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?

good point about Robin Hood too, Phillip. It was probably Kevin Costner sticking Morgan Freeman in his version of Robin Hood that started this nonsense

nativexile is missing the point - i am objecting to the reworking of well-known stories and changing them this way - and Oliver Twist and Robin Hood are certianly already very well known

oh and spacephantom, if Dickens had wanted Nancy black, surely he'd have written the part as being black

ladymoonlight - you say there's no reason not to have Nancy as black then almost immediately give one - in the original tale she passed him off as her brother. QED - the idea doesn't work

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

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/features/african_london.html

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.

Answer 3

Its acting, are Jews offended by an actor that portrays Hitler or other SS officers? No, because its acting. Was I offended by the movie "Meet the Spartans" which basically made a mockery of King Leonidas and his men that gave there life for Sparta(which is where me and my entire family are from); no, because it was a movie. There has been movies such as white chicks in which black guys portray white women, that would be much more offensive then a white guy portraying a black guy. At least they are the same sex, in white women, if you want to be the type of person that really "digs" into it, they are basically saying that white women look like men. If you would have seen the movie you would know that the "white chicks" in that movie looked absolutely ridiculous. I am a white male and I was not offended because its a movie, its suppose to be funny. People need to stop looking for reasons to be offended and start looking for more reasons to laugh.

Answer 4

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_figures/seacole_mary.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/

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.

Answer 5

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

Answer 6

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.

Answer 7

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.

Answer 8

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.

Answer 9

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

Answer 10

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.