'In the Heights' and the Erasure of Dark-Skinned Afro-Latinx Folks (theroot.com)
For a film depicting the Washington Heights, there's an erasure of darker skinned black-latinx folks. Or they're only relegated to background dancers. There appears to be only one darker skinned lead.
The director Jon M Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, which also had erasure of darker skinned Asians) and actors' responses go on with believing in the myth of meritocracy. Jon asks the interviewer Felice Leon if she noticed the darker skinned characters as background dancers. Felice's response was perfect, saying she's used to seeing darker skinned folks in the background but the issue here is they're not in the lead roles. Felice also asks about the light skin privilege. The actors say they saw darker skinned folks in auditions but then says they picked the best actors, which is quite dismissive.
Important to note Felice Leon was denied an interview with Lin Manuel Miranda.
Also, the casting directors are white.
Hope this conversation spurs improvement from Jon M Chu, Lin Manuel Miranda, and for casting directors to be more representative in order to better represent the stories.
For a film depicting the Washington Heights, there's an erasure of darker skinned black-latinx folks. Or they're only relegated to background dancers. There appears to be only one darker skinned lead.
The director Jon M Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, which also had erasure of darker skinned Asians) and actors' responses go on with believing in the myth of meritocracy. Jon asks the interviewer Felice Leon if she noticed the darker skinned characters as background dancers. Felice's response was perfect, saying she's used to seeing darker skinned folks in the background but the issue here is they're not in the lead roles. Felice also asks about the light skin privilege. The actors say they saw darker skinned folks in auditions but then says they picked the best actors, which is quite dismissive.
Important to note Felice Leon was denied an interview with Lin Manuel Miranda.
Also, the casting directors are white.
Hope this conversation spurs improvement from Jon M Chu, Lin Manuel Miranda, and for casting directors to be more representative in order to better represent the stories.