Update: Latest rumor shows casting for a white Ciri | Original: Netflix looking for non-white actress to play Ciri in the Witcher tv series

[DonFerrari]

Runa216 said:
Man, I see so many people replying to me calling me judgmental and ignorant of the real world, and all I'm hearing is 'all lives matter' or 'why can't there be a white panther?' or 'I hate Gay Pride Parades, why can't there be straight pride parades?'

That's what this argument reminds me of. In an ideal world where minorities were treated as equals and there weren't hate crimes committed against them daily and they weren't subjugated and oppressed the world over, I might agree with you. I might agree that the story is inspired by slavic history and therefore it would make more sense for everyone to be white. In an ideal world devoid of racism and prejudice, you really should only do what makes the most sense according to the source material.

But we don't live in an ideal world. We don't live in a utopia where representation doesn't matter. We don't live in a perfect world where everyone is happy to see heroes regardless of what their skin color is and minorities are happy to see yet another white person acting as a hero. The reality is that we live in a world where a TV show is more likely to draw in a diverse audience if they give us a more diverse cast. we live in a world where minorities HAVE been treated like shit for as long as there have been minorities. And while we as a collective certainly have come a long way towards equal rights, we're not entirely there yet and there's still a lot of inter-racial strife. There are still wars and there's still bigotry and hate crime and terrorism and sexism and racism and all the other -isms you can think about.

The world is better today than it has ever been but we still have a lot of work to do, and though giving a traditionally white role to a non-white actress isn't much in the grand scheme of things, it is a form of restitution that I find it disgusting that more people don't endorse.

There are plenty of reasons why a studio would give this role to a non-white actress, all of them completely valid. Furthermore, we don't know if this is being done to add another layer to the character or use it as a form of social commentary, both of which would be great ideas especially given the backlash to it. Maybe they wanted to do it just to get a diversity hire (something that may very well be true and shouldn't bother you given the history of misrepresentation in the past.) Maybe they are doing it at Henry Cavill's request? Maybe they are trying to hit more demographics? Maybe they just wanted to try something new or make a point or didn't feel like changing her race would matter? Like I said, plenty of reasons they could be doing it and all of them are valid.

I will continue to repeat myself because this argument supercedes all the terrible counter-arguments I've seen on here: Until we see the final product we have no idea if this casting decision was just to force diversity or if it was done with the intention of making a point. We have no idea if a change in skin color somehow fundamentally alters the story they wanted to tell or if it enhances the story they want to tell. We don't know so much about where they're going with this that the only logical reason people could be lashing out is some misguided belief that white people are somehow being snuffed out or otherwise subjugated (you know, like minorities). They're not, we're not, and I can assure you there's no white genocide being enacted, so stop saying I'm racist against white people, stop being ignorant, and stop misrepresenting this issue.

Ciri being cast as non-white is a non-issue. If you disagree, that's fine, but don't pretend you're on the moral high ground over some pathetic attempt at keeping white representation in the media pure or something. Your arguments are pretty much all irrelevant and until we see the final product we won't know if your concerns are at all justified. There are dozens of ways a non-white actress could be put in this role that doesn't negatively impact the story or compromise what the showrunners are trying to do. Outlashing against the casting this early in production really is just an outcry from insecure people who have some inexplicable problem with diversity.

Doesn't look good on you.

Also, I can't be bothered to directly respond to each and every one of you who responded to me. I read your responses, make it about a paragraph in before I see something so colossally misguided or wrong and think up a dozen reasons to explain why you're wrong or misunderstanding what's been said that I Realize that if I responded to each of you I wouldn't have time to do my job or play video games or clean my house. I don't have time to personally educate every single one of you on the history of race relations and the nature of adaptation and the creative process. I'm not paid enough to do that.

Basically you are saying that you don't care about all the reasons why it isn't good, and how it will impact the story because on a moral high ground it is a great thing. Sure.