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dxppercxdxver · 2 years

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hm how about the rook/stiletto for the blorbo &c. asks?

FUCK YEAH FUCK YEAH LET’S G O

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): call me cliché but it has to be myfanwy. i’m just so enamored by characters who are simultaneously two or more people, in this case because of her amnesia, because she has such a dichotomy with herself that Fascinates me. also she’s funny as hell and i think we need more unhinged female characters who are canonically Just Okay looking (if i have to pick a Non main character favorite i’d probably go with shantay or eckhart)

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped): i am going to skrunklyfy heretic gubbins. a balding forty-five year old man. because he is the Only Character in this series who can even Remotely be considered Cute (except maybe the gestalt baby but ew)

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave): INGRID. FUCKING. WOODHOUSE. she is my wife my love my beautiful hero in purple she does so much and is responsible for the greatest fucking plot twist in the book i am obsessed with her oh my God (second to her is pawn alan summerhill—li’l pawn alan—because he is just my scrimblo)

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week): bronwyn!! she’s a brilliant addition to the story that addresses a lot of the plot holes and also the direct reason behind one of my favorite scenes in the book. she’s just So Normal and it really works to complement the rest of the story. also? the greek woman. just perfect. and and! wolfgang. my bunny boy wolfgang

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): alas. graaf gerd de leeuwen. he is a flayed mass of muscle and goo inside a fish tank with a propensity for splashing when he’s mad. and he’s So Bad at threats it’s ridiculous. what’s not to love (other than all of him)

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason): hmm. pawn poppat. he feels like he’d be easy to rile up. or!! graaf ernst von suchtlen!!! listen even if the naked man that grew from the human heart that was mailed to my po box turned out to be my ally he is still A Naked Man Grown From A Human Heart Mailed To My PO Box. he deserves a little retaliation

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell): conrad grantchester. all of the gestalts. noel bittner (although i think getting swallowed by a dragon in canon means he’s already there). conrad grantchester. gestalt again. grantchester. grantchester

noticing that all of these characters are from the rook and i didn’t mention stiletto at all. not that i don’t like stiletto it’s just that felicity and odette fill the same niche myfanwy does in my brain and i haven’t read it as much as the rook so i don’t remember all the side character’s names shjshs

honorable mentions for characters that live rent free in my head:

- alrich

- lady farrier

- the flesh cube

- odette’s little brother

- pre-amnesia myfanwy

- the psychic duck

- felicity And odette obviously

- frau blumen

- random protester #1

- the woman that staked out the vampire den

- pawn monica jarvis-reed

- the gay bishops murdered in the 1600s

- stabby crystal man

- alrich again

thank you for the asks cupola!!!

#this was so fuuuuun #the rook #stiletto #the secret life of yours truly #radio free junebug #captain cupola

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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From Bridgerton to Hamilton: A History of Color-Conscious Casting in Period Drama

https://ift.tt/2IQI6Ak

Note: This Bridgerton article contains no book or series plot spoilers.

Bridgerton is a unique mix of Shonda Rhimes’ dedication to Black representation on American television and the British period drama tradition. White critics may dismiss this trend as unnecessary “pandering” to Black and POC viewers, but the number of productions designed around reforming all white-casting has increased over the past 10 years—and has only added to the success of the genre. The number one reason driving demand for diverse period dramas is from Black and POC fans of the genre. The impact of seeing an actor that looks like you can’t be measured in ratings or clicks online. Despite facing years of content and fandom overtly or covertly claiming that the universal themes in period dramas are not “for us”; the tide is starting to turn as fans use social media and the power of ratings to ask for more representation.

A quick overview of recent Regency England-set productions leaves much to be desired. Although the 2018 Amazon Prime/ITV miniseries and the 2005 movie adaptations of Vanity Fair left in West Indian and Jewish heiress Miss Schwarz, she is one of many supporting characters. PBS/ITV’s Sanditon, on the one hand, improved representation by prominently featuring Georgiana Lambe. However, her story was a huge disappointment to Black and POC fans who expected her plotline to end happily or at least have her conflicts resolved.

