Why must we have "token" black actors in every programme we watch now?!
Question: Do black people really want or need to see other black people in everything they watch? If they don't, then why do it? Is it a good idea to suddenly decide in the latest Oliver Twist on TV, for instance, that Nancy was black?
Answers: Do black people really want or need to see other black people in everything they watch? If they don't, then why do it? Is it a good idea to suddenly decide in the latest Oliver Twist on TV, for instance, that Nancy was black?
Agreed, I said this to the missus the other day whilst watching Oliver. There weren't that many black people knocking around in london in the 1800's. Certainly old Charlie Dickens never mentioned that Nancy was black.
Having spoken to a few blacks and asians and chinese people about this it seems they don't give a toss whether they are 'represented' in every TV programme. It simply doesn't matter to them.
You can imagine the casting meeting for a TV production..
"right, which character should be black/asian/chinese"
this strikes me as racist behaviour as they are not being treated as equal to the indiginous population.
I don't know, but I'd like to know why we don't need token white actors in "black" programmes too. What's the difference?
cause otherwise you run the risk of being accused of being racist, I guess.
What about the Asian girl in robin hood !!!!, Its like saying people of different colours won't watch a programme if theres not an ethnic minority in it, which is a bit patronising and racist.
I am definitely not racist, but wondered why Jamelia played Cinderella on the Paul O'Grady pantomime last night. Must admit I enjoyed it tho.
well it's done the opposite with me re Oliver Twist, I don't think it even fits there is no way Nancy would ever be coloured and I think it changes the story especially since (I hope I'm not spoling it for anyone) she gets beaten to death, what does that send out.
its our version of equality
They are not token. They are good black actors who compete with all other actors for work, and are chosen because they are suitable for the part. Obviously the director will decide whether the individual's skin colour is appropriate for the part, but assuming it can work OK, they get the job because they're good at it. The same applies in any other job. In Oliver Twist, the skin colour is not the issue - it's the character. Why does it matter if Nancy is black? There were black people around in Dickens' time, so it's perfectly possible. It doesn't have to be made an issue of every time.
Come come now...criminal programmes have more than it's fair share of black actors - why not complain about that?
im sure when charles dickens wrote oliver twist he would have stated in the story if one of the characters was of a "now called" ethnic origin, its pc gone mad.
Feeling a little KKK are we.Maybe it pays the rent.
Pollitical Correctness Stirring up sh!t again....
You really need to read a book called ' The retreat of reason'.
(before it is banned for telling the truth and giving the correct fact and fugures behind alot on common misconceptions).
As far as Oliver Twist is concerned, I think you should get your historical facts right. There was quite a large black population in Britain in the 19th century after the abolition of slave trade in 1807, particularly in the major cities. Some of them became very famous in fact, e.g. Mary Seacole - heroine of the Crimean war.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_fi...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abo...
So it's quite possible that the character Nancy could have been black. There are many very talented black actors and actresses in the UK, and they deserve to be judged on their acting ability rather than their skin colour.
Perhaps you should be considering why you object so much to black people appearing on television, rather than talking about "token" black actors and trying to blame the worn out old chessnut of "political correctness", when it is actually intolerant attitudes such as those displayed in this question and some of the answers that are at fault.
Edit: Dickens didn't specify that Nancy was white either. In this interpretation of the story she didn't try to pass Oliver off as her brother, so choosing a black actress for the part was fair enough. Skin colour doesn't matter any more than hair colour in a case like this, as far as I'm concerned. If Dickens had described her as "pale skinned" or something similar, I would agree that it was a bad piece of casting, but he didn't.
I don't see any problem with having a black Nancy (there were black people in London during the time of Dickens so its quite possible a prostitute of the time could have been black.)
http://www.blackhistorymonthuk.co.uk/fea...
However, I thought that particular programme was a really crappy adaptation of Oliver Twist, they were trying to make it "edgy" and they just resulted in making it messy and unwatchable. They changed too much (ie Nancy not kidnapping Oliver and pretending he was her "little brother" - I guess they couldn't do that when she was a different race!) nd they just didn't stay true to the basics of the story. I love Timothy Spall as an actor but he just didn't cut it as Fagin! the whole things just seemed really mis-cast. The Artful Dodger wasn't anywhere near cheeky enough!!!
The recent film adaptation with Ben Kingsley as Fagin and Leanne Rowe as Nancy was much better.
Regarding the Robin Hood, it was actually Nazir in the 1980's British Telly version of Robin Hood (called Robin of Sherwood) that introduced the Arab character.
Black people have been on our shores since the Roman Empire, so it should come to no surprise that we have black characters in historical drama. However, how they are protrayed is another matter entirely
omg i totaly agree wit u and in the movie i am black omg and i tell my freinds dat all the tyme liek in horror movies whor the first 2 die black and who never surivor blacks lol and they allwayz have 2 be sassy like o no ud iddent or aw hell naw or dat is so wicgedy wack!! so lame