Sigh. OK, here we go. People are asking, "Why can't Julia Roberts play Harriet Tubman? She's an actor." In a perfect world without racism, double standards & inequality, skilled actors can/should take on roles that don't box them in due to ethnicity & gender. However…1/
We live in this world where “white” is assumed mainstream & everything else is deemed “ethnic.” Lead roles for POC are still limited. 3 POC leads makes anything a “diverse” or “urban” show. Meanwhile, 6 White leads in NYC are called FRIENDS and GIRLS. 2/
Julia Roberts can be Harriet Tubman and James Dean, a dead white actor, still has a better chance at a supporting role than a living person of color. (Go read up on the CGI James Dean story.) 3/
Hollywood is still an exceedingly white industry. The power, the gatekeepers, the influencers who decide who tells the story, who is the protagonist, who is the villain, what narratives are worth telling - are still mostly written, produced, directed from a white gaze. 4/
POC have to work twice as hard to prove their “ethnic” stories will connect with “mainstream” audiences. We don’t have the same peers, the family members, the connections who give us a leg up, the internships, the help, the opportunities. 5/
POC actors can’t say, “Yo, I want to play Abraham Lincoln.” It would have to be pitched as a Sci-Fi or Horror movie. When there are the few gem roles for POC, people are suggesting...Julia Roberts & Scarlett Johansson. Maybe we can die and get lead roles as our CGI avatars? 6/6