There have been three paths traditionally towards increasing diversity in period dramas: 1) blind casting (also called racebending), where Black and POC actors play traditionally white characters adding original Black characters to existing fictional works, and 2) Own Voices, where Black and POC writers share their own stories. These two are not mutually exclusive, but, in the world of British period drama, the former is more frequently used, as the bedrock of the genre is adapting existing novels and plays by white authors.

The theoretical framework for inclusive casting begins in the world of staging period drama at the theater. In Shakespeare’s day, men played women’s roles as women were not allowed to appear on stage. The genre evolved in later centuries to allow women to appear on stage, but the tradition of having actors who didn’t match the original descriptions remained. This is even true of his history plays where real women royalty were characters. Ira Aldridge in the 1840s was the first Black actor in Britain to play traditionally white roles on stage. Later on, in the 19th century, several stage adaptations of Jane Austen’s works had all-women casts.

Fast forward to 2015, when Lin-Manuel Miranda in Hamilton redefined what it meant to cast inclusively in modern period dramas by using actors descended from slavery and colonialism to play the Founding Fathers. Every aspect of the musical was designed to reframe the existing narrative of early American history. The costume design also reflected the identities of the actor by featuring braids, locs, and textured hairstyles over 18th century white hairstyles. Rap lyrics conveyed to the audience the names, dates, and other descriptions of the Revolutionary War. The old adage that someone must “look the part” to play a biographical role was thrown out the window.

Hamilton proved that many of the old excuses used to sideline diverse period dramas no longer held to be true. Millions of white people listened to the cast album, brought tickets, or streamed the movie on Disney+. UK theater patrons flocked to the West End cast of Hamilton, as well, before the pandemic. Memes, parodies, and more on social media proved that white audiences can conceptualize historical figures as fictional characters while also knowing the real figures looked and acted quite differently. Fans of the show pushed Ron Chernow’s biography back onto the bestseller lists as they wanted to read what really happened.

The first clear impact the show had on the genre of British period drama comes from a mystery. Daisy Coulam, Grantchester’s head screenwriter, cited reading an interview with Miranda as the inspiration behind the exit plotline for James Norton’s character Sidney Chambers. UK crime dramas For those unfamiliar with the series, Grantchester is a mystery procedural based on a series of books about a 1950s crime-solving Anglican vicar by James Runcie. Norton’s exit plotline in Season 4 generated an original to the show character named Violet who was the daughter of a visiting African-American preacher. Violet was an original character who forced the audience to consider that the US civil rights movement indeed reached their treasured vision of the lily-white British countryside. Coulam already laid the groundwork for Violet in earlier seasons by abandoning large sections of the original novel timeline and but keeping the case of the week focused on addressing 1950’s social issues. Fans heavily criticized Coulam’s writing for style and pacing, but her imagination clearly indicates that Hamilton’s proven formula for disrupting established historical aesthetics can just as easily be applied to fictional depictions of the UK’s past as blind casting a biography-based series or depicting real figures of Black British history.

Other period dramas released in recent years share traces of Hamilton’s impact but in a more thematic and less direct different way. Some shows turned real Black British figures into fictional characters. Lina (Stephanie Levi-John) and Oviedo (Aaron Cobham) on The Spanish Princess are composites of Catherine of Aragon’s servants and several famous Black Tudors. Catherine “Kitty” Despard (Kerri McClean) in Poldark Season 5 was a forgotten Black British figure added in to expand the world outlined in the novels. Victoria featured Ira Aldridge (Ashley Zhangazha) mentioned earlier, plus spotlighted the Queen’s adopted daughter Sarah-Forbes Bonetta and Cuffay (C.J. Beckford) as the leader of the proto-socialist Chartists. Lucille Anderson (Leonie Elliott) on Call the Midwife was not mentioned in the original memoirs, but she was added to represent the Caribbean nurses from the Windrush Generation of UK immigrants.

