I'm A National Fucking Treasure: Actors who COULD HAVE Played Khan ⇢
Oded Fahr
Naveen Andrews
Sendhil Ramamurthy
But no, this is the logical choice.
I really wasn’t going to reblog this post because I am tired of talking about this, but I’m sick of the prevalent ‘all brown people are alike’ idea of this casting. The first actor’s name is Oded Fehr, and he is Israeli, not desi or Middle Eastern. You cannot cast him as a race-appropriate Khan when he is not Indian at all, and bonus, you cannot cast a Middle Eastern actor as South Asian because those are two very different cultures, period.
Like, I appreciate the sentiment of this post, but please don’t add even more inaccurate casting to your post about whitewashing.
It’s the Kali from Teen Wolf debacle all over again. Remember that, guys? We shouldn’t forget those lessons so quickly.
We need people of color representing their actual races in media, not brown people representing different brown people because White audiences can’t be bothered to tell the difference.
But, yeah. “Not Cumberbatch” is the ultimate lesson.
I think Cumberbatch worked quite well. Not everything has to be an equality stand. Can’t it just be a suddenly hot dude that looks good in black?
No. No it really can’t. Because not all hot actors that look good in black are white actors. When this character was written, he wasn’t written for a no-chin, exceptionally pale English guy. It was written for a man that was Indian.
Did you literally not read anything that was written above?
When people of color come in and tell you /exactly/ what was wrong with a certain situation, your white ass is not allowed to show up and just tell them that “not everything has to be from an equality stand”.
You don’t get to do that. You let them speak, and you shut the fuck up and listen. You don’t get a say in what’s okay and what’s not okay when it comes to racism.
This is not okay, and you need to sit the fuck down.
And you need to stop telling my white ass what to do. My white ass is allowed to do whatever it wants. You yourself? The only thing you’re doing here is contributing to every rasicm issue in this world with your inability to express your - however strong - opinions on the matter in a non-offensive way. Because of course I’m going to shut up if you tell me to.
I will say it again. I loved Cumberbatch in this part. I see no problem with him playing this character. Because skin colour doesn’t matter to me - actor’s portrayal does. And because nobody is obligated to base their opinions on underlying social issues if they don’t want to. Seriously, some people need to learn the line between truth, awareness and righteousness that borders on stupidity.
Why should I stop telling you what to do when plainly explaining why your opinion is harmful didn’t work when POC spelled it out plainly, and kindly for you? There was no anger in the commentary before yours. None. It was just “here’s why this is wrong and why it needs to be fixed” and you just had to come in and be like “oh but benedict cumberbatch is so hawt~*~*” No one gives a shit how attractive he is. He can be attractive in the MILLION OTHER ROLES CREATED FOR WHITE PEOPLE THAT ALREADY HAVE EXTREME AMOUNTS OF VISIBILITY OVER PEOPLE OF COLOR?!
I’m not saying bennywinkle clusterfuck isn’t a good actor. He’s brilliant. Really. But the fact that you are so blind to see why it’s not okay for a white actor to play a part intended for a person of color? I will repeat, it was spelled out for you and every other white person in the commentary before hand.
And will you PLEASE. Please shut the fuck up about how “skin color doesn’t matter”. Again, as a white person, you don’t get to say that. Why? Because you’re white, and your skin color DOESN’T matter. People can always see people like you. People like you are EVERYWHERE in the media. You know who’s not? Indian actors that were intended to play the part of Khan. They don’t get to be seen, because people like you, people who have far more influence on who gets seen in the media don’t care. You should care. Because you as a white person, have way more influence than just about any other race on who’s allowed to be seen.
Don’t give me that bullshit about truth, awareness, and stupidity when you’re so fucking ignorant it makes my skin crawl. You wanna talk about truth: An Indian actor, a brown man, should have played Khan in Star Trek. Let’s talk about awareness: I’m telling you, POC are telling you exactly why a brown Indian man needs to play this role. And here’s where stupidity comes in: You’re too fucking wrapped up in having your fucking feelings hurt to know when you’re wrong so you get pissed when people call you out on it instead of checking your privilege as a white person like you fucking should.
Good fucking night.
Funny that you are against racism yet you also show some hints of it…
I agree with you that people in the media should pay more attention to actors from other cultures as well because obviously there are talented actors all around the world. But to me it seems you just rage out your anger(bennywinkle clusterfuck????????? why does he deserve this?????) on Cumberbatch who (I think) didn’t do anything wrong….
I think it’s part of the marketing that he got this role and also that Cumberbatch is a great actor. Yes, if we see it that way he ‘took away’ the place of an actor from India whom with this film could have been famous in the world.
But I still don’t think this is such a tragedy as some people believe.I also believe that some roles are not connected to skin-colour or culture. But there are roles of course which are. And pls don’t tell me that I can’t say that because I’m white…Because that really borders racism.
