Changes: But Are They For the Better?

 After the flap a couple of months ago about racist "fans" attacking Moses Ingram on Obi-Wan Kenobi for the sin of being black, I had a weird train of thought that seemed appropriate for Insecure Wednesday.  I got thinking about how a lot of the time the people who make these complaints will say the character isn't supposed to be black (or Asian, Latinx, or whatever) in the comics or book or video game or whatever.  Sometimes it's funny like when people complained about a contestant in the Hunger Games not being black in the book when she was in fact described in the book as being black.  Duh.

I got thinking that as the author, how would I feel if they made a show of A Hero's Journey or Chance of a Lifetime and cast a black actress as Emma Earl or Stacey Chance?  Would I whine and complain that those characters are white in the books?  (I mean, you can clearly see Emma is white on the cover of A Hero's Journey.)

I want to think that it wouldn't matter to me so long as the woman they hire is good enough to bring the character to life in the way that I wrote her.  It doesn't really matter that Emma is a ginger on the outside so much as her personality.  She's a shy, bookish, polite, and highly-intelligent young woman and yet when she feels strongly about something, she does not back down or give in.  That's why she's the one called to become the Scarlet Knight in the first place. 

Steve Fischer as Steve is gruff and a heavy drinker while inside mourning that he has lost his wife and daughter.  He's also brave, determined, and incorruptible, which is how he winds up at the scene of the robbery that ends up turning him into Stacey Chance.  Stacey is far more vulnerable and emotional and yet when push comes to shove (especially when it comes to Steve's daughter) she's still as brave and determined as she was as a man.

If the actress can bring those traits to life, it doesn't matter what color they are, right?  Right?  I mean, that's the theory.  As much as I want to think it wouldn't bug me, I know I'm not that squeaky clean.  But the thing is, ANY change is probably going to bug me to some extent.  I mean, I love these books.  If it were up to me, any TV shows or movies would be exact replicas of the books I wrote.  What I really want is for people to see what I saw in my head when I wrote it.

But I'm also pragmatic enough to know that can't happen.  There always have to be changes for time or pacing or maybe (like Ready Player One) there are licenses that can't be acquired.  Or there are changes because some nutty producer wants a giant spider in it.  At the end of the day it's really about whether the end product is well-made and a good representation of the spirit of the story.

That's what I keep telling myself.  Maybe someday I'll really believe it.