Any time someone invokes the word "woke" in protest of lazy writing in movies and television, someone who wants to shut the conversation down will say, "What is woke?," as though they've never heard the word before. How do you respond to this sort of disingenuous attempt at redirection?
Serious question: how can you tell if someone is insincere and are just pandering? How can you tell that they cast someone just because they want to look progressive? A film could have a diverse cast or be deemed progressive because they were the best actors for the role. I thought Halle Bailey did a great job in The Little Mermaid and was an excellent choice. Is it pandering and checking boxes because she is black or was she selected because she is talented and the best choice for the role?
You bring up a problem Hollywood has created for itself (and for audiences, regardless of their political leanings). In the 1980s, nobody ever batted an eye at a woman or "person of color" cast as a lead or in a prominent role in a movie. It was special when Duane Jones (I think that's his name) was cast in Night of the Living Dead in 1968 because his immutable characteristics instantly turned that role political. It was unintentional, however, as Romero said many times, Jones was simply "the most qualified actor for the job." Hmmm. So, the 1970s opens the doors for all ethnic groups, all genders, etc., to have a place in the movies. And by the 1980s, it's not uncommon for (what would eventually be termed) "diverse" casting. That lasted well into the 1990s and early 2000s. It's only in the last fifteen years or so that "race" and gender have become such a big deal again (as they were in the segregated 1950s). The problem now for filmmakers is that if they want to cast an actor simply because he or she prove the most fit to play the part, should that actor be from a "protected class," it's a Boy Who Cried Wolf situation and those who are vehemently against wokism will dismiss the movie without even watching it. This stuff is not good for the movies and everyone who loves movies should be concerned.
>This stuff is not good for the movies and everyone who loves movies should be concerned.
I think that movies have serious problems way being 'wokism', which sure, exists (although is not necessarily a predictive of failure: The Little Mermaid as mentioned was very successful).
You’ve activated the Skavau-bot 👆🏻 by mentioning Woke. Its job is to now gaslight you into believing that Woke isn’t a thing.
Notice how it instantly tries to divert away from the issue, and even puts Woke in quote marks as if it isn’t an established phenomenon, which it clearly is.
I would agree that there shouldn't be a requirement of checking boxes to win an award, but it is ultimately up to the body governing the award. I have no objection to an all Asian cast or an all black cast or an all white cast, but it is possible to have a diverse cast with different races because the actors were best for their individual roles. Diversity doesn't necessarily mean that actors were thrown in because of race.
Have you considered the possibility that the boxes are being checked organically? Maybe someone is a fan of a particular actor and wants to work with them and it has nothing to do with checking boxes. You are assuming that the filmmakers are casting actors to check boxes, but it is more likely that they are a fan of the actor and want to work with them.
There are talented actors of all backgrounds, so I don't think it is reasonable to assume that an actor is only cast because of diversity. Do you think someone like Denzel Washington only gets roles because he is black?
The diversity rules for the Oscars is for the best picture category only and there are several criteria. A film only has to meet two of four criteria. It is not just based on the cast or characters and includes things like the crew, department heads, production, distribution or financing company. It would be very easy for most films to meet these requirements.
So, society/hollywood/studios formally and openly state their intentions to "increase divesity"
and then we see it happening, over and over.
and then you come at me for "assuming" that they people are doing what they said they would do and we can see them doing?
"ONLY CAST"? come on dude. No one is saying that they are grabbing the first random black guy that comes by.
They still have huge pools of want a be actors to draw on, even after they dismiss all the ones that don't check tthe right boxes.
That they are likely to be able to find a qualified actor who checked the right boxes,
is not the point.
THe point(s) are, that that is a big part of what "woke" is, and it is morally wrong. And it often does lead to the actor not being the BEST possible choice for the role.
So if a filmmaker want to make a film focused on black people or gay people because it interests them, that is woke and morally wrong? If a filmmaker wants to work with a famous, award winning actor who happens to be black or gay, that is woke and morally wrong? I disagree with this idea that they are primarily focused on checking boxes.
1. A filmmaker wants to make a movie. He has a creative vision and a script. His creative vision is of a group of black guys, having an adventure with heavy elements of comedy.
2. A filmmaker wants to make a movie. He has a creative vision and a script. His creative vision is of a group of guys, having an adventure with heavy elements of comedy. He also wants to see the movie industry have more diversity and representation. AND he wants to win some awards to boost his resume. So he directs his casting call to check a bunch of boxes, both because he believes in diversity and because he wants to appeal to award committees that require it.
