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Then just last week more information about the film was released, and everything I had originally feared was reaffirmed. For starters, I learned that
Christy Marx, the creative female genius behind Jem and the Holograms, was never asked to be part of the film, or to even give it her blessing. She did speak to director Chu about the film, and said nothing but kind words about him, but on her
Facebook page she said:
Many people wonder how I feel about it. I don’t think I can hide that I’m deeply unhappy about being shut out of the project. That no one in the entertainment arm of Hasbro wanted to talk to me, have me write for it, or at the very least consult on it. I wouldn’t be human if that failed to bother me.
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I was pretty upset that none of the original three women were involved in the film, but I was still willing to give Chu and his reimagined Jem “for a whole new generation with themes of being true to who you are in a multitasking, hyperlinked social media age” a chance. Then they released the movie poster on the
official website:
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One of the biggest reasons why I loved the Holograms was because of their diverse backgrounds and different features, so it disappoints me tremendously that Chu didn’t embrace this. What kind of message about beauty is he sending to those of us who grew up watching Jem, and who now have girls of our own that may watch the film?
In an exchange with Perrineau on
twitter, Jamie elaborates on how her casting may not be racebending but still demonstrates the colorism that remains so prevalent in Hollywood.
@
AuroraPerrineau We are near the same complexion. So I get it. I'm just not happy to see the disparities in shade of Shana Elmsford.—
(@BlackGirlNerds)
April 26, 2014Really, you should just read
Jamie’s open letter to Aurora and the cast of the movie on BlackGirlNerds.com.
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