|
|
Post by the sorting hat on Feb 27, 2008 17:51:17 GMT -5
Good Lord, this ticked me off to no end today. Sure, I heard a bit about it this morning, but I didn't get to hear the facts until 3rd block in school. Either way, the casting call and general MOVIE that I'm about to share is against every single thing I live for. I was in complete shock when I heard of such ... descrimination. I attempted to start a petition, but I couldn't find the company's contact information. Gah, I'm just ... furious.
"Unfortunately, some in the filmmaking industry have decided that perpetuating stereotypes and insulting generations of West Virginians means cash at the box office."-- W.Va. U.S. Senator, Robert C. Byrd
On February 26, 2008, the nation was made aware of the horrors that accompanied a casting call for the up-coming horror film, Shelter. According to many, the movie, staring Julianne Moore, implied descrimination and stereotyped West Virginia of being inbreeds. This is a disgusting and immoral thing to say or think, let alone imply.
According to the (former) casting director of Shelter--Donna Belajac--the film is looking for extras to be used in a fight scene entitled "the West Virginia holler." The casting call asks "for extras who are extraordinarily tall or short, those with unusual body shapes and unusual facial features, especially eyes, and even people with physical abnormalities as long as they have normal mobility." CNBC News
As well, the same casting call asks for a 9-12 year old girl with an "other-worldly look ... could be an albino or something along those lines." The call also states that "'Regular-looking' children should not attend this open call."
Sound descriminating yet?
No matter how much Belajac claimed that "We tried to word it in a way that's not offensive, I hope it's not an offensive thing. It's not meant to be a generalization about everyone in West Virginia. That's why we put that it's in a 'holler' in the mountains." (note that the company's website specified the scene as a "West Virginia holler"), the casting call drew seething responses from W.Va. Gov. Joe Manchin; U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va.; and Cecil E. Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers union.
Manchin stated: "It's clear that they have no real understanding of who the people of West Virginia are, and that's not only unfortunate, but in this case offensive. Certainly it doesn't sound like a movie worth watching."
Roberts commented: "Why must it be automatically assumed by the surgically enhanced 'beautiful people' who populate Hollywood that those who live in the hills and hollows of places like West Virginia are all afflicted with physical abnormalities?"
Capito believes West Virginians "are owed an apology for such careless and blatant stereotyping."
However, what has to be the most messed up part of it all would be the following: (see reply for reasoning)
The entertainment industry has long used negative Appalachian stereotypes, including 1972's "Deliverance," a three-time Academy Award-nominated film about a group of men whose Georgia river-rafting trip goes horribly wrong, and 2003 independent film "Wrong Turn, where youths on a hiking trip become prey to cannibalistic West Virginia mountain men. CNBC News
Read up on this at the following locations::
CNBC News
Charleston Daily Mail |
|
