“Whitewashing vs Blackwashing” argument

 

Over the years within the media, especially in the movie industry, there seems to be more of a favoring of nostalgia over original stories and ideas. There seems to be an increase with remakes, reboots, and live action adaptations of animated media. In more recent years, there’s also been an increase in these imaginings featuring a black character as the lead instead of sticking to the original protagonist which is usually Caucasian. For example in 2019, it was revealed actress and singer Halle Bailey would portray Ariel in the live action Little Mermaid adaptation leading to years of negative, racist, anti-Black commentary that even continued when the movie was released in 2023. Even director, Rob Marshall defended Bailey’s casting saying that it was colorblind as she set the standard for the character by vocals alone. He went on to explain that really anyone could’ve portrayed Ariel and the character’s ethnicity wouldn’t have impacted the story in the slightest. At the end of the day, not only is Ariel a fictional sea creature, but the option to watch the original animated version is still possible. I believe Ariel’s race did matter as it’s rare to see black women in love, but also have the opportunity to be soft onscreen and fulfill their romances. Another example of an adaptation switching the race of the character is AMC’s tv show adaptation of Anne Rice’s book series, Interview with a Vampire. In the 2022 show reboot instead of the protagonist, Louie being a white slave owner, the show magnifies Louie’s identity as a gay, black, creole man instead and the show also focuses on the culture belonging to him and his family, only enhancing Anne Rice’s original creation by taking a fresh modern take on it. His race also affects his relationship with his partner, Lestat who’s a white French vampire, who is the one who turns him into a vampire. The character Claudia is also portrayed by two black actresses over the course of the first two seasons. 

I can understand the argument creating more black original stories and celebrating those and it’s not an unfair argument to propose that these studios could be casting black actors for the sake of media attention and creating an early controversy with the movie, however I do believe that recasting originally white characters with black actors can sometimes help enhance the stories. Especially if the character’s race doesn’t affect the narrative. It gives black audiences a chance to see themselves in a multitude of diverse roles rather than reinforced stereotypes. The media additionally doesn’t give black original stories enough attention or recognition, therefore, studios will lose money if they aren’t garnering in an influx of audience members. 

On the other end of the spectrum, I believe whitewashing characters doesn’t benefit anyone; white is the default for a lot of the things we see from arts, politics, entertainment, etc. Anything that exists outside this spectrum of whiteness is immediately labeled as ‘othered’ and doesn’t get the same means of celebrations of attention from the media. What stories would be told by whitewashing already existing BIPOC stories? The newest adaptation of the iconic Wuthering Heights has fallen under controversy for the casting of Heathcliff portrayed by Jacob Elordi, a white Australian actor. — a lot of the language utilized in the books suggests that the character is racially ambiguous, but a POC due to how he’s frequently described as “dark” and how his race influences his relationships on a romantic spectrum and how the world treats him.