This Means War

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot was a film about the war which came out in March of 2016. The film starred famous actress Tina Fey and was also produced by her. The film did not do very well in the box office, making only a third of its production costs. Though it did recieve good ratings, there was one problem critics and activists just couldn't let slide; the two main Afghan characters in the movie were played by white actors. This is a big problem in general; Hollywood continuously casts white actors to play colored rolls when there are numerous equally skilled actors who would fit the needs of the role skill wise and nationality wise. Tina Fey responded to this backlash claiming that the casting director searched through many people and found the actors who were best fit to play the roll.

She's playing Nina Simone?

One recent controversial casting choice involved Zoe Saldana being casted to play the famous blues singer Nina Simone in an upcoming biopic called,"Nina". People were upset because Saldana, a Latina woman, was casted to play Simone, who is an African American woman. After a preview of the movie was released on March 2, 2016, audiences were appalled to see Saldana covered in makeup that was darker than her skin tone in order to look like Nina Simone. People were confused as to why a black woman wasn't chosen to play the part. Hopefully Saldana will do an amazing job playing Nina Simone, calming down the confusion and discontent regarding her role. 

King of Pop Played by White British Actor

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/feb/05/joseph-fiennes-michael-jackson-shocked-to-be-cast
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/28/joseph-fiennes-michael-jackson-race-problems-oscarssowhite

http://thegrio.com/2017/01/11/joseph-fiennes-as-michael-jackson-in-urban-myths/ 1/18/2017

           The late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, will be portrayed by the actor, Joseph Fiennes, in a new film called Urban Myths. This has caused controversy because it is a white actor playing a black man. Back in 1993 in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Jackson said it would be horrifying for a white man to play him in any production. According to an article, Jackson was born black, so although his skin transformed to a lighter complexion, Fiennes can not capture Jackson's blackness in this film. Jackson's daughter, Paris Jackson is offended by this decision.

Doctor Wh-ite

Doctor Who is a British television series that has been airing on BBC since 1963 and was rebooted for a modern continuation in 2005. It is the longest running sci-fi show in the world and is regularly watched by millions of people around the world. But some people have accused the show of being racist. The main roll of Doctor Who is the doctor who regenerates into a new person with the same memory every single time he dies. This allows the show to continue forever and keep changing the lead actor when needed. Mainly people argue though that because the creators haven't casted a colored person to play the roll of the doctor, they are racist. The show fights back though, stating that they have a history of casting a diverse cast for either a major or guest role. Years back, for instance, Freema Agyeman played the first back companion and Noel Clarke played a major role for 5 consecutive years. For the new season coming out in a few months, they have once again casting a black companion which is a major role and is just as important as the doctor. The show's creators claim that their casting is strictly color-blind and they cast whoever is the best actor.

Color Blind Casting

When books, games, historical events or television shows are transformed into movies or shows, the actors portraying the characters, are often very different from what the characters "originally," looked like. Broadway's Hamilton, and J.K Rowling's Harry Potter, are great examples of "color blind casting." This form of casting is often frowned upon with the audience. People complain that the actors should look exactly like they originally looked to avoid confusion. There are also complaints about casting calls in these situations, they sometimes exclude a certain racial group in hopes for a specific look for a character. According to CNN, the play Hamilton,"has come under fire for a casting call that sought "NON-WHITE" performers." The show's creator responded by saying, "the point is the cast is supposed resemble America now: "It looks like what you see when you get on the A train to go to work."" Color blind casting, although controversial, allows actors from all different backgrounds to have a chance to be in the spotlight. 

Hamilton Play Bill Photo Credit: Steve Jurvetson 

JLO in Controversy

Selena Quintanilla's cover for song "Amor Prohibido"
Photo credit: Brayan E. Old Flickr via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Back in  the 1990's, Selena Quintanilla, a 23 year old American was becoming popular among the Latino culture. She lived in Texas with her parents. In 1995, the president of her club shot her. Months later of that year, her family decided to make a movie about her. Jennifer Lopez was among the 22,000 girls that auditioned for Selena's role. When it was announced that she was going to play Selena, controversy arose. Many argued that a Puertorican-American shouldn't be playing the role of a Mexican-American. Others argued that at least a Latina was playing the role. The Warner Bros. wanted a non-Latina to play the role. However, the director Gregory Nava fought for Lopez to get the role. After much arguing, Lopez got the role. Overall, it doesn't matter if people don't agree that Lopez wasn't right for the role because the movie was released international and translated into 20 different languages. Therefore, the movie was successful with Lopez playing Selena.

Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gwenyalizee/3807153842/">Brayan E. Old Flickr</a> via <a href="http://foter.com/">Foter.com</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a>

Age Is Nothing but a Number

Some of your favorite theater and television characters are played by actors who are much older or much younger then the characters that they are portraying. When actors are casted for roles, their age is often overlooked if they have the right look for the part/ the skill for the job. Jason Earles, known for playing Hannah Montana's brother on the hit Disney show, was actually in his thirties when his character was supposed to be eighteen years old! Theater actors play characters who are not their age more often than television actors do. Students in school plays, and actors on broadway alike, play characters who are nowhere near their actual age. According to the Huffington Post, "child labor laws cause studios to hire adult young folks to escape the necessity of shorter working hours and having a teacher on the set to conduct required schoolwork." Next time you're watching your favorite television show, or enjoying an excellent play, don't be fooled by great acting, most of the actors are no where near the age of the characters that they are playing!

In Too Depp

In the summer of 2013, Disney's The Lone Ranger came out in theaters. Many people where excited about seeing an old great cartoon become a live action movie but when they found out who was going to play Tonto, the lone ranger's trusty parter, they were outraged. Johnny Depp is known for playing a wide range of different characters by putting on makeup and hiding his face. Playing Tonto, a Native American, was just another costume Depp was putting on, another character he was portraying. Some people were offended and bothered by this because they believe a Native American should be playing the row of Tonto because that is his nationality. Depp claimed a few years ago that he has some Native American heritage but that was never confirmed to be true. Even though some people still may have enjoyed the movie others called it "critically panned and a box office disaster."

Comeback of a Play

After God Of Vengeance came out, it started a controversy because it displayed the idea of lesbians. The play was first performed on December 20, 1922 on Provincetown Playhouse in New York City. However, this first performance was performed in Yiddish. The first English translation was performed at the Apollo Theater in New York City. The first same sex kiss took place during this performance. It was a remarkable milestone for Broadway. The actors were arrested under obscenity charges. At the time, this was something that wasn't supposed to be on stage because of censorship. Time has changed and things like this aren't censored anymore. It has become part of our nature. According to Huffington Post, the play is being performed until January 22 at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Most of the scenes have been kept from the original play.