The awesome Taylor Lorenz reports this on Mastadon. Highly recommend to follow her if you like these updates about what’s going on.

  • Tb0n3@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    13
    arrow-down
    50
    ·
    11 months ago

    But why though? Why the insistence on portraying people in documentaries or biographies as someone completely different? Why not do a biography on a black dude or black lady who can be played by such instead of trying to change the race of historical figures for fun?

    • Shikadi@lemmy.sdf.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      11 months ago

      People don’t generally do that. If you’re referring to Hamilton, it was not a documentary or a biography. And historically white people did that all the time in plays/movies for entertainment, so why get all angry about it now that it’s not white people?

      • ThoughtGoblin@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        11 months ago

        I mean, if we’re talking Hamilton it’s even further, being pretty clearly a commentary on the whole “founding fathers freeing everyone while most of them owning human beings they refused freedom to” thing.

          • PreachHard@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            5
            ·
            11 months ago

            Actually reading that article you linked it doesn’t seem that debated and there isn’t really any evidence of her being black.

            • Shikadi@lemmy.sdf.org
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              11 months ago

              You’re right, based on that article. It doesn’t matter, I’m just pointing out that it wasn’t just a random choice to make her black. I’d argue they should have made her Iranian to be more accurate, but the claim is that people are randomly just changing skin colors in documentaries all willy nilly and so far the only example is a weak one.

              • PreachHard@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                2
                ·
                11 months ago

                Yeah you’re right, it’s one of those small complaints that’s gonna always come from a small group of people. It’s just media; people get so nuts about this site like everything should always cater to them…

                Gets weaponised too I’ve seen people try to link this bullshit to “wokeism.” As if that’s the fucking problem with Hollywood.

    • Square Singer@feddit.de
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      11 months ago

      Well, it’s not the biography of whoever is going to play him either, hence the only authentic choice would be him being played by himself.

    • fiat_lux@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      11 months ago

      Nobody seemed to mind when the History Channel docuseries FDR came out with a British actor without a mobility disability as FDR.

      Why is it that the series produced by an black female actor starring a black female actor needs such stringent accuracy controls?