Is remaking old franchises with diverse casts or changing it with a minority lead really diversity?

[hwarang]

I'd much prefer original shows produced that bring out diversity than a lot of remakes being dumped at us. Should create our own, new franchises instead of relying on the past. I'm not exactly enjoying Lovecraft Country but I like that it's its own thing and not some 2nd adaptation with a diverse cast.

What do y'all think?

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I pretty much always prefer new ideas over "look we made an old thing again but changed one thing", so yeah. I'd rather have new, diverse stories.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

So no Black James Bond?

 

[makonero]

It's important to add people of color/lgbtq folx/other minorities to remakes of old material. the old name is what sells it as familiar; the new diversity reflects today's america.

you can't stop the remakes, so might as well make them diverse.

 

[Zhengi]

I prefer them adding in diverse casts and leads because if we wait for new stuff to come out, we will never get diversity.

 

[Sordid Plebeian]

No, giving minority directors opportunities to make their own films is. Though that doesn't mean fictional characters are restrained to a certain race/gender

 

[AuthenticM]

It is because it's an act of sharing what was previously white media/culture with a more diverse group of people.

Creating new art by these minorities is also important.

 

[hwarang]

It is because it's an act of sharing what was previously white media/culture with a more diverse group of people.

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But why should we do it off of white media when we are creative enough to generate our own culture? Never understood this argument.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

It's not just a matter of casting, they have to have plot importance and meaningful story arcs too

Otherwise you end up with Finn from the Star Wars sequels

 

[Reym]

I don't have an issue with it either way as long as I don't have to keep starting at a bland sea of samey white faces.

I'm not really weighing in on the matter of whether or not it's a victory if remakes are more diverse than the originals because it's genuinely not my place to make that call, but from a pure entertainment standpoint it makes things more interesting and opens up the talent you can bring in on individual properties if you don't have to make sure you only pull from one group.

 

[hwarang]

I don't have an issue with it either way as long as I don't have to keep starting at a bland sea of samey white faces.

I'm not really weighing in on the matter of whether or not it's a victory if remakes are more diverse than the originals because it's genuinely not my place to make that call, but from a pure entertainment standpoint it makes things more interesting and opens up the talent you can bring in on individual properties if you don't have to make sure you only pull from one group.

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That's a fair point. But I'd only back that if the production isn't half assed.

 

[Tawpgun]

I agree.

There's nothing wrong with casting a historically white character as a minority or women if their race/gender never made a difference. So a black james bond? Why not? A woman 007? Sure.

It gets a little weird when you do something like a reboot of a story in medievel england and you have a bunch of minority and women knights. I'd much rather you make a story that takes place in the middle east or Africa or south america with the proper representation there.


However there is an arguement to be said that existing IP's are powerful so it can be nice to get better representation and have that reach a bigger audience. IE its easier to make a black woman 007 than it is to make a new movie franchise about a black woman spy.

 

[firehawk12]

I think for franchises where it makes sense, then sure. It's why you have the Idris Alba as Bond and Doctor Who memes.

Otherwise, look at Fast and Furious - you can make big billion dollar franchises without relying on old baggage to presumably carry the weight.

 

[Platy]

Ideally we will have new stuff, but most media don't do new stuff.
Like have you looked at the 10 biggest blockbusters of 2019? There are zero new stuff.

remaking stuff with a diverse cast is part of getting a diverse culture because those remakes will keep happening and avoiding diversifying them will only raise the problem

This is a jar full of major characters ... - Tale as old as Time-Machine

This is a jar full of major characters Actually it is a jar full of chocolate covered raisins on top of a dirty TV tray. But pretend the raisins are interesting and well rounded fictional characters with significant roles in their stories. We’re sharing these raisins at a party for...

timemachineyeah.tumblr.com

 

[AuthenticM]

But why should we do it off of white media when we are creative enough to generate our own culture? Never understood this argument.

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White people have been creating culture for centuries. White people are still the dominant demographics in the West, culturally and politically. A lot of that culture, specifically media, is recycled and reformed over the years. Think about comic book characters who are reinterpreted over time. There is so much of popular culture that is white, that the act of taking parts of that and making it more diverse is a definite positive.

