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What do you think of the sudden trend of revisionist period pieces casting people of color as historically white people?

posted 4 years ago by MovieBuff224 (5053)
105 replies | jump to latest

I assume Hamilton kicked this off. Feels forced and heavy handed to me, I’m all for diversifying casts but why forecefully inject minorities in historically white roles simply to be “inclusive?” It just seems silly and over the top to me, and is distracting.

I should mention I HATE musicals but found Hamilton tolerable. I still think the deliberately diverse casting is misguided and unnecessary. Make more films about all of the rich history of those other cultures, rather than putting them in the roles of colonial slave owners to make an edgy statement.

It also seems like EVERY single streaming series/show has a flamboyant gay male character who checks every box on the list of cliche stereotypes; gay best friend, gives relationship advice to female lead, strong feminine accent and “sassy” diva behavior. This has to be offensive to the LGBT community.

Likewise it seems like advertisements are really laying it on thick in their attempts to appear supportive of certain communities. Empty gestures and insincere virtue signaling are patronizing and to me worse than not doing anything.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 4 years ago

What a post to start the new year. Yeah!

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Would we expect any less from our resident misery guts?

[–] snepts (11123) 4 years ago

I'm of two minds about this.
No we shouldn't ignore historical wrongs.
Yes don't be a party bummer.
Which seems to refute the OP on both ends.

I mean, if life is great for you and you don't want to be reminded of all the misery the rest of the world endures, fine.
When the spirit moves me, I try to bring light to the world, make a funny quip, but sometimes you gotta acknowledge it's rough for a lot of people and we can't turn our backs and still be in good conscience.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Honestly, not much. I haven’t noticed this so called trend. Maybe I don’t watch enough movies.

I have, however, noticed the trend of people moaning about such things on this forum to the point of brain numbing. Frankly, the topic is as boring as fuck.

[–] brux (14840) 4 years ago

That's a bingo! LOL

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

List ten thing you like

[–] MovieBuff224 (5053) 4 years ago

Poop

[–] Kowalski (79077) 4 years ago

WHY DO YOU CARE?....IF SAMUEL L MOTHER FUCKING JACKSON WANTS TO PLAY THE KING OF ENGLAND IN A MOVIE...SO WHAT?...DONT WATCH IT IF YOU HAVE HANGUPS...YOU SOUND LIKE MY DAD...BELIEVE ME...YOU DONT WANT TO BE IN AGREEMENT WITH RANDY ABOUT MINORITIES AND GAY PEOPLE.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 4 years ago

Forest Whitaker played The King of Scotland...

[–] Mrmojo4700 (21711) 4 years ago

lol. Indeed he did!

[–] Quasimodo (16388) 4 years ago

If it was just being done for a bit of variety and to mix things up I would ignore it. But I think it's part of the Woke Agenda and is therefore propaganda with a purpose. Expect to see more of this rewriting of the past to "re-educate" people.

In ' Bridgerton ' a recent TV series the Queen of England no less was mixed race. The Aristocrat hero and hottie had even darker skin and married the white Aristocrat virgin heroine. To accuse the Wokesters of what they accuse others that is cultural appropriation isn't it ?

That's another thing about the Woke Brigade they are underhanded bastards who freely commit the "crimes" they accuse others of in the interests of their revolutionary ideals. Snakes.

[–] MovieBuff224 (5053) 4 years ago

Yeah just corny and nauseating

[–] Quasimodo (16388) 4 years ago

Are you talking about my post or what you had for lunch ?

[–] MovieBuff224 (5053) 4 years ago

The trend

[–] moviechatterer (16326) 4 years ago

yeah , its really nauseating when them uppity niggers get tv spots a white man shouldve had right?

[–] sokar (2098) 4 years ago

So your happy for George Clooney or Brad Pitt to play Malcolm X?

We are not talking fictional characters, we are talking real world historical people being changed from white to black.

You don't have an issue with that? If not then you cannot complain one bit of whitewashing or any other woke terminology when a white person plays a black character anymore.

[–] moviechatterer (16326) 4 years ago

Have we had a queen charlotte? that whole Bridgerton thing is pretty fictional from what ive just read.
The "Leading Man" is dark skinned! oh no!
The Leading man is not an actual historical real person.

