As a Screen & Playwright I have worked in TV, FIlm & Video Production for over 30 years. I have worked many different projects and am noticing a trend that I don’t like and I find it racist.

The trend is for producers to take historically factual characters like ANNE BOYLAN, who was a wife to KING HENRY THE 8TH cast as a black woman. Then there is this play featuring the ALL BLACK CAST OF #DEATHOFASALESMAN“, a 3 hour play running currently on Broadway & 44th Street.

Why was it cast with all black actors? What would happen if the play PORKY & BESS was cast as an all white show? Would anyone find fault with that? Why would our society have fits online because an all black show is cast with white people but not the opposite?

Now, I don’t care about a fictitious play because there are not many roles for an all black cast and it’s interesting to see the approach a black cast has towards proven famous material which may change the dynamic of the entire play’s issues it brings up. However, when producers take historically factual characters and produce their project with another race – I find fault with that and find it insulting to the original person who inhabited that body – those facts. I don’t think it’s praise to alter their race and frankly in the film for #anneboleyn (tv series netflix) only the character of ANNE & her BROTHER are black.

I don’t know how other people feel about this but I would be the exception if asked if I thought it was a project I would feel comfortable being involved with. I wouldn’t be comfortable with turning a historical figure and altering their race or culture or any other historical part of their history into something else. It’s preference and yeah PREFERENCE is a CHOICE. I write that because most people say you are born with your PREFERENCES – it’s not true. We made decisions-aka-choices every.single.day.

If anyone is wondering I lean left – so do that rest of us in Cognitive Fungus however we are not all the way left or all the way right – we sit on a fence in the middle of life and arguments. It depends on the issue at hand on how we form our opinions. IF SOMEONE TELLS YOU YOUR OPINION IS WRONG – just smile at them and keep going where ever you were headed. People like that don’t have a clue what they are talking about. That’s just one of my life lessons. If you keep walking away that person will either get upset and argue with themselves or they will feel like they won. What have they won? Not a damn thing – and that’s why you walk away.

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