The Lightning Thief
question
Diversity in Characters
Kiana
Dec 27, 2014 09:14PM
In the movie, Grover is played by a black kid. I don't know, but that bothered me. The book put one image in my head, but the movie disregarded that completely. Plus, the adaptation was terrible, and that made it even worse.
[People say this happened with the Hunger Games, but since Rue was described as "dark skinned", I think it was acceptable.]
The books themselves don't have minorities as main characters until the second series, if I'm not mistaken. Hazel, Leo, and Frank.
I guess I should get to my actual questions here, huh. Okay.
1. Should movies change characters to make the film more "diverse"?
2. Don't get me wrong, I loved the books. But is the inclusion of other races an example of how everyone is at least a little bit mixed somewhere in the family tree, or is it a bit forced? I like to think the former.
3. And finally, is every author obligated to at least have one minority character in their books?
[People say this happened with the Hunger Games, but since Rue was described as "dark skinned", I think it was acceptable.]
The books themselves don't have minorities as main characters until the second series, if I'm not mistaken. Hazel, Leo, and Frank.
I guess I should get to my actual questions here, huh. Okay.
1. Should movies change characters to make the film more "diverse"?
2. Don't get me wrong, I loved the books. But is the inclusion of other races an example of how everyone is at least a little bit mixed somewhere in the family tree, or is it a bit forced? I like to think the former.
3. And finally, is every author obligated to at least have one minority character in their books?
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1. I don't think so, because when making a book into a film, I think that they almost have an obligation towards the original story line and fans. I don't think everything needs to be exact, but if there's a specific description of a character in a book, I think they should at least try to follow that. For example, Grover was specifically mentioned to have curly brown hair. I didn't have a problem with actor himself. In fact, I thought he did a good job, but the disparity in my vision of the character and the actor was kind of distracting for me.
2. I would say that it's the former as well. Especially since the books take place in the United States which is a rather diverse nation. There's a lot of interracial marriages, and it's hard to find people without at least one friend from a different race.
3. First off, I'd just like to point out that I think Hazel is actually supposed to black, and Frank is chinese. Anyways, I don't think that should be an obligation. An author's work is their own, and they should be free to do whatever they'd like with it. And besides, if it doesn't always happen in real life, why should it be forced upon in books.
2. I would say that it's the former as well. Especially since the books take place in the United States which is a rather diverse nation. There's a lot of interracial marriages, and it's hard to find people without at least one friend from a different race.
3. First off, I'd just like to point out that I think Hazel is actually supposed to black, and Frank is chinese. Anyways, I don't think that should be an obligation. An author's work is their own, and they should be free to do whatever they'd like with it. And besides, if it doesn't always happen in real life, why should it be forced upon in books.
1. Really, when I see a book become a movie, it is an "adaptation". This means that the studio will change the book to make the story fit better for its intended audience. If the movie makers feel that diversity is a way to gain more money (or to not lose customers), then they do it. This is nothing but the old debate of whether or not an adaptation should be judged on how close it is to the book.
2. I haven't really ever found an example of "forced" racial status in a book; it's never really been blatantly obvious to me that a character is a particular race to satisfy the equality-nazis. But I don't doubt it happens.
3. As a writer (of a book that has never been seen by a publisher, much less printed), I have seriously thought whether or not to include more black/latino/asian/other characters to seem more acceptable. My answer: nah. Including one person of every race just because of "equality" can really restrict writers.
Don't get me wrong, including different races can be a good thing. For instance, in The Heroes of Olympus, Rick Riordan tied in Piper's and Frank's unique ancestry to the main storyline. I liked that.
2. I haven't really ever found an example of "forced" racial status in a book; it's never really been blatantly obvious to me that a character is a particular race to satisfy the equality-nazis. But I don't doubt it happens.
3. As a writer (of a book that has never been seen by a publisher, much less printed), I have seriously thought whether or not to include more black/latino/asian/other characters to seem more acceptable. My answer: nah. Including one person of every race just because of "equality" can really restrict writers.
Don't get me wrong, including different races can be a good thing. For instance, in The Heroes of Olympus, Rick Riordan tied in Piper's and Frank's unique ancestry to the main storyline. I liked that.
I don't really have a strong opinion. I mean, it seems kind of gimmicky and forced. There's no real PROBLEM with it but, like any other change, it could work but it probably won't. But I pictured Grover as a blue puppet the entire time, so it was breaking the image in my head, either way. ;)
1. It depends. I dislike the change with Grover because there are certain racist stereotypes in the movie Grover's characterization.
2. The former
3. Obligated? No. If you are writing historical fiction in a medieval Swedish village, an entirely white cast would be expected. In modern times? People may raise eyebrows and ask unpleasant questions if you have a cast of characters all one race. If the story centers on two or three people, readers will probably overlook it. If the cast spans dozens? Less likely.
And there was an African-American character in the first series: Charles Beckendorf.
2. The former
3. Obligated? No. If you are writing historical fiction in a medieval Swedish village, an entirely white cast would be expected. In modern times? People may raise eyebrows and ask unpleasant questions if you have a cast of characters all one race. If the story centers on two or three people, readers will probably overlook it. If the cast spans dozens? Less likely.
And there was an African-American character in the first series: Charles Beckendorf.
I think the actor who portrayed Grover in the movie was incredible. I did have a certain vision of him in my mind, but I think the reason of his skin color doesn't change a thing of how I think about him. Now, I actually do picture him like the movie Grover.
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