Casting Bias -- ep. by Nicole Dixon

A short take about the ways movie producers light-wash black characters.
Episode written and read by Nicole Dixon.

Transcript

Do movie producers light-wash black characters with dark skin when casting for film adaptations? In other words, what role does colorism play in the production of adaptations? The career of actress, Amandla Stenberg, provides a case study.  

You’re listening to Remarkable Receptions — a podcast about popular and critical responses to African American novels and more. 

Stenberg has been cast in four film adaptations since the start of her career in 2011. Two films where Stenberg stars in supporting and leading roles illuminate the issue of light-washing. 

The first and breakthrough role for Stenberg was the character Rue in the 2012 adaptation of The Hunger Games. In the novel, Rue was described as dark skin. For the film however, the light biracial Stenberg portrayed the character.

Later in 2018, Stenberg took on the role of Starr in The Hate U Give. In the novel, Starr was presented as dark skin and her complexion was central to how her character navigated her environment in the story. Yet again, Stenberg portrayed the character, thus shifting the physical presentation of Starr and an important part of her story. 

Light-washing, that is, casting lighter skin black women in the place of dark skin characters has troubling implications. For one, the movie adaptations downplay the particular ways that dark skin black women experience society. And, by extension, they suppress societal treatments of light skin black women as distinct. Second, light-wash casting diminishes acting roles movie, television, and streaming roles available for dark skin women. 

And perhaps even Stenberg is aware of the problems of light washing. She publicly stated that she did not audition for the role of Shuri in Black Panther, because she felt that character should be portrayed by a dark skin actress.  

Casting diversity cannot stop at race but must include intra-racial diversity as well. The range of written characters and their stories deserve to be depicted on screens without the added bias. 

*******************************

This episode was written by me, Nicole Dixon. The episode was edited by Elizabeth Cali and Howard Rambsy. 

********************************
This podcast, Remarkable Receptions, is part of the Black Literature Network, a joint project from African American literary studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the History of Black Writing at the University of Kansas. The project was made possible by the generous support of the Mellon Foundation.  For more information, visit blacklitnetwork.org.