Racebent casting also increased. Dev Patel’s role as the title character in the movie The Personal History of David Copperfield proved that Dickens adaptations could indeed include POC casts without changing the fundamental plot and message. PBS/BBC’s Les Miserables miniseries also extended the Broadway tradition of casting Black actors in traditionally white coded classic literature characters. Hulu’s The Great featured Sacha Dhawan and several Black actors as Russian nobility, politicians, and courtiers.

All of these series, however, carefully attempted to stay grounded in recreating the original source material or invested in faithfully replicating the era they were set in. Bridgerton radically expands upon Hamilton’s formula by divorcing inclusive casting from any desire to accurately recreate historical events, eras, or figures. Romance, fantasy, and social/familial drama are universal themes that don’t depend on having a white-dominant vision of society. Quinn’s original novel series sparingly referred to historical events during the Regency Era. Her focus was on creating a world where the most important events were balls and weddings. More Dukes and other holders of inherited titles exist in her vision of the Ton (the most elite members of Regency society) than in reality. Historians would likely dispute her characterization of the elite social season as well. Characters’ internal dialogue is in modern English peppered with regional accents and slang. They rarely lampshade or criticize the way of society beyond their romantic desires and family obligations. Readers see the physical intimacy on the page Austen never mentioned. This literary environment is ripe for inclusive casting on screen.

The most critical flip in characterization is Simon, Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page). His character is the romantic hero of the first book in the series The Duke and I and is the character that set fan expectations high for future novels. Simon having visibly African features and yet being an object of desire is incredibly subversive in a genre where white beauty standards dominate hetero and homosexual fiction.

Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh), Simon’s godmother, is an elder stateswoman and a twist on the battle-ax aunt trope popular in period dramas. She isn’t as caustic and insulting as some other famous widows and spinsters but she commands authority and a mansion filled with people to perform all the hard labor. Lady Danbury is even implied to be slightly higher in status than her white counterparts with children of marrying age Lady Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) and Lady Portia Featherington (Polly Walker).

Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuve) being played by a biracial woman is actually a subtle Easter Egg to existing history debates. Many have debated if her portraits were airbrushed to disguise African features. A few years ago, a documentary established her African ancestry is via the Portuguese royals. All of her scenes involve petting her Pomeranian, demanding to know the latest gossip, and manipulating the gentry into doing her bidding.

The miniseries doesn’t end the racial diversity with those at the highest social rank or even at the lower orders of domestic servants. Marina Thompson (Ruby Barker) is a cousin of the Featheringtons and represents the “poor relation” character popular in stories based on the British gentry. A Black modiste (dressmaker) trained in French fashion makes all of the dresses the characters wear. Will Mondrich (Martins Imhangbe) is a boxer, likely a reference to former slave turned bare-knuckle boxer Bill Richmond. Alongside the characters with plot lines viewers follow, there is a conscious effort to hire Black and POC extras to fill in crowd scenes at balls, park scenes, and other public events. The viewer sees people who look like themselves in every class level of society and can feel like they too can become part of their world.

How Bridgerton Can Avoid Outlander’s Mistakes

By Amanda-Rae Prescott

Books

Bridgerton: Cast Announced for Shonda Rhimes Netflix Series

By Alec Bojalad

Attire is a critical part of upholding the fantasy and cultural diversity Bridgerton and also in communicating to the audience the series isn’t your aunt’s neutral tone Austen adaptation. Marina and Lady Danbury would never be caught dead in a plain white muslin frock. All of the popular Regency hairstyles for women have been modified and reworked for natural textured hair, braids, and locs. Some of the Black male extras even have modern African hairstyles left in tact. The only Black characters who wear the traditional white wigs are older men or servants in full formal uniform. Queen Charlotte’s Black courtiers and servants wear a mixture of extravagant 1770s and 1780s attire and Regency court wear to create a physical separation between them and the rest of the ensemble cast. These style decisions are right out of the playbook of Still Star-Crossed, Shondaland’s first foray into period drama. Although that series took place in 1300’s Italy, the priority was on blending fantasy and Black fashion aesthetics over catering to white costume enthusiasts and reenactors.

