I hate diversity in films

I despise diversity in films.

Now I get it, that might sound a little weird, and not at all politically correct, but before you label me as a racist let me explain.

Streaming services like money, I mean who doesn’t? But they really like money. Their little brainstorming teams are secretly creating new ways for them to make said money, and in recent years, they’ve turned to remakes and long, drawn-out, fluff-filled TV shows. And, just so everyone is happy and feels included, they make the cast diverse.

Now, on the surface that seems great. My favorite Spiderman movie was Into the Spiderverse, which featured a black Spiderman. So… what’s the problem?

Cleopatra. Cleopatra’s the problem.

They made Cleopatra black. There are some debates over her actual race, but it was either Macedonian or Greek. Not black.

Now the problem is: this is culture being misrepresented. If we really wanted inclusion, we’d accurately represent Egyptian culture.

That’s like making a Martin Luther King Jr. movie starring Chris Pratt. That doesn’t fly. Race-switching characters doesn’t equal “inclusion.” It equals “angry fan base.”

What these companies don’t understand is that we don’t care about stuff like that, we just want a good story. Into the Spiderverse isn’t a good movie because Miles Morales is black. It’s a good movie because it has a good story, compelling characters, and things that generally make a movie good.

Wow… a good movie is a good movie. Welcome to my Substack.

Anyway, I’m not saying we shouldn’t have other races in films, that’s a no-brainer. But to be diverse just for the sake of being diverse and checking that PC box, that’s not how we do it.

Snow White… the remake no one wanted

Imagine for a moment, that you are a mouse, specifically a mouse employed by Disney, and you need to make more money. So you devise a plan. Everyone likes Snow White, it’s a classic. Why not make another one? Even better, let’s make it appeal to all audiences.

So we’re going to have Snow White and the Seven Magical Creatures because we wanted to be “inclusive". Why not employ seven actors with dwarfism? That would certainly be “inclusive.”

But you cannot, I repeat, cannot make any of the dwarves/magical creatures/whatever they are female. Why? Because the original Snow White was intended to display the importance of femininity when contrasted with the dwarves’ immaturity and ignorance. The reason all the dwarves were male, was to display how they needed a woman: Snow White. They complement each other.

So if the dwarves/magical creatures/whatever they are, are female, that completely destroys the message of the original.

Whatever, the movie hasn’t come out yet, I’ll give it a shot, but I’ll keep my expectations low. I’ve been burned too many times.

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Just make good movies

Yeah, I know, easier said than done, but if Disney spent less time worrying about “diversity” and “being PC” then they could focus on making good movies.

Encanto was one of my favorite movies in the past few years, not because it displays a culture different than my own, but because it's good. And Lin Manuel Miranda wrote the soundtrack. Honestly, I don’t know why Disney doesn’t hire him for literally every musical.

Anyway, you get the deal. Make good stories. That’s all people care about.

Peace.

—Charlie

PS: Subscribe to help me create a “diverse” cast of subscribers.

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