 

[Liam Allen-Miller]

I think there's a lot more nuance to this than just "Yes" or "No".

 

[Elegant Weapon]

I don't even mind remakes, as a concept.


I dig Savini's Night of the Living Dead but wouldn't agree with a Back to the Future remake but I'm down with any spiritual successors being made.


What I hate is the idea that we have to uphold the sanctity of bygone homogeny.

As if it hurts anything or anyone to make an adaptation of the Honeymooners with Cedric the Entertainer

 

[hwarang]

I think there's a lot more nuance to this than just "Yes" or "No".

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Yeah I agree with that.

 

[BlackGoku03]

I would like new stories but I'll take what I can get as far as having people of color in traditionally white roles.

My republican friends always say they don't like "forced diversity", but I'll take it.

 

[Lari]

A very important aspect of representation is actually giving all kinds of folks the same kinds of opportunities and projects, so yeah that includes starring in remakes as much as it includes starring in new projects.

 

[MadLaughter]

White people have been creating culture for centuries. White people are still the dominant demographics in the West, culturally and politically. A lot of that culture, specifically media, is recycled and reformed over the years. Think about comic book characters who are reinterpreted over time. There is so much of popular culture that is white, that the act of taking parts of that and making it more diverse is a definite positive.

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In addition to this, we are effectively in the middle of the u-turn. Eventually, the well of popular white media that hasn't been re-imagined will run dry, and the notion of 'remake with better diversity' will be less of a thing, because we will be remaking things that were already diverse.

Companies are risk averse. They are going to capitalize on already-successful franchises and IP. It's not nothing to have them look at these existing worlds and say 'we didn't do this as well as we could have.'

 

[Meg Cherry]

Like everything, it depends on execution. You've got cases where recasting allows for a new interpretation of the original text, and you've got cases where it's just a shallow excuse to juice an old property.

Original ideas are always going to be better, but the business of Hollywood is inherently hostile towards stuff without a built-in audience.

 

[Cort]

It can work, it worked in the Watchmen TV show when

Spoiler

It was revealed that Hooded Justice was actually black

and it completely fit and made sense and, in my opinion, elevated the story that Lindelof was trying to tell. Of course, that comes with a certain caveat that comic book stories tend to be more interchangeable than other forms of media.

 

[nonoriri]

Personally, as a AFAB non-binary person (but definitely still a white person), I enjoy it. I feel like people are genuinely starting to be aware of how some classic franchises have been exclusionary. Now, of course that says nothing to quality of any particular product. But I think starting to look at these things critically and thinking about how we can approach them differently is inherently a good thing.

 

[clearacell]

Nope. I would rather have stories with the leads having uniquely specific experiences from their upbringings and perspectives.

 

[Hattoto]

In the No camp. New and original stories are ideal. The remake route or giving a franchise a minority lead feels like giving minorities sloppy seconds and enforces a dynamic which dictates value is created by Whites, and thus minorities are beholden to that legacy created by Whites.

Also, who profits from that "diversity"? If White corporate culture is still controlling the narrative and profiting off non-White faces and talent, then I'm no fan of that "diversity".

 

[Dyle]

It's better than nothing, which sadly would be a lot of what we would get if remakes/reboots weren't involved.

 

[Randam]

So no Black James Bond?

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Wouldn't be a remake though, would it?

 

[I am a Bird]

One can lead to another. It also depends on the implementation of the new characters. Taking an establishes show and putting it in the hands of a more diverse creators can breathe new life into a series and greatly expand the audience if the show. It also can help provide more opportunities into film and tv that were not there before. Again depending on how everything is handled.

 

[zulux21]

I said yes, but merely as the idea of a step to real diversity.

 

[Chopchop]

It's kind of a Band-Aid in that it's pretty low-effort, but it's better than nothing.

 

[dancingphlower]

I have no issue with it, of course, but if we can make new stories or heroes, that would be better. But it also doesn't have to be one or the other.

 

[HStallion]

I don't mind either way and simply see remakes with minority additions or brand new media starring minority characters as different sides of the same coin. It's more representation for different groups of people who historically weren't given a chance.

