Triss ... Starfire ... Goddamn it netflix

So there’s nothing wrong with being white. There is nothing wrong with white main characters. Not every character or main character needs to be white. Until this last decade over 90% of tv shows didn’t have POC main characters. 90%. If we say these shows are fantasy- then it is fantasy. It’s whatever the creator wants and it doesn’t matter 99% of the time who is or ISNT white or the same as in someone else’s version of the story or so on. If we want to bring “meta” into it and talk about the other versions of a character- here’s meta for you- in my daily life I see more people of color than red heads. That doesn’t mean ignore representation for red heads- but it means that if the 2% of Americans that are red heads get better representation in film than the 30%+ that are people of color... that’s not anywhere close to being an inclusive industry.

Now- there is a valid question about creating new roles and new characters for people of color. It’s not an easy button out of the conversation though. Sorry. With Hollywood and others rebooting and remaking and sharing universes and making long running film series and ongoing shows- they aren’t even really creating many roles for the traditionally white dominated pool of bankable actors are they? If only a small percentage of films and media are original media- how much room does that make for inclusion?

Here it is as math. If the entire pool of potential actors in the world is 100 people- about 35-40 of them “aren’t white.” If 10 movies are made a year, using the 2019 figures- about 10% will be “original” films and not sequels, reboots, remakes, etc. in our example that is 1 film that MAY have an original POC character. So 60-65 actors compete for 9 lead roles and 35-40 compete for 1 lead role.... that’s not very balanced is it?

You’ve now set up an entire industry where almost half the population has a very small chance of landing a role, and out of 9 films the possibility one will be successful and breed future work for a franchise or actor is much lower than you’ll have at least one good film in 9.

To put it simple enough for a child- this is the equivalent of saying “we don’t want to play with you. Go somewhere else...” which when codified was called “segregation” and we made it illegal. The problem is that you don’t have to codify it for it to exist- that is why we have laws against discrimination. Otherwise simply SAYING people are equal is meaningless. You’re equal until someone somewhere decides you aren’t allowed in.

The other popular argument is that the market drives these things. Movies are there to make money. People pay to watch what they like- if people want to see white actors- that’s where money is and we should let people decide. Well... ok. But... if studios are making more inclusive films, and people are paying to see them- if the Witcher is a profitable show for Netflix despite a less red headed Triss and an Indian Yennifer- than wouldn’t the same logic apply? Shut up and let people have what they decided to pay for? People won’t watch if they don’t want to and then studios won’t make more right?

But wait- if it’s all about what people like... why do we need or have so many message boards full of people declaring they won’t watch, or saying others should boycott? Why do we need people to convince others or advocate not watching something if people naturally wouldn’t want to see it? It’s somewhat flawed.

But I suppose it’s all complicated and there’s all sorts of issues mixed in.

At the end of the day- let’s make it simple. Almost half the US population are “POC.” Almost half are women. They aren’t likely goi anywhere and trends suggest that POC are set to become the majority in a few decades and the ratio of women to men is set to increase as well. Those people will want to see movies and shows and games they are included in. They’ll likely want to play a part in them as well, acting, directing, writing, etc. etc. so I suggest getting used to seeing different faces in your fiction- or make your own “all white” fiction. Create a production company or produce media that prides itself on how white it’s characters are or how true it stays to its source. See how it goes. Maybe I just made you a millionaire.

Holy shit, dude....