:
|
Responding to both of these posts as they both embody a similar point: I take a different view, which is that unless there is a specific requirement for a character to have a certain profile, there’s no real reason not to have more diverse portrayals in fiction.
As an example, consider the point about Idris Elba playing Roland Deschain – is there a real reason why he shouldn’t play that part, besides Deschain being white in the books?
It’s important to have more gender, racial and cultural diversity in media, so I can’t say I personally see a problem with the growing trend in modern media.
|
It makes about as much sense as portraying Roland as a female, honestly.
Ignoring the obvious genealogical points—that Roland is a direct descendent of King Arthur; has "blue, bombardier eyes"—there are some very strong racial themes once Susannah enters the story, which are completely butchered by making him black. There's also the glaring fact that Roland is supposed to look like Stephen King's
father, as there series crosses over into our reality in the final few books, and Roland actually meets Stephen King. This has several connotations, namely that King created him
, and thus it follows that there's a piece of him inside of Roland. Sure, they can make Stephen King black as well, but it still resonates as a bizarre choice.
Of course, there are many more reasons, though most are contextual, and a few of them sentimental, so I'll leave it there.
I absolutely support diversity in a cast of characters—LOST handled it very well, and it was the first Television show to portray a foreign, hour-long story via subtitles—but I digress when it comes to adding unnecessary flavour.
Somewhat related: One of the biggest rules that is ignored in Fantasy literature is not to add unnecessary races to the story unless they play an integral role. Many authors think they can make their world expansive and a special little snowflake by slipping in elves, and dwarves, and pixie people, but unless there's a reason for them to be there, it often reads as stale.
Oddworld handles this fantastically, however, as all of the characters are exaggerated stereotypes and metaphors unto themselves. I think that in itself is a core reason why most of the characters are drones; they represent everyone, both male and female alike.
Ergo, to restate my original point: If it's necessary to the story.
(Kind of a hodgepodge of an essay. I'm on the iPad and lost the long post I originally had written, so I apologise for the quality of prose.)