Are you really unable to grasp the difference between the two scenarios?
To be clear, the first one does not bother me at all. The second one is racist discrimination.
Clearly, I see the difference, but I don't believe scenario 2 is very common. A more likely scenario would be his vision is a group of guys having an adventure and he casts the best or most popular actors that he can get, regardless of race. Some people are assuming that just because the film has a diverse cast that it was just to "check boxes".
You can talk about and agree with diversity in films, but that doesn't mean that a filmmaker is going to force diversity at the detriment of the film. If I was making a film, I would not specify the race of the characters in advance, but I would have an open casting call and select the best for the roles, regardless of race. You can have a diverse cast in an organic way, without it being forced and without pandering or checking boxes.
I enjoyed all the Thor movies. I don't think her character damaged the films in any way. The most recent Thor movie was a lot of fun. If the character was a straight white woman, but the rest of the film was exactly the same, would it really have made a big difference?
I disagree. Perhaps you aren't a fan of hers or you didn't like her performance, but I don't think the fact that the character was gay and black hurt the movie at all.
A NORSE mythology figure, being black? Of course it undermined the story and immersion into the story.
A lesbian? In a comic book movie aimed at an audience that is primarily MALE? You think having a female character that is NOT open to men is not a minus? LOL. AND, again, it's ham fisted wokeness undermining immersion into the story.
So you are okay with mythological figures, superheros, and completely unrealistic characters and stories, but black people undermine the story? Most normal people can enjoy a superhero or action movie regardless of the skin colour of the characters. And female characters in movies don't need to be open to men. They are fictional characters. You can't hook up with them in real life. It only undermines immersion if you dislike back people or lesbians. I enjoyed the story and the film and many others did too.
Call it what you want, but my argument is still the same. It did not hurt the film in any way and it would not have changed the story if the character was white.
I'm going to have to disagree with the claim of bad casting. And there is no guarantee a hot blonde would have done a great job. A white actress might have done a poor job in the role. There is no way to know how good or bad another actress would have done in the role.
What fallacies did he use? It was a debate about a character in a film, and whether it hurted it or not. One of Corbells main claims was that men are somehow put off by lesbians (is he an idiot?)
Is that your sole purpose on this forum now? To cheerlead ideological allies of yours who argue with people about TV and film regarding 'woke'?
This is one PART fo my point re the hypothetical hot blond valkyrie. Sexy and of a type that would be open to the idea of male companionship. That is a superior basis for a POPULAR character than a less attractive unfriendly black bitch.
I said nothing about black women being inherently unattractive. I was referring to the one specific black woman. DId you really not get that? Oh wait, you're doing that shit talk thing again. Go fuck youreself.
I'll give my position. If we had a sort of Chinese version of Game of Thrones. Not a literal copy and paste, but a medieval fantasy set in a fictional world - but rooted in Chinese history - I would expect the whole cast to be Chinese (or be able to pass as Chinese)
But if it's something as commodified as the MCU, I wouldn't really give a shit. I don't understand the complaint in the context of the MCU, probably the most bastardised and commercialised franchise on earth.
Nazi is also a word that has been stripped of it's power. You may as well just say 'poopy-head' now because they have the same effect thanks to the left.
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The black community started using it to mean that you were someone who was aware of the Man's bullshit. You weren't going to get played for a fool. Something like that. It's what I read, anyway.
How do you respond to this sort of disingenuous attempt at redirection?
Are they ALL that?
To be honest, if you're going to call something woke in the first place, it's perfectly fair for somebody to ask you "what is woke?". They can't ALL be disingenuous attempts to shut down the conversation, and even then, it should always fall on the person making the argument to defend their argument.
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I understand your point. The problem is, once the question, "What is 'woke'?" is asked, the conversation is bound to head in a different direction. "Wokism" thrives in the, "It's just an idea" arena where there is no precise definition. It's an abstract concept and the people who invented it and foisted it on the rest of society want to pretend it's not a real thing any time it's questioned. That is a problem.
To be fair, many reactionaries who deride "wokism" also draw the line at different points. I have pointed out successful 'woke' TV shows and films (or shows characterised as such by many) and I am sometimes met in response with "That's not woke", but there would be commenters literally a few lines up complaining about the very examples I gave as being *woke*.
A person who is in a state of delusion finding injustice in everything but their own behavior. A cancel culture marked by authoritarian and fascist tendencies. A culture aligned with communist ideologies.