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I am not a strong adherent of the concept of pushing diversity for the sake of diversity alone. I prefer that story and concept and creativity take precedence over being politically correct. But there is no reason not to have, in a galaxy apparently replete with humans, the two young heroes of the latest Star Wars story, be a woman and a black man - as long as the writers are willing and able to effectively write them and the chosen actors have the necessary chemistry in the scenes they share. And it was pretty obvious to me that the casting and story and actor-chemistry in Star Wars: the Force Awakens worked just fine, thank you very much. (I wouldn't have cared had Finn been played by either a white actor or an actor of Asian background, though I would hope that such an actor would be as good as Boyega)
I also thought that Daisy Ridley was a better actress in the movie than was Mark Hamill in the first Star Wars movie (though he definitely improved in the next two movies).
This protest seems like a tempest in a teapot.
Well of course the casting was pushing diversity for its own sake. Sci-fi, more than most genres has a long history of using black and ethnic characters since the early Star Trek TV and movie series. I remember a white friend expressing discomfort over the number and high profile of black actors in the Matrix series. I asked them if they hadn't noticed this about sci-fi in general. They had but they thought the Matrix was particularly over the top in that respect. Lucas was a misogynist racist, and loaded the early Star Wars releases with gender and race stereotypes, for which he received a bit of push-back. Disney took over, and did what Disney does best, for good or ill. I personally could do without seeing so many black pilots and space adventurers in the movies, making it seem as if such a thing is actually possible in the human realm. In actuality, out of 3/4 million commercial airline pilots, only a few dozen are black men, and maybe a dozen are black women. You aren't likely to see them flying for Jet Blue or SouthWest anytime soon.
Well of course the casting was pushing diversity for its own sake. Sci-fi, more than most genres has a long history of using black and ethnic characters since the early Star Trek TV and movie series. I remember a white friend expressing discomfort over the number and high profile of black actors in the Matrix series. I asked them if they hadn't noticed this about sci-fi in general. They had but they thought the Matrix was particularly over the top in that respect. Lucas was a misogynist racist, and loaded the early Star Wars releases with gender and race stereotypes, for which he received a bit of push-back. Disney took over, and did what Disney does best, for good or ill. I personally could do without seeing so many black pilots and space adventurers in the movies, making it seem as if such a thing is actually possible in the human realm. In actuality, out of 3/4 million commercial airline pilots, only a few dozen are black men, and maybe a dozen are black women. You aren't likely to see them flying for Jet Blue or SouthWest anytime soon.
Your friend expressed discomfort because there were a handful of black actors in the Matrix? Wow.
And I still cannot quite get my head around what the issues is with black pilots in a science-fiction / fantasy movie like for example Star Wars or Star Trek, where there are actual alien races in the mix. I mean really even in that "human realm" black pilots are unrealistic and you use real world commercial airline data to support that? I'm sorry but to me that makes little sense.....
I'm not entirely sure I get what they're protesting. It sounds like what they're protesting is the existence of protagonists that aren't white male characters. It seems they'd protest a lot of things and get tired. Maybe I'm just confused.
Give me a break, Hollywood is the last bastion of tolerability of racism and discrimination in general. Aziz Ansari's show on Netflix is brilliant and mocks Hollywood's use of "brown face". The guy in Short Circuit was a white guy in brown face. Like they really couldn't find an Indian guy to play him? How many times has Hollywood in recent years cast white guys to play Hispanic and Middle Eastern roles. Or my favorite, the rule of 2's. If you have 2 or more minorities, it's a "minority show" Ansari is brillaint. He says Blacks can now have 2 and it's acceptable but if they have 3 blacks or more, it's "black" show. His show basically just exposes racism in Hollywood but in a humorous way that doesn't beat you over the head with it. Everyone should watch it.
If you are a minority, it's nearly impossible to get roles that are not stereotypical. If you are Hispanic, you have to play a drug dealer or gangster. If you are Middle Eastern, you are a terrorist or a cab driver. If you are Asian, you are a martial artist or an nerd. If you are Indian, you have to play a cab driver or 7/11 owner. For example, 25% of all doctors in the U.S. are Indians yet the overwhelming majority of physician related dramas have no Indians. Blacks achieved relative equality in Hollywood but that is a fairly recent development. Even as far back as the early 90's, Blacks were all cheap comic relief that spoke jive or street smart wise guy. Look at 80's movies, if there was a Black character, he or she was stereotyped in this manner. And when the Cosby show came out, it was criticized for being "white" because the dad was a doctor and mom was a lawyer...talk about racist notion (that if you are Black and a doctor or lawyer, you are being white).
So when a movie like Star Wars has a Black lead...it's suddenly political correctness!!! No actually, it's just called "not racist"
Well of course the casting was pushing diversity for its own sake. Sci-fi, more than most genres has a long history of using black and ethnic characters since the early Star Trek TV and movie series. I remember a white friend expressing discomfort over the number and high profile of black actors in the Matrix series. I asked them if they hadn't noticed this about sci-fi in general. They had but they thought the Matrix was particularly over the top in that respect. Lucas was a misogynist racist, and loaded the early Star Wars releases with gender and race stereotypes, for which he received a bit of push-back. Disney took over, and did what Disney does best, for good or ill. I personally could do without seeing so many black pilots and space adventurers in the movies, making it seem as if such a thing is actually possible in the human realm. In actuality, out of 3/4 million commercial airline pilots, only a few dozen are black men, and maybe a dozen are black women. You aren't likely to see them flying for Jet Blue or SouthWest anytime soon.
So let met get this straight, if there are minority actors, it's just "casting pushing diversity for it's own sake" That's a pretty racist notion. So if you have too many Blacks or minorities, it had nothing to do with the actors' talent or the director's vision?
George Lucas made Boba Fett a Pacific Islander. Boba Fett was arguably the most popular Star Wars character at the time of prequel release. He made the most powerful Jedi, Mace Windu, a Black character. He made Queen Amidala's captain of the Royal Guard Hispanic. Bail Organa, Princess Leia's adoptive father, is Hispanic. He gave Billie Dee Williams Lando Calrisian, a major role in the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. That character could have easily been played by a white actor. This was during a time when Blacks were only given stereotypical roles. Sorry but Lucas is anything but misogynist racist and the notion of such is beyond ridiculous considering the evidence above. Also, a lot of military pilots are Blacks. And many Blacks were forbidden from being pilots. I suggest you read about the Tuskegee Airmen
They do not realize that Mickey has a highly trained mouse army and the next time they see a mouse in or near their homes, that said mouse may be part of that army with orders to kill.
They're pitiful. Sad little loser white males (and I say this as a white male myself) who can't handle the fact that society is becoming incrementally less (not more - just somewhat less) biased in favor of white males each year. Losers, because they can't even handle themselves in a world that is stacked in their favor (again, speaking as one, any white man who doesn't see this is clueless or in serious denial).
Read the first comment: "This isn't more diversity, this really is a genocide."
You might as well get I'M A PATHETIC LOSER tattooed right there on your forehead, pal! But then, he's par for the MRA course. Total loserville...
Lol. Isn't the new Star Wars set to make a BILLION dollars. Literally. And who cares if the lead actors are not white. It's a movie
People on the no fly list should not be able to access the web.
I allow a few flies in my home.
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