Odessa A’zion being cast in Sean Durkin’s Deep Cuts, an adaptation of Holly Brickley’s novel of the same name, is real-time erasure of Latine representation in Hollywood.
But the problem of Latine representation in film and TV is bigger than A’zion accepting the role. It’s even bigger than the role being offered to her, and the character she was to play, that of Zoe Guiterrez, reportedly being rewritten to remove all traces of Latinidad so it could fit A’zion. However, the backlash to A’zion’s casting and her ultimate response does prove that being vigilant and calling out Hollywood for mistakes in representation works. And we should keep doing it.
On Wednesday, January 28, just a couple of days after the casting was first reported and backlash grew, A’zion posted on Instagram stories, saying, “Guys!! I am with ALL of you, and I am NOT doing this movie.”
She also added, “I AGREE WITH EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU! This is why I love you guys. I’m so sorry that this happened. It is SO important for me to let you in on how it all went down: I went in for Percy, but was offered Zoe instead and instantly said yes! I’m so pissed y’all, I hadn’t read the book and should have paid more attention to all aspects of Zoe before accepting…and now that I know what I know???”
““F*** that. I’m out! I’d never take a role from someone else that’s meant to do it. That SHOULD do it! That’s not me. There are a plentitude of people more than capable of playing this role and I am not one of them. I can’t wait to see who it ends up being.”
Deep Cuts, which stars Cailee Spaeny and Drew Starkey, is a romance between two music-obsessed twenty-somethings that “examines the nature of talent, obsession, belonging, and above all, our need to be heard.” In the book, Zoe Guiterrez, the character A’zion was set to play is half Mexican, half Jewish. A’zion is not Mexican. She is Jewish, though. So, it’s pretty clear which part of the character’s heritage production chose to emphasize.
The problem is, of course, that in Deep Cuts, the fact that Zoe is Mexican isn’t just something that’s mentioned and not brought up again. It informs who her character is. Which, one would think, would be enough reason to keep it in the script for the adaptation. One would be wrong. However, even if Zoe being Mexican wasn’t as integral to the plot, it still wouldn’t be okay to whitewash the character for convenience’s sake, or worse, to be able to cast an ‘It’ girl.
But A’zion’s casting and her response very clearly illustrate not just the problem of the lack of Latine representation in Hollywood, but what the solution should be in a space that ignores us and rewards actors who decide a paycheck is more important than being an ally. We should be calling them out.
Situations like A’zion’s have happened before. In 2017, Ed Skrein was originally cast as Major Ben Daimio in Hellboy, when he learned the character was meant to be Asian. He backed out of the film due to the controversy that followed. But it hasn’t happened enough. Instead, what we often see is what Deep Cuts was ready to do: rewrite established characters to fit an actor instead of doing the work to cast characters authentically.
The problem is compounded by the fact that there are barely any Latine roles to begin with, with actresses like Euphoria’s Alexa Demie considering quitting acting due to Hollywood overlooking Latinas for lead roles. And when Latinas do get roles, it’s ones that reinforce stereotypes. So, if performers from our communities don’t just have to compete against each other, but against every other actor in Hollywood for the few parts that should fit them perfectly, on top of avoiding roles that are stereotypes, then the deck is even more stacked against us than we thought.
A’zion should only be commended up to a point for deciding to step down. Because the way we got there was by having people call her out, repeatedly. But when it comes to authentic representation in Hollywood, we’ve lost before. Like when Angelina Jolie played Afro-Cuban journalist Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart, when Ben Affleck played CIA operative Antonio J. Mendez, who is of Mexican descent, in Argo, and when Carey Mulligan played Chilean-American Felicia Montealegre in Maestro. And this is without taking into account the multiple non-Latine actors who have won Oscars for playing Latine characters.
Going forward, we need accountability, and especially in the political climate we’re living in, we need real allies. Because it shouldn’t take a controversy or social media backlash for a non-Latine actor to have our backs. After all, all we’re asking for are roles that showcase the realities of the world we live in, a world that is much more diverse than we’re used to seeing on screen. Otherwise, Hollywood is just going to do what it does best: take the easy way out and let people from outside our communities define what Latin Americans are truly like.
