Poll of the Day > HS Musical is SHUT DOWN after they chose a WHITE GIRL to play ESMERALDA!!!

(+) Yeah! (+)

A New York High School was forced to cancel production of its senior play after a social justice group SLAMMED the leaders for selecting a WHITE GIRL play the lead role of ESMERELDA in the Hunchback of Notre Dame!!

In a lengthy letter and signed by 27 members of Student United Ithaca, they expressed concern that the school's lack of demographic inclusion for The Hunchback of Notre Dame spring musical as the activists pointed out that the lovely teen actress chosen to play the role of Esmerelda in the 1996 Disney drama was not who they had beef with as they credited her for her as a stellar singer and dancer as any play would be lucky to have her, but that it was the wrong choice for the role.

Esmerelda is a Roma, part of an oppressed class of people as they wrote "It is her oppression and that of her people which allows her to better understand the perspective of the Hunchback an to ultimately advocate for him"

The letter went on to say the decision is both one of cultural appropration and whitewashing. It further stated "Esmerelda sings a song in which she calls to the heavens, asking God to save her people. God save my people, hungry at birth, show them the Mercy, they don't find on Earth. Then she cries out for justice in the movie, she raises her first in the air and yells justice, explaining the hunchback is oppressed like her people"

The letter was published and went viral which forced the school to shut the play altogether as they are putting another project together..

The Student United group said "As you teach us in school, there is no harm in making a mistake unless you don't own up to it and learn from it. We this lesson from you. It's an important one"

Do you think it's stupid to have a white actor play the role of Esmerelda in the Hunchback of Notre Dame?

Student United Ithaca -

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2018/02/07/01/48F25F1600000578-0-image-m-11_1517966575023.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2018/02/07/01/48F25F0E00000578-0-image-a-12_1517966593722.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2018/02/07/01/48F26B2200000578-0-image-m-16_1517966647399.jpg

Esmerelda -

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2018/02/07/01/48F27FED00000578-0-image-a-14_1517966625933.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2018/02/07/01/48F29D1700000578-0-image-a-23_1517967282536.jpg

School -

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2018/02/07/01/48F27FF300000578-0-image-a-13_1517966609088.jpg
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Like fire
Hellfire
This fire in my skin
This burning desire
Is turning me to sin
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Fucking stupid controversy and capitulating to stupidity just emboldens it.

Full Throttle posted...

A New York High School was forced to cancel production of its senior play after a social justice group SLAMMED the leaders for selecting a WHITE GIRL play the lead role of ESMERELDA in the Hunchback of Notre Dame!!

Good luck finding a gypsy at a NY public school....
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I don't think I need to point out the obvious leftist hypocrisy again

Zeus posted...

Good luck finding a gypsy at a NY public school....

They'll pick a darker skinned (than the white girl) non-gypsy minority and the irony of that racism will be lost on them.

Maybe casting directors should make decisions based on acting ability and not skin color just a thought
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So? By that logic any non gypsy person playing the role would be culturally appropriating
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Dammit Ben you cant just go around calling folks gypsy people
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It's just a shitty highschool play. They expect the school to cast a gypsy?
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Did they get an actual hunchback to play the hunchback?
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Lokarin posted...

Did they get an actual hunchback to play the hunchback?

Lol
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plays are often fast and loose with races. we all know black hermione. and I saw a performances of Les Miserable where a certain female french character was played by an asian. nobody was going to be hurt if this play was performed

the same ideology that supports changing traditional white characters to be nonwhite, male characters into female.
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My high school's production of Jesus Christ Superstar had Pontius Pilate played by a black girl. By this logic, it was racist of us to not have the part be played by an Italian man.
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NeoSarinatan posted...

My high school's production of Jesus Christ Superstar had Pontius Pilate played by a black girl. By this logic, it was racist of us to not have the part be played by an Italian man.

And unlike Esmerelda, Pontius Pilate actually existed, and actually was what we'd consider by today's context an Italian man.

That would be like a French Revolution play casting an Asian woman to play Napoleon.
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Full Throttle posted...

Do you think it's stupid to have a white actor play the role of Esmerelda in the Hunchback of Notre Dame?

I think it's stupid to be concerned with race.
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Grendel posted...

Zeus posted...

Good luck finding a gypsy at a NY public school....

They'll pick a darker skinned (than the white girl) non-gypsy minority and the irony of that racism will be lost on them.

