Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Not Like This: "The Lone Ranger" Remake

my_partner_doug tipped me to a movie remake of The Lone Ranger.  What's wrong with this picture?  The Native American hero, Tonto, is being played by Johnny Depp.  I liked the original TV series because I was amused by how often Tonto had to save the Lone Ranger.  I am not at all amused to see this role go to an actor who is not Native American.  It's bad enough to cross-cast any character whose ethnicity is already specified, but it's especially egregious when said identity is a mainstay of the character and his role in a story.  So I'm not only skipping the movie and leaving my folding green vote in my pocket, I'm encouraging other folks to boycott it as well.
Tags: entertainment, ethnic studies, news
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  • 29 comments
...go 1 level up... Expand
ysabetwordsmith

No...

ysabetwordsmith

June 13 2011, 06:25:25 UTC 10 years ago

Not after The Last Airbender, not after Akira either.

Once is chance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action. I'm beginning to suspect that this may not be blind ignorance, but simply Hollywood's way of emphasizing that it doesn't care if people of color get hurt or shortchanged, they aren't important enough to matter.

I hope the movies spurt red ink in spectacular arterial arcs until they bleed out and die gasping on the cutting room floor like they deserve.

I also think that the most appropriate response would be for Asian and Native American folks to take their spending money and crowdfund their own darn movies. Sadly, that's not a project I could launch, as I'm not a movie maker. But if I see one I will certainly boost the signal.
the_vulture

Re: No...

the_vulture

June 13 2011, 06:29:27 UTC 10 years ago

I read some of the comments on that article you posted a link to. Yep. It's all about the almighty dollar. We all need to be going to more independent cinema, methinks.
ysabetwordsmith

Re: No...

ysabetwordsmith

June 13 2011, 06:39:03 UTC 10 years ago

It annoys me that it's hard for actors of color to get good roles that might establish them as Stars, and then Hollywood whinges that it doesn't have any actors of color who are worth putting into a starring role. Gee, I wonder why not, you insufferable racist fucks.
the_vulture

Re: No...

the_vulture

June 13 2011, 08:09:52 UTC 10 years ago

It's the fault of collective society as a whole. Our real opinion is spoken with where we place our dollar.
rhodielady_47

Re: No...

rhodielady_47

June 13 2011, 06:41:50 UTC 10 years ago

Speaking of independent cinema...I am now free of TV commercials and cable TV.
I finally managed to convince my Hubby to discontinue cable TV back in January. It had finally reached the point where we were watching the Weather Channel and PBS almost exclusively. Then 60 Minutes' Andy Rooney's little expose of the fact that we are now forced to watch 20+ minutes of commercials out of every hour of cable TV we watch was what convinced me that it was the right thing to do.
We joined Netflix and so far we haven't missed cable TV, its monthly 60+ dollar bill or all its idiotic TV commercials.
:)
ysabetwordsmith

Re: No...

ysabetwordsmith

June 13 2011, 06:52:14 UTC 10 years ago

One of the more vivid things I resent about modern culture is that the whole point of cable -- paying for TV that used to be free -- was so there would BE NO COMMERCIALS. It didn't last long, alas. My parents had the dish on last time we visited. There were several commercials inside of 15 minutes and three of them for for three different online dating services. It was just appalling. (The rabid heterosexuals are screaming about how everyone else is ruining society, yet they can't even find Tab A with Slot Be anymore without assistance.)

We don't have TV reception because we can't afford it. I do miss the educational stuff, but that's most of what I ever had an interest in. Almost none of the shows are worth watching. The percentage of things that actually drive me out of a room has gone up. The 'news' programs are downright cringeworthy: what Phil Foglio once called "journalistic, infotainment-like art product." Feh.
rhodielady_47

Re: No...

rhodielady_47

June 13 2011, 06:56:09 UTC 10 years ago

The closest thing to real TV news was on the BBC channel. We used to watch it and we heard of things going on in the US that our own TV news stations never so much as mentioned.
:(
the_vulture

Re: No...

the_vulture

June 13 2011, 07:55:38 UTC 10 years ago

I gave up cable whilst living in England. I wasn't about to pay £120 per year for the 'priviledge' of watching of the likes of 'Eastenders' and 'Coronation Street'. It was then that I got well used to using subscriber features for watching movies and tv series. That habit continued upon returning to Canada, where I now subscribe to Netflix. To be honest, though, I don't even get much time to watch even THAT.
rhodielady_47

Re: No...

rhodielady_47

June 13 2011, 16:02:42 UTC 10 years ago

Honestly, I haven't seen much coming out in the past few years that seemed like it was worth watching once you got past the pilot episode.
Most of the time I'd rather read anyway.
:[
ysabetwordsmith

Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

June 13 2011, 17:59:55 UTC 10 years ago

I agree.

*chuckle* If you want to see what kind of show I'd like to watch, check out Schrodinger's Heroes:
http://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/1752525.html

A key difference between me and the mainstream audience is that, if there's nothing on I like, I'll go do something else. Even for something I like, it's hard for me to remember to go watch it, especially if I get engrossed in some other activity.
rhodielady_47

Re: Yes...

rhodielady_47

June 13 2011, 21:45:07 UTC 10 years ago

This is me too.
:)

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    Here's an interesting look at values in pop culture television over 50 years. You can see what goes up and down in importance. Researchers also…

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    Here's a fuss over someone building the Euro bridges, remarking about places that exist in imagination before reality. People, please. EVERY place…

  • Killer Asteroids

    There are a lot of them, and without advance preparation, Earth is defenseless. We need to get the Umbrella up.