So just about the time people originally predicted. Sounds good to me. 
Agents of Shield - Season 4
- Thread starter MarsWeeps
- Start date
...Saturn? Or, more likely, some artificial ring of an alien world. Is there an alien world in the MU with rings?
Day after Thanksgiving as a start date just begs to have low ratings.
It should be Friday Dec. 1 and they could air it straight through cause with the way Christmas and New Years fall the impact on Friday would be less. Still noticeable on the 22nd probably.
It should be Friday Dec. 1 and they could air it straight through cause with the way Christmas and New Years fall the impact on Friday would be less. Still noticeable on the 22nd probably.
Chloe Bennett's got herself a few column inches lately for her comments on Instagram re Hollywood and how she had to change her name to make a career.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...-ed-skrein-whitewashing-hellboy-a7923521.html
It was actually on the front page of The Guardian newspaper here in the UK on Friday (I think it was Friday). I mean not the main big headline, but prominently one of the stories on page one.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...-ed-skrein-whitewashing-hellboy-a7923521.html
It was actually on the front page of The Guardian newspaper here in the UK on Friday (I think it was Friday). I mean not the main big headline, but prominently one of the stories on page one.
I think I remember seeing some footage of her mentioning something like this before. IIRC it was something along the lines of a casting director or an agent or something that told her that because of how she looks, she can only play "best friend" type roles, never the lead or even the "girlfriend" female lead.
It's really sad, but parts of Hollywood still have their collective heads stuck in the 1920's.
It's really sad, but parts of Hollywood still have their collective heads stuck in the 1920's.
It was also picked up by the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong's main English-language newspaper) which, oddly enough, is how I first saw the story thanks to a news alert on my phone.
I'm glad she spoke out about this, but I doubt it'll make any difference considering she's not that "big" of a name, at least not yet. It's disgusting that Hollywood is still having these issues.
I think it's mostly an unimaginative shortsightedness on the part of the middle management types. The idea that Asian and Latin Americans can't fill these roles being based on them not having much of a proven track record of them doing so successfully.
Of course it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as nobody in this notoriously risk averse industry wants to be the first one to put their heads through the door. So they all shuffle their feet and mumble something about "they're just not right for the role" and nothing changes.
I suppose it *could* be intentionally malicious. A year ago I'd be much more willing to chalk it up to stupidity and ignorance rather than malice, but these days I'm somewhat more inclined to believe the latter. Either way, it's not going to change without people having to get loud and pushy, because it never does.
Of course it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as nobody in this notoriously risk averse industry wants to be the first one to put their heads through the door. So they all shuffle their feet and mumble something about "they're just not right for the role" and nothing changes.
I suppose it *could* be intentionally malicious. A year ago I'd be much more willing to chalk it up to stupidity and ignorance rather than malice, but these days I'm somewhat more inclined to believe the latter. Either way, it's not going to change without people having to get loud and pushy, because it never does.
Then again, Chloe stars on the series alongside Ming Na. I was kind of wondering about her claim and whether her getting hired (initially, not just AoS) was actually correlated with the name change and found this which I think makes it easier to see.
Interestingly, the interview makes it sound like her Asian background might've scored her a break with trying to be a pop star.
I tried to find the original casting call information but could not. However, I did find that May was going to be called Agent Rice(!). So to me that either means they really did cast in a "colorblind" manner and changed it after casting or if they intended to cast an Asian all along that they were some really racist motherfuckers!
I was thinking about it and I always thought Maggie Q sounded more Asian than her actual name Maggie Quigley in kind of the reverse situation but maybe that's just me. I wonder if Chloe might consider changing to Chloe Wang or maybe Chloe Bennet Wang now that's she's had some success. Not that she's obligated to but it might be good to put it out front given her comments.
Interestingly, the interview makes it sound like her Asian background might've scored her a break with trying to be a pop star.
I tried to find the original casting call information but could not. However, I did find that May was going to be called Agent Rice(!). So to me that either means they really did cast in a "colorblind" manner and changed it after casting or if they intended to cast an Asian all along that they were some really racist motherfuckers!
I was thinking about it and I always thought Maggie Q sounded more Asian than her actual name Maggie Quigley in kind of the reverse situation but maybe that's just me. I wonder if Chloe might consider changing to Chloe Wang or maybe Chloe Bennet Wang now that's she's had some success. Not that she's obligated to but it might be good to put it out front given her comments.
But Ming-Na Wen had already established herself as a significant name, while Wang/Bennet was relatively new and would've had a harder time breaking in.
Besides, she was talking about why she felt the need to change her name when she was starting out, a year or two before getting the AoS gig. The AoS producers are pretty good with inclusion, but there are surely plenty of other producers and casting directors out there who are more prejudiced.
That's because her pop career was in China.
The point being Ming-Na Wen was able to establish herself without having to change her name. The video made it clearer to me what Chloe was facing. I didn't realize it was as blatant as what she suggested.
But she was plucked out from here in the US, other people probably wouldn't have had that opportunity. And maybe that helped the Nashville producers to give her a chance. Just saying it opened up some opportunities as well.
Of course every situation is different. Ming-Na Wen had to establish herself as a Chinese-American actress because she's ethnically full Chinese and can't pass for anything else. I'm sure there were plenty of other Asian-American actresses who didn't manage to get the same degree of success, because there aren't that many openings for them, and Wen was lucky and talented enough to be one of the few who got such roles. What makes Chloe Bennet different is that she's only half-Chinese and can "pass" for white, so changing her name meant that casting directors would be more willing to consider her for non-Asian roles, the kind of roles that they didn't think she was "white enough" for when she went by Chloe Wang. So it gave her more opportunities than she would've had otherwise. It's stupid, of course, that they'd see her as more qualified just because of her name, but that's how prejudices and preconceptions work.
Again: It opened opportunities in China. Of course China is going to offer plenty of opportunities for Chinese performers. But that has nothing to do wth the racism that still pervades Hollywood.
She also benefited from the same selective process that has hurt her in Hollywood is what I was getting at but I concede that is not ultimately a germane thing to bring to the discussion.
So what you're basically saying is she should be grateful that she was given any opportunities at all? That she and others in the same boat should be content with their lot and not make such a fuss about it?
That's messed up.
It was just an observation of how it has affected her life, take from it what you will but I didn't mean for it to invalidate or justify the struggles of representation in Hollywood.
You seem to be under the bizarre impression that succeeding against a stacked deck is in someway an advantage or sign of privilege. You logic is not like our Earth logic.
Well at least we can see eye-to-eye on that, brother.
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