What do our Nancy Drew fans think of this CBS casting decision?

[zoobie]

People get upset when Jesus and Santa aren't white, so the outrage doesn't surprise me.

 

Hermione as black makes sense given the descriptors in the book. Nancy Drew I always pictured as a strawberry blonde, but it's fiction. I mean, recasting Scarlett O'Hara as black would be weird, but unless it's relevant to the story, who cares?

[Alice]

I think Nancy Drew is white. I think Hermione is white. I don't think that's a big deal to reinterpret the characters as different races. This might be a bad example, but isn't there a Sherlock Holmes show where Watson is female? So what? It's a different take on the character.

 

However, I was majorly offended when they released a book with Anne of Green Gables on the cover as a blond. Some things can be reinterpreted and some things are NOT allowed. :)

 

As a redhead, this is absolutely true. We claim Anne as ours. 

 

And multiquote isn't working for me but I agree with whoever said Nancy Drew is lame compared to Trixie Belden. Totally lame. 

[shinyhappypeople]

OK, I've come up with a better idea for a Nancy Drew reboot:

 

Nancy is a black teen detective in 1950s Detroit in a solidly middle-class family. Dad is a minister.  There are layers of conflict inherent in the premise: race, faith, as well as  gender and age expectations, etc.  

 

I would totally watch that show. :)

[Seasider]

Exactly: "Now in her 30s, Nancy is a detective for the NYPD where she investigates and solves crimes using her uncanny observational skills, all while navigating the complexities of life in a modern world." I'm gonna go out on a limb here and predict that there'll be a lot of conflict with a brusque supervisor, due to her unconventional methods and disdain for rules and regulations. :001_rolleyes:

 

I'm picturing CBS execs sitting around brainstorming new shows: "Well..... we rebooted Sherlock Holmes as a detective for NYPD where he investigates and solves crimes using his uncanny observational skills all while navigating the complexities of the modern world, and that was a hit, so doing the exact same thing with another fictional character should be equally successful, amirite? Oh, and maybe if we cast a nonwhite actress it will seem edgy and original and no one will notice that the premise is totally derivative, unimaginative, and unconnected with the fictional Nancy Drew in any way whatsoever!" <execs high five each other>

 

(FWIW, despite the headline of the BBC article referencing a black Nancy Drew, the producers have never said that she would be black, only that she would be "nonwhite" — in fact, they explicitly said they'd be "open to any ethnicity.")

You know, I originally said I couldn't picture a nonwhite Nancy Drew. But if the setting is so drastically changed, it doesn't really matter.

 

But truly...how unoriginal.

[Bluegoat]

Is the idea with her being older to change up the scenario a bit?  So - as if we are looking at her down the line from when the books were set?

 

I can see them doing this in order to appeal to an older audience - women who read ND books as teens, but might not find a show about an actual teenager that engrossing.  Also, it means they can sex it up.

[Slojo]

Actually, what bugged me is that this new Nancy will be a woman in her 30's. What in the world?

Yes. This is what bugged me! The joy of ND was that she was a teen. I loved me some ND! The race of Nancy? Whatevs! But she will always be an 18-year old in my mind. 

 

It doesn't bother me at all and I was an avid Nancy Drew fan.  Do I picture her like she looked on the covers of the old versions?  Sure.  But her race and looks were not integral to the plots or the general character of Nancy Drew, in my opinion. 

Same here. I picture her like she is in the old hardcover books, but then again, I had like 30 of the books so the image was cemented. But I do have clear memories of imagining her two best friends as Asian and Black. I spent a lot of time imagining what they'd look like. 

 

This is interesting. I was surprised by the Hermione thing initially but quickly got over it. The ND one makes total sense to me for the reasons I said above - that the character has changed over time anyway and had several series with different feels to them.

 

The reactions here make me feel like casting roles from books as black in movies means you can't win. When it's a role that doesn't include a racial description, apparently it must be white. When it's one that was white, it must be white. When it's one that was black... it still must be white for some people, who apparently don't read all that closely (I'm thinking of the bizarre twitter outrage about Rue in Hunger Games).

Exactly, there's nothing that says that Nancy couldn't be black. And it's not central to the story. I do think that in casting and the collective "mind's eye" in fiction, the default is white. 

 

I don't care much provided it is about the story and not some weird token nod. I like authentic casting choices, not pressured and social commentary ones.

 

But that's me and I'm white, so maybe if feel differently if I wasn't well represented in media. If the actress is good it will be good enough for me.

What's an authentic casting choice? Sure, for a small range of roles, it is absolutely necessary to cast an ethnically specific actor or actress in the role. But for a wider range than actually occurs, it's not that necessary nor does it make the story line more authentic. And while we are being authentic... umm, Charlton Heston as Moses? Almost any white actor in the role of Egyptians in the Ten Commandments? Just about any popular cinematographic depiction of Jesus in all of modern movie history? Talk about being pressured to make non-authentic casting choices... 

 

I picture Nancy Drew white because of the book covers. One can easily see ND was created at a time when no main character representing "good" would have been anything but white. However, she can be black. There are black people with reddish hair, if that's a sticking point. It's annoying that people find this controversial. I don't know why we can't get past that. Are people just stuck at the first half of the twentieth century? I bet the new ND has a cell phone--that's not authentic either is it. If we modernize for technology we can change other things too and still keep the core of the character.

 

How, I don't think ND should be 30. That is definitely getting away from the core of the character.

How do we know the black actress won't have reddish hair? Knowing Hollywood, they might have a lot of fun with that with a black actress (I know I would - just how many dope styles could Nancy wear her titian hair in? LOL!)... and, a cell phone, yes... the new Nancy would have a cell phone. Love it!

Edited January 20, 2016 by Slojo

[hopskipjump]

I don't even bat an eyelash at this particular casting decision. Nancy Drew could use an update.

 

I'm far more upset that ABC is remaking Dirty Dancing into a tacky TV musical with Abigail Breslin as Baby. :huh: 

 

Where have all the original ideas gone?? :confused1:

[Tanaqui]

It's always safer to reboot or update an older series than to try to make a new one, and there's nothing new about that! People have been doing it for thousands of years.