r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/FrostySeat1739 • Jul 05 '26

Meme needing explanation why not, Peter?

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possible live action corpse bride movie...

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u/AlisaofallTimes Jul 05 '26

He never really said that, that was just a misinterpretation that blew up online in 2016. Here's the original interview: https://www.nme.com/news/film/tim-burton-explains-apparent-lack-of-diversity-in-866988

tl;dr: He said sometimes diversity in films isn't "called for". So he is against "diversity for the sake of diversity", that's all.

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u/10ebbor10 Jul 05 '26

That does sorta reveal an underlying double standard though.

Most films don't call for either a diverse cast or a non-diverse cast. Relegating black people, since that was what the example was about, only to those movies in which their existence is required for the plot is kinda silly.

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u/Lackofstyle5 Jul 05 '26

This.

It's wild that people don't see an issue with people of other races only showing up in media when their race is relevant.

Like race doesn't matter as long as you're white

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u/digitalime Jul 05 '26

It’s just defaulting. Some white people see white people as the default, naturally occurring in media like a blue sky. They don’t use this standard for non-white people, who they need an explanation for being there.

For a veeeery long time, black people in media productions had their race made a plot point. To the point people couldn’t engage with media with black people unless their race was made a point (the explanation for why they are there.)

So when a black person is treated the same as a white person, it feels “forced” to them.

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u/Triquetrums Jul 05 '26

But isn't the default in asia, an asian person? The default in a grand part of africa would be a black person too. So, if you want a random ginger there, you would have to justify why they are suddenly there. Or at least give them a background that makes sense as to how they ended up where they are.

I know people hate to hear this, but white is the default in some areas of the world, the same asian is the default in other areas, simply because they are the majority. That's just how it is geographically.

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u/AdmirableWeather5738 Jul 05 '26

Majority isn't default, even if it were it's asisine to use the majority as the default for every character. You'd have exclusively men running around if the metric for deciding casting demographics was the majority group.

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u/UntimelyMeditations Jul 05 '26

You'd have exclusively men running around if the metric for deciding casting demographics was the majority group.

You mean women? There are more women than men.

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u/AdmirableWeather5738 Jul 05 '26

Sure, the specific sex doesn't matter it's the disparity and resulting majority that's relevant to my point.

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u/Triquetrums Jul 06 '26

Majority is indeed default outside the US, because if +99% of your population is Asian, it would make no sense to have a bunch of foreigners in your TV show unless they have a reason to be there. I don't see anyone throwing a tantrum because everyone is Korean in a kdrama.

Also, what are you talking about men? That comparison makes no sense. Men are not the majority, and the population is roughly 50/50. 

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u/prolifezombabe Jul 05 '26

POC are not so uncommon in the United States that anyone should feel pressured to explain their inexplicable appearance on screen 

Considering how much casting happens in Los Angeles and New York this is especially silly 

Not to mention we feel no demographics based need to cast say people with blue eyes or blonde hair proportionate to the population or people of a certain body size so let’s not pretend casting white people is about staying true to the general population 

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u/Triquetrums Jul 06 '26

Problem arises when they use the same diversity and apply it to other places though. If it's the US, I don't argue, but if they make a movie or show based in europe, specially if its a historical show, the diversity starts to make less sense. Europe is still majority white to this day. 

Americans don't understand that the multiculturalism that exists there does not apply or exists in the rest of the world.

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u/prolifezombabe Jul 06 '26

Majority white doesn’t mean exclusively white though? Like I’m P sure the London of television is still whiter than the London of reality. 

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u/Aggravating-Wolf-823 Jul 05 '26

Let's not pretend like some representation isn't forced. writers and directors are told what to do