Video of the Week: Is White Washing Really Still a Thing? (by Nostalgia Critic)

This is a touchy subject. It’s controversial. Talking about it can make the atmosphere a little awkward. With a subject as fragile as white washing, the wrong words can shatter anyone’s concentration, and then becomes impossible to regain it back. In the video, Nostalgia Critic does ask some valid questions, and he answers them by giving a detailed overview of what white washing is and how it is perceived in today’s Hollywood and society as a whole. Some questions he does ask are hard to answer. He understands this complication by comically showing that people may be mad with him talking about it, but he is confident enough that he will be able to express his views and the views of today well enough to get people talking with fairness without anger.

That is why I am not going to elaborate on any of his points. You can’t really do so without either outright agreeing or disagreeing with them, and that’s not really what the video is about. It’s just an overview, a detailed look at what has become of films and TV. It is a subject that a lot of people have been talking about, so it doesn’t hurt to see someone else’s perspective on the matter among the general opinion. Right? I can’t answer that. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, it’s up to those that are willing to listen to them to decide whether they agree or disagree, or in this case, just understand what’s going on.

Nostalgia Critic explained a lot of other forms of washing, which did open my eyes on just how much can be considered as such, and although he did cover this particular one, gender washing, I think that one is safe to elaborate on more.

Doctor Who, a British science fiction television programme – a very popular one at that – has been running for a staggering 53 years, and ever since it aired on 23^rd November 1963, only male actors have played the role of The Doctor. 13 actors in total has made their contribution to the show, and made the Doctor’s character their own. I started watching Doctor Who during series 3 run when David Tennant was The Doctor. The episode in question was Blink, and episode where he actually wasn’t in it as much. But that didn’t matter because when he did show up, he was The Doctor. And the subsequent episodes, blew me away. David’s Doctor was incredible. Eventually, David said that he was leaving the show, and the hunt for a new actor to fill the role of the Doctor began anew. Matt Smith was selected. All that needed to happen now was for David Tennant to say his goodbyes and regenerate, and because he made such a good impression on me, it was an emotional time. How could Matt Smith live up to David Tennant’s reputation? But he did. He made the role his own just like his predecessor. It didn’t take long at all before Matt Smith’s Doctor was creating as much of an impact as David Tennant’s Doctor was, and over the years, he only got better and better, which was exactly the same before. And the cycle continues: Matt Smith says he’s leaving, the hunt begins, Matt says his goodbyes and regenerates. Peter Capaldi is the new Doctor. I won’t go into the personality of the Doctor, or any of the lore, but it did take a little while before Peter settled in for me. But was that because of how great Matt was, or simply because it was Peter Capaldi’s performance? Well, after season 9, I can safely say that he is most definitely the Doctor. And when I went back and watched the first season, with Christopher Eccleson as the Doctor, even though it was for only one season, you could see that he put a lot of effort into every episode he was in. He made the Doctor his own, and I could see that, even though I wasn’t there when he regenerated into David Tennant, the cycle of wondering if David would live up to Christopher’s performance began in Season 1. For that time being, Christopher Eccleson was The Doctor.

And upon looking back over the years, and looking at other people’s performance as the Doctor, the same can be said then as well. Every single one of them was the Doctor. They made the character their own. Tom Baker is known to be the greatest Doctor of them all, with David Tennant being a close second. I didn’t grow up with Tom Baker, I started watching the show when David was there, but even I could see just how great Tom was in the role. He was phenomenal to say the least.

Everyone that has been cast to play the Doctor has shown that they are the actor to play The Doctor.

In recent years, it has been suggested to cast a female in the leading role. This has caused some controversy. One side is saying that The Doctor is a male, and casting a woman wouldn’t make much sense to the character, whereas the other side is stating that what would be the difference. I have to agree, what would be the difference? When Matt Smith left, the suggestion to cast a female was stronger than ever, even to the point when people were saying that the BBC was actually strongly considering it. When Peter Capaldi was cast, there was a debate on why he was chosen and not a female. I believe that may be a bit too vague as Peter was soon accepted. The question that needed answering however, was whether or not a Time Lord could actually change gender when regenerating, and this was answered when the Master regenerated into the Mistress, and again during the finale of Season 9, Hell-Bent, when a Time Lord regenerated from a male to a female, and even stating that her previous incarnation was actually the only time she was ever a man. So that question was eventually answered, but it didn’t explain everything. Why wasn’t the Doctor changing genders when regenerating? Peter Capaldi was cast to play the Doctor, not because he was a male, but because he was the best person to play the role, and he proved that almost instantly, and now almost everyone loves his performance and it will be another emotional event when he eventually regenerates into someone else.

There is every possibility that a woman will be cast to play the Doctor when Peter leaves, but they won’t be casting a woman, they will be casting the right person to play the role, to make the Doctor’s character their own.

The same could be said about everything else. They don’t cast white people, they cast those that they believe will be good at the role. However, sometimes, that isn’t always the case. Many people could be good at the role, but studious pick those that will make the film a financial success. That makes sense from a business side of things… sort of… Surely it would be better to cast someone who fits that specific character, that way people will connect with what they have read in the books or the comics, and make the film even more financially successful compared to what it would have done? That question is being explored, and is slowly being answered. Game of Thrones being a massive and trustworthy example, but it will be a while before we see it being definitively answered.

When Matt Smith was leaving Doctor Who, and I was asked who I would cast, I said, without hesitation, Haley Atwell. And when they asked why, I just told them to watch Captain America: The First Avenger.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)