AIBU to think objections to Snape casting are mostly racist?

[OhNoooooooooooooooo]

I'm fed up of people moaning about Paapa Essiedu being cast as Snape, making out "ohhhh waaahhh, it's not true to source material"

As if Alan Rickman was the perfect choice, he was too old, too fat, too handsome, etc

And as if the other character don't match their description. The boy playing Ron is definitely not tall, lanky and with a big nose. Dumbledore is American. Hermione is not mixed race in the books. Seamus has sandy hair in the books,Etc etc

People are just racist and trying to hide behind the books - as if they're some sort of historical record and not a children's book about a wizard....

I saw him do Hamlet, he was brilliant. Not sure he is right for this part.

But when they do the scenes of James et al bullying Snape, it's going to appear as if it were or could have been racially motivated, when that wasn't the case in the original story. I think that's the only issue most of us have.

It certainly makes James Potter look racist by having him hate and bully Snape for no apparent reason.

Some, yes.
Other objection was Snape was a victim of severe bullying, and whether the optics of a black child beinng physically attacked by 4 white children was right.

But they're not announced casting for Lupin or Sirius yet? Presumably someone at HBO has has a tiny thought about this and will cast appropriately?
(And they have at least another year to have a think about it if they haven't already?)

Why is it an issue? James and Sirious were young prats and wouldn't be magically unable to bully a black boy just because he was black (meaning being black wasn't a shield from them, not necessarily the reason for bullying).

Not casting an interesting actor just because a potential racist interpretations about another book character sounds.... racist to me.

This. James lifts Snape up and dangles him upside down by his legs. How will that look with James and the marauders being white and Snape being black?

There were so many characters they could have Paapa Essiedu play. Very few of the characters in the book had their race specifically noted. Lupin would have been a great choice. Also, FYI, Hermione is never specified as being white - it mentions she has curly hair and she could 100% be thought of as BAME.

Snape was specifically written as white. He's supposed to be sallow skinned, greasy, lank haired and hawk nosed. Essiudu has none of those characteristics. As for your argument about Ron not being tall or lanky - at least he's ginger! There's something there to reflect the written Ron. This Snape has ZERO similarities. As PP have mentioned, his being played by a black actor will cast the whole storyline of his childhood into a very different light.

Also, I disagree with Lithgow being Dumbledore. He's too old and I highly doubt he'll see the series through. I think we'll see lots of cast changes over the series and it will spoil things. is there not already rumblings that one of the three main child characters might not be staying?!

Hopefully.

Any of the other major chatacters would have worked fine. The Malfoys, Dumbledore, Mcgonagall, even Harry.

YANBU OP, I can’t understand the angst over casting choices in a a fantasy show about wizards, and PE is a brilliant actor who I think will bring the depth needed for Snape.

James bullies Snape because Snape is a loner, a misfit , and James is a “popular” boy, and this is further escalated by Snape’s friendship with Lily. And actually so what if the bullying makes people uncomfortable- it should! There is a hint of ‘it’s ok for James to bully a white Snape, but not a black Snape’ well, no he shouldnt be bullying anyone!

There is a massive irony in tbat the Muggleborn vs Pureblood theme is a definite analogy of racism in real life.

I think the problem is it's too soon to do another version of HP.

Everyone who is a fan knows and recognises the original cast.

The books and subsequent films were and continue to be very popular.

This version isn't really needed.

It'll make money, therefore it's needed. Showbiz is a business after all

OP, just a thought, but rather than assuming you have psychic abilities and know everyone's motives and opinions, why don't you try just asking them?

The original films look extremely dated to children now.

I think the issue is that viewers aren’t supposed to hate James and racist bullying is hard to get past. Frankly I don’t like James for bullying Snape full stop. I think casting Hermione as black in the Cursed Child was a great move and there’s plenty of room for characters to be black (how about a black Dumbledore or McG?) but I wouldn’t have cast him as Snape.

I will still watch it though. He can win me round 😀

I think that's fair. Arguably, Alan Rickman being extremely attractive and looking absolutely incredible stalking around in his billowing costume 'deformed' the character as written just as much away from a hook-nosed, greasy-haired grotesque, and probably had the effect of 'softening' his dreadful, vindictive behaviour towards Harry as a teacher because he looked sexy while doing it. Yes, the scene where James and co suspend Snape in the air will look like a lynching if they cast white actors as James and the other marauders, but so what? It's an importantly unpleasant and discombobulating moment in the novels.

If I were going to raise an eyebrow about casting for the HBO HP, it would probably be casting such an elderly actor as Dumbledore, as it seems very likely he will need to be replaced, as Richard Harris was in the film series.

Well I objected to a female Dr Who, can I be sexist against myself?
Capaldi had already ruined it, though. The Doctor is supposed to at least have personality and we'd got used to them being attractive. However I didn't do my yearly visit to The Old Vic, Scrooge when they first cast a black actor and it's putting me off this year, because Scrooge is white. I'm mixed heritage from immigrant background on both sides.

Maybe they'll cast Sirius with a black man.

@DearlyDiegoby that account actually he could have been Asian/East Asian/arab or loads of other ethnicities who may have a more pale or different tone to skin and straight/dark hair

Im hoping that the series as it goes on will pick up all the bits that the films left out which moved away from the books plots. In goblet of fire for example because winky or other house elves apart from dobby hadnt been introduced it changed key bits in the plot. Plus they need to get sirius death right and not have Dumbleton shout "did you out your name in the goblet of fire" instead of calmly asking (although that has produced some great memes).
I think less needed for the first couple of books but you cant jump straight in at number 3

Have a discussion in seminars with my second years every year about blind casting. Interestingly BAME students are always the ones more against it than white students. My stance is it’s absolutely fine for fictional characters because they are just that, fiction but it’s ridiculous for real people e.g casting a black man as Henry VIII.

He's been a bit mean about JK i thought? Maybe I'm misremembering but that wouldn't endear him to fans.

And to adults really, 1 and 2 in particular although the CGI in 2 was always awful!

He hasn't, he just thinks male actors who put a dress on can play women in films. It fits in with white characters being played by black people. I do think someone should be brave enough to recast a few black roles and cast white people.