The latest addition to blockbuster history, Exodus: Gods and Kings, is a film so
grossly whitewashed I don’t know how it hasn’t received more criticism. It
appears that the majority of film publications are uninterested in drawing
attention to the blatant whitewashing that’s consistently executed in
Hollywood. The subject only seems to come up on in smaller publications, and
the world remains ignorant of its complete inability to deliver media in an
equally representative way.
This latest addition to the mile long list of whitewashed
films is unbelievable. The casting crew for this film have some serious issues
if they think they could get away with making the entirety of Egypt white.
Newsflash people Ancient Egyptians were not white they were black. To be so
ignorant is simply inconceivable, how can audiences see a film like this in
good conscious? Contrary to popular belief making the lead actors slightly more
tanned does not make up for your whitewashed casting.
It isn’t the first time casting like this has happened and
it won’t be the last. The recent selection of Scarlett Johansson as the lead in
the American adaption of Ghost in the
Shell is another blatant show of whitewashed casting. As an adaption of a
Japanese anime you’d think the logical choice would be an Asian actress for the
lead, but no we are left with another blatant racist casting choice. The same
thing has happened over and over again with the dodgy casting in films like Prince of Persia and The Last Airbender. Fans cried out for
accuracy and instead audiences were left with a film that was seriously lacking
in diversity.
It’s bad enough that the film industry is lacking in films
that are genuinely representative of our society, without casting directors
depriving different ethnicities of roles that were literally written for them. To
whitewash adaptions that deliberately portray a racially diverse setting is
pure, unadulterated ignorance. I’m astounded that there are still casting
directors who are still so unaware of their blatant racism. Casting a token
black guy or Asian woman does not mean you are successfully representing
minorities. All you are doing is proving that you are unaware of how to create
a film that accurately reflects the diversity of our world.
Perhaps they are still too afraid, but that is no excuse.
The online world has shown time and time again their ignorance when it comes to
delivering racially diverse casting. Particularly with the recent rumours about
Idris Elba being the new James Bond being met with much online criticism, and
the same reception being given to Donald Glovers comments about portraying
Spiderman. The derision that was piled on these actors is unbelievable, their
acting ability shouldn’t be judged based on their race. In roles so open to
interpretation why is there so much criticism when considering actors of
different ethnicities?
Some may argue that in that case it shouldn’t matter if the
actors are white either, but I think you can agree with me that it’s not as
though white actors are struggling for opportunities. It’s time to produce
films and TV series that are completely diverse. We cannot continue to remain
ignorant of our apparent inability to do so. Wouldn’t it be lovely to live in a
world that’s able to portray people in media in a way that’s representative of
the reality we live in? Roles should be attributed based on their skills, not
their race. And it’s about time we stop depriving people roles based on
‘accuracy’, our present is so diverse it should be appropriately reflected in
our media. We already have the Bechadel test to highlight the sexism in films;
surely it’s time to also turn our attention to the racial stereotyping and
whitewashing in film as well.
