Posted on 01/31/2018 4:14:47 PM PST by Behind Liberal Lines
Ithaca High Schools spring musical was The Hunchback of Notre Dame. A story whose message is one of inclusiveness and acceptance should be welcomed and encouraged.
A white actress was cast for the role of Esmerelda, prompting a student black actress to quite the play, saying, It shows you that theater wasnt made for you. And it shows you that, if you cant get the parts that are written for you, what parts are you going to get?
The resignation prompted Students United Ithaca to make a list of demands for the school, one of which was, STOP the racist and openly stated policy of color blind casting in the ICSD, before descending into a diatribe about institutional racism and white supremacy, STOP ignoring and denying that you have created a white centered program run by white adults for the benefit of white children. White children should also be educated about interrupting these practices of White supremacy.
And other students wrote letters discussing the need for conscious casting and asserted that casting a white actress in the role of Esmerelda was cultural appropriation, whitewashing, and reinforcing the white savior stereotype.
The school capitulated and issued a statement canceling the musical.
(Excerpt) Read more at legalinsurrection.com ...
I saw the latest edition of “Roots” and there were a ton of white people in it. I would say it was about 60/40 black/white ratio. Considering the show was about slave ownership by whites, you would think that there would be a good amount of white actors in the movie.
Yeah exactly. They’re still banning white actors from auditioning (except for the King George role).
No brown kids. Mostly German and English with some Italian. Small town in W. NY.
Disney’s Esmeralda, or Agnes, was the daughter of a French woman and a nobleman cad, who was stolen from her mother by gypsies. French is pretty hard to translate into ‘a role written for’ a black child unless that particular black child was also stolen by gypsies.
The Student Hunchback Society should have demanded that only hunchbacks could play the title role. No hunch, no go!
Must all the actors be Catholic?.....
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