The Culture in Casting:
The Physical Representation of Identities
Ally Stone
TV Comm
Wittenberg University
The Culture in Casting: The Physical Representation of Identities
Introduction
Television as a form of media and communication, conveys certain relationships between
the screen and the real world. No matter the program, casting is one of the most important components, as it dictates characters and the people who carry out the telling of the plot and storyworld. Casting can be a physical representation of many different types of identities, such as race, gender, sexuality, cultures, and abilities. It is up to the show to represent them in one way or another through actors and actresses as they see fit. Viewers are subject to the messages, stereotypes, and tropes whether they be intentional or not, as “all meanings in television programming are representations” (Mittell, 2010, p. 271). Not only in our pitch of “The Shot” is casting a vital component in proper representation, but in television itself as it is responsible for social messages in media.
VIEWER EFFECT
As one of America’s favorite pastimes, “the act of watching television itself is more than
just receiving meanings: people interact with media through a wide range of practices” (Mittell, 2010, p. 357). Casting is intended for an audience, in terms of their viewing. Therefore, what is put on the screen is subsequently communicative to the people tuning in. Representations on screen translate to what viewers believe plays out in reality. This is a passive viewer effect. Some of these effects are on representations such as gender, race, ethnicity, and cultures.
REPRESENTATIONS
The people cast are going to be the physical representations of their characters and
identities. When it comes to gender, it is not unusual to see negative tropes and stereotypes of women. This is relevant to social constructs, because many gender representations in media are put into place in reality. For example, in the workplace, “male characters were more likely than females to play work-oriented roles such as business executive or attorney” (Lauzen, 2016, p. 14). This connects to a realistic social effect, such as the wage gap or unequal opportunity. In both gender and race, “minorities in general [have] to work harder than your average sitcom just to be seen as good. It has to continue to prove itself” (Williams & Emami, 2014). Many times, we see a heteronormative, white type-casted group of people on regular sitcoms, talk shows, and more. Many industry workers such as producers and directors would go as far to freely admit to typecasting is because “to diverge from stereotypes would draw attention away from the action, the story line, or other character and destroy dramatic effect” (Butsch, 2003, p. 5). Race, ethnicity, and culture, is another area where we see the most explicit generalizations. For example, a black dad is more than likely going to be portrayed as absent in his son’s life. Some productions also include a “token character”, which is believing there is representation just because there is one minority character. This is not purposeful identity. Our show, “The Shot”, will aim to appeal to all walks of life, and to display realistic representations of characters without perpetuating tropes.
CASTING CHOICES
“The Shot” follows collegiate athlete Eliza Smith as she chases her dreams in the
gym while navigating the balancing beam that is being a healthy collegiate student athlete. This drama follows Florida University’s first D1, diabetic gymnast on her way to the top. Because she is diabetic, we wanted to go against the belief that this disease automatically dictates weight and personal healthcare. Rowan Blanchard is cast as Eliza Smith. With her small stature and experience on Disney Channel, she is a good youth actress for our target audience who has south asian background. Amandla Stenberg is Jenna, Eliza’s best friend. Stenberg is an upcoming teen star, but is more known for her outspokenness. As one of the biggest LGBTQ youth advocates, we will use her social commentary when conflicts arise in the plot. She will also keep her natural hair as she is of mixed race; this is something producers will usually change. One of our biggest ethnic representations is Riz Ahmed, who is playing Coach Zander. He is of British-Pakistani background. Muslim and middle-eastern figures are rare in media these days. Keith Stanfield, from the hit movie, “Get out”, plays Nurse Anthony. Not only did I chose a male to play a nurse, but a black male to deflect the idea that male nurses are weak, and that they are doing a woman’s job. Eliza’s rival goes by Candice, who is played by Alisha Boe. Boe is from the hit netflix series
“Thirteen Reasons Why”, which hits another controversial subject such as suicide and mental health. This is the direction we want our show to go in: adding social commentary through the characters and storyworld. Not only are these casting choices based on abilities and identities, they must work in combination with other components of the production and pitch of “The Shot”.
COMPONENT INTEGRATION
Since my component of the pitch project was casting, I felt as if I was responsible for the
unspoken social message we may portray. Casting in combination with other components, such as audience and genre or narrative style, has to complement those elements in a way that carries out the plot and storyworld, which is the main goal. Integration is key here. Since our audience is aimed towards a younger crowd, one that would watch more netflix than cable television, using Alisha Boe from “Thirteen Reasons Why” was a gimmick of sorts. Not only will she be recognizable, but comfortable in the subjects such as disease or mental health. In terms of genre and narrative style, “The Shot” is a drama with some comedic relief. Therefore, it is vital that the people we cast have the acting abilities needed to perform these emotions. The social message “The Shot” will portray will not only be informative and promote diabetes awareness, but representation through the characters we cast.
Conclusion
In both television, mass media communications, and our pitch project, what we see on
screen is proven to play out in reality one way or another. Overall, casting is one of the most important components, as it dictates characters and the people who carry out the telling of the plot and storyworld. Knowing this show will have an international outreach, especially because it will be streamed on Netflix, we want to avoid a passive viewer effect. Race, gender, sexuality, cultures, and abilities will be shown in “The Shot”. The casting choices made not by having one of each race or gender and calling it a day per say, but purposeful decisions focusing on one’s abilities and potential to add to the program. Our shows aims to appeal to all walks of life, and to display realistic representations without perpetuating tropes. Although, our show may challenge those stereotypes through plot conflict and social commentary. In conclusion, casting can dictate the social message programming portrays and translates to real world perceptions of identity.