Okay, after my report on the new version of Ghostbusters with the all women cast, I have been thinking a lot about how casting works. I think in America we are wanting to believe that we live in a society where any race of any gender should be able to do anything, and I agree. However, when it comes to acting, are we allowed to be prejudiced?

Yes, I know that I just gave justification for prejudice, and that is just not good. I mean, people complained about Zootopia having a moral against prejudice that seems…outdated. I mean, I grew up in an age of The Sneetches and other children’s books and programs that told me that prejudice is bad, and I agree.

Yet, there still are complaints about casting, as well as white-washing. The recent casting of non-Asians in the adaptation of the popular anime Ghost In A Shell is creating some controversy. What is interesting is how the new Doctor Strange film has cast Helen Mirren, a white British actress, to play The Ancient One, who is a Tibetan male from the comic book source material.

In addition to the white-washing, there is also the gender-swapping. The female Ghostbusters are a good example, but it isn’t like these females are replacing the original. There are other recent examples like a character Jeri Hograth on Jessica Jones, who was switched out from the comic book male inspiration to be played by Carrie Anne-Moss. Since I am not familiar with this particular comic book source material, I can’t tell if it is an improvement.

However, if someone has a casting call for black or white actors, isn’t this inherently prejudiced? I realize that no one cares in animation, as many famous parts like Bart Simpson are played by the opposite gender. Does it matter? Only the most conservative would protest.

If you look at a film like Cloud Atlas, the film decided to cast actors in multiple roles, occasionally switching their genders and races. Personally, I liked that film, but it could have easily worked with different actors or actresses in those roles. Heck, little people were not used in The Lord of the Rings films unless they were seen from the back. Could we not hire real little people to play the hobbits? Personally, I think that is not a good idea.

I mean, Levar Burton was talking about how he was cast on Roots, and how they wanted a young black man, and it was a risk that they took him, who didn’t have a lot of experience. There is a new version of Roots being broadcast now, but how long before we are casting slaves and not care about the race? In other words, are we going to be casting white slaves? If so, then we are at a point where we just don’t care about the casting.

If that is the case, maybe we just don’t care about race and gender, and I can’t help but think that is progress.