Do you remember the commotion that there was because a black Hermione Granger was chosen in a play? And the controversy of a lot of people who “isn’t racist, but” when it was said that Ariel would be Halle Bailey? Well then The history repeats it selfthis time with the Disney+ series dedicated to ‘Percy Jackson’ and the choice of leah jeffries as Annabeth Chase. Jeffries is 13 years old but that hasn’t stopped many from insulting and harassing her online. There are few better ways to show that you are an absolute jerk.
Leah Jeffries as Annabeth Chase
Rick Riordan, the author of the saga five books, has posted on his blog, noticeably angry, calling out all racist fans and stating that the choice was one hundred percent his. And if you think you respect the saga more than the author, you have a problem.
If you have a problem with this casting, pick on me. You have no one else to blame. Whatever you make of this post, we should all agree that stalking a girl online is inexcusable. As strong as Leah is, as much as we’ve talked about the possibility of this kind of backlash and the intense pressure this role will bring, the negative feedback she’s received online is way over the line. They have to stop. Now.
Riordan claims that he has sought out the best actors who encapsulate your characters, and that physical appearance was secondary to him. After a year, these are the chosen ones. Leah Jeffries is Annabeth Chase, she doesn’t care who she cares about. In addition, the author takes the opportunity to throw a little dirt before the “I’m not racist, but” that swarm so much on the Internet.
Some of you have apparently been offended when your complaints are branded as racist. “But I’m not racist,” you say. “It’s not racist to want an actor who looks like the character’s description in the book!” Let’s examine this. You are angry/disappointed/frustrated that a black actor has been cast to portray a character described as white in the books. “He doesn’t look like how he had already imagined her.” You are judging whether she is appropriate for this role solely based on what she is like. She is a black girl playing someone who has been described in the books as white. Friends, that is racism.
I’m pretty sure there are people on the other side of the screen right now willing to write a comment explaining why they’re not racist but. But first it might be a good idea to reflect a little. The author of the books himself says that the character’s race doesn’t matter. “You refuse to believe me, the guy who wrote these books and created the characters, when I say that these actors are perfect because of the talent they have and the way they used the auditions to expand, enhance and electrify the script they were given.”
It is curious that in a saga of books such as that of Percy Jackson, in which it is marked over and over again that what makes the characters strong is the difference have such reluctant fans to accept it. “That neurodivergent child the one who has been kicked out of six schools, for example, could be the son of Poseidon. Anyone can be a hero.”
If you don’t understand this, if you’re still mad about the choice of this wonderful trio, then it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve read the books. You haven’t learned anything from them.
Of course all this has happened, happens and will happen again. And there will be rivers of tears online when an X-Men is black if in the comics it was not, as there has been with the choice of the new Doctor (remember, an alien who has been alive for more than a thousand years) or the characters of ‘The Lord of the Rings’. It is surprising that so many years of watching series about the power of understanding, the strength of difference and something as basic as race being a social construct has been so misunderstood by forty-year-old men typing sentences on a keyboard made as “I’m not racist, but”, “forced inclusion” or “progressive agenda”. It’s 2022, people. It’s about time stop being racistbecause the world has evolved without you.