This
is where I complain, rant, and ramble. Welcome. Mike Henry is the
voice actor of the cartoon character Cleveland Brown from his own
series The Cleveland Show which ran from 2009-2013 as well as Family
Guy since 1999. He has stepped down from the role after stating “It's
been an honor to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years...I love
this character, but persons of color should play characters of color.
Therefore, I will be stepping down from the role.” Jenny Slate has
also decided to stop playing a character on Big Mouth that is
biracial. This is just the start of what is going to end up being a
not good thing to me. For the past few days I have been thinking
about this the same way I thought about how people were upset with
Bryan Cranston for playing a paraplegic in The Upside. I get most
things...to a certain extent.
When
some people got pissed at Robert Downey Jr. for playing an Australian
playing a Black dude in Tropic Thunder I had zero issue with it. I
didn't think “Why is he in blackface?!” Seriously. Not for a
second. It wasn't because I didn't know that blackface existed but
because I saw what he was doing in the movie. I wasn't offended. I
speak on this because I am Black and I know how hurt people are
today. In film people who are gay, lesbian, trans, handicapped
physically and/or mentally have been played by people who are not
those things. There have been a few films where they are though and
that has increased as well as people of one race no longer portraying
another. And this is good.
But
will get bad.
It
won't get bad as a punishment. It will come down to Hollywood wanting
to cast someone who is a great performer but not wanting to face the
backlash of having that performer pretend (or act) like someone they
are not. Are they willing to look for someone that in real life fits
a specific handicap? Hell, Forrest Gump would not have ever been made
if you look at Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise and who they portrayed. Will
they want to find someone who fits a specific race to be in a film
knowing that only certain races make money in certain parts of the
world? Likely not.
And I
get it.
It is
a company's business to handle their business the way they want
whether or not it seems fair to me or anyone else. While I think it
is cool that movies have started making more Black movies that aren't
miserable (click here to see a list of some I've compiled) it is not
Hollywood's job to make me happy. When I said above that it will get
bad what I mean is that people who can and are doing a good job
portraying characters they are not will start losing opportunities,
some even before they knew they could get them. This goes both ways
which is something I believe people aren't considering. You may be
happy that a White dude is no longer portraying a Black dude. But
what happens when a Black dude who does a great job of portraying a
Japanese man loses his job? Phil LaMarr as Samurai Jack was one of
the best series when it came out. People loved it so much it came
back almost a decade later. Will people now be mad and demand someone
of Japanese descent voice him? I know people are upset when people
who are not homosexual portray one. Will people get upset when
someone who in real life is not gay, lesbian, or trans play straight?
I get
upset when a portrayal is straight up just bad. I haven't seen The
Last Airbender movie but just clips poking fun at it but I have now
watched the first two seasons of the show Avatar and get why people
were mad. It isn't just the race stuff. It's the “this is made
badly” stuff. Scarlett Johansson started poking the bear with her
choices of films going from Ghost In The Shell where people believed
an Asian woman should have played the part to leaving a movie where
she was to portray a trans man. The film was called Rub & Tug and
is no longer coming out. Sure some cheered this decision but think of
the actual trans people that were likely going to be cast in the
movie. For as much exposure for the trans community that the movie
Tangerine gave imagine how much it would've been for a movie starring
a legit box office star. In regards to voice acting I make more of a
scrunchy face. Are we going to go back to the 80's style of the same
few people voicing a lot of characters? Hank Azaria is no longer Apu
on The Simpson's. So does that mean the character is dead? Does
someone of that characters actual descent now portray a convenience
store clerk? Do the women who have portrayed Goku or Naruto lose
their jobs now? They ain't boys!
Maybe
that's just me. As a Black person I know that things come a little
bit at a time. I know that shit won't change overnight. I am not
going to suddenly turn on the TV and see a hundred more shows with
people that look like me. And honestly chances are I wouldn't watch
most of those shows anyway. Ask me about any series aimed towards
Black people in the 90's and I either watched for a moment or changed
the channel once the theme song ended. A lot of that had to do with
writing. Either people who weren't Black were writing for Black
people or Black people without the talent or skill were given a
position that needed more than they could provide. If we are there lets for real be there and shown in different ways. In comics Black
characters either have a mask on on for whatever reason shoot
lightning. Why do Black characters love lightning so much?
And
honestly, I also know this isn't my country. Yes, born in America but
this ain't my home. It never was. I came from people who were taken
from their homes, enslaved, raped, beaten, somehow survived, and here
I am complaining about TV and movies. I can't go to China and
complain about lack of representation. I can't go to Australia and
complain about lack of representation. Shit, they have a different
version of Black there anyway. I know I won't be represented in a
country that seems to resent my existence. I can only hope that when
I see someone that looks like me that they are doing good. That when
someone that sounds like me is entertaining...whether that person
actually looks like me or not. If an actor or actress no longer feel comfortable doing a job then by all means leave. But leaving right now? Seems kinda sketchy. This is just me ranting. If I were in Hollywood I would legit say I identify as whatever I am playing and accuse you of hate if you said I wasn't. You can read
this and go about your day now.
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