But yes, I just made another post on this thread agreeing that real people should stay the colour thay were.

[–] sokar (2098) 4 years ago

Didn't answer my question? Are you happy for Brad Pitt to play Malcolm X? You are all for diversity. True diversty is allowing anyone of any skin colour and gender to play anyone of any skin colour and gender.

See Anne Boleyn as the latest real world hostorical figure to now be changed from whie to black. That is not including the countless race swaps in movies from white to black. Everyone keeps calling for bond to be black and that is deemed fine but you even mention something like a white shaft and suddenly that is a problem.

The rules only go one way in the modern world, it is the same for pointless gender swaps.

In short if a white person played any black character fictional or real there would be riots but it's ok to reverse the situation. Thats not diversity, That is racism.

Edit - Some keep mentioning Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra as an example of real world white washing to make out that this is ok. Cleopatra was not an African Queen, she was Greek, she was a descendent of Alexander the Great.

[–] moviechatterer (16326) 4 years ago

"Didn't answer my question? "
yes I did I said:
" I just made another post on this thread agreeing that real people should stay the colour thay were."

[–] moviechatterer (16326) 4 years ago

Everyone keeps calling for bond to be black and that is deemed fine but you even mention something like a white shaft and suddenly that is a problem.

Its not that Black and White :)

Shaft is famous for being a breakthropugh black role - the reason he's famouse for that is that Black people wernt allowed on TV back then.
Therefore you cvant take that away and make himn white.

Bond however , is famous for being a secret agent , so any colour can do it.

Its the same difference as when people started saying "Black lives Matter"
Angry whit people started saying "hey , white lives matter" or "all lives matter"
Which is takingthe words too literally and not comprehending the actual message.

The message being that Black people have benn shit on for centuries and its still happening
saying "white lives matter" shows a total ignorance of that.

[–] OratiaGlake (1259) 4 years ago

Cleopatra was a descendant of her dynasty’s founder Ptolemy I, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great....not Alexander himself.

[–] Jinx (3877) 4 years ago

Oh she’s great! I love Golda Rosheuvel! She was also in Lady Macbeth. Great actor.

[–] Padeen (6459) 4 years ago

Could you give another example besides Hamilton? It doesn't seem to be a trend as you're claiming. With all due respect, I think you should aim to be less critical and annoyed at everything in the coming year. Happy 2021.

[–] kukuxu (5409) 4 years ago

Anne Boleyn (XVIth century England) which is still to be released, this is Ann Boleyn: https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/12/20/00/37054818-9071763-New_look_Jodie_Turner_Smith_in_costume_on_set_The_boss_of_the_ne-m-290_1608425787100.jpg

Bridgerton (XIXth century UK) https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/20/590x/Daphne-Bridgerton-Simon-Basset-Queen-Charlotte-1375698.jpg

The Spanish Princess (XVIth century Spain) http://www.wesonerdy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Daniel-Cerqueira-De-Fuensalida-Nadia-Parkes-Rosa-Charlotte-Hope-Catherine-Stephanie-Levi-John-Lina-Aaron-Cobham-Oviedo-The-Spanish-Princess.jpg

The Luminaires, another BBC period drama to be released https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sDCblXnxmbk/XuOQn8-Hd7I/AAAAAAACehI/Mj9WnwBek6cPfMKFNk2Bu8vRA5cvlQLKwCLcBGAsYHQ/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/the-luminaries-first-look-bbc-promo-featuring-eva-green.jpg

Three more series to come, Frankie Drake Mysteries, Les Miserables, and Harlots: https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/TV-Unwhitewashing-History.jpg

This last pic comes from an article that is title "unwhitewashing history". To be clear: according to wokes, portraying XVIth o XIXth century Europeans as white is now... "whitewashing".

Not enough? Here you have a bunch of examples:
https://images-cdn.9gag.com/photo/a5WQddG_700b.jpg
https://i.redd.it/2yuw0pz8vne01.jpg

The Witcher is a fantasy version of middle age mythological Poland. Nifgaardians represent Germans. Well, this is a Nifgaardian according to the Netflix show:
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/witcher/images/3/32/Netflix_The_Witcher_Fringilla_Vigo.png

And even in games:
https://www.gamegrin.com/assets/Uploads/_resampled/resizedimage640360-w7dsi257ikjx.jpg

And it's not only about series and games. Googling "American inventors", for example:
https://static.minichan.org/img/1474754380546406.png

[–] Stratego (31075) 4 years ago

" I still think the deliberately diverse casting is misguided and unnecessary"

Absolutely. And 100% a trend these days. You'd have to be blind not to see it.

