Headline RoundupSeptember 15th, 2022

Is Diversity-Focused Casting Anti-Racist or Virtue Signaling?

Summary from the AllSides News Team

Much discussion has been sparked by the casting of non-white actors in fantasy-genre film and television shows, most notably HBO’s “House of the Dragon” and Amazon Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” Debates are waging regarding backlash to diversity-focused casting, with some accusing critics of racism, and others claiming that present efforts for diversity in media are performative and disingenuous.

In an article for Newsweek, Angie Speaks deemed the casting of black actors in “House of the Dragon” to be shallow attempts at broadening the show’s appeal, stating that it is not true representation when black actors are “stuck into explicitly white roles with no concern for plot or whether it makes sense.”

In a piece for RedState, Brandon Morse stated that criticism towards “woke entertainment” was not rooted in bigotry, but instead a distaste for message-first storytelling, labeling it predictable and “effectively just propaganda with a mask.”

In The Atlantic, Adam Serwer responded to Morse’s criticisms, accusing him of wanting “Jim Crow casting requirements” and claiming backlash from conservative outlets to stem from a desire to “convince the corporations that make television shows and films that their products will fail commercially if they do not conform to conservative politics.”

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