Hollywood is failing. We’re into month three of the writer’s strike and two months into the actor’s strike. However, woke culture plays a prominent role in this disastrous downfall. It gives off so many ick-factor vibes.
So, the downfall of Hollywood has to have been going on well before the pandemic. Projects were beginning to tank at the box office, but not to the extent they have been post-COVID. One example is the recent string of Marvel Cinematic Universe projects, both film and television.
The Up And Down Of The Thor Films
The MCU titles of old have been hit and miss for several years, like Thor: The Dark World was not well-received by fans. However, there were behind-the-scenes issues, such as Patty Jenkins being pulled from the project and replaced twice before Alan Taylor became the director. Also, what was the purpose of the villain? Why not just keep Loki as the main villain like last time?
Dirty Tactics
There were also the dirty tactics that Marvel used on Natalie Portman to get her to commit to playing Jane Foster. From what I’ve heard over the years, she was told that she would have a prominent role that wouldn’t focus too much on her being the love interest, a role she has been typecast in too often. After realising she’d been deceived after the first Thor had been completed, Natalie wanted out of her contract. However, she couldn’t, as she had signed on for two films and could only get out of it by completing the second.
Explainer Into Absence
Jane was absent from Ragnarok, and it was revealed that she and Thor had broken up. However, Taika Waititi wanted to do the comic storyline of Foster becoming Mighty Thor after learning she had cancer, which Love and Thunder partially became based on. However, the comedic element did not work, and the film became a massive pitstain. Ragnarok was the film that resurrected the Thor films, as the first two didn’t do the character justice.
I understand what Taika was trying to do with Love and Thunder by giving a relevantly dark topic a happy ending. However, it took a step backward from what he achieved with Ragnarok.
While Natalie was happy to return, knowing that Taika had her back, the deception on the Kenneth Branaugh film [Thor] is just one example of studios doing their actors dirty.
The Casting Quotas
Casting quotas signify woke culture meddling in Hollywood, driving its downfall. For those who mightn’t know, the casting quota is when studios try to diversify their projects while ignoring talent. So, for example, you might have a television show with three leads. One lead will have to be Caucasian and male. The second could be a lesbian African-American woman, while the third is a non-binary actor. On the surface, this might be a good thing. However, it might not be if the performers have zero chemistry with each other, limited talent or a combination of the two.
A Difference Between Casting Quotas And Opening Casting Calls
There is, however, a fine line between casting quotas and opening casting calls. This doesn’t just apply to film and television. It can apply to theatre, too. For example, when Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was adapted to the stage, they cast a black actress to play Hermione Granger. Fans were pissed with this choice. However, it has been pointed out that any actress could play Hermione in any production regardless of skin colour. Why? Because nowhere in the Harry Potter books is Hermione’s skin colour mentioned.
When Open Casting Announcements Turn Nasty
The casting of Emma Watson in the films is what fans perceived Hermione to look like in the books, too. It is possible that the casting directors for Cursed Child did an opening casting, which brings us to the situation with the casting of Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase in the upcoming Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
When it was announced that Leah, who is African-American, had been cast as Annabeth, many fans were okay with it. However, some were downright racist about it. Some even accused the show of being woke. Rick Riordan, the author of the books, an executive producer and writer on the show, went on the defence on his website and explained the decision to cast Leah over a white actress.
Rick said they cast Leah due to her ability to inhabit Annabeth’s traits, not because of her skin colour. This is how Hollywood should be. People should be cast for their talent, not their appearance.
He saw Leah’s audition and was wowed by her ability. That is why she was cast. When the unnecessary backlash started, several black performers backed Leah, including Javicia Leslie, who had worked with her.
“If You Don’t Like Our Show, You’re Racist.”
Since the release of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime, the show has been slammed for being woke. It is alleged that the viewing numbers were not great and not worth the budget it was made on.
Also, some people involved with the show have accused viewers who don’t like the series of racism… what?
Yeah, you heard that right. Just because people don’t like the project, which happens to have black actors, doesn’t mean they’re racist. The Tolkien universe has been around longer than any of the actors or production staff have been alive.
Also, the portrayal of some characters, especially Galadriel (Cate Blanchett’s character in the films), was rewritten to “defeat” stereotypes. However, the portrayal of Galadriel as a warrior goes against what she was in the books.
When A Show Is Accused Of Being Woke Because It Has Non-White Actors
Now, this next point is a real head-scratcher. Some Game of Thrones fans were pissed off when it was revealed that black actors would play the Velaryon family. However, they were fine with a non-binary actor playing adult Rhaenyra and a queer actress playing young Alicent.
Some Thrones fans are completely braindead in thinking that Westeros doesn’t have black people. They overlook the diverse cast but complain about skin colour. That’s racism and double standards.
As a House of the Dragon fan, I couldn’t care less who plays the characters. As long as they’re talented, I don’t give a damn.
Changing The Ethnicities Of Historical Figures Than Complaining About The Backlash
Hollywood has become notorious for doing historical productions but casting actors not of the same ethnicity as the historical figure they are playing. I’ve done a post on this already, but I wanted to highlight it here.
One massive example is the casting of Jodi Turner-Smith as Anne Boleyn. It is well-established that Anne Boleyn was white. Turner-Smith is black. When this was called out, the actor playing Henry VIII defended Turner-Smith’s casting as suitable as they did colour-blind casting and that she was perfect for the job because of her talent, not her skin colour. In other words, open casting. However, this is not the same as Leah Jeffries’ casting as Annabeth.
Anne Boleyn was a real person. Annabeth Chase is fictional. Anyone who goes into the three-part Anne Boleyn series may believe she’s black if they don’t know anything about who she is. Therefore, opening castings should only be done on fictional productions, not ones based on historical figures.
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