There is no speaking person in the world that does not posses an accent. American accents are not the default.
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The Aladdin controversy Disney can't escape
- Thread starter lightskintwin
- Start date
There is no speaking person in the world that does not posses an accent. American accents are not the default.
ZeroGravity
Member
You know exactly what was meant and there's no reason to be obtuse about it.
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
Is Matt Damon busy?
Dude is literally real life Aladdin. Sign him up, I don't give a shit about his ethnicity.
Ehm... what? Spaniards are not Latino and they being under Muslim rule is meaningless given that Christian-Muslim intermixing was minimal due to religious reasons (it meant conversion, which was not done as easily back then as it is today).
Still, that's irrelevant to the conversation, because Spaniards are not Latino (they are Latin Europeans, like French people or Italians, but that's a different thing altogether).
I do know what they meant, I just think it's a dumb way of talking about accents.
ChockaBlocka
Neo Member
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Billy_Pilgrim
Member
Aladdin is chinese.
Not being able to sing didn't stop Russell Crowe and Pierce Brosnan from getting roles in musicals.
They are just raising the bar higher than they ever would if they were casting a white actor. Zac Efron would already be locked in and getting his costume fitted if this film were being made 5 years ago.
They are just raising the bar higher than they ever would if they were casting a white actor. Zac Efron would already be locked in and getting his costume fitted if this film were being made 5 years ago.
cartoon_soldier
Member
They are setting things up to cast a white actor. Plain and simple.
I am sure the villain will be brown though.
I am sure the villain will be brown though.
Arab Jaffar, Indian Aladdin, half white half latino Jasmine. Arabs must be hard to find or some shit.
-Plasma Reus-
Service guarantees member status
In near asian and middle eastern media, they promote more white features and lighter skin for their media.
What does this say about the media culture in those areas?
What does this say about the media culture in those areas?
What does this post mean? What are "white features"?
Before you answer this understand that the Near East is significantly more genetically diverse than Europe.
That it's the same as everywhere else? Wrong-headed adoration of lighter-skinned people is both race and class based. The historical notion that peasants who toil in the sun-drenched fields will have a darker complexion compared to the gentry, is still firmly entrenched across all parts of the globe.
Sarcastic Poster
Member
At this juncture I don't really see the point of this article. Nobody has been cast yet. Republicans wanting to bomb Agrabah is funny though.
Ok so we've got people in this very thread dismissing Gadot though lol. Plus, she played an Israeli in fast and furious, and an Amazon in Wonder Women. Where are the Amazonians whose role she stole?
Isn't Wonder Woman Greek? Amazonian's were Greek.
No one has been cast yet
Hollywood is predictable. But I'm willing to eat crow if I'm wrong.
DiipuSurotu
Banned
Except his land is governed by a Sultan and the inhabitants all happen to be Muslims. But sure, he is "Chinese".
Sunster
Member
that was a joke post
witchedwiz
Member
Who must also be good at acting..
I might be unlucky, but the few Bollywood films I watched had some bad acting..
I mean, people would grill an actor doing this bad in any Hollywood production....
coughpriceofPERSIAcough
Me and my friends always felt that even in the animated movie Jafar was the most ethnically Arab looking character in the movie.
Yeah I know, this is a bit stupid. As everyone has said, this is Bollywood's bread and butter.
Billy_Pilgrim
Member
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hui_people
The Aladdin story is actually set in China, in one of the border regions that intersected with the muslims along the silk road.
Sunster
Member
welp
Yeah I read today he's very likely the pick.
A pic for reference.
This guy even has the doey eyes. Sign him up, lol
Except, in this day and age, you can simply google someone and find out their ethnicity. So no.
Fixed2BeBroken
Member
Some article is saying Siddarth Gupta has been cast and Will smith is the Genie?
probably false right?
also, Dev Patel or Riz Ahmed would be good. dont know how its a "struggle" as both are amazing actors.
(edit: yea seems false)
probably false right?
also, Dev Patel or Riz Ahmed would be good. dont know how its a "struggle" as both are amazing actors.
