ST Diversity in the Sequel Trilogy (see warning on page 11)

Sure, hun. You keep telling yourself you're super deep and enlightened.

Don't attack other posters - this is not a counter to an opinion, but to the person who made it Discussion, not confrontation. EVERYONE, m'kay?

 

Better than being bitter, and full of hate. Good grief, how do you stand your self?

Let's not get snarky or insulting! In fact, may be you need a time out to reflect on how to counter a viewpoint you disagree with.

 

I'm curious. How do you see diversity in Star Wars being forced? Do you have examples?

 

Think Kathleen Kennedy has publicly stated that they wanted a diverse cast. That may have been for Rogue One, though.

 

Being inclusive is not the same thing as being forced.

 

Kennedy doesn't really talk about that kind of diversity.

 

Black Panther looks fantastic. And by the way, Star Wars is a diverse galaxy full of aliens and different races. So even IF elements of this are forced by the studio, it’s hardly a problem.

 

Exactly. And the whole idea of "not forcing anything" is pretty laughable. If we don't make waves and force things, they will just change on their own naturally, because people with power and advantage always are eager to give that power up to the disadvantaged to make things equal. Errrr.... yeah.

 

Star Wars films were films made by white people for white people. Why? Because they were films made in 1970s America. It's like saying Bollywood needs to rectify its non-white problem. It's illogical. To liken this to a status quo being righteously challenged is odd.

I'm wondering what would constitute "forced diversity" in your books. Could such a concept even exist to you? If Star Wars is overwhelmingly consumed by caucasian males, why would we want to change that? It's a free market and the market decided. Caucasian males love Star Wars much more than everyone else. The previous statement is meaningless to me. It's a silly movie franchise for kids. For some people to find this fact a racially charged problem that needs correction baffles my mind. Are people required to like Star Wars? If they don't, are we to restructure Star Wars until they do?

 

What constitutes forcing things is making a conscious effort to be fair and inclusive, and making a fight out of it if necessary if exclusion continues. If MLK, Gandhi and others had just sat back and not forced things, would they ever have changed?

Not only will you not sell the idea that SW should rightfully be all white and male, you won't sell the idea that you make more money in the free market that way. Actually the opposite is true- they make MORE money with diversity. The highest grossing film ever in the US is TFA, which was clearly more inclusive and diverse than previous SW movies. Appealing to less people doesn't help you make money in the free market.

BTW, using minimizing language doesn't ACTUALLY minimize something. SW is a multi-billion dollar industry, so saying it is "a silly kids movie" is really hiding from the larger reality. There is EVERY reason to be concerned about such things with SW, as it employs thousands of people if you include all SW products, and wields a lot of influence.

 

I'm not sure what MLK and Gandhi have to do with the cast of Star Wars. I'm really at a loss.

TFA made a lot of money, yes, but it was still largely Caurcasians fueling that. Diversity doesn't seem to have had the effect you think it did. The numbers are all trending downward, especially in Asian countries. TLJ has been a disaster in China and SK. In Japan, previously a Star Wars crazed nation, TLJ is only at 58 mil after a month. It's not moving much from there. For reference, AotC made nearly 80 mil in Japan. It appears the least represented races enjoyed the less diverse episodes far more.

It is a silly kids franchise. It's a multi-billion dollar industry because of its audience and fanbase of Caucasian males. Is that some kind of problem, I'm not getting it? I could find many other franchises with little Caucasian male interest that are quite large. Would that be concerning? Of course not.

 

Really struggling to understand why anyone can have a problem with greater diversity that doesn’t boils down to - because they are a bigot on some level. We can all dress it up as much as we want or wander about other factors, but it seems to always come back to that.


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I don't think anyone has a problem with greater diversity.

 

Have you read this thread?

 

A lot of people clearly do. And funnily enough, almost none of those people will admit to harbouring any kind of racist or sexist feelings. I’m shocked.


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Hmm interesting. I've read a lot of people claim "forced diversity," to which I somewhat agree. Typically in business you cater to your audience. Anything deviating from that will cause friction, and one must "force" the situation, because it is not naturally occuring.

 

So studios shouldn't consciously act to subvert the racist proclivities of the audience?

 

Did I just read that? Studios shouldn't act in any manner which might alienate their audience. They run a business, not a social engineering platform.

That being said, I do believe these films could have been plenty diverse while still satisfying the expectations of its core audience. ie. a white male hero.

 

So you're suggesting that people are naturally, either consciously or subconsciously, more likely to want people who look like them. For instance in China the are less likely to respond to a film which has black people in it. And presumably you want studios to cater to that?

 

Why is that some white men can only empathise with white male leads, and why is that only white males that can’t empathise beyond themselves should be pandered and catered to, seem more appropriate questions imo.


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So...studios should cater to racists and sexists and assume such people are their core audience?

 

Politics probably play a significant role for some people but perhaps beyond that its down to how your viewing something? cinema as wish fulfilment fantasy does seem like it is going to be most effective when you see a character closer to elements of yourself, cinema as drama you experience empathically on the other hand would perhaps be less dependant on this? I mean you could argue the reverse, that were naturally geared to be a bit more empathic to the gender we are attracted to rather than our own gender.