HBO Eyeing Neil Gaiman’s American Gods; Will a Casting Race Fail Soon Follow?
ARE WE TOO BUSY TO TAKE A MOMENT TO SAY SOMETHING?
IF WE ARE TOO BUSY, DOESN’T THAT MEAN THAT WE’VE CHOSEN NOT TO INTERRUPT A CYCLE OF UNINTENDED WORD-VIOLENCE ON A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO MANY OF US SAY WE RESPECT, LOVE, ADMIRE AND HONOR?
A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHOSE CHILDREN DON’T SUCCEED IN SCHOOL?
A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHOSE CHILDREN COMMIT SUICIDE WAY TOO OFTEN?
See what I wanted from Neil Gaiman? Due to his status, he is a person of influence. I wanted him to use that influence and that incident in a much larger way than he did. If he did, his words would be a powerful force that would work towards a decrease in the messed-up ways that American Indians and Indigenous peoples are portrayed in children’s and young adult books, and in society (like the Hilfiger ad), too.
How much influence does Gaiman ultimately have?
Quite a bit, actually. Another reason Neil earned my adoration was his conversation about why the book Anansi Boys wasn’t ultimately made into a film, though the screenplay was finished and the rights were optioned:
Gaiman had offers to make a film out of his 2005 best seller Anansi Boys, about the sons of an African god discovering their magical background while living in the corrupt modern world, but moviemakers wanted to change the lead black characters to white or drop the magical elements altogether.
“I don’t need the money,” Gaiman says. “Not needing the money puts me in a magical place because I can say no. I like the idea of having good movies made or having no movies made.”
So theoretically, he could flex his authority with HBO and Pantone to ensure that American Gods doesn’t become yet another white washed adaptation.
The Gods referenced run the gamut – Loki, Odin, Anansi, Kali, Bast, Anubis, and Ganesha all have roles. So, theoretically, this should be a windfall for actors of color who want to get into fantasy worlds. In addition, with the main character being mixed race with an indigenous woman as a love interest, all the producers would have to do is go by the descriptions in the book to have a racially balanced adaptation. And Gaiman, while not immune from all the issues that inform the worlds fantasy writers create, has shown a willingness to discuss and engage with critique in a way that other authors do not.
I’m going to be cautiously optimistic – but let’s all keep an eye out for casting notices.
(Note: For the purposes of this conversation, let’s leave his spouse – Amanda Palmer – out of this. She has her own set of race fail and ability fail, but it would be impossible to state as outsiders where her views and Gaiman’s views intersect or diverge.)
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