- Hey y'all, welcome to this week's episode of
*Is This Okay*
where we talk about things that are happening in the world,
wondering if it's okay.
I'm Nyla.
- I'm Daysha. - I'm Chris.
- I'm Nick. - I'm Claudia.
- Yay, welcome guys!
- Woo!
- This week our topic of discussion is
white washing in Hollywood.
The other night, I saw Kubo and the Two Strings.
And so, it's this beautiful film about a Japanese family,
and for whatever reason,
I just had this itch where I was like,
I gotta check and see who the voices are.
Out of the five main characters
- George Takei was the only one, right?
- Yeah, was the only one who was Asian.
- You kinda wonder why that
none of the eight people in the movie were
actually Japanese.
- This has been happening for a very long time,
because we've seen it with Emma Stone.
Still remember you.
Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One,
and Scarlett Johansson as Ghost in the Shell.
- There's also this argument that, you know,
well, these white actors are just more talented,
and I think that that's the argument that really irks me.
- It's so insulting.
- Let's say that they've gotten more training
or more schooling so that thus makes them more talented.
Why haven't we as a society said that,
oh well there's this whole other group of people
that aren't getting the training that they need
to be able to compete on the same level.
Let's figure out how to fix that.
- This is all the funny actors we know, and they just all
happen to be white and male and it's like,
well you're pulling from a comedy school that needs
a certain level of socioeconomic status
to be able to succeed in.
- And also, from cultures that don't encourage
going into that industry.
- Right, and then when you are
very set on a certain type of comedy, too,
you're not gonna get the Leslie Jones',
you're not used to that type of comedy.
Stars can be made, stars can be built,
and studios have to commit to finding those people.
- I also just think about it in terms of being a black woman
how I could never depict a story as a white person.
That's just not my story to tell.
- Can we talk about Fresh Off the Boat
and all these shows are about the struggle of this
specific type of ethnicity.
I really wanna to have a black family that's not about
being black also.
A show where the emotions are universal,
not specific to a niche.
- I think I get what you're saying, but I also think,
when you are a person of color, your color comes with you
no matter what.
When you are white, you have the option
to either address it or to not address it.
- Well see, that seems like the goal to me, right?
Is to have the option.
If you make a movie about slavery,
you gotta talk about racism.
If you make a movie, like a science fiction movie
with Will Smith and his son, awesome example.
You don't have to talk about it
because that's not what they're dealing with.
- No, and see, so I think context is key.
So it's like, if you have a sci-fi movie
and it's just, you happen to have a black lead,
that's totally fine.
You don't necessarily have to delve into that.
But it's like, if you have a show
dealing with a black family life,
you know that kinda thing?
I think that it would be
- It would be watering it down.
- Yeah, it just wouldn't be true to the experience of
my everyday life.
- If you're deep diving into someone's or
a group's experience in terms of a movie or a TV show,
I think it would look a little bit more strange
to not talk about those issues or those struggles.
But I also think that what you're trying to say,
there are plenty of spaces, and we need more spaces,
where we're just allowed to be happy.
- Just exist.
- Ideally, you get representation for both.
You get something that is just centered around
a certain struggle and why there needs to be a spotlight
on a certain thing, and you get the film that's just
a beautiful rom-com, where the lead is a black man
or the lead is a latina woman.
I guess that's Hitch, pretty much.
- Right.
(laughing)
- We got it, we did it.
We fixed Hollywood.
- We got the one.
Only one.
(laughs)
I do think that Hollywood definitely exploits that.
So we have the struggle film, where it's just kind of like,
oh, Tyrone who grew up in the hood
but he sold drugs to get out.
- Didn't want his baby mama.
- Uh huh, and I think that that's just a storyline that
Hollywood's like, oh it sold once
during the black exploitation era so we'll just
keep repeating it over and over and over again.
And I think it goes back to that point
that was brought up last week is that,
money is kind of power, so it's like,
we have to be thinking about, when we do watch those films
and whatnot, what are we telling Hollywood executives
that we're willing to invest in.
- What's interesting also is that most movies make their,
other than comedies, most movies make their real revenue
internationally.
And ones that have international-looking stars do better.
That's why the Rock is the biggest star right now.
- Unfortunately, I think there's so much truth in that,
but it takes people in power, literally just making
good moral decisions that help other people.
And it's like, how do you tell that to somebody
when all the see is dollar signs.
- Nick, I have a question for you as an actor.
If a studio tomorrow was like,
"hey we have this really big blockbuster film,
"we've seen your work, we love it,
"but we want you to play X race."
- We want you to play samurai - Put him on the hot seat
- So nervous right now.
- No judgement.
- Thank you very much. - Yeah, no judgement.
- Just to be fair before you answer,
if I can offer any support.
I have struggled with that idea too in a sense of,
if out of no where I was offered
a role in a Woody Allen film, and that was my big break.
And I have all these thoughts of like,
I do not know what that is about
and I do judge actors that take roles in that,
but I also don't know their circumstance.
It's a really tricky question.
- It's a weird thing as an actor,
you get used to not turning down roles,
especially if you're an aspiring actor.
So if I, or anybody else that I know, is offered a role
that they think they can do something with
then yeah, I think they should take it.
I don't like shaming actors that apologize afterwards.
- But I think part of it is the authenticity
of the apology
and feeling like you know this person is actually
learning from their mistakes.
- I see a lot of people that fuck up,
make apologies that like,
"I really hope that this sparks more conversation
"about the issue" and I'm like,
"we've been talking about this.
"There are no cookies for you for
"making everyone pissed about this."
- No cookies for you.
- Whenever I see those apologies, I'm like,
"would that fly with your husband or wife?"
- All of this is why I am participating so heavily in
new media, because I think this new media has become a very
blooming space for people of color to tell their stories
because it's all on their own terms.
- So, I think we've come down to a conclusion
that white washing is a real thing,
and it's just not,
not cool.
- It's not okay. - Yeah.
- It's not okay.
- Not okay.
So leave your comments below, and we will see you next week.
- [All] Bye.
(funky music)