MovieChat Forums > Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024) Discussion > Salon points out why PoC leads are a mis...

Salon points out why PoC leads are a mistake

posted 9 months ago by jk90us (7138)
6 replies | jump to latest

Salon magazine griped about Donald Glover having an Asian fetish in real life, which they think is just (gasp!) horrible, and how they feel that’s carried into the series.

They call out a “racist” comment Glover’s undercover character makes about Maya Erskine’s character during an episode, even though he does it to throw off his targets.

And, of course, Erskine’s character, who is supposed to be a cool, calm assassin, is offended by this.

https://www.salon.com/2024/02/11/mr-mrs-smith-donald-glover-asian-women-fetish

But that (perhaps unintentionally on Salon’s part) also points out why having PoC leads can be a problem.

When they cast white actors, like in the film version, films/shows focus on the story.

When it’s PoC actors/characters, it tends to focus on race (i.e. woke), which severely limits its potential audience and entertainment value.

This is why there is a big difference between being diverse vs being woke.

Diverse = Good (when it isn’t race-swapping white characters)
Woke = Bad

[–] brux (14724) 3 months ago

If one wants to be perturbed by the two leads then do.
Why it would matter is beyond me.
I wondered what the thing was with Skarsgard and ?? in the beginning shots.
If you don't like it, don't watch it. I confess I kind of watched it, watching it
because I wonder what is the point of this ridiculous series.
It as novel the first few episodes, not I am not so sure.
Especially how they gunplay is so ridiculous.
Also they meet the two other Smiths and just open right up to them, not to
mention Mr. keeps in contact with his mother.
It's pretty dumb.
So it rating down for what you think is diverse or woke.

[–] jk90us (7138) 3 months ago

>If one wants to be perturbed by the two leads then do.

Thanks. I will.

>Why it would matter is beyond me.

I explained why above.

>If you don't like it, don't watch it.

Problem with that is everything is woke these days and I’m running out of things to watch.

There are no mainstream films and shows that appeal to a mass audience anymore.

Just bad films taken from some boring “how to be sensitive to other cultures” class in high school.

[–] brux (14724) 3 months ago

I think anti-woke is worse than woke these days.
Woke to the anti-woke is so all-consuming that anti-woke see it everywhere,
and mostly end up confusing civil and civilization, justice, democracy and
just being a decent person with woke and get sucked down a rabbit hole
or barbarism.

[–] brux (14724) 3 months ago

> Just bad films taken from some boring “how to be sensitive to other cultures” class in high school.

In a time and country where there are murders and mass-shootings, and
hateful harsh rhetoric everywhere in the public space, seems like learning
to be sensitive to others is a valid stand.

On the other hand, the people pushing against that are pretty damn
insensitive to others and support from heinous actions socially and
politically.

Me, I tend to agree with Tim Walz, the all-consuming effort to attack
civilization is weird, and it seems more like something in line with extremist
Islam and Hamas brainwashing children to be hateful child soldier terrorists
than civil productive sociable citizens.

[–] Skavau (15993) 3 months ago

That's just the problem with the writing, not necessarily the actors.

Warrior is led by people of Asian heritage. No problem. Mr. Robots lead is of Egyptian ancestry.

The Expanse has an interracial relationship with the leads. No issues. Same goes with Fallout.

[–] jk90us (7138) 3 months ago

I totally agree.

That’s why I said PoC leads “can” be a problem when the story focuses on them being PoC.

You never see films/shows focusing on people being white.

Unless it’s a woke story about white people being evil (i.e. most of them these days).