"Too brown to play an imaginary creature."

John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show
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Just to confirm that Wyatt was not making this up for funzies, here is another source for the story: Are The Hobbit's Casting Agents Racist?

I was reminded of this when I was reading yet another article about certain people conspicuously missing from Peter Jackson's latest movie: So, Where Have All the Middle-earth Ladies Run Off To?

So, let me get this straight: to participate in this fantastical world, no coloreds and no womenfolks need apply? Only white men allowed?

No, I have not seen The Hobbit, but I have seen all three interminable Lord of the Rings movies, and those had an Elijah Wood incentive. This new (unnecessarily extended) trilogy has the guy from the British Office and a wizard I enjoyed more in the X-Men movies.

These are times when I think to myself, "I can't write everything that I want see." Meaning, if I want to see more books, more television shows, more movies, more commercials, with a modicum of diversity, projects that actually acknowledge that there are people that exist in the world who consume media who aren't young, white and male, I cannot possibly write all of these projects myself. I definitely couldn't distribute them by myself. There is clearly a demand. Why is there almost no supply?

It's so frustrating.  White male people do not make up a majority of the population of the country I was born and raised in. The majority of the world population is neither white nor male. Yet heaven forbid I actually see the media produced in my home country, on my home planet be reflective of that reality.

Frowny face.


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"You funny!"

From Comedy Central's Hot List 2010:

Chelsea Peretti: You're a lady, correct?

Natasha Leggero: Correct! Um, yes. I'm very excited to be a lady.

Chelsea: Oh, god, who isn't?

Natasha: You do a lot of shows with ladies, right?

Chelsea: Well, let's play nice. I hate ladies as much as the next lady.

Natasha: [laughing]

Chelsea: But, people do think it's like a compliment to say, "You're funny. You're the funniest girl." Or usually, here's what I get--

Natasha: "Usually I don't think women are funny."

Chelsea: "Usually I don't think women are funny," yeah.

Natasha: "But you--"

Chelsea: "But you, however--"

Natasha: "You funny!"

Chelsea: "You were pretty funny."

Natasha: "For a woman."

Chelsea: I hate it when someone says, "You're pretty funny." Like, I don't need that thrown in the mix, the "pretty funny". The intros are always the worst.

Natasha: "You guys ready for a lady?"

Chelsea: "You ready for a lady?" Like this freak show's about to march onstage.

Natasha: [laughing]

Chelsea: The worst is they're like, "She's lovely, and she's funny." And then you like trot out in a little dress and tap shoes. It's like such a stressful intro.

Natasha: [laughing]

Chelsea: This is so fun. We should hang out more.

Natasha: Uh, yeah, this is a nice place.

Chelsea: Do you want to hang out more, er . . .

Natasha: You know, I'm actually really busy right now.

Chelsea: Okay, okay.

Oh, funny ladies.


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