 

[jph139]

Of course. There are no truly original ideas, but there will always be original perspectives, and those are what really matter. The problem with franchises/remakes isn't that they're not "new," but that they're generally uninspired and driven by conglomerates trying to milk cash from an old IP by throwing a new coat of paint on it.

If the cast and crew is meaningfully diverse, on and off the camera, and is able to tell the story they want, it doesn't matter if the lead is James Bond or Unnamed Secret Agent guy. It'll feel fresh and have merit either way.

 

[Elegant Weapon]

all the caveats on when and how people of color are allowed in spaces we've traditionally been purposefully excluded from just come off as skeevy


a black woman playing 007 isn't "fake diversity", you fucking goofs

 

[WascallyWabbit]

Is it diversity as your poll asks? Yes.
Whether I like it over original ideas? Usually no.

 

[iksenpets]

If a thing is classic enough that it's going to remain a touchstone for years to come, I can see the value in updating it to better reflect the modern world. But yeah, a lot of times it is just a lack of creativity, versus original ideas telling specifically POC- or woman-centered stories.

 

[Cocolina]

Have you seen David Copperfield? It proves absolutely how racial exclusivity in art is a load of bullshit.

 

[Jest]

This is not an either/or topic and framing it as such taints a lot of the responses.

This isn't even a "answer A would be better than answer B" situation.

Both things should happen.

 

[wenis]

It's lazy.

 

[Nepenthe]

Why can't we have both diverse remakes of existing properties AND new properties about underrepresented peoples and cultures? There's literally no reason to limit ourselves.

 

[Aurongel]

Remakes with more diverse casts are the bare minimum, IMO. It's baby steps in the right direction but not something that excites me.

I would much rather see stories that explicitly deal with non-white characters and narratives. Think about it as the difference between Ghostbusters 2016 versus Black Panther. The former essentially tells a story that you can slot almost any gender or nationality into and end up with the same final product. Black Panther on the other hand literally doesn't function if you take away the diverse themes and obviously the black cast/characters.

 

[Elegant Weapon]

Imagine if someone made a new adaption of Willy Wonka with a black kid playing Charlie


despite that it was the author's original idea for the character to be black he was talked out of it by his agent, because racism so Charlie was white in the book and films


the cries & whines of "forced diversity" would drown out the fact that Charlie was only white because of forced homogeneity, that so many of you clearly have no problem upholding


but actually, fuck your white homogeneous fiction

 

[Spring-Loaded]

It must be nice for white people to never have their presence in media be scrutinised as "lazy" or "forced"


Give me black Charlie & the Chocolate Factory like the poster above said. Give me new PoC characters in existing series. Give me new characters in new IPs. All of the above.

 

[Jeremy]

Creed would be an example where I would say Yes, but generally Hard No.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Creed would be an example where I would say Yes, but generally Hard No.

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How is Creed a remake?

 

[Jeremy]

How is Creed a remake?

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Obviously it's technically not... but that level of intervention is required.

Just telling the same white story with some colored faces isn't it.

 

[The Albatross]

There's no reason we shouldn't have both. New adaptations of old stories with diverse characters, but also original stories with diverse casts, backgrounds, and represent different cultures.

 

[Skade]

So no Black James Bond?

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Bond is something else, there is barely any continuity between movies and it's always restricted to the actor of the moment (with maybe some spill between Connery and Moore). Dalton's Bond is not the same than Connery's. Wich is also different than Brosnan's and Craig's is probably the most different of them all. One could say that the franchise reboot each time they change the titular actor. I mean, they kinda pitched the Craig's as the "youth" of James Bond, with a blond bond, in a more modern setting, and a completely different athmosphere (like, where's the fun campiness ?).

So a black Bond would just be another reboot to add to the pile of the franchise. No issue there.

But overall, while i understand the appeal, i'm not that fond of reboots that changes things (or not), even if it's adding more diversity by doing so. I'd rather have new things. Reboots are quite the embodiment of creative bankruptcy.

 

[grady]

Questions of diversity aside, original stories from POC are just more INTERESTING. Remaking the same old stories and changing up the cast, to me at least, isn't culturally beneficial.
I recently watched 'His House' on Netflix which injected an interesting culture that is different to mine into a Horror setting, which is far better than retreading old stories.