Its 2022, and the modernisation project of the regency era is well underway. Each year, a new season ofBridgertondescends upon us and gives the internet a new diamond of the season to rave over. If 2021 was Reg-Jean Pages year, 2022 would be Simone Ashleys. Not only are the two protagonists in theGossip Girl-Esque period drama, but both stand out as actors of colour in a conventionally white story.
A more recent case of colour-blind casting in regency-era dramas has been in the case of the Netflix adaptation of Jane AustensPersuasion. With Malaysian-British actor Henry Golding, Nigerian-British actress Nikki Amuka-Bird, and many more, Persuasion joins the race-blind casting club.
Within the casting itself, critics point out that race-blindness has compromised historical accuracy. As in the case of most race-blind period dramas, this argument has also been extended to instances such as the questions of accuracyregardingHalle Baileys casting inThe Little Mermaid(2023).
However, such casting in historical dramas is not a new phenomenon. Be it Dev PatelplayingDavid Copperfield(2019) and Adeel AkhtarplayingLestrade inEnola Holmes(2020), colour-bind casting has been a feature in showbiz for quite some time. In fact, lest we forget, even Amitabh BachchanplayedMeyer Wolfsheim inThe Great Gatsby(2013), a character is originally written to be an Ashkenazi Jew.
Disney-fantasy films such as the upcomingLittle Mermaid(2023) and superhero movies likeThor: Ragnarok(2017) have also embraced a colour-blind cast. So if the colour-blind casting is so rapidly expanding to all forms of film and television, what is with the whole debate over it?
It all began with the operaTannhuser(1961), whichfeaturedmezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry as Venus. Bumbry led on to become the first black singer to ever perform at the Bayreuth Festival in Germany. However, her casting was not just a move to make the opera seem more inclusive, but in fact, there lay a much deeper vision on the part of the director Wieland Wagner. Hiring a black singer for a white role waspartof a larger picture to sever post-War Bayreuths ties from its turbulent and racist past.
Opponents of heterogeneous casting in implausible roles and plotlines have also alleged that racial inclusion has been reduced to atick-box exercise. Race-blindness solely for the purpose of scoring DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) points is increasingly common and a lot less desirable.
The opera soon became a huge scandal, and Bumbrys casting swelled up to a high level of national significance. Contrast this with the deluge of critical views thatPersuasionfinds itself in. Leaving the casting aside the screenplay itself is facing a lot of flak- especially from Austens deepest admirers, who regard the movie to be a greatly watered-down andFleabag-ifiedversion of the novel.
Within the casting itself, critics point out that race blindness has compromised historical accuracy. As in the case of most race-blind period dramas, this argument has also been extended to instances such as the questions of accuracyregardingHalle Baileys casting inThe Little Mermaid(2023).
Opponents of heterogeneous casting in implausible roles and plotlines have also alleged that racial inclusion has been reduced to atick-box exercise. Race-blindness solely for the purpose of scoring DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) points is increasingly common and a lot less desirable.
As in the case of the 2020 Huluadaptationof Sally Rooneys novel Normal People, thoughtless race-blind casting led to the three major anti-heroes being people of colour for no specific reason. Colour-conscious casting in modern fiction would rather focus on racial diversity by answering why a specific character needs to belong to a specific race.
As in the case of the 2020 Huluadaptationof Sally Rooneys novel Normal People, thoughtless race-blind casting led to the three major anti-heroes being people of colour for no specific reason. Colour-conscious casting in modern fiction would rather focus on racial diversity by answering why a specific character needs to belong to a specific race.
This, in turn, would require self-interrogation and accountability, which could be the factors that filmmakers try to avoid by random race-blind casting.
The damages that can be done by race-blind casting are deeper. At best, it is implausible and almost hilarious to see a host of actors from various racial backgrounds play characters from theMahabharatain the 1989 film adaptation, written by English and French screenwriters. At worst, it ignores the history of discrimination in the entertainment industry and dismisses any accountability about the intention of why an actor of a specific race was cast for a specific role.
A 2018articlein the Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law addresses another facet of race-blind casting in Hollywood. Race-blind casting does not appropriately deal with the discriminatory environment that exists even in the present-day labour market. Ignoring race, as done inPersuasionandBridgerton, feeds into the harmful notion that not talking about race and the contexts it adds would fix Americas deeply entrenched racist rhetoric.
Movies and TV have great potential to contribute to meaningful societal changes, learning about the world, understanding diverse contexts, and connecting with various cultures.
However, a very elementary and widely-observed purpose of cinema is entertainment and even escapism. For instance, most mainstream Hindi cinema is aimed at being anescapistexperience for the masses, providing a brief distraction from the trials and tribulations that the lower and middle classes face.
Along these lines, proponents of race-blind casting argue that people of colour, too, deserve escapist, fantastical, and implausible storylines in mainstream cinema. Addressing historical oppression and marginalisation in each story with a character of colour would not only take the focus away from the primary plotline but also restrict people of colour to only see themselves represented through reminders of a painful past and present.
