do you choose proven talent or a risky chance?

Sunday Soapbox 008

Casting

[ entertainment industry ]

Ah, I'm so mad!

Representation matters in today's culture especially when it comes to the products the society is being exposed with. Being aware of how the entertainment industry handles the adaptation of more minority characters is smart but not until the really vocal few start to be really nitpicky and criticize every part of the casting that do not specifically meet their grand standards! 

Scarlett Johansson has been the leading actress in the modern cinema for awhile now and for good reasons by being in one after another lucrative movies over the years. Her being pursued by a number of studios to lead their projects just make sense business-wise but it was unfortunate for her to be offered roles that are conventionally not for her, with Ghost in the Shell that have its original main protagonist of Asian descent (despite being a cyborg in the first place ... the film's third act reason behind the casting just couldn't make up for the backlash) and now Rub and Tug with a trans male lead. Hm ... the notion of acting is acting and it can be done by anybody who wants to act like anybody else (like how she responded by referring to Jared Leto's Oscar-winning role Dallas Buyers Club but it wasn't clear of controversy itself either) the medium has become so much more now, more than just an entertainment outlet but rather now a reflection of the current culture and humanity and if they cater way too much for only a specific demography, now the consumers have the outlets to make their voices heard by the powers-be and actually make it counts. It is a fight that I can get behind by covering more and more demography that would never be properly represented in the field of entertainment.

If the role is always given to the conventional actors, they would be taking away the chance for more under-represented actors, with a real trans woman playing the role that Jared took or a real trans man playing the role that Scarlett took (which she gave back to the studio after the backlash). I always believe in the belief of hiring the best people for the job and these two aforementioned performers are some of the best in the line of work. Why look past them just for the sake of diversity? Just like how studios are now actively searching for female directors to lead their female-led projects, it is for the simple fact of actually giving them a chance first before judging them just by their gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation. How do you know they would be better or worse than these established actors if you didn't give them a chance to prove themselves in the first place? I am glad that ScarJo steps aside to give the trans man role to a real trans man. No matter if the project would be the better or worse for it, it is a chance that their marginalized community would embrace and appreciate fully, which in turn let them have a genuine role model to look up to and cheered for when the go into the cinema or watch a television show.

Speaking of which, I am really quite peeved by the preposterous criticism of the recent casting reveal of Ruby Rose as Batwoman that would be introduced in the Flarrowverse, forcing her to quite twitter (another worrying trend that I would cover in another entry ...) just because she is not, WHAT, NOT LESBIAN ENOUGH?! WTF!!! How could that even be a valid question?! How can you tell if someone is gay or lesbian enough? Come on, tell me! I am just so happy that she is ecstatic and emotional to be a role model as a lesbian superhero that she would have appreciate when she was a kid and just about to embrace that side of her ... and now she is getting backlashed just for her not leaning more on her orientation! What?! That does not even make sense! I am so incensed of how dire the outrage culture is now ... but at least I know the industry would tread carefully moving forward in casting these roles in the future.

Fooh ... I feel better already!
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a case for casting a proven commodity or an up-and-coming talent:

+ Positives +

they are learning to put proper representation over taking risks.
? Main contention ?

each project have a different connotation and situation to it ...

- Negatives -

you can't please everybody in the end.

? Trait ?

- judging a product before it is even out or judging a person just based on their orientation ... shortsighted perception at its finest. -

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