In the world of Bridgerton, slavery and colonialism are directly or indirectly referenced exceedingly sparingly. One reference is to Lord Dunmore’s army of emancipated and runaway slaves during the Revolutionary War proclamation. (Hercules Mulligan’s Black troops referenced in “Stay Alive” is the Patriot equivalent of Dunmore’s forces). These sparing hints make it clear to the viewers that class, family, and personal family drama is the root cause of joy and pain in this series.

Since Bridgerton is completely ignoring the physical descriptions of the characters in many cases, the set design carries the bulk of the attention to historical detail. The series hired Dr. Hannah Greig as a historical advisor to ensure these details were as close to 1813 as possible. Greig has previously acted as a consultant to the Sanditon, Poldark, and The Duchess cast and crew is likely where the Easter Eggs in character references come from. Lavish mansions and castles and the more humble spaces ground the fantastical plot details in historical reality. Several previous period dramas have recreated the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, but these scenes in the miniseries are elevated to the next level thanks to Netflix’s budget.

Noughts + Crosses: Why You Should Watch This Afrofuturist Alternate History Romance

By Amanda-Rae Prescott

World on Fire Returns People of Color to the Dunkirk Narrative

By Amanda-Rae Prescott

The success of Bridgerton applying color-conscious casting to a fantasy/romance series has implications far beyond potential future seasons. Studios especially those in the UK have been hesitant to utilize recent historical romance books for screen adaptations. Modern historical fiction by Black and POC authors (called Own Voices fiction) which is crucial in the fight for increased representation. Novelists such as Beverly Jenkins, Courtney Milan, and Alyssa Cole have written romances set in the Regency and other eras of American and British History that can easily be transformed into movies and miniseries. Some of these novels recreate existing history while others lean into escapist fantasy. The ultimate goal in period drama representation is for Black and POC creatives to tell their own stories covering all the ranges of emotion, not just historical trauma.

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Critics can keep attacking period dramas for being “too woke” (a term that was stolen from anti-racism activists) for remembering that white people aren’t the only inhabitants of the British Isles and America, but series like Bridgerton are here to stay. Black and POC viewers and readers of period drama and romance fiction always existed, and viewership will only grow if more inclusive period romance projects are greenlit in the future.

The post From Bridgerton to Hamilton: A History of Color-Conscious Casting in Period Drama appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3mjLv8v

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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morse-perez-and-davenport · 9 months

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Robson Green on the set of series 9 of Grantchester

#itv Grantchester #grantchester behind the scenes #robson green #geordie keating #grantchester series 9

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dyanblue · 7 years

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Behind the scenes: interviews Robson Green and James Norton on the set of Grantchester on Lorraine (21 Mar.)

#Robson Green #James Norton #Grantchester series 3 #interview #behind the scenes

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bibelots · 5 years

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Al Weaver behind the scenes of Grantchester

#my gifs #what a living legend #i love him #al weaver #grantchester #robson green #kacey ainsworth #james norton

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tabloidtoc · 5 years

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TV Guide, July 8-21

Cover: Suits -- Gabriel Macht and Sarah Rafferty

Page 2: Contents

Page 4: Ask Matt -- Designated Survivor, MacGyver, Your Feedback, Coming Next Issue -- 40th anniversary of Hart to Hart

Page 10: Race for Gold -- Here are the name Matt Roush hopes to see on the Emmy ballot