Pretty much. You're going to have a whole lot of difficulty getting appropriate demographic representation for tinier minorities in a high school, and just picking anyone else who isn't white is flagrantly racist in its own right. It's also worth noting that these it's not like they got any gypsies to voice Esmerelda in the movie.
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What's funny is that white people whine about turning traditionally white characters into minorities

Gonna be tough to cast those gargoyles.
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green dragon posted...

What's funny is that white people whine about turning traditionally white characters into minorities

So whitey rolling his eyes is equivalent to SJWs shutting down school performances?
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green dragon posted...

What's funny is that white people whine about turning traditionally white characters into minorities

Lmfao so true
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Kyuubi4269 posted...

green dragon posted...

What's funny is that white people whine about turning traditionally white characters into minorities

So whitey rolling his eyes is equivalent to SJWs shutting down school performances?

Yeah white people gotta know their place these days. Our generation of white folks has to pay reparations to our generation of minorities who never actually experienced real institutionalized racism

Zeus posted...

Fucking stupid controversy and capitulating to stupidity just emboldens it.

Full Throttle posted...

A New York High School was forced to cancel production of its senior play after a social justice group SLAMMED the leaders for selecting a WHITE GIRL play the lead role of ESMERELDA in the Hunchback of Notre Dame!!

Good luck finding a gypsy at a NY public school....

No they only care about white vs black remember?

Btw...they love when white roles are given to blacks people.

Also its thestre you cant just say to make a show with many leads. Scripts generally fall to maybe lots of major players but one or two leads, not very diverse.
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Full Throttle posted...

Do you think it's stupid to have a white actor play the role of Esmeralda in the Hunchback of Notre Dame?

Yes. I hate changing things just for the sake of it. If a character has always been portrayed as a certain race then I see no reason to change that other than to be "diverse".
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Jen0125 posted...

green dragon posted...

What's funny is that white people whine about turning traditionally white characters into minorities

Lmfao so true

One is an example of intentionally replacing someone because they're white and the other is a high school play where they just didn't consider race a factor in the casting

We always have gypsys come into our restaurant and theyre awful. They send everything back every time and try to get things for free and tip nothing.. and you cant even say anything to them because have you seen drag me to hell? No thank you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXF8MIG_HQI
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green dragon posted...

What's funny is that white people whine about turning traditionally white characters into minorities

Is it somehow surprising that there are morons of all races?

Does the story drastically change if the girl is a different colour?

What if it's a boy instead, does it change then?

That's usually where I draw the line, if the story has to change.
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Grendel posted...

They'll pick a darker skinned (than the white girl) non-gypsy minority and the irony of that racism will be lost on them.

The really ironic thing would be that if she ever existed she wouldn't have been black.

SinisterSlay posted...

Does the story drastically change if the girl is a different colour?

What if it's a boy instead, does it change then?

That's usually where I draw the line, if the story has to change.

They did it in the adaptation of The Lost World. They changed the race of a character and cut out one character and gave the character all the feats that other character had. Not sure if that counts exactly though.
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Lokarin posted...

Did they get an actual hunchback to play the hunchback?

Good point. Only a hunchback would understand the issues pertaining to hunchbacks as well as the more broader issues of ostracization. We should recommend this to them.

Zikten posted...

plays are often fast and loose with races. we all know black hermione. and I saw a performances of Les Miserable where a certain female french character was played by an asian. nobody was going to be hurt if this play was performed

Not to mention Patrick Stewart played a white Othello in a racially-reversed rendition of Othello... although that actually made sense (because it was specifically playing around with the themes) and was less arbitrary than a lot of other casting choices.

faramir77 posted...

NeoSarinatan posted...

My high school's production of Jesus Christ Superstar had Pontius Pilate played by a black girl. By this logic, it was racist of us to not have the part be played by an Italian man.

And unlike Esmerelda, Pontius Pilate actually existed, and actually was what we'd consider by today's context an Italian man.

That would be like a French Revolution play casting an Asian woman to play Napoleon.

Or having a black man play Thomas Jefferson... oh right.


But, if we're really going for the gold when it comes to inappropriate casting:

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On one hand, I get the issue. Esmeralda's race is important to her character, and there is a lot of whitewashing in Hollywood, where they could easily get a Roma to play the character.

High school productions aren't Hollywood, though, and people of color are not interchangeable. As I understand it, Roma are far more common in Europe than in the US. Were there any Roma trying out for the play? Are there any Roma at this school, even? The complaint seems well-intended, but misguided Which, well, teenagers. That's what teenagers do.

That being said, "well-intended" is the key word there. They were absolutely within their rights to raise their concerns. It's a serious issue, just one for which the blanket solution they want isn't feasible. It's worth talking about with them, though.
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aight i'm throwing a fit next time i hear about bruce wayne or someone being portrayed as anything as white since apparently this is important now.
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Golden Road posted...

