- Program：Master’s Program
- Enrollment in：April 2022
- Study Plan：Culture and Communication
- Directed Research: Visual Culture
Message
For my master’s thesis, I am researching minority representations in media. I focus on the possibilities and difficulties of authentic casting of minority groups (disabled people, sexual/gender minorities, people of color/foreign people/immigrants) and the depictions of those groups in movies and television. Authenticity in casting has been bringing a heated debate throughout the world, with the question of whether roles should be reserved for actors with the same lived experiences as a character or not. For example, when a cisgender, heterosexual actor portraying an LGBTQIA+ character, or a neurotypical actor playing a neurodivergent character, controversies arise. I personally believe movies and shows such as CODA (2021) and Pose (2018-21) brought cultural value in implementing the practice of authentic representation, increasing opportunities for actors and actresses with diverse backgrounds.
On one hand, authentic casting of actors and actresses whose unique perspectives have not been addressed throughout the history of visual media provides them with more employment opportunities. Some argue that authentic casting prevents depiction of harmful stereotypes and empowers the communities in real life. On the other hand, the notion of authenticity might be used to force actors to openly speak about their identity and intrude on their private lives. A good example of this was the case of a closeted bisexual actor forced to come out after being accused of “queerbaiting” as he played a bisexual character on the Netflix series Heartstopper (2022-). The notion of authentic casting has the potential risk of making intricacies of casting and representation fall into a simple dichotomy of “real” and “unreal”, leading to categorizing people in an essentialist manner.
In my thesis, I will be analyzing movies produced in Japan, including Katasode no sakana [The Fish with One Sleeve] (2021) and Mai sumoru rando [My Small Land] (2022), focusing on why or why not has the director followed authentic casting, and what were the outcomes of such decisions, such as the reactions of audiences inside and outside of the minority groups. The social and political situation in Japan is different to that of the US or the UK, so I will look at the legal system of protecting minorities or anti-discriminations legislation in Japan and explore the opportunities and obstacles of actors/actresses working with their identities open to the public.