First off: I’m white. I’m going to make mistakes and say racist things. But I’m not going to get mad at people of color, or tell them that they are wrong in their opinions on something that they face every day when they call me out on my racism. That’s part of recognizing your privilege as a white person, and needs to be taken into consideration. I never said I didn’t make mistakes, and if a POC comes to me and tells me to shut up because I’m wrong, or tells me that something I’ve said is problematic, guess what? I’m gonna listen, and I’m gonna do my damndest not to silence them, and I’m gonna try to make myself better. Because that’s my job as a white person: to listen to POC when they tell me I’m wrong. Which the person before didn’t even attempt to do. They were just pissy because I called them out on their bullshit.
My rage and anger has nothing to do with the actor. Chances are, he was either asked to do the role, or a casting call was put out for said role by the Star Trek casting department. The blame falls on them, not Cumberbatch. Granted, he could’ve turned down the role, but chances are he got paid a pretty penny to do it.
The thing about BC playing a role that was made for a POC isn’t about him. I couldn’t give two shits less about which white person played the role. The problem is that it was a white person playing the role of a person named Khan Noonien Singh. That role was made for an Indian man. Period. There’s no questions about that. And yes, it is a tragedy that someone who is practically the definition of Anglo-Saxon to take that role. Because if you read above, there are plenty of talented, successful brown people that could’ve played that part. The casting department just actively chose not to cast anyone that fit that part.
However, you’re right. Some parts are not connected to skin color. The other 90% of the roles in Star Trek were written for, or acceptable to be played by a white person. Ninety percent. That one single role for a person of color other than Uhura or Zulu (which had no problems being cast with actual POC?) was taken away to be played by the whitest of white guys. Why, if so many roles are there for white people, should they give one of the three (correct me if there are more POC in the movie cause I haven’t seen it) roles very explicitly intended for POC to a white person? What about that is okay?
One more thing: I can’t tell you that you can’t have your opinion. But, what I can do is tell you that your opinion is problematic. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s really not difficult to understand that as a white person you have a certain privilege over POC. You know what you need to do with that privilege? Acknowledge it, check it, USE IT FOR GOOD THINGS. Use it to help POCs’ opinions and problems and hardships become heard.
Tl;dr: Khan should’ve been played by an indian person, and white people don’t get to say different because there’s already enough white people getting visibility in the media.
“First off: I’m white. I’m going to make mistakes and say racist things.” This sounds like the reason why you are making mistakes and saying racist things is because you are white. If you really say this I feel pity for you. Not just white people are racist. Racism is not connected to only skin colour. People hate each other all over the world also because they are from different nationalites. So please if you are honestly against racism you should care about those too….
Well, I will tell you a story of me. How much I have never hated anyone because they are from different roots. I was 9-10 years old when in a bus station two Gipsy girls from school harrassed and threatened me. I’m very blond. And I’m sure this was the reason why they attacked me. Nobody else suffered something like this in our class. They told me they break my finger if I don’t tell them where I live. Then they wanted to humiliate me in their own ways. They wanted me to call them ‘princess’ in the school yard. As a 9-10 years old this was a trauma for me, I’m sure you understand. I cried a lot.
But guess what???? Years later I talked with one of them on a bus. We talked like nothing ever happened. I have never been discriminative against anyone because of skin colour or origin and I still won’t be.
“But I’m not going to get mad at people of color, or tell them that they are wrong in their opinions on something that they face every day when they call me out on my racism.” So you will fix your opinion if you say racist things towards other races but if you do this towards white people you don’t?? Because this is what I see from you post…. And why do you say racist things if you are against it?? Racist phrases shouldn’t simply slip out of mouth if you are honestly against it.
You said that any of the above actors could have played Khan. But Oded is Izraeli as someone pointed out. As long as his skin is not white he would be good to play an Indian character?????? This is superficial. It doesn’t matter to you who just not a white person? or what?
Btw in Iron Man 3 Mandarin is played by Ben Kingsley. Mandarin (as the name also suggests) is Chinese. And Ben Kingsley is far from that. Then in your point of view Ben Kingsley took the role of a Chinese man. It was written for a Chinese actor. It’s the same issue.
If you also notice because of unkown reasons most antagonists in these new hero-fantasy-films are from England. Loki from Avengers- Tom Hiddleston, Mandarin from Iron Man 3 - Ben Kingsley (born in England but with Gujrati descent), Khan from Star Trek - Benedict Cumberbatch. I think this may be a certain fashion or also because the American audience likes hearing the British accent and it sounds foreign to them which makes it easier to associate them with an enemy who is not from Earth/ or from a diffent part of the world.
I know we will never agree. But I can only repeat myself: there are a lot more severe acts of racism than giving a role of an Indian man(which in the past was played by a MEXICAN) to an English man. Yes, it’s quite a brutal change if you expect an Asian person to play it but it’s not a tragedy.
Reblogging this for one reason, and one reason alone:
Literally nothing, I or anyone else can say to you will make you stop being a racist fuckwit. Nothing. And it’s pointless at this time for me to argue with you. I have never in my life seen someone so fucking dense, and so fucking ignorant to what’s being spelled out for them.
I can’t.