Also read:Women, Race & Class: Angela Davis And The Womens Movement In India
What acts as a middle ground on both sides of this debate is the need to replace colour-blind casting with colour-conscious casting. While the former succeeded in bringing in a larger number of actors of colour to our screens, the latteracknowledgesand embraces the various layers and dimensions that racial contexts bring to a story.
In order to meaningfully and accurately include characters of colour in historical dramas, it is essential, to begin with choosing a racially diverse historical setting in the first place. Such a plotline can act as the perfect vehicle to not only address issues of racial representation in traditionally white-dominant storylines, but it would also provide depth to the story by appropriately weaving in conversations on race within backgrounds they have been missing in all this time.
Not seeing colour and being colour-blind has always been ineffective and even harmful response to tackling deeply-rooted racism. Duplicating the same within film and TV would not have any different effects either. Heres hoping that whichever upcoming period drama is going to be the next talk-of-the-town, it does away with the pattern of feeding viewers false and one-dimensionalhistoriesunder the garb of representation.
Also read:A Racist India & How Its Racism Is Different For North-Eastern Women
Featured image source:British GQ
Excerpt from:
Persuasion Film Review: Is Heterogeneous Casting Race-Inclusionary Or Escapist? - Feminism In India
- AI has perfect detection rate for severe cases of condition that causes blindness in preemies - OHSU News - March 10th, 2024
- PulseSight launches with gene therapy platform targeting age-related blindness - Longevity.Technology - March 10th, 2024
- AIOS and RANZCO Unite to Combat Preventable Blindness - Hindustan Times - March 10th, 2024
- Baby born without eyes defies the odds as she thrives despite blindness - Express - March 10th, 2024
- Penn Medicine Accelerator Program to Boost AI-Powered Projects Targeting Blindness and Cervical Cancer - India Education Diary - March 10th, 2024
- Scientists discover gut bacteria`s role in genetically-linked vision loss - WION - February 27th, 2024
- Prevent Blindness launches new Retinopathy of Prematurity Education and Support Program as part of inaugural ... - Modern Retina - February 27th, 2024
- Revolutionizing Eye Disease Treatment: The Unseen Link Between Gut Bacteria and Blindness - Medriva - February 27th, 2024
- The Virtue of Color-Blindness & The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America Book Review - National Review - February 27th, 2024
- Sight loss could be treated by antibiotics after being linked to gut bacteria - The Independent - February 27th, 2024
- Prevent Blindness Launches New "Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) Education and Support Program" as Part of ... - PR Web - February 27th, 2024
- $35 million to fight blindness with manufactured corneas | Health Portfolio Ministers | Australian Government ... - Department of Health - February 10th, 2024
- Eye care, vision impairment and blindness - World Health Organization (WHO) - October 27th, 2023
- CHOROIDEREMIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION EXPANDS RESEARCH SUPPORT INTO NONSENSE MUTATIONS OF A RARE INHERITED RETINAL - EIN News - May 1st, 2023
- Chennai eye hospital ties up with Iceland firm to adopt mathematical algorithm to predict diabetic retinopathy - The Hindu - April 23rd, 2023
- Drug-Resistant Bacteria Tied to Eyedrops Can Spread Person to Person ... - April 7th, 2023
- Prevention of Blindness Week 2023: Mumbai experts explain why you should be concerned about glaucoma and the need for regular eye checkups -... - April 7th, 2023
- Childhood blindness - Wikipedia - February 24th, 2023
- FDA Approves Syfovre (pegcetacoplan injection) for the Treatment of ... - February 24th, 2023
- Human mini brains illuminate path to curing blindness - February 16th, 2023
- Raymond V. Gilmartin: Man with a global vision - February 16th, 2023
- Why Are People So Mad About MrBeast's Blindness Video? - February 16th, 2023
- This heartwarming video of a colorblind boy seeing color for the first time will make you cry - Indiatimes.com - February 16th, 2023
- Blindness (Vision Impairment): Types, Causes and Treatment - February 8th, 2023
- CDC urges people to stop using brand of artificial tears linked to ... - February 8th, 2023
- Health News Roundup: U.S. FDA says India-made eye drop linked to some infections, blindness and one death; China records 3,278 COVID-related deaths... - February 8th, 2023
- I had two strokes at 29 and gone blind -I've been accused of faking my sight loss - Daily Mail - February 8th, 2023
- Blindness and vision impairment - World Health Organization - January 23rd, 2023
- Recovery from blindness - Wikipedia - January 23rd, 2023
- Colour blindness tests, juggling, avoiding glare: A hockey goalkeepeers quest to train his biggest weapon, eyes - The Indian Express - January 23rd, 2023
- But Did You See the Gorilla? The Problem With Inattentional Blindness ... - October 15th, 2022
- Canadians unaware of diseases that lead to blindness, survey says - CTV News Northern Ontario - October 15th, 2022
- A Review of Corneal Blindness: Causes and Management - Cureus - October 15th, 2022
