Fantasy Netflix's The Witcher - General Discussion Thread

[Iceman]

What we need is more ethnic writers and directors coming through. But also to support foreign films.

Hopefully that will happen more and more, as well as new material like superhero teams, fantasy novels and sci-fi epics all having more important characters from a range of backgrounds. Then we can slowly move on from these unnecessary controversies which can alienate a number of would-be fans. I hope more recent books get adapted if upcoming projects see success as many already do have a wider variety of great characters.

 

[Primal Slayer]

I've already said that i'm happy to see females get more leading roles so not sure your point? If poc have a harder time getting films made then hollywood etc... should change that.

The point is that Hollywood is F'd up. They choose to represent majority white (male) but choose to ignore the majority gender (female) and keep POC as the minority.

But it also shows how important it is to have representation in films/tv since there is no way that white characters will ever be underrepresented.

 

[Lilbaz]

The point is that Hollywood is F'd up. They choose to represent majority white (male) but choose to ignore the majority gender (female) and keep POC as the minority.

But it also shows how important it is to have representation in films/tv since there is no way that white characters will ever be underrepresented.

Do you not watch any foreign films? There are literally thousands of films with no white actors in them at all. Poc are represented.

I've lived in india and se asia was also married to an asian. When i watched tv there were hardly any white people on at all. I had no problem with it as i knew that it represented the country i was in.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Do you not watch any foreign films? There are literally thousands of films with no white actors in them at all. Poc are represented.

I've lived in india and se asia was also married to an asian. When i watched tv there were hardly any white people on at all. I had no problem with it as i knew that it represented the country i was in.

This isnt about foreign films. America isnt 100% white so females and POC should still be represented somewhat fairly.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

I'm hispanic and could give a rats ass about representation in favor of staying true to source material. Like I feel this representation debate is from a small minority because for the most part I haven't met a single hispanic who cares about it.

Should there be more hispanic actors? Sure. If Oscar Isaac was cast to replace RDJ as Tony Stark I wouldn't care because he's a great actor. But this whole argument is getting ****in stale and I hate race changing characters for the hell of it or because its "progressive"

 

[TheVileOne]

Is it confirmed ciri is black in the show? If so I dont like it. So far this show's casting leaves a bit to be desired, but I wont swear off the show just yet. It could still be a good show even if it's not true to the books or the games. As a Hatry Potter fan I accepted long ago that adaptions can be good in spite of some radical changes

It's far from confirmed. There was a cast listing looking for a non-white actor to potentially fill in the role. Then of course, it gets posted on Reddit and social media, and the internet loses it

I think they could've avoided it by maybe not specifying any type of race in the listing, but whatever.

 

[TheVileOne]

I will say this, when they adapted Death Note for Hollywood, they didn't even consider making Light Asian American. And why not? Yeah, they cast an African American for L...but it's really Light's story.

I know it's an American adaptation and L, but I doubt anyone would've complained if Light was an Asian American actor. Would the movie have really done worse? It was released streaming only for crying out loud.

 

[OutOfBoose]

Even if POC made up a small % of Medieval Europe they still existed so having 3 characters out of an entire cast be non-white would be accurate lol.

I'm not against poc in The Witcher in general. But in my mind they need to be visitors from FAAAAR away lands. I see The Witcher world (as well as Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings) as a very settled society, similarly to the Medieval Europe. People didn't migrate in large numbers from Africa or China. Elves sit in their forests and practice their extremely racist and nationalistic routine. Cintra is very much a small northern kingdom with blood ties with Skellige (witcher's vikings) and elves.

The scenario you gave with Elf Quest is totally different, from the sounds of it they were all segregated to their own color groups. From what I've read on say Wiki, that doesnt seem the case for The Witcher.

In Elf Quest it's justified from world building perspective. Even putting aside Ciri's portrayal in the books and the game, it's easier to make Geralt poc, because his lineage is unimportant. And Ciri's lineage plays key role in the story.

 

[Lilbaz]

This isnt about foreign films. America isnt 100% white so females and POC should still be represented somewhat fairly.

30% of people apearing in hollywood films are not white. 30% of america is not white. That is a fair representation. You were the one that posted the graph.

 

[Primal Slayer]

30% of people apearing in hollywood films are not white. 30% of america is not white. That is a fair representation. You were the one that posted the graph.

Considering they still try to whitewash non white characters, it is far from fair representation just like the graph also shows that it is primarily Male and not female so it's far from a fair representation of anything.

 

[Lilbaz]

I will say this, when they adapted Death Note for Hollywood, they didn't even consider making Light Asian American. And why not? Yeah, they cast an African American for L...but it's really Light's story.

