diversehighfantasy:

lj-writes:

from being stuck in comedic roles. One of my act bf teachers
knows Wesley snipes personally and said he wanted to do lighter romcom
type stuff but he was told he was too short and too dark and after Jack
City he was sort of typecast. Oscar Isaac is short but he is also
racially ambiguous in a way that white women are into. They can
fantasize about sexing an “exotic Latin hunk” without feeling shame or
guilt. MBJ is 6 foot tall and the new black it guy, the guy white women
aren’t afraid (2)

or ashamed to tell their friends they’d sleep with. John is
handsome but he’s also under 6 feet and has a wide nose and full lips,
so he’s not ambiguous. If he were taller trust me he’d be getting more
roles. If Finn and Rey do not have a romance John might find it hard to
break out of the category of “not a romantic lead.” He’s never had a
role where he was openly sexual or romantic with a woman. His one role
that was going to do that, The Circle, cut it out (3)

Which is a sign that they thought they couldn’t sell it in the
movie. If Rey is placed with Kylo or wit Poe romantically, casting
directors are not going to change their minds about John. I like him and
his acting but he is heading toward a career like Jeffrey Wright,
nothing at all to be ashamed of but never the love interest, always the
Professor/good friend/helpmate. See also Anthony Mackie, a Juilliard
grad, and a perpetual second banana/non love interest (4)

So in short it’s not that women don’t find John attractive it’s
that it’s widely believed white women won’t look at him the way they
look at men like Oscar and MBJ. I have no idea why he didn’t make
himself the love interest in PAC Rim 2, Eastwood is a flop. Anyway,
sorry for all the messages but I wanted to explain myself more fully.
Thanks, take care.

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L.J.: Thank you for coming back, and for the in-depth explanation! Personally I never thought you were being racist, just describing racist preferences in a frank and straightforward way. That’s a very sobering assessment of John’s career prospects, and I lean toward thinking you’re right; if he isn’t established as the romantic lead in the biggest break of his career, the chances of it happening later are dim. I think John is aware of that, too; he’s always been unsentimental and clear-eyed about his career. He has recently been very public and clear about his support for Finnrey and has pushed back at the “friendzone” commenters, so I think he’s thinking along similar lines.

Fortunately Daisy has publicly shut both reylow and doomerey down, but in response to the doomerey question she also said she preferred no romance. It’s pretty telling in itself, though, that she was asked about Kylo and Poe and not Finn as romantic prospects, isn’t it? Not to mention the cringeworthy sexism in asking her two questions in a row (first Kylo, then Poe) about her character’s prospective romances. This interview was in China, too, which is obviously not a white-majority country but has many the same racist preferences and is a crucial movie market.

I mean. You don’t have to be an actor or know movie stars to know colorism is huge in Hollywood. Anon, you being Black, you know it’s a big thing in the Black community, too, and that doesn’t make it acceptable.

But look, it’s 2018. Danai Gurira is a romantic lead on The Walking Dead, a top TV show, and she doesn’t fit the mold of the romantic lead as a darkskin woman, even when you include Black niche media. Things actually are changing – way too slow, but Richonne was unheard of for a popular show even when it happened. To say John Boyega isn’t romantic lead material is like saying the standards from 20 years ago are OK. Wesley Snipes and Jeffrey Wright are in their 50s, and Will Smith is 49. A whole generation older than Boyega, why should we expect the same treatment for him in 2018?

Talking about Hollywood standards, funny how they don’t apply to white actors when it comes to romantic roles. The height thing doesn’t apply to white actors – Tom Cruise alone is proof of that. Actors with white skin can be short, overweight and/or “unconventionally” looking. Jack Black, Jonah Hill and Ben Stiller have all had romantic roles. Hell, Adam Driver is lauded as being “unconventionally” attractive. But with John his dark skin and features – which are not even “unconventional,” he has the same symmetry of features as Denzel Washington, Hollywood’s “chosen one” Black sex symbol – it’s a step too far.

Hollywood is still racist – we all know that. But to suggest that John today and Wesley in the ‘90s are the same is to suggest that change isn’t even possible. I don’t believe that. I know full well that colorism is a thing, but I also know that we’re not exactly where we were 20-30 years ago. YES, fans will have a major problem with it if Finn and Rey end up together – NO DOUBT. But at some point, they have to have the guts to make those choice and stop normalizing white supremacy. Hollywood helped to build modern white supremacy – telling us that everything before the 1960s was all white (other than slaves, of course) – they have a responsibility to dismantle it. Or at least try.

We’re living in a time when popular art matters. It is very much not the time to hold on to the racist standards of the past.