Scarlett Johansson standing up for herself for the roles she has played. (1 Viewer)

It seems to me she stumbled in the sense that she wasn't anticipating the question and was still fomulating her response on the fly a bit. Can't really blame her for that.

Sometimes I need a little time to come up with a good answer to a complex question. Heck, I'll even change my position as I come up with an answer. We can't have nice, tidy answers to every question we get asked.
agreed
and i probably sounded like i was anti Scarjo at the beginning (though hopefully i've qualified that enough to make clear that my issue is not with her, it's the broader concern of representation on screen)

of course status quo will want to hunker down on the 'theory' that any actor can play any role - this is a take that almost certainly comes from people who have seen themselves represented on screen and in print for the entirety of their lives

i would ask them to consider what it would be like for a trans person in these transphobic times, to see a trans person tell their story vs scarjo or olympia dukakis or jeffrey tambor
 
i would ask them to consider what it would be like for a trans person in these transphobic times, to see a trans person tell their story vs scarjo or olympia dukakis or jeffrey tambor

Serious question - are we not living in the least transphobic era of recorded history? I mean we barely had a polite word to describe "transgender" until recently. The idea of "Who would play you in the movie?" is about as first world as problems get.
 
opposite of that
traditionally the call would have gone out for an Ariel and casting agents would have sent "the best choices available" (and they would all have been white)
in this instance, my guess is Disney sent out a casting call searching for 'all ethnicities' or some better phrasing - and made their choice from a wide open pool

had casting always been like this, we wouldn't be having this discussion -but since much of hollywood has been black-, brown- or yellow-face casting in predominately white stories we are now in a course correction so of course the status quo warriors are in their feels (that last was for antipop)
You are completely ignoring the source material that the movie or show is based on though. The author had a certain vision of what that character looks like for whatever reason that may be. Audience members get attached to these characters because of how they identify with them. The issue is that they are not trying to make movies or shows that are based on literature with characters that minority audiences associate with. Instead they want to change something that an audience has already grown attached to thus disassociating the attachment they had to that character. We should promote new stories with characters that are already implemented that way in the source material.
 
Serious question - are we not living in the least transphobic era of recorded history? I mean we barely had a polite word to describe "transgender" until recently. The idea of "Who would play you in the movie?" is about as first world as problems get.
Fair point
More in a bit
 
You are completely ignoring the source material that the movie or show is based on though. The author had a certain vision of what that character looks like for whatever reason that may be. Audience members get attached to these characters because of how they identify with them. The issue is that they are not trying to make movies or shows that are based on literature with characters that minority audiences associate with. Instead they want to change something that an audience has already grown attached to thus disassociating the attachment they had to that character. We should promote new stories with characters that are already implemented that way in the source material.

there's no character on stage and screen, in history, who means more to me than Hamlet. I know the source material, probably more intimately than is healthy. I have a reasonably good idea what Shakespeare had in mind vis a vis vision. I'm attached to him. I identify with him.

Papaa Essiedu is a black actor and played him - the first in the Royal Shakespeare Company's history. When I saw it - and read reviews - I wished I could have seen it. I thought it was pretty cool. And I think it's also a pretty important moment in English theater

I think that's different than, say, a white character playing Othello. Because Othello's black-ness is a feature of the play. Hamlet's whiteness is not. Cast a Christian as Shylock. Doesn't work. Shylock's Jewish faith is critical to the play. I think there might be some enterprising playwright who could re-cast Othello as white or female or something like that and make some changes. I'd be cool with that.

I was also cool with the production of "Midsummer Night's Dream" that the Swine Palace put on at LSU years ago. Set in the swamps of Louisiana rather than Athens.

Because the Greekness of Theseus and Hippolyta didn't really matter, so it could be moved pretty easily - and accents changed accordingly, of course.

This isn't really an absolute issue, imo. I think there's a lot of context that is important.

So, to make a broad declaration about authorial intent or 'source material' isn't nearly as fixed as you seem to suggest here.
 
