Under the "compensation" heading, the call stated that actors of color would be paid more than white actors.
Monday, April 08, 2019
NYC Casting Call Says ‘White Artists’ Will Be Paid Less Than ‘POC Artists,’ And Undergo ‘Mandatory’ Session Of ‘Anti-Racism Training’
Under the "compensation" heading, the call stated that actors of color would be paid more than white actors.
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This is a tricky topic to discuss, but I think that makes it important for us to be talking about. I understand the desire to be pushing for stipulations like this, but I also believe that it might be hurting this cause rather than helping it in the overall scheme of things. Simply from a legal standpoint, I think it is risky to be putting out a casting call like this, because it is really just asking for litigation to be brought forward. More so than that, I think alienating white people like this is detrimental for the cause of equality and transparency with casting and our work in general. The point of work like this, I assume, is to promote equality and eliminate racism in our work, but I do not think making it specifically unequal in the opposite manner from how things have been is not the answer, because it completely undermines the base philosophy of the whole movement. Anyway, that is just what my thoughts on it are. I would like to keep up a conversation about this though, because I clearly do not have all of the information about it.
This is a really interesting predicament for a company to put themselves in. I think, at its core I understand the principle of what this company is trying to do. It’s attempting to level the playing field in a lot of ways. And it’s trying to be transparent about it, or maybe even bragging. But at the end of the day, they’ve put themselves in a pretty tough situation. They’re trying to do to white people what happened to POC every day. But you have to know when you’re explicit about it you’re going to be prosecuted. So unless they are trying to make a point, it seems like they’re unsuccessful. Whether they should be held legally accountable for discrimination is sort of another issue, and one that I’ve stated my opinion on enough and don’t feel like fighting about at this time. I’ll be interested to see just if/how legal action plays out in this case.
I totally understand the intention of leveling the playing field by subjecting white people to some of the injustices people of color have dealt with for years. In some ways I wonder if they are trying to tempt the law in this situation to showcase the hypocrisy of the situation. People of color have always been, and still in many cases are, paid less than white people, yet there is no litigation brought against them. The fact that this was pointed out so quickly shows the inherent racism in our justice system and in our culture in general. I wonder if that was their intention all along. I just find it hard to believe any company would genuinely do this without an ulterior motive because of the legal action that will certainly be taken against them. Honestly, I think the anti-racism training is great and I do not have any issues with it, although I understand that not requiring it for POC is illegal.
I get where this is coming from, but I don’t think it’s necessarily a step in the right direction in a practical sense. I think it serves as a useful protest because as soon as you read it, you think “hey unequal pay is unfair” and then, as a white person, maybe you take a step back and realize that you’re only upset about it now that it’s effecting you in a negative way even though it’s been occurring for all of time among women and people of color. From a practical standpoint, looking for real, positive progress toward equal pay and demolishing discrimination in the workplace, I don’t think that turning the tables is an effective method. I’m sure there is a desire to give white people a taste of their own medicine so to speak, and that’s understandable, but just as it’s true with minorities, demonizing an entire race for the actions of some is not a means to solving a problem. I think a much more effective way to set an example in the industry would have been to advertise equal pay regardless of race or gender and a mandatory equality in the workplace training because right now this casting call seems to be alienating rather than encouraging.
This wouldn't have been nearly as problematic if they had just said something along the lines of "due to the POC heavy content within this show, only smaller roles are available to white actors" rather than explicitly stating that they are going to pay POC more. I admire that they're trying to create a space for POC, and I actually think the mandatory training might be good, if under a different name that is a little less accusatory. I think that if they were just making it explicitly clear that this theater is dedicated to equal pay and giving the largest roles (and therefore the most money) to POC actors, it would have had the same effect without literally breaking the law. I strongly don't believe that antiracism exists, and I think that as a political commentary to show white people what POC have lived with their entire lives it's good, but I don't think that an actual job listing is the place for that political commentary.
This isn’t even a tricky conversation for me to discuss because this approach is a complete step in the wrong direction. Like Lenora said, you can cast only POC actors in lead roles to help start switching up the norm, but telling performers that only the POC will be paid more, no matter what role, is ridiculous. You have no idea how much I understand this mindset, being a person of color in the performing arts, it is truly hard to not want to put people through the same thing you and your past ancestors have gone through. But seeking revenge is just flipping the tables to the opposite of the current situation, which doesn’t help anyone, it just promotes more hatred for what is supposed to be a safe space for everyone. I’m interested to see how legalities hold up in the situation because the anti-racism training is great, but the explicitness of their claims could land this company is serious trouble.
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