Why is it not okay for films from Western countries to not have a diverse cast?

[At Each Kilometer]

No, I mean movies and TV shows made by predominantly white countries..... you know western? Isn't that what you call it?

I would like to ask a question to clarify OP. Does it mean that all predominantly 'white' countries are western or only predominantly 'white' countries belong to the 'western world'? Could you define ''western' and 'white' in order to fully understand OP?

 

[paulagnes1745]

I would like to ask a question to clarify OP. Does it mean that all predominantly 'white' countries are western or only predominantly 'white' countries belong to the 'western world'? Could you define ''western' and 'white' in order to fully understand OP?

I'm not sure but I'm going to pick "only predominantly 'white' countries". I thought "western" meant countries that are predominantly white.

But here's a map of what I mean:

 

[Pruitt]

I remember seeing scenes from the last Fantastic Four Movie. There was a Black guy playing the Human Torch. I remember in the 60's when the comic book came out and the Human Torch was the younger Brother of the Invisible Girl. Too many modern movies are casting people that are a poor match to the character in the story. A Black guy playing the Brother of a White, Blond, Blue Eyed woman?

I like Samuel Jackson and Denzel Washington and like many of their movies, but hiring a Black just to add a bit of color is a bit much.

Pruitt

 

[Whyte]

I remember seeing scenes from the last Fantastic Four Movie. There was a Black guy playing the Human Torch. I remember in the 60's when the comic book came out and the Human Torch was the younger Brother of the Invisible Girl. Too many modern movies are casting people that are a poor match to the character in the story. A Black guy playing the Brother of a White, Blond, Blue Eyed woman?

Explained in the movie:
Susan Storm was adopted. (And was played by a brunette/redhead (albeit with blonded hair) with brown eyes, assuming you care about that detail.)

Michael B. Jordan playing the Human Torch was so NOT the problem in that movie. Plenty of valid criticisms can be laid on that dumpster fire of a movie, including wasting Susan totally in the story, but a black guy playing Human Torch was so not one.

I admit that I had a bit of a kneejerk reaction to hearing that a black actor was going to be Heimdall when the first Thor movie was being filmed, but Idris Elba had such screen presence that I didn't mind at all once I saw the movie. Not like the Marvel Comics are that faithful to the Norse mythos to begin with (Thor is a ginger!).

 

[At Each Kilometer]

Yes. In this movie Susan Storm is a Kosavar / Albanian from Kosovo adopted by American Storm family.

A similar thread in the forum What's with all the Black washing?

EDIT: Regarding the Norse god, original mythological Thor has in most cases red hair and beard. Men in early medieval times were grim serious about their facial hair.. A person without beard was either a boy or a woman.

paulagnes1745 Your map doesnt include in 'white' countries club all eastern slavic and some southern slavic countries. Also all mid eastern countries are excluded from this club and as far as i know arabs are considered caucasians. Most importantly according to the map above caucasians are not caucasians

 

[arkteia]

Hispanic actors broke the barrier in Hollywood a while ago - think Dolores del Rio and later, Anthony Quinn. Even before them, Lita Grey, Chaplin's second young wife, on her mother's side was from Californian Spanish/Hispanic families. So it seems that the biggest barrier would be the accent.

With African-Americans, the situation is was more complicated. To remember Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American Oscar winner.

Having received the Oscar,
"McDaniel then was escorted, not to the Gone With the Wind table — where Selznick sat with de Havilland and his two Oscar-nominated leads, Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable — but to a small table set against a far wall, where she took a seat with her escort, F.P. Yober, and her white agent, William Meiklejohn. With the hotel's strict no-blacks policy, Selznick had to call in a special favor just to have McDaniel allowed into the building".

I think today the choice of the actors depends on the material. Maybe as our country becomes more diverse, we shall see Asian, Indian, African-American and Latino actors in larger amounts.

 

[Draki]

This is a very political question, but it sort of answers itself, doesn't it?

 

[Chlodio]

1. The purpose of media like TV, movies, video games, etc is entertainment, not historical accuracy.
2. Casting directors can be sued under the equal opportunity employment laws if they don't hire a diverse group of actors.
3.Hollywood has been criticized for hiring only white actors in the mid-20th century. That Hollywood is now going the other way should be seen as a mark of progress.
4. Media tries very hard to convince the audience that those fictional characters are our friends and our heroes. The criticism of old Hollywood's all white casts was that it sent a message that our friends and heroes should all be white. This has serious social implications. It encourages racial division. A diverse cast sends the message that our friends and heroes should be diverse.
5. It's not a coincidence that 30 or so years ago Hollywood decided to create a growing list of LGBTQ characters and then a few years later we began to see the normalization of LGBTQ rights in society at large. Hollywood convinced society that it's perfectly normal for a certain percentage of the population to be LGBTQ and that LGBTQ people can be quite likeable and admirable.
6. One of my biggest pet peeves about media is the tendency to portray historical women having modern attitudes about gender equality. But what's the alternative? Should media tell audiences that women should conform to their traditional roles? Because that's how audiences will interpret characters on a screen. Consciously, people know that these are fictional characters in a historical context, but unconsciously people will and do think that every real person should be just like those characters on the screen. Media should not send the message that women can only be wives and mothers. That's not the way the modern world is.

 

[Pruitt]

As I pointed out in my post, I was there when the Fantastic Four Comic came out. Both Sue and Johnny Storm were drawn as Blond and Blue eyed. Jessica Alba I have no problem with in the casting. I don't see Johnny Storm as being her brother. The writers really had to stretch things here. I can handle Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury as he is a fine actor. It is almost as if the Producers were hollering "We need to cater to the Black audience! Who can we cast as a FF4? Who is available and cheap?". Marvel did not have Black characters for many years.

Pruitt

 

[Bish]

In the UK at least this whole issue is not just confined to TV and film or to race. There are constantly issues about gender equality, not having the right mix of this or that group. many people have suggested having quota's.

But going back to TV, i am sure you guys must remember many of the shows coming out of the US which were wholly based around black families and now and again you got the token white guy who was usually stupid or nasty.