Page 11: Pawn Stars by the numbers, Hollywood Dispatch -- David E. Kelley developing The Lincoln Lawyer, Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn’s series called Making the Cut with judges Naomi Campbell and Nicole Richie, The Office leaving Netflix

Page 12: Tastemakers -- Ted Allen

Page 14: The Roush Review -- Stranger Things

Page 15: I Love You, Now Die, Florida Girls, Grantchester

Page 16: Cover Story -- Suits

Page 20: Apollo 11 50th anniversary

Page 29: What’s Worth Watching? Week 1 -- Battle of the 80s Supercars with David Hasselhoff -- Erik Estrada, Dirk Benedict, Catherine Bach

Page 30: Monday, July 8 -- Divorce -- Scene stealer Molly Shannon, Antiques Roadshow space exploration-themed show, American Pickers, Holiday Baking Championship: Christmas in July, Major League Baseball

Page 31: Tuesday, July 9 -- Bring the Funny with Jeff Foxworthy and Chrissy Teigen and Kenan Thompson, Love Island, Animal Kingdom, Biography: Farrah Fawcett, Pose, The Disappearance, General Magic, Out of This World, Major League Baseball

Page 32: Wednesday, July 10 -- Neal McDonough on Yellowstone, The 2019 ESPYs, Snowfall, The Handmaid’s Tale, Rough Night

Page 33: Thursday, July 11 -- Siren, Dr. Pimple Popper, Christmas Camp, Hollywood Game Night, Capernaum, Friday, July 12 -- Shangri-La, Jett, The Shawshank Redemption, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Gone With the Wind

Page 34: Satruday, July 13 -- Injustice with Nancy Grace, Ghost Adventures, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, A Dog’s Purpose, Tennis -- Wimbledon Ladies’ Singles Final

Page 35: Sunday, July 14 -- James Norton’s last days on Grantchester, Top Gear, Apollo’s Moon Shot, Sweetbitter, Tennis -- Men’s Singles Final

Page 50: Streaming Guide -- Netflix -- Good Witch, The Last Czars, Family Reunion

Page 51: Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Point Blank, High Seas, In the Dark

Page 52: Prime Video -- Trapped, All or Nothing: The Carolina Panthers, Apollo: NASA’s Journey to the Moon, In the Shadow of the Moon

Page 54: Hulu -- Apollo 11, Harlots

Page 56: New Movie Releases

Page 57: Series, Specials and Documentaries

Page 59: What’s Worth Watching -- Week 2

Page 60: Monday, July 15 -- Molly of Denali, American Ninja Warrior, Vaporized: America’s E-Cigarette Addiction, Alien: Covenant starring Michael Fassbender on FX

Page 61: Tuesday, July 16 -- Biography: JFK Jr.-The Final Year, Behind Closed Doors, Pandora, Drunk History, Stan & Ollie

Page 62: Wednesday, July 17 -- Pearson with Gina Torres, 8 Days to the Moon and Back, Doctor Who, Golf

Page 63: Thursday, July 18 -- A Boyfriend for Christmas, Elementary, The Last Man, Friday, July 19 -- The UnXplained with William Shatner, Today with Kacey Musgraves, Killjoys, Hunter Killer

Page 64: Saturday, July 20 -- From the Earth to the Moon, Frankie Drake Mysteries, The Madam of Purity Falls, Major League Baseball, First Man, A Night with Murray, Road House

Page 65: Sunday, July 21 -- Instinct with Travis Van Winkle, Burden of Truth, The $100,000 Pyramid, Big Little Lies, Heroes and Survivors, Golf -- The British Open

Page 84: Cheers & Jeers Reality Edition -- Cheers to Gordon Ramsay, Alec Baldwin, Bethenny Frankel, Bachelor in Paradise, Jeers to Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Love Island, The Real World: Atlanta

#tabloid #televison #television shows #suits #gabriel macht #sarah rafferty #darvey #harvey specter #donna paulsen

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