Summary of The Day Rue "Became" Black

00:00:00 - 00:30:00

The video discusses the casting of Rue and Thresh in the movie adaptation of "The Hunger Games." Some fans were upset because the character was described as black in the book, but was played by a white actress in the movie. However, the author points out that this is not the first time this has happened, and that white actors have always been cast in leading roles with black characters.

• 00:00:00 In 2008, Suzanne Collins' novel The Hunger Games was published and became a popular success. In 2011, Lionsgate announced the casting of Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth for the movie adaptation. The casting sparked controversy among fans because many felt that the actors chosen were not right for their roles. Eventually, Josh Hutcherson grew on people and people eventually grew to like the movie because of his performance as Peeta.
• 00:05:00 In 2011, Rue and Thresh were cast by actors Amandla Stenberg and Dayo Okeniyi. While the response was mostly positive, some fans were upset because the character was described as black in the book, but was played by a white actress in the movie. After the movie was released, Twitter started to react negatively to the casting.
• 00:10:00 In 1984, the leading actress in the movie Hud, Patricia Neal, won an Oscar for her role as a black woman. In Pay it Forward, Kevin Spacey's character was originally black, but in the adaptation process he was changed to be white. In Warm Bodies, the character played by Analeigh Tipton was described in the book as being half Ethiopian, but when it came time for the character to have a speaking part and to play a more important role in the story, she was replaced with a white actress. Western literature in general tends to center white writers and, in doing so, centers whiteness. Characters like Rue and Thresh, if they had been whitewashed, would have been far from the first characters in the history of cinema to be whitewashed. While a lot of fans did have gripes with this installment in the film franchise, none of those qualms had anything to do with Lavender suddenly being white. It's likely that no one noticed and it's just as likely that anyone who did notice simply didn't care. So, characters like Rue and Thresh, if they'd been cast with white actors, would have been far from the first characters in the history of cinema to be whitewashed.
• 00:15:00 Rue "became" black in the book "The Day Rue" after a white actor was cast to play the lead role. The author points out that this is not the first time this has happened, and that white actors have always been cast in leading roles with black characters. Some people are outraged by this, claiming that it's due to political correctness.
• 00:20:00 The author discusses the racism faced by Rue, a black character played by Amandla Stenberg, in the aftermath of her casting. The author cites research that shows that light-skinned black girls are seen as more innocent than dark-skinned black girls, and that this empathy gap leads filmmakers to believe it is impossible for white audiences to relate to black characters.
• 00:25:00 Rue "became" black for the movie adaptation of "The Hunger Games," and many white readers were upset because they found it harder to accept her as a character who is both black and innocent. Some defended themselves by saying that they thought dark/satiny brown skin meant olive skin, and that the description was too brief.
• 00:30:00 The video discusses how Rue and Thresh, two characters who are depicted as having darker skin than most, are not necessarily Black. This decision, made by Suzanne Collins, allows for a lot of interpretation of their race.