Dev Patel criticised for 'stealing' roles from Indians

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Alexis

@Fluffyalexis

Voyager

+ 2

Posted: 5 years ago

#21

Originally posted by: Swetha-Sai
He is an Indian and a known face. 👍
It’s normal that he will be given preference. 👍

Riz ahmed, himesh Patel (yesterday) , dev and few other guys compete for that 0.1% Indian roles

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return_to_hades

@return_to_hades

Stunner

+ 6

Posted: 5 years ago

#22

How can Indians steal roles from Indians? Dev Patel, Uttkarsh Ambudkar, Rahul Kohli, Navin Andrews, Riz Ahmed, Kumail Nanjiani, Kunal Nayyar, Sendhil Rammamurthy, Himesh Patel, Aasif Maandvi, Kal Penn, Hasan Minhaj, Aziz Ansari - there literally is a whole slew of South Asian men performing various roles in various movies.

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David Copperfield is an orphan. It is never stated that he is white. His race is an assumption. Considering that the story is set in the colonial era, he could be of a different race. The movie being made is a modern reinterpretation that has the freedom to bend race.

The 10001 Arabian nights are set in a time when there were barely any white people in Persia. The live-action version is based on the animated version of Aladdin where Jasmine was Persian. So I don't see the controversy with casting Jasmine.

Mermaids don't exist. It may be a European folk tale, but it's purely mythical. To argue what race mermaids really are is akin to arguing whether unicorns poop rainbows or puke rainbows.

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There is a long history of white people playing people of color. White people used blackface and brownface to play very racist depictions of people of color on the screen. Within South Asian film industries fair skin was always given preferential treatment. Dark and dusky people were often cast as side characters or villains. Many dark people were pressured into trying all sorts of things to lighten their skins.

Which is why a fair/white person playing a dark/poc/minority person propagates a history of discrimination the opposite reflects the breaking of invisible casting barriers and is hence lauded.