As I’ve clearly stated before, the issue of
typecasting (across racial, gender, and other minority lines) is a hot-button
topic, but there are very, very few
blogs dedicated just to that. Having to find blogs that routinely talk about
this issue (especially amateur ones) has been a trip and half, and I was
beginning to think that I was only going to be able to cobble together some
pieces from various different blogs.
And then I found this beauty.
Stop
Whitewashing is self-described as a blog that is:
“a safe space for
People of Color. We are here to inform, to educate, and to call out people who
whitewash. We support and celebrate entertainment equality and will also speak
out against racism not only in the entertainment industry but in canon works
(books, graphic novels, etc.) and fandoms as well.”
The blog is mainly comprised of short posts either
celebrating the accomplishments of POC in the entertainment industry, or
condemning those who belittle it or are blatantly against it. I’ll admit this
upfront – a good portion of the blog is re-blogging articles, videos, and GIF
sets from various other blogs. But, particularly when it comes to answering the
questions (or retorts) of their followers, we get to hear the voice of the people
running this provocative blog.
For instance, one sadly misinformed commenter asked
the following:
“I’m sorry but do you
realize that black people are OVERREPRESENTED in US media and culture right?
That effectively a group that is 12% of the population, gets more support than
all others? So we shouldn’t be concerned if Lupita Nyongo wins, but why a
Hispanic or Asian actress never wins. NHL is not diverse enough, but 85% of the
NBA is black, few to no Asians, no Indians, no natives, few Hispanics at all.
Music is black dominated, television, even movies now.”
Many people, including myself, might not have taken
the time to actually respond to such nonsense, but one of the admins responded
in a feisty, yet thoughtful and truthful way.
In the response, the admin uses a lot of short,
clipped sentences to convey an authoritative, occasionally sarcastic tone. It
does give off a “girl, you don’t know
where the hell I come from” vibe, but in all honesty, the commenter
probably has no idea where the hell the admin comes from. She balances her
sassiness with nuggets of straightforward reality, hoping that the commenter
not only understands the inflammatory nature of their comment, but also that
they will have learned something through the admin’s response.
In another post, this one being re-blogged from Policy Mic, the cheekiness comes out in
full swing with the video “Typecast,” a parody of Lorde’s song “Royals,”
putting the woes of non-white actresses to a catchy beat.
As an actress who has played many of these roles
before, I definitely feel the pain of these women. Really any song could have
used here, but what’s clever about the use of “Royals” is that the original
song tears into the opulent façade that hip-hop music casts, and this parody does
exactly that in the case of Hollywood.
Pointing out facts that the main (white) lead can’t
have two black friends, the Asian actress disregarding the true history of her
last name to make it “whatever you want it to be (generically Asian),” all three
actresses willing to be typecast in order to get a job, and ultimately being
passed over for a white actress because they combined all three roles are all
played satirically here, but represent very true challenges for actors of color.
This tone is down-to-earth and easily relatable to all (especially young
people), but hopefully expands the view of the watcher of what modern
entertainment really looks like (or doesn't look like).
Overall, if you want a straight-up view of ethnic
representation in pop culture with a mixture of factual evidence and spunky
personality, Stop Whitewashing is a
good place to stop.
