Rooney Mara to play Tiger Lily in Pan- Page 4

[HorseTears]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 12:48am

I am disappointed, though not entirely surprised, to read some truly dismaying comments from board members I otherwise respect and enjoy conversing with. Some of these posts are not too far off from the comments my friends' grandparents post on Facebook when sharing Fox News stories about "reverse racism".

By acknowledging and attempting to challenge centuries of institutional racism in Western society and the lack of representation in media/entertainment in 2014, one is not denying that white people can experience racism. That's just ridiculous. Of course, a white person can be subjected to a racist action. And, sure, a white person could grow up in a "tough" neighborhood in which s/he is in fact the minority and in which s/he experiences abhorrent levels of racist behavior for many years. BUT, to compare isolated or anecdotal incidents of racism against white people with centuries of systematic oppression and institutional racism and lack of representation inflicted upon racial minorities is to engage in false equivalencies. And, yes, we have a black president and African American, Asian and Latino CEOs. And, yes, Will Smith is one of the biggest box office stars in the world, and yes, the second richest man in the world is Mexican and, yes, things are better than they were a century ago. These are successes to be celebrated. But it's ridiculous to deny that the wheel of oppression and institutional racism is still spinning -- though, admittedly, in more subtle ways than before.

In this particular case, we're dealing with a fictional fairy tale character, who may in fact be written to reflect Rooney Mara's "look". That's Joe Wright and his collaborators' artistic right. But to deny that this story is indicative of the issues of representation in all forms of media and entertainment, is to speak from a place of privilege, whether you choose to acknowledge it or not.

The Wall Street Journal's Jeff Yang wrote a very interesting piece on this very topic yesterday, in which he argues that, given this country's changing demographics, it actually makes financial sense for Hollywood/media to be more inclusive. An excerpt below (full article here: http://on.wsj.com/1itOqqr )


In Wright’s version, Tiger Lily might not be Native American either. As The Wrap reported, “Wright is planning to create a world that very international and multiracial, effectively challenging audiences’ preconceived notions of Neverland and reimagining the environment.”

Obviously, “challenging audiences’ preconceived notions” is a good thing creatively. In casting, however, it often translates into filmmakers taking characters of color and recasting them as Caucasians. Very rarely do we see things go the other way — and when they do, the public response is often vitriolic and ugly.

Consider the outcry over the decision to cast African American actor Michael B. Jordanas Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, in Fox’s reboot of “The Fantastic Four.” Or the rage at the decision to turn Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis and Oscar winner Jamie Foxx — both black — into the daughter-and-daddy duo at the heart of the latest version of the beloved musical “Annie.” Avalanches of racist rage have even been triggered when characters of color are put onscreen as characters of color: Remember the tweetstorm over the casting of young African American actress Amandla Stenberg as Rue, Katniss’s resourceful young African American in “The Hunger Games”? People just “didn’t imagine” Rue as black. Even though the book. Clearly. Says. That. She’s. Black.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 12:51am

Oh, and, thank you, Taryn for doling out some cold, hard truth in this thread!

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 9:08am

Now that the producers have come back to say that their newly-imagined "world of Pan is multiracial," I hope they follow through with that idea. We shall see if their Pan or Hook or Wendy (or all three) end up being cast with minority actors.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 9:37am

Somehow, I doubt it very much.

[Taryn]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 11:34am

Hook's already cast with a white man. All of the casting so far has been with white actors. Sure they might be rewriting Tiger Lily to not be a minority, but that sure doesn't make it any better. Reinventing a minority role as white is just part of the same problem.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 2:25pm

"to compare isolated or anecdotal incidents of racism against white people with centuries of systematic oppression and institutional racism and lack of representation inflicted upon racial minorities is to engage in false equivalencies."

Very well said.

[javero]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 2:37pm

"People are just in denial that white is the default and has been since the dawn of man. It's like the saying goes, don't fix what ain't broke and a broken clock is right twice a day."

I agree and had to remind a younger family member recently that sometimes it is indeed a numbers game, more so than some majority group out to deny him certain opportunities for advancement. I also suggest that when the numbers are clearly in your favor it's only natural to accept the perks of your birth right as a given. Oddly though, an interesting anomaly is that fields predominated by women tend to be lower paying.

My former boss, who's a wonderful white American woman,visited her daughter who was interning with a US firm in Japan a few years ago. After returning, she awkwardly remarked over lunch that it was her first experience as an ethnic minority in any setting for an extended amount of time and that it shook her to her core. She survived a setting in which for 3 weeks the only person who remotely resembled her and with whom she could communicate comfortably was her own daughter.

On a personal note, as a black man approaching 50, I take comfort in how much better life is for me and those like than as recently as 25 years ago. Though I'm not fond of his oeuvre, the one lesson I've learned from filmmaker, playwright, and actor Tyler Perry is that if you build it some damn body will come even if it's only Madea and her crew

The 2nd law of marketing is the Law of Category. If you're not the cat's meow in one context due to the numbers, get ye's azz to another where the numbers give you an advantage...fo shizzle ma nizzle.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 8:41pm

"People are just in denial that white is the default and has been since the dawn of man. It's like the saying goes, don't fix what ain't broke and a broken clock is right twice a day."


But, of course, this^ is part of the problem. In media and entertainment, people of racial minorities are often viewed as "other". Their very existence as characters in much of film, tv, and literature is in relation to white people, as though their stories, regardless of the perspective of a white person, aren't strong or worthy enough to stand alone. I think the wonderful novelist Toni Morrison said it very well in this interview with Charlie Rose...


Toni Morrison talks to Charlie Rose about writing about the black experience OUTSIDE of the context of "white America"

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 11/25/14 at 12:23pm

It kind of looks like a 21st century 'Hook' to me. Neverland certainly looks different from what I was expecting.


VIDEO: First Look - Hugh Jackman Stars as Blackbeard in Live-Action PAN!