I know it's an American adaptation and L, but I doubt anyone would've complained if Light was an Asian American actor. Would the movie have really done worse? It was released streaming only for crying out loud.

The Japanese had their own live action version starring Tsugumi Ohba who is Japanese. I've watched that i haven't seen the american version. The american version was set in america wasn't it? But yes they probably should have used an asian american actor for the role.

It's only westerners that feel there is less representation of ethnic minorities in film. That's because they mostly watch american films. Other countries make their own films so they watch plenty of films where their race is represented.

 

[Lilbaz]

Considering they still try to whitewash non white characters, it is far from fair representation just like the graph also shows that it is primarily Male and not female so it's far from a fair representation of anything.

I don't think they should change race of major characters at all in adaptations and ciri is going to be a girl as is yen and triss so females are going to be represented.
I'd be happy with more writers and directors from ethnic backgrounds in america creating characters from diverse backgrounds.

 

[Marvolo]

Bridget Regan would make a pretty good Yennifer.

 

[TheVileOne]

I liked Bridget Regan on Legends of the Seeker and Agent Carter. Wouldn't be opposed to seeing her on this show as a sorceress if she's up for it.

 

[TheVileOne]

The Japanese had their own live action version starring Tsugumi Ohba who is Japanese. I've watched that i haven't seen the american version. The american version was set in america wasn't it? But yes they probably should have used an asian american actor for the role.

It's only westerners that feel there is less representation of ethnic minorities in film. That's because they mostly watch american films. Other countries make their own films so they watch plenty of films where their race is represented.

Yes, but that's no reason to not even consider making the Light character Asian American.

 

[Lilbaz]

Yes, but that's no reason to not even consider making the Light character Asian American.

That's why i said they should have probably used an asian american.

 

[TheVileOne]

 

[Iceman]

Bridget Regan would make a pretty good Yennifer.

Yeah, I could see her in the role.

 

[OutOfBoose]

Bridget Regan is perfect looks-wise, imo.

 

[DKDetective]

Even if POC made up a small % of Medieval Europe they still existed so having 3 characters out of an entire cast be non-white would be accurate lol.

The scenario you gave with Elf Quest is totally different, from the sounds of it they were all segregated to their own color groups. From what I've read on say Wiki, that doesnt seem the case for The Witcher.

The problem for any sensible critic is not the inclusion of racial minorities and POC in The Witcher, the concern is the casting of Ciri as a POC. There are good story reasons for her being of white "European" descent. First, if we are using the Medieval Europe analogy, Ciri is the descendant of two white Northern (ie. "European") royal bloodlines and therefore it does not make sense for her to be a racial minority in the world of The Witcher. It would be like the heir to the throne of England in 1250 being a POC, that just didn't happen. If the Nilfgaardians are being retconned as POC, that would be unwise as the racial implications are then of heroic freedom loving Northerners like Geralt under siege by villainous southern imperialists POC. Second, Ciri is described as having ashen hair and green eyes and thereby very similar in appearance to Geralt. One of the great through lines of both the Witcher books and games is Geralt and Ciri's ersatz father-daughter relationship. They are united in their unusual appearance and outcast "freak" status in society. The visual similarity between Geralt and Ciri is a visual reminder of that relationship. As Cavill has been cast as Geralt, it follows that Ciri should continue to look similar. Last, for anyone with a good knowledge of European history, The Continent (at least the northern parts which figure in The Witcher stories) is clearly a very lightly fictionalized portrayal of Northern Eastern Medieval Europe. The Northern Kingdoms are very clearly Poland/the Baltic States. Nilfgaard is very clearly Medieval Germany/the Holy Roman Empire. Skellige is Scandinavia. Their geographic relation to each other is precisely the same as their historical antecedants. These are societies and cultures, that despite being white and European, do not feature heavily in Western popular culture. Tolkien and all of his successors which dominate fantasy fiction (are heavily inspired by Western Europe (England, France, Spain, etc.). Eastern Europe and Slavic culture/history is underrepresented with the exception of being villains in Bond and other spy films.

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

Bridget Regan would make a pretty good Yennifer.

She is absolutely gorgeous.

 

[P Supreme]

Katie McGrath

whoa that will work

 

[Punisher_MAX]

So the Showrunner has briefly quit Twitter...

 

[Dilly Dilly]

I wonder how long Hollywood going woke is gonna last. Have there been that many successes with woke stuff aside from the usual things ? When Hollywood does something with a BIG FAN BASE they either DO IT RIGHT OR DON'T DO IT


Hollywood can not whine when a fan base of something does not support something & that fails because the groups Hollywood is currently pandering to does not support anything & in turn the fan base does not support it either & Hollywood again & again misses out

 

[Reek]

mother of god that's the best username i've ever seen.