This is one of those hot take issues in which over heated debate throws context and history out the window.
It is maximally problematic when an ethnic group is systematically denied access to roles, and producers cast actors from privileged identity groups to play roles from the discriminated against community, especially when they have to use make up and prosthetics to change the actors appearance. It becomes less problematic, approaching not at all, when the actors from the group being portrayed are less systematically discriminated against, the actor portraying the role is from a less privileged group themselves, and the producers don't feel the need to alter the actors appearance for ethnic reasons. Putting white actors in red or black face to play American Indians or African Americans has been, and for a while yet will be, a problem. Having Mexican actors play Cubans, or Nigerian actors play Kenyans, or British Actors playing Americans, is less of a problem. Now, I am open to being educated about systematic discrimination against Afghanis by Indians, and why this is particularly problematic, but the discourse I have seen so far does not appear nuanced enough to get into that. I am also very open to the possibility that any sitcom from Chuck Lorrie is a piece of shit, and it is more likely than not that this will be trite, simplistic and corny (though, unlike some here, I have found value in Reza Aslan’s prior work). But, even with Lorre, maybe wait until you have seen at least one full episode (or even 5 min of one episode) before dismissing it on the basis of the promotional clip, On Sun, 21 Mar 2021 at 9:55 AM 'Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV < [email protected]> wrote: > On "United States of Al," débuting April 1st on CBS, the titular > character, a former interpreter for a returning Marine veteran who moves to > the vet's hometown, is played by Adhir Kalyan, born to Indian parents in > South Africs... decision has haters and likers... > > > https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/chuck-lorres-new-cbs-sitcom-slammed-for-handling-of-afghan-character > (link) > > > B > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/23d10ec0-ab1e-4774-8d4e-7590d6828320n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/23d10ec0-ab1e-4774-8d4e-7590d6828320n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Sent from Gmail Mobile -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYL8b9C7cu4KHkm-v_J-7SXy%3DBWHfxX_756mfwH5nKnekA%40mail.gmail.com.
