[user104658]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Yes I personally do think that period film and television should be race-accurate because let's face it, not everyone realises that there's "creative license" going on in fictional media and so are liable to not realise how serious segregation was in the past, if they're frequently seeing integration in stories set in those eras.

On the other hand, I have (at some point, don't quote me) read articles that have suggested that there was a lot MORE racial diversity "on the everyday streets" of Victorian London, for example, than is often shown in film which portrays Victorian London as being nearly 100% white... And thus creates a false impression of there having been a more recent "massive influx of immigration" than is really the case. Big cities like London have always been racially diverse by the numbers, just not in terms of distribution of wealth and power.

In terms of Oliver pretty much any if the characters EXCEPT Oliver himself could be non-white, as he turns out to be from a wealthy London family, and that's where it would start to not make sense given that wealth and privilege are sort of themes of the entire story.

[Tom4784]

Theatre has always been seen as colour blind and it generally has a more open minded and more specific audience while cinema appeals to almost everyone. Not everyone goes to see plays but almost everyone watches films.

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Livia

Oh leave her alone. My favourite Shakespeare play is Henry V - a white man. The best version I ever saw was when Henry was played by black actor Adrian Lester. I don't recall any backlash about a white man being played by a black man and it took absolutely nothing away from the play.

Originally Posted by Dezzy

Theatre has always been seen as colour blind and it generally has a more open minded and more specific audience while cinema appeals to almost everyone. Not everyone goes to see plays but almost everyone watches films.

I dunno about there not being a backlash when it's the reverse, or people being more open to it in theatre... Hermionegate was only a couple of years ago.

[Tom4784]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

I dunno about there not being a backlash when it's the reverse, or people being more open to it in theatre... Hermionegate was only a couple of years ago.

It's Harry Potter though so that play gathered a lot of attention from outside of the theatre world. A lot of that anger was from people who wouldn't typically be theatregoers.

[James]

I don't get why Scarlett got criticism for being cast in Ghost in the Shell, but then there was nothing when Rosa Salazar - who is not Asian - was cast in Alita.

[Tom4784]

Originally Posted by James

I don't get why Scarlett got criticism for being cast in Ghost in the Shell, but then there was nothing when Rosa Salazar - who is not Asian - was cast in Alita.

I think the difference is that Motoko Kusanagi, even after her transformation into a cyborg was always presented as being Japanese while Alita as a character isn't presented as being of any particular race.

[Tom4784]

Shows like Victoria aren't exactly true to life representations so I don't think having a black person be a significant player in the show is a problem. Shows like Victoria are light entertainment after all.

Obviously if you want to put a focus on the racial aspects then it's important to cast appropriately but I don't really have a problem with period dramas as a whole racebending things.