I too went to bed (I was supposed to go several hours before I did!) *yawn*
I've said in another thread here, that I think there's definitely a self fulfilling phrophecy in a lot of these assumptions and stereotypes. marketing execs assume you can't sell a black sci-fi hero, so they don;t try, so nobody sees it, so there's no audience the next time they ask the question. Having said that, unfortunately their usually is some basis in their assumptions. But a year ago no one would have thought you could market a gay cowboy movie - it takes some more effort, but you can do it.
I don't doubt that racism is there somewhere, I suppose I would question whether it is the dominant paradigm (and we're probably never going to agree on that!). For instance take the McKay issue I mentioned in my original post. Execs were demanding a very different character, pushing for an African American actor (I'm unsure whether that term is an acceptable one or not - it's not one used in UK - so I apologise if it's not) but the producers kept pushing for DH to play the role (and eventually forced their hands by having no one else ready to shoot).
You could say that there was an inverse racism there - a desire to push a black actor regardless of the perception of the role (or their talent) - which to me seems more patronising. I'm not saying black actors are not able to stretch that far, or aren't believable in that role, but that DH is *perfect* for the role. There are very few actors who can pull off that type of thing, so it's not neccessarily caused by a limitation on race, rather a limitation on talent. Why isn't a woman in that role? Because DH is better at it. Why isn't a black person in that role? because DH is better at it. So is it not more plausible to think that they went with the best actor for the role, the actor they knew and trusted, rather than being influenced by racism (deliberate or indirect), at least in that case.
I think there might also be another issue here. Given the type of stories they've told in Atlantis, it might well have created much more of a kerfuffle if they had cast black actors in the roles of McKay(or his equivilent), Sheppard, and Elizabeth - because all three of them have done some morally dubious and non heroic things. I think people would have been up in arms if (black)Sheppard had shot a prisoner, and may have highlighted the race issue as part of their concerns("the black character is cast as less morally centered than the white character"). Of course that indicates that race is something people have to consider in casting, but not always in the way we think.
Okay, I really must do something else but have this debate today!
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I've said in another thread here, that I think there's definitely a self fulfilling phrophecy in a lot of these assumptions and stereotypes. marketing execs assume you can't sell a black sci-fi hero, so they don;t try, so nobody sees it, so there's no audience the next time they ask the question. Having said that, unfortunately their usually is some basis in their assumptions. But a year ago no one would have thought you could market a gay cowboy movie - it takes some more effort, but you can do it.
I don't doubt that racism is there somewhere, I suppose I would question whether it is the dominant paradigm (and we're probably never going to agree on that!). For instance take the McKay issue I mentioned in my original post. Execs were demanding a very different character, pushing for an African American actor (I'm unsure whether that term is an acceptable one or not - it's not one used in UK - so I apologise if it's not) but the producers kept pushing for DH to play the role (and eventually forced their hands by having no one else ready to shoot).
You could say that there was an inverse racism there - a desire to push a black actor regardless of the perception of the role (or their talent) - which to me seems more patronising. I'm not saying black actors are not able to stretch that far, or aren't believable in that role, but that DH is *perfect* for the role. There are very few actors who can pull off that type of thing, so it's not neccessarily caused by a limitation on race, rather a limitation on talent. Why isn't a woman in that role? Because DH is better at it. Why isn't a black person in that role? because DH is better at it. So is it not more plausible to think that they went with the best actor for the role, the actor they knew and trusted, rather than being influenced by racism (deliberate or indirect), at least in that case.
I think there might also be another issue here. Given the type of stories they've told in Atlantis, it might well have created much more of a kerfuffle if they had cast black actors in the roles of McKay(or his equivilent), Sheppard, and Elizabeth - because all three of them have done some morally dubious and non heroic things. I think people would have been up in arms if (black)Sheppard had shot a prisoner, and may have highlighted the race issue as part of their concerns("the black character is cast as less morally centered than the white character"). Of course that indicates that race is something people have to consider in casting, but not always in the way we think.
Okay, I really must do something else but have this debate today!