Luis Velez Blog 2

            Colorblind casting is a filming issue that has been around for many years, and there is still no definite ruling regarding it. Colorblind casting consists of choosing a films cast based on their ability, capability and talent performing a certain role, without taking in consideration their race or culture. For some people this idea of colorblind casting makes sense, but others believe that each character role should maintain their essence. In this case according to Liam Mayo “Race is one factor which has historically been used in casting. Color-blind casting aims to remove this factor from the equation, letting performers be chosen based on their skill, not on their appearance”. Judging people for their talent seems to be fair, but in film making, choosing actors by that matter could also be controversial.

            There is no doubt that colorblind casting would help get rid of many controversies. It would specially diminish the complains from minority groups who feel marginalized. Minority groups claim that it is not fair that because of their own born nature they are not able or eligible to perform a primary role. Colorblind casting should be executed to a certain level while maintaining the original story line. This means that changing the universal physical perception of a character can change the entire perception of the film or even distract the audiences. A good example of a colorblind role would be portraying Martin Luther King as a white Chinese person just because he was the best acting and performing as that specific character, but in this case even if the person was the best, the entire movie would lose its essence and purpose.  It is for tis particular cases that make colorblind casting such a delicate theme.

            People who are not involved in the acting world would think that it is not a difficult task to chose actors just by their talent. According to the article Why Race in the Screen has to Change by Julia Prest says “increasing diversity and representation requires time, money and effort – and a conscious commitment to the cause”. This phrase from the writer of the article means that choosing the correct prospect for the role takes a lot of time and working effort. This is in part because at the time of making your decision for the best actor, you are taking into consideration more people that would have been otherwise eliminated just for their color, culture or ethnicity. It is also more expensive since the casting contains more candidates and which represent more trial time, and this make the casting process to take longer.

            It is evident for everyone that high quality movies such as any movie produced in Hollywood, regularly follows certain role patterns. These patterns could be follow rich people being white, the poor are represented as black, the bad guys are Russian or from the middle east, and these type of people are rarely portrayed as the main film characters. Colorblind casting can also be seen in different manners such as a white character in the novel and then presented as a black person in the film, or the other way around. Changing the perception and origin of a character can be very distracting. For this reason even though some directors try to practice the blind casting, others come up with the color conscious idea of film casting. This color conscious casting according to a Civic Issue Blog from Penn State, “The practice of color-conscious casting intentionally applies emphasis on considering race and ethnicity when casting characters for the big screen and the stage, in order to foster appreciation and respect for the diversity of the roles being portrayed, and to honor and accurately represent the cultural intricacies at play”. Color conscious casting can be appreciated in the movie Hound of the Baskervilles 1983, were both main characters Holmes and Winston are portrayed exactly as readers imagine them in the book. Viewers feel identified since they are experiencing what they expected, which consisted in maintaining the loyalty of characters in the movie. It can be said that Color Conscious casting is the rivalry of the Colorblind casting. Even though many believe that minorities are being oppressed in the film world, they should open their eyes and realize what is happening. Film and theater should remain as loyal as possible to the actor’s cultural characteristics regarding the role they will perform.  

            Color conscious casting is the correct form of producing film. With this style there is no confusion between certain roles and the story behind them. The characteristics of a movie that make it prosper is the ability of its actors to represent a specific image that can only be done by using specific physical traits. This entire casting dilemmas have nothing to do with racism, they have to do with respecting races and the natural aspects of each of them. The magic inside filming is in representing certain roles accurately. Wanting to be loyal to a certain culture or using certain people for a specific role is not racism or oppression, it is simply maintaining authenticity regarding the real world.

There is no definite correct form of casting, but there is certainly a more acceptable and logic style of doing so. The decision of casting depends largely on the producer of the film and also on the type of film they are making. In some cases there is not such a big impact to cast colorblind, but sometimes it really does create huge controversies. Usually color blinding is used when the film and producer have a goal to send out a specific message to the viewers or if they are supporting a particular campaign.

Even though many people can not visualize colorblind casting as a way of incrementing discrimination, it certainly does, since it does not establish boundaries between them. This style can falsely create images about certain cultures. According to the scholarly article written by Kristin Hopkins, “Ignoring race in an appearance-based industry, where there is a history of discrimination, only furthers discrimination”. This is a very well constructed critique to the use of colorblind casting. There in no doubt that colorblind casting as well as color conscious casting are controversial matter. Minority groups will more often be vowing for colorblind casting structures, because they feel discriminated, but blind casting has much more racist social repercussions than the color conscious were every actor represents his culture and essence accordingly. 

Works Cited

Hopkins, Kristin Bria. “There’s No Business Like Show Business: Abandoning Color-

Blind Casting and Embracing Color-Conscious Casting in American Theatre.” Harvard Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law, vol. 9, no. 2, Spring 2018, p. 131. EBSCOhost, libproxy.xu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=130781577&site=eds-live&scope=site.

“Figure 2f from: Irimia R, Gottschling M (2016) Taxonomic Revision of Rochefortia

Sw. (Ehretiaceae, Boraginales). Biodiversity Data Journal 4: e7720. Https://Doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.4.e7720.” doi:10.3897/bdj.4.e7720.figure2f.

Prest, Julia. “Why the Way Race Is Cast on Stage and Screen Needs to Change.” The

Conversation, The Conversation, 7 Nov. 2018, theconversation.com/why-the-way-race-is-cast-on-stage-and-screen-needs-to-change-85863.

“Color-Blind Casting at Ithaca High School.” Study Breaks, 12 June 2018,

studybreaks.com/news-politics/color-blind-casting/.

cpc5376. SiOWfa15 Science in Our World Certainty and Controversy,

sites.psu.edu/cragercivicissue/2017/02/01/color-conscious-casting/.

Hound of The Baskervilles 1983. Directed by Douglas Hickox