- A cure for blindness may be first product made in space - Freethink - October 15th, 2022
- Is MrBeast trying to cure 1000 people's blindness? - indy100 - October 15th, 2022
- Early detection and management is the key to prevent glaucoma related blindness: Experts - Express Healthcare - October 15th, 2022
- As World Sight Day Nears, River Blindness is Fading - SaportaReport - October 15th, 2022
- Tears of happiness: How curing blindness in Dolakha saved a girls future - City A.M. - October 15th, 2022
- World Sight Day: Orbis, UC Davis team up to train eye care teams from Latin America to fight avoidable blindness - Ophthalmology Times - October 15th, 2022
- Juan Williams: The GOPs epidemic of intentional blindness - The Hill - October 15th, 2022
- Charles pays tribute to Malawi's elimination of disease causing blindness - Express & Star - October 15th, 2022
- Coping with calamity: Former NYT columnist Frank Bruni on blindness and vision, at Morristown book fest keynote - Morristown Green - October 15th, 2022
- Sighting solutions in a world of vision for weavers - The New Indian Express - October 15th, 2022
- Blindfold run raises $40,000 for the MUHC Foundation to support glaucoma care at the MUHC - StreetInsider.com - October 15th, 2022
- MacKenzie Scott Donates $15M to Address the Eyecare Needs of the Impoverished - InvisionMag - October 15th, 2022
- Astellas and MBC BioLabs Announce Astellas Future Innovator Prize to Help Biotech Start-ups Accelerate Early Drug Discovery and Research Efforts -... - September 20th, 2022
- Treating cataracts before 'critical age' imperative FBC News - FBC News - September 20th, 2022
- GenSight Biologics to Present at Upcoming Industry and Investor Conferences - Business Wire - September 20th, 2022
- Ashton Kutcher battled vasculitis causing blindness, loss of hearing. Know all about the rare condition - India TV News - August 11th, 2022
- Prevent Blindness Is Recognized as a Healthy People 2030 Champion for Supporting the Initiative's Vision - Vision Monday - August 11th, 2022
- Researchers make progress toward a stem cellbased therapy for blindness - Ophthalmology Times - August 11th, 2022
- The strategic blindness of Israel's caretaker government - JNS.org - August 11th, 2022
- UND professor carries the torch for UND studies of visual impairment and blindness - Grand Forks Herald - August 11th, 2022
- Karan Nagrani is using social media to raise awareness about the 'spectrum of blindness' - ABC News - August 11th, 2022
- Vision impairment and blindness related to NCDs: Fong - FBC News - August 11th, 2022
- Strategic blindness of caretaker government - The Jewish Star - August 11th, 2022
- Massachusetts woman blinded by attack working to help others regain sight - WCVB Boston - August 11th, 2022
- Is It Time To Start Using Race And Gender To Combat Bias In Lending? - Forbes - August 11th, 2022
- The journey of Kali Yugi started with the mistake of objectives! - Youthistaan - August 11th, 2022
- A 50-State Review of Access to State Medicaid Program Information for People with Limited English Proficiency and/or Disabilities Ahead of the PHE... - August 11th, 2022
- iHealthScreen Completed Prospective Trial of AI-Based Tool for Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Screening and Submitting the Results to FDA for... - August 11th, 2022
- Vitamin B12: Why You Need It & Foods To Increase Your Vitamin B12 Intake - NDTV - August 11th, 2022
- Jack Levine: Remembering a dad who proved that even in blindness, there can be vision - The Florida Times-Union - June 26th, 2022
- Potion of Blindness | Minecraft Ideas Wiki | Fandom - June 26th, 2022
- Tightening a molecular "zipper" could help prevent hereditary blindness - New Atlas - June 26th, 2022
- What's the Link Between Glaucoma and Dry Eyes? - Healthline - June 26th, 2022
- Lisa Durden's upcoming documentary "Blind Divas" follows Krystle Allen and Naquela Wright-Prevoe, two Black women entrepreneurs, determined... - June 26th, 2022
- Trump election lies may fit legal concept of willful blindness - Chicago Tribune - June 26th, 2022
- Sightsavers relaunches its thematic strategy The Sun Nigeria - Daily Sun - June 26th, 2022
- Trachoma elimination: millions more to benefit from donated azithromycin - World Health Organization - June 26th, 2022
- Dangers of super gonorrhoea from infertility to blindness as global warning issued - Daily Star - June 26th, 2022
- Fifty years of Title IX: What is it, what does it cover and do we still need it? - The Athletic - June 26th, 2022
- How The SMH Got That Rebel Wilson Story So Wrong - Junkee - June 26th, 2022
- The Week That Was: All of Lawfare in One Post - Lawfare - Lawfare - June 26th, 2022
- Why Brad Pitt quit smoking and drinking altogether during the pandemic - BusinessGhana - June 26th, 2022
- Watch your eye - The New Indian Express - June 26th, 2022
- Olivia Brouwer's art is for everyone to see and touch - Hamilton Spectator - June 26th, 2022
- Monkeypox may not mutate as fast as coronaviruses, but that doesn't mean it can't adapt to its new hosts - The Conversation - June 26th, 2022
- Former American Express Foundation President Takes Helm of Signature Theatre - The Chronicle of Philanthropy - June 26th, 2022
- Junk Science Week: Net-Zero Edition John Constable & Debra Lieberman: The energy of nations and the creation of wealth - Financial Post - June 26th, 2022