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Poor Casting = Misinterpretation

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There is a misinterpretation of representation in film adaptations. Hollywood would like to believe that only straight, white, able-bodied men and women are talented enough to be on screen - both television and movie. They attempt to create their own narratives. There aren’t enough talented people of color. Nobody with a disability came out to auditions. This straight guy, who has played gay characters before, is much better at it than any actual gay man. This master narrative constructed by casting directors misrepresents the world’s diverse population and is destructive to many people’s view of the world and those deemed “other” by an exclusive society.     

American Crime Story is guilty of buying into this master narrative not once, but twice. In its first season The People v. O. J. Simpson, David Schwimmer plays Robert Kardashian, one of O. J.’s friends and attorneys.
My boyfriend, who's Armenian, and I could hardly take any of Robert Kardashian’s scenes seriously. Could Hollywood really not find an Armenian man to play this iconic character? Was a spray-tanned Ross really the best representative of Kardashian?

Then, in its second season, The Assassination of Gianni Versace, Darren Criss continues to build his career playing gay character as the leading Andrew Cunanan. Maybe I should give American Crime Story some credit here. Criss is Eurasian as Cunanan was, both are half Filipino. But I can’t help but acknowledge the fact that Criss is straight and has played gay characters such as Cunanan and Blaine Anderson from Glee. These were both huge roles that totally could have been filled by someone who more accurately represented the character.

To make matters worse, these actors who take roles not built for them tend to be nominated for awards. In 2016, Schwimmer was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. Criss won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his performance in The Assassination of Gianni Versace.

“It didn’t bother me one bit, but I can see why you’re upset,” my father laughed over dinner.

We had been discussing the casting of Schwimmer as Kardashian. My boyfriend gave a half smile, but I knew he was more upset then he let on. His culture was hardly ever represented on television - unless by the Kardashians, but that’s a totally different and lost narrative.

Just this small anecdote is more representative of the world than this master narrative Hollywood is pushing on us. White men aren’t bothered or don’t even notice, while the people who are being underrepresented by poor casting choices have to silently mourn for the lost opportunities of their people.   

Let’s not be silent anymore.

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