Thursday 15 August 2013

The Problem With Edgar Wright Films...

I am a big Edgar Wright fan. Spaced is a masterpiece of British television, the Cornetto trilogy is thoroughly enjoyable and I love Scott Pilgrim Versus the World. But I have recently noticed something sinister about Edgar Wright's work that has been bugging me and I've found difficult to ignore. There are no black people in Edgar Wright's films.

I heard through the grapevine that a dear friend of mine found Scott Pilgrim offensive. For various reasons. She knows who she is. My automatic response was that this was an over-reaction, how could anyone find Scott Pilgrim offensive? It's an adorable film, full of humour and wonderful geeky references. One of her complaints was the lack of any characters who weren't white. Again, my automatic reaction was to defend the film. There are two characters who aren't white!

Oh. Wait. Two characters. Of a cast of at least 35 speaking parts. And the Matthew Patel scene is horrifically stereotypical even to someone of my numbed sensibilities.

So I got thinking. I thought about The Worlds End. Everyone's white. I thought about Hot Fuzz. Everyone's white. I thought about Shaun of the Dead. Everyone's White. I thought about Spaced. Everyone's white...

I'm not normally someone who draws attention to this sort of thing. I don't post news articles on Facebook and claim people's rights are being oppressed. I don't yell at the television when adverts employ stereotypes to market their product. It's just not what I do. But I can't help but feel disappointed in the fact that someone who I held in such high regard is so oblivious in his casting.

We're not even talking about the usual film industry issue of a lack of lead black characters who have an impact on the story. Many people are aware that this is an issue in many films. But to have four hit films, and two seasons of a television series, with not only all-white leads, but other than the two mentioned, all-white supporting casts as well! I don't think there are even any black extras! Though that I do need to check out...

Which leads me to the fact that another disappoint came when I searched the internet for information about this. Nothing. No-one has brought this up. All I could find was one comment on Edgar Wright's blog, which wasn't acknowledged by the man himself, and oddly wasn't commented on by any other readers of the blog...

Take what you want from this observation of mine. I'm not going to stand on the rooftops and yell 'Edgar Wright's a racist!' I'm not like that, and I don't want to believe that either. Neither will I be likely to mention this in the pub. Unless really drunk. And then I'll likely regret doing so as I don't know enough about fighting for equality in the world, and I'd likely lose any argument. I just felt that it was something that needed to be noticed. I shall leave you with the comment from Edgar Wright's blog, and be slightly relieved that I wasn't the only one who noticed...

"While I am truly in awe with each work of yours that I have seen, there has always be just ONE thing that truly bothers me about your films. As I said before, I have not seen very many of your television shows or films before "Shaun of the Dead," much of this criticism will be based on your works after 2004. Perhaps you have even already acknowledged this in your future films or perhaps someone else (another fan or just a colleague) has brought this to your attention. So, please forgive me if you've heard this before.
In my opinion, most of your biggest films feature LITTLE TO NO PEOPLE OF COLOR. In other words, except for Knives Chau and Matthew Patel, both characters from the derivative work of the "Scott Pilgrim" graphic novels, there are almost NO other main or secondary characters who are NOT white. While I understand that most of your films take place in England or Canada, I feel like an all-white cast in such metropolitan areas like Toronto and other locations in England is sort of misleading and under-representative of the ethnic and racial diversity of these areas.
As an African American man, I find it harder to absolutely love and fawn over a Edgar Wright film when I don't get to see any black characters, unless they are zombies or background pieces. Plus, I find it harder to get my black (and other minority) movie buffs in love with your awesome films when almost EVERYONE IN THE MOVIE IS WHITE. I am not trying to say that I have a problem with predominantly white casts, or white people in film. I was able to suspend this criticism for "Hot Fuzz" because it took place in a rural, conservative English community, but something like "Shaun of the Dead" or "Scott Pilgrim" has no excuse for the lack of racial/ethnic diversity in casting.
Like I said, I love your movies, and I truly hope that you continue to do more great and hilarious works of arts, comedy, and action, but, as a black movie buff and a film studies student, PLEASE INCLUDE MORE PEOPLE OF COLOR IN YOUR FUTURE FILMS.
-- Thank you for reading this message
-- Have a Great Week
A.C.D. Ashford"

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I am a big Edgar Wright fan. Spaced is a masterpiece of British television, the Cornetto trilogy is thoroughly enjoyable and I love Scott Pilgrim Versus the World.

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Unknown said...

I used to love these films until i realised how obviously racist they are. The indian shopkeeper in Shaun is just insulting. I'm glad others are starting to see this. I hate these films now and will never watch them again, and i just have to say it...Edgar Wright is a racist!

Unknown said...

I noticed exactly the same thing as you when watching the worlds end, there isn't a single non white person even in the extras let alone main cast. I work in film and can only presume he must specifically ask the casting director not to cast any non white actors. Simple as that as there is no other way it would happen.