[–] MovieBuff224 (5053) 4 years ago

Yeah like how is this not insulting to these groups lol

[–] AndyKing1967 (39846) 4 years ago

When the casting appears forced or shoehorned, yes I tend to agree, especially when it’s historically inaccurate.

[–] MovieBuff224 (5053) 4 years ago

Yup

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

I wonder why this is only a problem now, not when:

Katherine Hepburn played a Chinese woman or when Christopher Lee played a Chinese man or when Elizabeth Taylor played an Egyptian woman or when Esther Williams played a Mexican woman or when Anthony Hopkins played a Spanish man or when Marlon Brando and Mickey Rooney both played Japanese men or when Rock Hudson, Burt Lancaster and Daniel Day-Lewis all played Native American men... etc. etc.

But God help us if a black person plays against their race. INNACURATE! WOKE!!

😱

[–] AndyKing1967 (39846) 4 years ago

I think, back in the day, there may have been more of a naivety then. Plus, finding actors of the correct ethnicity may have proven more difficult, however, we live in different times now, when historical accuracy can be reflected with greater precision.

What I’m talking about is shoehorning an actor in a period piece with the sole intent of showing just how right on we are. Can you imagine an African tribe being made up of some Caucasians, mixed with a few Asians? It would be silly, right? And this has nothing to do with being racist or how I perceive people.

If I see a film about modern day London (for example) with a variety of cultures represented, then it makes complete sense because that’s exactly how it is, but if I see Robin Hood and his Merry Men looking like the United Colours of Benetton, then it’s not believable because that’s not how it was.

[–] kukuxu (5409) 4 years ago

I wonder why this is only a problem now, not when: Katherine Hepburn played a Chinese woman or when Christopher Lee played a Chinese man or when Elizabeth Taylor played an Egyptian woman

I wonder why you don't know, after this question has been asked and answered one hundreds times. I guess next week you'll ask the very same question again.

Katherine Hepburn played a Chinese woman, and Elizabeth Taylor played a GREEK Queen of Egypt (Cleopatra had Greek blood) because movies back then were made with the actors in the company, who were white. The same way a Nigerian company making a movie about King Arthur will make it with black actors, because it's the actors they have there. Duh.

It's a problem in modern Hollywood it's a completely different reason: there's a clear political/religious white-guilt agenda, and the casting is often designed to promote that agenda. That's why non-white actors are usually casted as positive characters while negative characters remain white.

[–] Burk48917 (11528) 4 years ago

You pointed out the problem perfectly without realizing how you make the OPs point. Yes, those things were done, and if they were cast that way today it would be a HUGE issue. It's only ok when it goes the other way. Liberals and progressives don't want to balance the scales, they want them to tip in their favor. We aren't going to fix the world on teeter-totter, we should all be standing on the same level.

[–] rnmboon (448) 4 years ago

Katherine Hepburn played a Chinese woman or when Christopher Lee played a Chinese man or when Elizabeth Taylor played an Egyptian woman or when Esther Williams played a Mexican woman or when Anthony Hopkins played a Spanish man or when Marlon Brando and Mickey Rooney both played Japanese men or when Rock Hudson, Burt Lancaster and Daniel Day-Lewis all played Native American men... etc. etc.

I seem to remember all of those roles being criticised a lot in recent years because those actors were playing characters with another ethnicity. So that is now ok again all of a sudden?

[–] kukuxu (5409) 4 years ago

It's OK when a non-white plays a white. It's a caste system: races considered superior in modern western society (like blacks) can play other ones, but it's a sin that those one play the "superior" ones.

[–] OratiaGlake (1259) 4 years ago

If by this example ‘.....Daniel Day-Lewis ..... played Native American....’ are you referring to Last of the Mohicans, because his character was of ‘white’ descent and he not actually a Native American.