they're just not that into diversity

today i saw the billboard version of this on the way to work. and it disgusted me.

i mean really. an all-white cast? wtf? you're telling me in this day and age you can't find room in your ensemble movie for anyone who isn't white? there are nine roles represented on this poster alone; not one of those could have been portrayed by a non-white actor? this is a movie set in baltimore for cryin' out loud.

billy mernit, the bard of all things rom-com, recently lamented the absence of rom-coms with black americans:

Where is The Great African-American Romantic Comedy? I've found myself wondering, or even the best of the near-greats? When I went looking for a Top 10 Black Romantic Comedies, I emerged from an afternoon in cyberspace more perplexed and vexed than victorious. Obligatory disclaimer aside (not being black, I'm not the most qualified, etc.) I could only settle on a rough half dozen or so clearly top-notch American movies that feature black men and women in funny love. Which makes a rom-com lover wonder.

Maybe it's the last frontier of this territory. Are we still so not past the culture's racial divide, that the predominant white audience hasn't yet begun to accept a Black Mr. Right, let alone one who wins a Black Dream Ms.?

or an asian mr and mrs, or spanish, or middle-eastern, etc.

i can't be the only person who's astounded that a movie about everyday people in a modern city would not feature any person of color. living in los angeles this is ridiculous to consider. perhaps it makes sense in some suburban or rural spaces, but in any major city in america it's a bit ridiculous that one of these white characters doesn't have some prominent non-white folks in their lives.

do you really want the only diversity in your casting to be reflected in a credit list like this?

• Chihiro Fujii ... Tokyo Girl #1
• Sachiko Ishida ... Tokyo Girl #2
• Délé ... African Woman #1
• Eunice Nyarazdo ... African Woman #2
• Anita Yombo ... African Woman #3

in some ways i can empathize: there are a total of 9 actors (including myself), in my short film, all of whom are male and only one of whom isn't white. however, the filmmakers behind 'hjntiy' had a distinct advantage - money. they had more of it and were spending some on their actors.

we tried very hard to be diverse in our casting. our biggest problem was that very few non-whites responded to the casting call. after that, it became simply who the best actors were. one example: the lead role of janus came down to two actors, one white, one african-american. if physical presence and voice had been the only factors, the african-american gentleman would have had it; but he wasn't comfortable enough in the part and wasn't able to make adjustments. he had definite potential and with his good looks and size will probably make a formidable actor. but on that day he just wasn't ready.

bottom of the barrel

flickr photo by: pboyd04

in the past few days i've heard of two things that have made me shake my head in wonder at the paucity of new ideas (nothing is entirely new, but lately it seems much is on the less-than-terribly-original end of the spectrum):

1. on new year's eve while sharing a drink with our friend, we learned that andrew lloyd weber is working on a new musical; a sequel to 'the phantom of the opera'.
2. and today tripping across the nets i came upon ''something good 08', a slightly remixed reissue of 'something good' by utah saints. i think the video is fun, but the song was done and is being released by...utah saints.

after all this time are these artists so out of ideas that they can do nothing but rehash their past successes? even so blatantly as the just reissuing your 16 year-old hit song slighty remixed?

we're in an age of more remakes and non-original material than ever before - recycling seems to be the mantra of entertainment as well as environmentalists.

i'm curious to know if we've seen this before - is this a unique time in history? with the technology available to us to not only preserve past media but remix and reuse it easily, is this the natural progression of expression and tools? perhaps this is just an inevitable step, much like how nascent technologies simply ape their predecessors before they discover their true potential.

perhaps the incessant remix, remake, reuse, homage and ripoffs are all part of the sorting out of this stage of development. the childhood sandbox where future artists and engineers learn the basics by just playing around with malleable material.

“a nation without dregs and malcontents, is orderly, decent, peaceful and pleasant, but perhaps without the seed of things to come.” - eric hoffer