There's recently been controversy over a half-Ethiopian supporting character in the book "Warm Bodies" being played by a 100% Caucasian girl in the movie. This website aptly states:
"Personality is what matters in a character, not superficial indicators like height or hairstyle or even skin color, and the personalities of the cast all fit beautifully.” –Warm Bodies author Isaac Marion
Would that “having the right personality for the character” was the only barrier for actors of color in the movie industry.
This statement is a cop out. Given that black actresses still face systemic disadvantages and discrimination in Hollywood, it’s hard to believe that no actresses of color were able to fit the needed “personality” for this established character of color.
Both of these statements gloss over the fact that Nora was a woman of color in a story landscape that primarily featured white characters. While the film is listed as having some actors of color–Cory Hardict will play “Kevin” (a character not in the book) and Ruth Chiang will play “Corpse Attacking Julie”–the main leads are played by white British actor Nicholas Hoult (Skins) and white Australian actress Teresa Palmer (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice). Conversely, did the production think to check if any actors of color could fit the “character traits” or “personalities” of these lead roles?
This might not seem like a big deal, but media portrayals of people of color has a huge effect on society, especially in areas where the population is overwhelmingly white. I think the consequences of "whitewashing" becomes apparent in interviews like this one with Donald Glover, who describes the malicious backlash he faced when suggesting he should be the new actor for Spiderman, including one commenter who said, "There are no black people like Peter Parker."
Whitewashing the main cast of movies and relegating actors of color to minor supporting roles only reinforces the belief that white people can be whatever or whomever they want, but minorities are limited to their stereotypes. It's incredibly harmful and it pisses me off that Hollywood studios are so afraid of losing money that they can't take the small risk of casting a non-white actress in a supporting role.
