I will never understand what's so difficult about casting actors who at least resemble the characters described in the book. Age is a also a big factor here for me. I know, I know... they are doing it on purpose to appeal to the preferences and fetishes of their audience but really...
If the character in the book is a black woman in her 40s, cast a black woman in her 40s. Not a 20-something tanned white woman.
If the characters are teenagers, cast teenagers, not 20-something supermodels who will give an entirely new generation of actual teenagers body image issues because they don't look like them.
And maybe a controversial one:
If a character is described as plain, average looking, ugly, overweight etc. etc... cast someone who really looks like this. Don't put dorky glasses and unflattering clothes on a supermodel and call them "ugly". Because this will also give generations of teens body image issues.
Yep! And don't you just hate the plots where a visual "transformation" is part of the female character's story arc, as in people need to know she can be pretty too! Can't have a woman who isn't conventionally attractive and stays that way but develops in other ways, nope. I've once read a book with a female protagonist whose appearance wasn't described much, but more to the effect of "plain", and when she finds her empowerment, of course it has to be mentioned that she lost weight and looks more feminine and dainty now. I rolled my eyes so hard.
Women can't stay rough around the edges, they have to be smooth and pleasant at some point.
Especially because that huge "transformation" usually consists of her taking off her glasses, wearing "sexy" clothes and putting on a little make up and people act like she's a whole new person. Like... her face didn't change! Her body didn't change! She is as pretty as she's always been and literally the same woman in a different outfit who wears lipstick now. What sort of message is that supposed to send? "Men have shitty facial recognition. Just wear a different shirt and some lipstick and they'll think you are someone else"?
It all plays into the propaganda that women are subhuman and ugly as their natural selves. A set of literal non-actions that are entirely acceptable for men somehow become an act of "letting themselves go" and "not using their potential" in women. Most men would probably look better with strategic applications of makeup, but no one thinks they owe it to themselves or society to do that. And no plot about a male character has EVER been about him becoming more beautiful, it's always learning to accept himself the way he is and finding others who do the same.
Facts! Emma Stone’s early 00’s Hollywood career explained right there. Newish actors in 2023 are resembling “What white fans read.” Not exactly strong progress, and definitely still not giving us “What the text seems to describe.”
6
Unknown member
Apr 23, 2023
hollywood since the beginning of its time has been a horrible abusive industry run by white men.. that writes and makes movies for white men. so what are we really expecting? Female directors are not taken seriously and hollywood relentlessly fails female directors, women have to work twice as hard to prove they belong in the room, its very much a boys club mentality, its a cutthroat industry to begin with so try being a black woman trying to make it as a director in a white mans world.
A few examples from recent movie versions of children's books and cartoons (my goddaughters watch them when they are with me 😂) and I find it especially problematic in these cases because a little girl somewhere was probably thrilled to see a girl who looks like her in a cartoon only to be disappointed in the version with real actors later:
Casting a white girl as:
- Katara in The Last Airbender (who is brown and Inuit(?) in the cartoon version)
- Tigerlily in Peter Pan (who is Native American and obviously problematic in general)
- Musa and Flora in the Netflix version of Winx (who are Asian and Hispanic in the cartoon)
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I will never understand what's so difficult about casting actors who at least resemble the characters described in the book. Age is a also a big factor here for me. I know, I know... they are doing it on purpose to appeal to the preferences and fetishes of their audience but really...
If the character in the book is a black woman in her 40s, cast a black woman in her 40s. Not a 20-something tanned white woman.
If the characters are teenagers, cast teenagers, not 20-something supermodels who will give an entirely new generation of actual teenagers body image issues because they don't look like them.
And maybe a controversial one:
If a character is described as plain, average looking, ugly, overweight etc. etc... cast someone who really looks like this. Don't put dorky glasses and unflattering clothes on a supermodel and call them "ugly". Because this will also give generations of teens body image issues.
Facts! Emma Stone’s early 00’s Hollywood career explained right there. Newish actors in 2023 are resembling “What white fans read.” Not exactly strong progress, and definitely still not giving us “What the text seems to describe.”
hollywood since the beginning of its time has been a horrible abusive industry run by white men.. that writes and makes movies for white men. so what are we really expecting? Female directors are not taken seriously and hollywood relentlessly fails female directors, women have to work twice as hard to prove they belong in the room, its very much a boys club mentality, its a cutthroat industry to begin with so try being a black woman trying to make it as a director in a white mans world.
Some examples would be great.