(edit: yea seems false)
lightskintwin
Banned
Ok and? I'm certain they'll get over it if he looks like the ethnicity he's portraying and is amazing singing, dancing, acting.
Will Smith is the only person that has officially been cast.
Supposedly both Dev Patel and Riz Ahmed were tested for the part.
Because if you want to talk about underrepresented ethnicities in Hollywood, Arabs are right up there with having very little. Fuck, let's not forget the most recent Gods of Egypt travesty. Whitewashing isn't just casting white people to play an ethnic role - it's also lumping in other ethnicities as if they are interchangeable. It's ignorant and more than a little insulting.
Perhaps I'm being very strict in my interpretation here, but that's because it's one of the few Arab main characters in modern western media that isn't a terrorist - Aladdin (علاء الدين
is a traditionally Arabic name, certainly used in the context of this tale. You want to make Aghraba take place in India? I've no objections. But the diamond in the rough is is a 'rab. (And I'll stress here that Arab does not equal Muslim in this context. That's a separate issue entirely. Hell, The Raid series protagonist is Muslim, which always gets overlooked when I see discussions of that film...)
Yeah I read today he's very likely the pick.
A pic for reference.
Could be Milo Ventimiglia's little brother.
Vital Tundra
Member
I doubt Disney will decide to cast a white dude considering the popularity of Alladin, and I would believe if GitS got such backlash Alladin would be hell for Disney.
I will say it is some real bullshit they can't find someone. Like come on.
I will say it is some real bullshit they can't find someone. Like come on.
lightskintwin
Banned
So ethnicities should only be played their own ethnicity in films and TV?
That's an extremely broad generalization, but for the aforementioned Underrepresented ones, ideally, and absolutely.
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lightskintwin
Banned
Problem though is you're limiting that underrepresented ethnicity should he get cast as his own ethnicity on what future roles he/she can play in the future.
For the majority of the roles, ethnicity shouldn't be too important though. A Japanese actor can just as well play normal doctor as he does Japanese doctor.
No bud. This isn't going both ways. I'm not talking about not letting, say, a pale skinned Arab-American from the Midwest from playing a Caucasian role.
I'm saying underrepresented people should be considered for underrepresented roles. If the character is specifically or traditionally identified as, say, Korean, Japanese, Indian, Samoan, Pakistani, Arab, or Persian, that role should go to an actor of that ethnicity.
If the character is a Samoan, they should be played by one.
If the character is Japanese or of Japanese descent, they should be played by one. The talent is out there waiting to be discovered, and Hollywood is the worst for it by trying to play it safe.
Having at least SOME connection, ethnically and linguistically, should be of key consideration.
Edit-
It's the Ghost in the Shell, PoP, and Gods of Egypt issue all over again. The broader issue of whitewashing stands: there are excellent actors of all races that do not get consideration because the parts are given to a small subset of white actors trying to pass themselves off as those races.
And as one of those minorities, I do not feel it is appropriate to paint with a broad brush; brown people should not be considered interchangeable because they look 'dark' or 'foreign' enough. It's insulting and, frankly, dehumanizing.
Billy_Pilgrim
Member
But the ancient Egyptians were not Arabs, so you're kind of doing that right there?
No dude. Gods of Egypt is just a more recent example of whitewashing in general, not specifically of Arab roles.
Gods of Egypt's cast should have looked like Black Panther's, if you want to be specific.
AcademicSaucer
Member
If Will Smith is really going to be the genie then it doesn't matter who they cast in the other roles.
Seriously, all Indian actors know how to dance. It is literally in their job description.
Billy_Pilgrim
Member
...They weren't sub-saharan Africans, either.
lightskintwin
Banned
Why? Do you mean due to his star power, then can get unknowns for the rest of the cast? If so, then i agree and it's probably why they got Will Smith.
Will Smith is playing the Genie character.
Ancient Egyptiants were Berbers, Semites, and modern day sub-saharan africans, they depicted themselves in their art from light brown all the way to black. Certainly not caucasion though.