Casting Call Question: Does Race/Ethnicity matter?

[V's patron]

So I was thinking about race portrayal in media since Iron Fist, Ghost in the Shell, and Fullmetal Alchemist started entering the discussions and I was wondering whether or not people would be ok with Dante and everybody else being a different race/ethnicity?

 

[Innsmouth]

I wont. I think that ethnicity/gender is part of character. Imagine if Luke Cage was white girl? I think that would be kinda dumb. Also if somebody with distinguishable names suddenly looks like nothing like their prototypes. Its stupid and pointless

 

[Lain]

It might go without saying, but an adaptation is just that, an adaptation. It will never be the source material and so it is only natural to expect changes so long as it keeps within the author's wishes and the spirit of the work.

I have no problem with Scarlett Johansson playing the Major, FMA having an all Japanese cast...it really doesn't make a difference to me.

 

[Innsmouth]

Personally I don't like it because it breaks immersion. And without it its almost impossible to deliver solid film structure.

 

[LordOfDarkness]

Wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

@Blackquill put it perfectly. I completely agree.

 

[Viper]

Say about me whatever you like, but casting people of different ethnicity to play as new version of an established character is dumb and people are just allowing makers to be lazy and uncreative, to ride on the fame of known material and popular names instead of daring to create something new.
It's called Devil May Cry, not Dante's Mighty Cuhrayzee, they are entirely allowed to make the protagonist anyone they want if they really needed different ethnicity.

 

[absolitude]

i don't mind if dante and vergil are played by japanese in a hollywood movie, but make sure they're japanese and they're physically right, not like most asians used in hollywood..

ethnicity and race do matter, but for me there are situations that makes it alright to swap that.. with a note it should be nicely casted, and that should be a good movie with nice written story..

 

[Foxtrot94]

Changing ethnicity for established characters is just pointless. Once a character is portrayed in a certain way and is established in a certain way, why changing it for the sake of it? Why making Dante black? Or Asian? Such adaptations are pretty darn pointless if you ask me. Changing a character's race without any valid reason just for the sake of diversity is... I'm sorry I keep repeating this adjective but it's pointless. Might as well create something new altogether.

Seriously, what would be the point of changing Dante's race? Why exactly would you do that? What would that bring to the table? And even if it did bring something to the table, why do that to an already established character? Why not do that with an entirely new one and create a whole new story? The obvious answer would be lack of creativity.

 

[DragonMaster2010]

For me, it depends. For example, in the casting for Nightwing, people want someone Romanai to play him since in a few iterations of him, he was Romanai, however the "problem" so to speak is finding a Romanai who looks, and can act like Dick, which isn't easy since there aren't many young Romanai actors.

To me, if you give a good reason as to why the race is different (not being able to find the right actor to fit the specifics, or creating a completely different iteration from canon along with changing name and backstory) then I'll be fine with it. However if they do it just to have a famous name to display, or they just didn't try, then that's a problem for me.

 

[Meg]

Hmmm......I want actors to look as much like the character as possible. However if the actor/actress doesn't look exactly like the character, but what they bring to the role is amazing, then the appearance shouldn't matter.

So i'm in the middle. :thumbsup:

 

[Dante's Stalker]

Nnnnnnno. I personally wouldn't be okay with it. It's got less to do with skin colour and more to do with if it ain't broke, don't try fix it.

 

[berto]

Yeah, no, I would not be OK with that. Just because I'm Mexican doesn't mean I'd be Ok with Dante being turned Mexican.

I've said this more than a few times but leave the bloody ethnicities and genders of established characters alone. I wouldn't want them to change the ethnicity of my favorite franchise any more than I'd want them to change the ethnicity on my favorite Mexican character. I know Garcia F. Hotspur is portrayed by a white dude but you know who's bothered by that? Not us Mexicans. If you want ethnic diversity add it, don't alter characters, make new ones. If a character was made straight don't make him gay just be progressive; George Takei wasn't happy that they made Sulu gay in the canon, he was portraying a straight character and as an actor he grew attached to that character.

Leave the ethnicities, races, religions, countries of origin, sexes, and sexualities of established characters alone. These are not high school plays where anyone should be able to go for the lead. I know that it's a common practice but I've also seen that turning a black/latino/gay character into a straight white man would bring a sundering wrath upon who ever made such a change. If it doesn't work both ways then it's not progressive, it's oppressive.

I could go on but I won't. Don't want to get all tirade on this.

 

[xMobilemux]

A massive NO from me.

I'm so sick of seeing this crap show up, all this racial and gender diversity being implemented just for the sake of it and on existing characters needs to get the hell out of my house!
It's not gonna make me more accepting of different races or genders, if anything it's making me reject them even more.

This kind of stuff just infuriates me, all the time I'm seeing some of my girl-friends sharing pics of those "Plus Size" versions of the Disney princesses on Facebook and it just ****es me off how much they have fallen for all this forced progressive garbage.
I've said to them and others a million times before and I'll likely have to say it a million times again in the future cause people today are idiots, Leave existing characters alone! Make New ones!!!

Dante needs to stay a Straight White Male, it's who he is and who he always was.
Want a different race demon hunter? Then make a new one.

Platinum Games clearly got that message cause now we have a female version and even Cyborg version of Dante.

 

[Viper]

@xMobilemux
Err, Raiden has always been Nero of Metal Gear, ever since MGS2. Snake is Dante, Sam is cyborg version of Dante. Well, sort of, he's kinda Dante mixed with Vergil.

But yeah, totally, if people want to call themselves creative, they should be creative and make new characters instead of just tracing over existing ones.