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Edited by Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM
I'd like to see what Olsen actually said before "cancelling" her. And I do want to kind of clarify that when I was grouping her with other MCU actresses, I did not intend a specific attack on MCU actresses. Like Chris Pratt clearly has some far right views given his social media follows and I haven't felt positively towards Robert Downey Jr. since he defended Mel Gibson.
It's just that neither of them have thus far monetized their bad views/ they are a bit quieter about them. And yeah, Brie Larson promoting an NFT is not anywhere comparable to any of the above.
Also, at least my impression was that the joke with Wanda's "Sokovian Fortune Teller" costume is in part that it's a euphemistic way of saying Hot Gypsy Woman.
Like it's a double edged Cheap Costume joke. Out of universe, the joke is that the costume is actually Wanda's costume from the comics. But I think part of joke is also that the costume is being called "Sokovian Fortune Teller" instead of "hot gypsy woman" or something like that.
Edited by Hodor2 on Feb 5th 2022 at 12:43:20 PM
This is what she said:
"I was so excited! We have a Halloween episode and they were trying to figure out how big of a nod to the character we were going to do and it did start off with the classic Scarlet Witch costume. It was kind of like a gypsy thing that has to wear a headband and I, like, fought for it. I was like 'No, we have to go full into it... this is like the greatest thing, if Paul's doing it, I'm doing it."
It's essentially what you thought, perhaps you can take it as insensitive, but this doesn't feel like a great sin to me.
You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the midThank you.
So yeah, not cancellation material.
Also, as a side note, I do find it interesting that Vision's Cheap Costume is framed as being a Mexican Luchador costume.
While it clearly isn't, I think that kind of underscores the idea that the show is riffing on the idea of "offensive ethnic costumes", while also making a joke about how Wanda and Vision wore some goofy looking costumes in the comics.
Edited by Hodor2 on Feb 5th 2022 at 12:49:04 PM
Instead of us non-Romani deciding arbitrarily how good or bad WandaVision on depictions of Roma culture, I’d rather point to actual Romani perspectives, like so.
To me (and that article above seems to be saying the same thing) this is ultimately an issue more with Wandavision as a whole, than with Elizabeth Olsen and her comments unilaterally. I think that's what Hodor is getting at here when he says it's not cancellation material.
It's very different, from, say, what Gina Carano pulled with her statements. Or the other actresses, whose controversial statements were made independently of or outright in conflict with their production. While it's certainly not a good thing for Olsen to say, the issue originates way above her and it's unfair to make her shoulder the majority of the blame.
Edited by AlleyOop on Feb 5th 2022 at 2:36:18 PM
I was gonna write something more elaborate, but Alley somes up my thoughts. At worst Olsen's comments are maybe insensitive, but most of the problems come from the show, and what it takes from the comics, not I feel Olsen herself.
Edited by jjjj2 on Feb 5th 2022 at 2:12:43 PM
You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the midI think Downey's defence of Mel comes from the fact that the latter helped him out a lot when he was in rehab or something.
Like, I've never known the full details, but Downey got really messed up, and Mel helped pull him back up. So I can get why he'd defend him, even if what Mel did was legitimately awful. It's hard to turn on someone who may have saved your life (if things with Downey got that bad, I'm not sure).
One Strip! One Strip!I think one broader point is the sometimes grey line between a racist/offensive joke and a joke about racist/offensive jokes.
And I do note that Wandavision also has fake commercials that (pretty accurately) riff on the sexist commericals of various eras.
Also, I'm reminded of how in the same episode, the Fake Pietro tells this false in-universe) memory of tirck-or-treating as kids in Sokovia and they get fish heads instead of candy.
It's basically a sort of Yaakov Smirnov joke about backwards Eastern Europe/the Soviet Union. But the show itself is not presenting that as reality, because Fake!Pietro's basically bullshitting and daring Wanda to call him out.
If an actual Romani witch is offended enough by it to write an article explaining exactly why they are offended by it, it clearly didn't handle the issue well enough.
