Do these people not understand what acting is?
Has political correctness actually gone mad?
- Thread starter Pogue Mahone
- Start date
I think what you say is definitely true. The absolute number of people on twitter losing their shit about stuff like this is a relatively small proportion. And and even tinier proportion of people as a whole.
The “problem” I guess, is the power they wield. Their complaints get amplified by the press, corporations yield to their pressure and big decisions are made in response. Not that anyone should light any candles for Scarllet Johansen missing out on the chance to play a trans woman but, you know, it’s not great when a very small group of very self righteous people wield that sort of power. And it’s not just rich celebrities who lose their jobs or feel the brunt of the law. Patient zero was that South African woman whose career/life was ruined by a lame joke before she got on a plane. And this is more of the same.
Playing devil's advocate, that argument only goes so far. Is Mickey Rooney's character in Breakfast at Tiffany's OK because he's only acting?
I don't get the outrage about why a 'gender fluid' woman can't play a lesbian though, but this shit always makes me feel old.
Agree with this, but then surely it's a media issue rather than an issue of political correctness?
I do think the South African woman is a slightly different issue, that is less to do with the media and more to do with actual mob mentality. By the time she landed, people had ropes out ready to lynch.
Don't know the reference sorry, but what I mean is the idea that only a lesbian can play a lesbian or only a trans person can play a trans person etc is ridiculous.
Actors pretend to be people they're not. That's literally their job. It's like the "uproar" (I'm sure it was a tiny number of morons) over Dwayne Johnson playing an amputee recently because the role should have gone to a real amputee.
Straight people playing none straight roles shouldn't be in any way controversial.
Was a white guy playing a stupidly over the top racist caricature of an Asian dude- worth looking in youtube and wondering how that film somehow survived that car crash to become iconic.
Idris Elba being Bond will cause a DM meltdown though, which will be fun.
I agree completely with this. Though I really don't have much of an issue if someone is gay complains about lack of gay actors getting roles. Plus I don't blame the gay community for not wanting Jack Whitehall representing them.
The Ruby Rose not being "gay enough" is largely bizarre and hopefully just a small irrelevant minority.
A little bit of that and a little bit the of corporations being so desperate to be seen as progressive/politically correct.
Corporations mainly care about money though. They won't sacrifice looking progressive over that. They are scared of the media making them look like dicks.
The controversy is on the basis that there are relatively few good gay roles in cinema. So it’s a pity when gay actors don’t get the chance to play a character that is true to their sexuality And yeah, I get that this kind of isn’t acting but you understand the point, right? Imagine being a straight man who only ever gets to play gay characters?
It’s a tricky one though. Gay people are relatively rare, so isn’t it normal that gay characters in movies are relatively rare? What makes it harder, I guess, is that there seems to be a disproportionate number of gay people who work in the entertainment industry. Kind of like, fashion, I guess. Although I’m probably guilty of stereotyping here!
That's definitely a worthy issue to raise, as is actors with disabilities not getting enough roles (continuing from the Dwayne Johnson point).
Kinda like Short Circuit?
The "not gay enough" stuff was what I was getting at, although I acknowledge this is a minority of numpties.
I'm all for more gay actors getting leading roles, as both gay and straight characters, but I don't think either should be pigeon holed into the roles they are and aren't allowed to play.
Oh I'd forgotten about that. It was the 80s and I was innocent when that came out.
To be fair, in cases that involve the race of an actor the problem itself tends to be less 'acting' and more the literal appearance of the person playing the character. Which is why people will find it offensive/outrageous when we're expected to see someone as something that they're literally not. Although suppose the representation argument is a key part of the discussion, which perhaps links the two together to an extent.
Yeah, sorry it was a somewhat specious argument tbf, with blackface bringing up lots of historical connotations which sets it apart from more modern moral dilemmas.
The Jack Whitehall thing is an absolute joke and I can see why people are disgusted.
Yeah Rooney's character is problematic mainly because it's a grotesque caricature. I have less of a problem with Kingsley's Ghandi and Blanchett as Bob Dylan is perfectly fine.
If the argument is that straight white males are getting all the straight white male roles and all the non straight white male roles (to put it in overly simplistic terms), whilst reducing the opportunities for other actors then I agree we should have that discussion. If you think that placing oppressive restrictions on art and who can produce what is a reasonable solution then I think you are wrong.
If the argument is that straight white males are getting all the straight white male roles and all the non straight white male roles (to put it in overly simplistic terms), whilst reducing the opportunities for other actors then I agree we should have that discussion. If you think that placing oppressive restrictions on art and who can produce what is a reasonable solution then I think you are wrong.
Don't agree. The "row" however small it may be caused her to shut down her twitter. Essentially this is the same kind of cyber bullying that several women accuse right wing social media trolls of. Besides any argument along the lines of "how gay" someone is should be criticized even if it is only being perpetuated by a small section of zealots. Shit actors are hired everyday so there is nothing new there.
To be honest what happened to Ruby Rose is quite similar to what happened to Kelly Marie-Tran regarding Star Wars, just from the different side of the spectrum. People have their idea of what they think is acceptable and if they don't get what they want, then there is a backlash.
Just use Queer. It's far more sensible and all encompassing.
[It should be clear to all that I'm using that word respectfully and not in a derogatory manner. All of my queer friends are fine with it, for what that's worth]
Sorry if it came across that way, but I wasn't downplaying the bullying aspect of it, even if she's a shit actress, she doesn't deserve to be hounded.
My point was that this is being framed as another instance of 'SJW gone mad' and I don't think it was that at all. Majority of the attacks were more along the lines of 'she's so shit, how did she score another role'. The 'criticism' of not meeting the required standard of gayness for the role was a tiny minority which has now been given undue attention, which in my opinion is pointless.
Bit off-topic but just how shit an actor is she? It’s a supehero movie. You don’t need to be Laurence Olivier to star in one of those. She looks great and that’s pretty much all the qualifications needed. Look at Wonder Woman. Gai Gadat couldn’t act her way out of a paper bag but I don’t remember that being an issue when she was announced.
love how that would wind people up.Sarah already pays off.
Is that genuine and not a piss-take? Lobs in every buzzword and is beyond even peak Guardian.
Just seen this thread title.
My 2p is no, it hasn't.
My 2p is no, it hasn't.
I'm willing to bet good money that the original letter was sent in by a right-wing troll. Shame on the NYT for taking the bait.
I can certainly believe that. Seems too much.
They drag it out for seven pages.Liberty University is a right-wing univ started by Jerry Falwell.
European masculinity? Big fecking nope for me.It's already given us an all-timer
Also, it's an actor, it'll be weird seeing a non-white bond but feck me they are making it sound like a crime.
... And I usually get hounded for my views of wanting super hero movies stick to stuff I liked from comics.
I vaguely remember this same article on the caf (maybe in this thread?) and it rang some bells, so I googled and:
Basically it's clear that there is some rot in the field (given that Sokal got his spoof published too) but in this case they got found out by basic peer-review, and then went into swamp-territory to get a publication and a story about falling standards. (I think this story says more about predatory journals than PC).
European masculinity? Big fecking nope for me.
Also, it's an actor, it'll be weird seeing a non-white bond but feck me they are making it sound like a crime.
... And I usually get hounded for my views of wanting super hero movies stick to stuff I liked from comics.
Ya, that was such a meltdown from a big public figure I thought I had to post it.
I thought it was a random brexiter.
Who is he?
Edit: oh wait, Spencer is that English defense league cnut, isn't he?
Oooh. The nazi. Like genuine nazi, not the "he disagrees with me" kind.
Well feck him.