Serious question - are we not living in the least transphobic era of recorded history? I mean we barely had a polite word to describe "transgender" until recently. The idea of "Who would play you in the movie?" is about as first world as problems get.
sure, i overstated
i was thinking about what it would be like for trans or other lgbq members to attain significant rights and social acceptance and then to have those taken back again

let's say you felt like a 4 during "don't ask, don't tell" - then you felt like an 8 for gay marriage
and now you feel like a 6 with the trans ban and kim davis, et al
more than likely people feel more like it's a 2 step loss vs a 2 step not gain
but yes, i was unthinkingly being hyperbolic and using a recency bias that i normally bristle at others for using
 
You are completely ignoring the source material that the movie or show is based on though. The author had a certain vision of what that character looks like for whatever reason that may be. Audience members get attached to these characters because of how they identify with them. The issue is that they are not trying to make movies or shows that are based on literature with characters that minority audiences associate with. Instead they want to change something that an audience has already grown attached to thus disassociating the attachment they had to that character. We should promote new stories with characters that are already implemented that way in the source material.
i'll sidestep the assumption of what HC Andersen wanted (even though ive addressed that his ariel was horribly tortured is his book making it clear that giving up her tail for legs was a BAD idea)
but could you please restate the bolded part? are you saying that Disney is specifically trying to break little white girls from their princesses?

( we all do know that Disney is not going to destroy all copies of their animated movie when the live action one comes out, correct?)
 
i'll sidestep the assumption of what HC Andersen wanted (even though ive addressed that his ariel was horribly tortured is his book making it clear that giving up her tail for legs was a BAD idea)
but could you please restate the bolded part? are you saying that Disney is specifically trying to break little white girls from their princesses?

( we all do know that Disney is not going to destroy all copies of their animated movie when the live action one comes out, correct?)
I’m not saying they are trying to do it, i’m saying it may be an unintended consequence.
 
To me it seems the author wanted to write a white privilege piece and grabbed Scarlett Johanssons quote to give it web click-ability. I am sure if he searched he could have found someone who really did intend to harm others soley due to their skin color. I think he missed with SJ though. Funny this thread has 2x the views of the authors blog post.

I am so lost in this PC world I didn't know that Asian Americans considered themselves to be people of color. About the author http://www.louisleungauthor.com/about.html
 
but she was asked a leading question that she stumbled over (SS disagrees, i still think it was a stumble) and then she brought more nuance and understanding to her answer
It seems to me she stumbled in the sense that she wasn't anticipating the question and was still fomulating her response on the fly a bit.

She didn't stumble at all. She was asked about the backlash she received for her casting as a transgender in an upcoming movie, to which she replied she should be allowed to play any person. Her big mistake was not dropping to her knees, pulling out a cat o'nine tails, and punishing herself for being privileged.
 
there's no character on stage and screen, in history, who means more to me than Hamlet. I know the source material, probably more intimately than is healthy. I have a reasonably good idea what Shakespeare had in mind vis a vis vision. I'm attached to him. I identify with him.

Papaa Essiedu is a black actor and played him - the first in the Royal Shakespeare Company's history. When I saw it - and read reviews - I wished I could have seen it. I thought it was pretty cool. And I think it's also a pretty important moment in English theater

I think that's different than, say, a white character playing Othello. Because Othello's black-ness is a feature of the play. Hamlet's whiteness is not.

Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark. can't get any whiter than that.

However, in that regard, I'd say, theater is a different beast. Theater doesn't rely on, or intent to portray reality the way movies do. So I think nothing of seeing Lin-Manuel Miranda playing a rapping Alexander Hamilton, or Raul Julia when he used to play Hamlet onstage at Shakespeare in the Park, but it would be visually jarring to see Michael B. Jordan play Ragnar Lothbrok in Vikings, feigning a Norse accent.

Now, you may say, Ragnar was Norse, and therefore his whiteness is a feature of the character. Well, Hamlet was Norse too.
 

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