Edited by M84 on Feb 6th 2022 at 3:28:07 AM
Disgusted, but not surprisedI was actually more insensed by that time mexican director Alejandro Iñárritu said superhero movies were "cultural genocide" (which feels like a pretty massive hyperbole, but that's neither here nor there) and Downey Jr thought it was a good idea to respond to that with the famous come-back of "Look, I respect the heck out of him and for a man whose native tongue is Spanish to be able to put together a phrase like ‘cultural genocide’ just speaks to how bright he is".
"It's impressive the mexican can even speak english!" is a pretty xenophobic and patronizing way to respond to a foreigner making a cultural critique. He later said the comments were meant to be complimentary but that is a stretch.
"All you Fascists bound to lose."Oh god.
I watched that movie and liked it, despite what they did.
I don't know what's wrong with me.
And Downey is an idiot for saying that.
One Strip! One Strip!I maintain that the joke there works; the movie is saying "this is what you shouldn't do as a method actor and it's horrifically offensive", but that was still a very stupid thing for Downey to say.
You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the midAnd it's admittedly easier to decide to let it slide if one is not a member of the group said actor said stupid shit about in the first place.
It's easy to separate the work from the artist when you're not one of the people being hurt by the artist.
Edited by M84 on Feb 6th 2022 at 3:58:27 AM
Disgusted, but not surprisedI think casting Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch was a misstep, but I also really love the MCU rendition of Scarlet Witch, and I appreciate that she's trying to correct that misstep by influencing the writing and playing the character more in-line with her comics roots. They're not going to re-cast her after 5 major outings, one being a starring role, so I like that she's making an effort to improve her portrayal of the character.
Edited by PushoverMediaCritic on Feb 5th 2022 at 1:08:59 PM
To center the criticisms primarily around Olsen is a case of Mis-blamed I feel (and it Disney would b e very happy to distract the public with an easy scapegoat), and I wouldn't be surprised if she's social media-shy in general after the absolute bullshit heaped upon her over Chadwick Boseman's death.
What's done is done re:casting, and stepping aside in favor of a new actress is a highly unlikely fringe scenario, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have other options to do something constructive regarding Romani representation. For example, Olsen could be using her platform to boost the visibility of real-life Romani figures, or she could reach out to Romani activists who are willing to have conservations about ways to handle her depiction of the group in a way that is more sensitive and informative (and thus enrichens Wanda as a character).
Edited by AlleyOop on Feb 5th 2022 at 3:33:22 PM
Indeed, people associating actors with specific characters over a long period of time has proven to be a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, having an actor play one specific character for many installments allows one to become really invested as they follow along with their character. And unlike the comics, when a character is finally retired because the actor wants to move on, the chances of them forcibly reviving the character to keep making money off them basically vanishes.
On the other hand, you have things where people associate Scarlet Witch with Elizabeth Olsen too much to be able to simply recast her to avoid the whitewashing situation. Same with Chadwick Boseman's unexpected death basically ending T'Challa's role in the MCU far too prematurely.
Adding on to the above, those ideas for how Olsen could really improve Scarlet Witch would be really beneficial. Of course, we're likely going to get many people who'll just want Wanda recasted with an actual Romani actress, but the idea of being as respectful to the Romani culture is a good idea.
Edited by MatthewWayne on Feb 5th 2022 at 12:25:10 PM
"I'm Mr. Blue, woah-woah-ooh..."I think Elizabeth Olsen delivers a great performance as Wanda, even if casting her in the first place was a misstep. I wouldn't want them to suddenly re-cast her, Olsen's performance is a big reason why I love MCU Scarlet Witch. What's done is done, and I like that she's making an effort nowadays to portray the character better.
Wait, why did she get attacked over Chadwick's death?
Did she give her thoughts on whether he should be re-casted or not and get verbally rekt by those opposing that idea?
One Strip! One Strip!

The US does have a significant Romani American population (many Romani were sent to the Americas as slaves during the colonial era, because that kind of thing was totally legal at the time, for those of you who want to feel good about humanity), but due to existing prejudice many of them kept their identities under wraps in favor of emphasizing their national origin.
I wonder if, given the circumstances, it's possible for some kind of Romani American movement to surface to reclaim the name and spread awareness. I do wonder if part of the hesitance is due to the different way that Americans perceive the group so that an inaccurate but non-hateful opinion is preferable to knowledge 4with actual hostility.
Edited by AlleyOop on Feb 5th 2022 at 12:54:12 PM