That being said, "well-intended" is the key word there. They were absolutely within their rights to raise their concerns. It's a serious issue, just one for which the blanket solution they want isn't feasible. It's worth talking about with them, though.

It isn't a serious issue. They were being morons.
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What a bunch of idiots. Who the fuck cares what the race of the actress is?

Revelation34 posted...

Golden Road posted...

That being said, "well-intended" is the key word there. They were absolutely within their rights to raise their concerns. It's a serious issue, just one for which the blanket solution they want isn't feasible. It's worth talking about with them, though.

It isn't a serious issue. They were being morons.

There have been wars because of race. It's a serious issue. Just because it shouldn't be serious doesn't mean it isn't serious.
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wwinterj25 posted...

Full Throttle posted...

Do you think it's stupid to have a white actor play the role of Esmeralda in the Hunchback of Notre Dame?

Yes. I hate changing things just for the sake of it. If a character has always been portrayed as a certain race then I see no reason to change that other than to be "diverse".

Highschools don't get to choose from all actors.
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Golden Road posted...

Revelation34 posted...

Golden Road posted...

That being said, "well-intended" is the key word there. They were absolutely within their rights to raise their concerns. It's a serious issue, just one for which the blanket solution they want isn't feasible. It's worth talking about with them, though.

It isn't a serious issue. They were being morons.

There have been wars because of race. It's a serious issue. Just because it shouldn't be serious doesn't mean it isn't serious.

There have been zero Hunchback casting wars.
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Kyuubi4269 posted...

Golden Road posted...

Revelation34 posted...

Golden Road posted...

That being said, "well-intended" is the key word there. They were absolutely within their rights to raise their concerns. It's a serious issue, just one for which the blanket solution they want isn't feasible. It's worth talking about with them, though.

It isn't a serious issue. They were being morons.

There have been wars because of race. It's a serious issue. Just because it shouldn't be serious doesn't mean it isn't serious.

There have been zero Hunchback casting wars.

Now, if the school has a couple of hunchbacks and they complained... that'd be something else
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ok so Duckbear didn't make this part clear but I saw in another version of this story on CE that a black girl was upset she didn't get the part and now I am more confused about this than before. Esmeralda is a gypsy. that is a type of white person, technically. they come from Europe. the black girl is claiming this was a "part written for her" that makes no sense. why are black people trying to claim gypsies are black?

Golden Road posted...

On one hand, I get the issue. Esmeralda's race is important to her character, and there is a lot of whitewashing in Hollywood, where they could easily get a Roma to play the character.

High school productions aren't Hollywood, though, and people of color are not interchangeable. As I understand it, Roma are far more common in Europe than in the US. Were there any Roma trying out for the play? Are there any Roma at this school, even? The complaint seems well-intended, but misguided Which, well, teenagers. That's what teenagers do.

That being said, "well-intended" is the key word there. They were absolutely within their rights to raise their concerns. It's a serious issue, just one for which the blanket solution they want isn't feasible. It's worth talking about with them, though.

Honestly, the other thing about the Roma is that they *are* classified as white. So having a white person of one ancestry play a white person of another ancestry isn't completely out of character.

And, more generally, I seriously question the intentions. A lot of activism isn't so much well-intended as it is attention-seeking.

Golden Road posted...

There have been wars because of race.

Ethnicity maybe, but most wars tend to be about tangible things with other elements like race and religion as just window-dressing for power grabs and land-grabs.

Bagamak posted...

ok so Duckbear didn't make this part clear but I saw in another version of this story on CE that a black girl was upset she didn't get the part and now I am more confused about this than before. Esmeralda is a gypsy. that is a type of white person, technically. they come from Europe. the black girl is claiming this was a "part written for her" that makes no sense. why are black people trying to claim gypsies are black?

Then that's really the icing on the cake.
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Golden Road posted...

There have been wars because of race. It's a serious issue. Just because it shouldn't be serious doesn't mean it isn't serious.

Citation needed. Also it still isn't a serious issue anyway.
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Golden Road posted...

There have been wars because of race. It's a serious issue.

There were also a wars started over a stray dog, a pastry shop and a stolen bucket. Your point is bad.

i once started a war over an egg that someone didn't cook sunny-side up.
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Nade Duck posted...

i once started a war over an egg that someone didn't cook sunny-side up.

Who were the belligerents?
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some mexican dude and his husband.
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Aren't Roma white?

Also what random high school can just pull out random ethnic groups like that?