MERMAID.
Her race is really not that important. As my brother said, they are fictional characters! Now, unless their race is important to their story. such as in Echo, then yeah, you shouldn't race-swap. If you made Maya Lopez, an Indigenous American, a white woman, that would completely change her story. Her roots are important to her story. Ariel being black doesn't change her story at all.
Now, I do understand my friend Latosha's point. She enjoyed the movie. However, she said that rather than race-swap, why don't they (film, TV people, etc) create original characters who are African-American, Asian, etc?
She's definitely got a point there. We'll get to that in a moment, however.
Now, why did Jeffries, Diop, and Bailey get such hate?
Because, according to certain fans, they didn't fit the 'image' of the character.
Now, does the fact their race isn't what it is written change their story? No, I don't think it does. Again, unless it does change their story, such as my example with Maya Lopez, then I don't have an issue with race-swapping. Nor do I really have an issue with gender swap.
Yet lately, this has been a major problem in TV shows and movies.
Fans blow a gasket because of casting choices. Or they throw a fit because a character in comic books comes out as gay. The second any of that happens, suddenly, it is deemed a "political agenda." (I really hate that phrase, by the way.)
They say if you want a character who is a different race or ethnicity, a character who is LGBTQ, or any sort of character that isn't a white male, then create a new character. Don't take a character that's been around for decades and change them.
They say don't bring your politics into my television, comic books, video games, etc.
Let me address that first part.
Excuse me, my dudes, politics have always been a part of that. Hello. Where have you been? Media reflects the times. It always has. Wonder Woman wasn't always the badass that she is now. When she first came out in 1941, she reflected the women of those times. As women got rights, not just voting rights but rights over their own bodies, Wonder Woman changed. She adapted to the times. That is how it has always been when it comes to comics, books, movies, TV, etc.
Also, why does it have to be a political agenda? Why can't someone just simply create a gay character without it being deemed an agenda? Like, seriously.
Also, it's very easy to say, "Create a new character."
However, the second a new character comes out, there is a huge scandal. Suddenly it's another political agenda. It's very hard for new characters to gain ground when there's so much hate.
As I said in a previous blog, people don't like change.
The point is that representation does matter. It does. And when for decades we've got so many books, TV shows, movies, etc., with heterosexual white men, can you blame the rest of us for wanting representation?
I'd like to say it's gotten better. yet sometimes, I feel like it hasn't. I feel like we take one step forward and then two steps backwards.
So how do we fix this? How do we make sure everyone is represented in media, but not only that, represented well and not in a stereotype or offensive way?
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