It’s just another weekday in Hollywood when the August 4 news reports that James Franco is set to play the role of radical Cuban revolutionary and dictator, Fidel Castro. Raw displeasure and irritation is taking root in every corner of the public arena towards the industry that has left fresh scars of canceling a Latino woman-led superhero movie. Rubbing salt on the wound then becomes a fitting idiom when another white male decides to land a role that could potentially undo him, if his past deeds haven’t already done so.
Related Article: ‘The Project Is Almost All Latino’: Fidel Castro’s Daughter Alina Fernandez, Blasts Haters Approves of Casting James Franco Since Franco and Castro Have an ‘Obvious Physical Resemblance’
James Franco escapes canceled culture and now plays Castro
The American actor has been the subject of controversial news for some time now. In the Hollywood spotlight, James Franco is accused of sexual misconduct allegations, yet the industry turns a blind eye, calling him innocent until proven guilty – a luxury that eludes many these days. .
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Despite lawsuits, Franco soars, magnanimously landing the role of Cuba’s infamous dictator under the supportive and protected wing of Alina Fernandez, Fidel Castro’s daughter. For so many reasons that are glaring and painfully transparent, the casting choice is one that comes at the wrong time and to the wrong person, and it shows in the continuing flurry of mass criticism, public harangues and gossip about social networks.
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Why Hollywood Is Offensive With Franco’s Casting
Fidel Castro was Cuban. James Franco is American. It’s cultural appropriation at its most basic element for the second to play the first. Franco is not qualified enough to play Castro simply because the casting director finds similarities in the predominant bone structure between the two. But above all, James Franco represents the nation against which Castro led his revolution.
Related article: “How come he’s playing Fidel Castro when I get a role as a drug dealer?” : Jeff Torres rages against James Franco to obtain the revolutionary Cuban leader Fidel Castro while the Latin actors are cataloged
Moving away from the inherent and blatant offense that casting brings to the Latin American demographic of the world, then one could look at the current trend set by Hollywood – an industry whose narrative centers around the art, culture, representation, diversity, society, and history. Warner Bros. Discovery has set aside bat girlthe first major female Afro-Latino protagonist portrayed in a solo superhero movie because David Zaslav doesn’t want to release a movie “unless [the company] believe it”.
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The move, hailed as part of WB Discovery’s strategy, is seen as a blatant attack on Latinos, especially considering that Ezra Miller the flash still remains on the launch pad, coupled with the dangerous precedent set by Hollywood with the doubly ignorant decision to cast a white American accused of sexual misconduct as a Latino political and socio-historical figure.
Alina from Cuba: La Hija Rebelde does not yet have a release date.
Source: Variety
